Feb 16, 2017 09:08 AM EST By Chris Brandt, UniversityHerald Reporter

Over the years, there are celebrities who used their influence and status to speak about and advocate different issues that are happening around the world. Most of the time, the issues they advocate are very dear to their hearts. Here are some of the celebrities who have testified before Congress.

Human Trafficking

Ashton Kutcher

Ashton Kutcher was the latest celebrity to appear before Congress, specifically before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, speaking about the dangers and perils of human trafficking. Kutcher spoke on behalf of Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children, an organization he co-founded with ex-wife Demi Moore and whose main goal was to combat child trafficking. The organization is also known for its software which helps the law enforcement find children who are victims of child trafficking get located much faster.

Julia Ormond

Like Kutcher, Ormond's heart is for those who are victims of human trafficking. She was the goodwill ambassador for the abolition of slavery and human trafficking speaking against its evils. In 2006, Ormond appeared before the House International Relations Committee hearing and testified against the inhuman act. She also attended a conference about human trafficking in Bangkok, Thailand the same year.

Education

James Earl Jones

If there's a celebrity whose heart is to see the literacy rates in America improve, that would be James Earl Jones. In 2002, Jones appeared before the House Education Reform Subcommittee to talk about the role of corporate sponsorships in improving literacy in America. Jones was also honored the same year by the Kennedy Center for his lifetime contributions to the American culture.

Arts

Chris Klein

While some celebrities focus on the 'darker' issues, Chris Klein focuses his energy on making the world a more beautiful place by investing in the arts. In 2007, he appeared before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior urging lawmakers to invest more in the arts.

John Legend

Legend, along with wife former wife Kerry Washington, shares Klein's passion for the arts. He and his wife appeared before the same House Appropriations Committee in 2008 during the hearing on the funding for the arts.

Jewish Champion

Helen Mirren

When Mirren played the role of a Jewish woman fighting to recover her family's stolen art in the 2015 film Woman in Gold, she was moved by the struggles of the Holocaust Jews that she spoke up for them when the opportunity came. In 2016, she urged Congress to approve the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act (HEAR), which will allow Jews to recover their stolen properties much quicker.

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