The introduction of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), authored by Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) nearly 18 years ago, created a sea change in the way the United States battled human trafficking. No longer would victims suffer in silence while their traffickers roam free.

     Today, the House Panel on Global Human Rights—Chaired by Smith—held a hearing focused on the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017 (Smith-Bass Douglass TVPRA, H.R. 2200), legislation designed to reauthorize and strengthen the TVPA. Smith introduced the bill last week, along with lead Democratic co-Sponsor Rep. Karen Bass (CA-37) and a bipartisan group of Members of Congress focused on human trafficking. The Douglas TVPRA is expected to be marked up by the full Foreign Affairs Committee tomorrow, May 3^rd.

     “The Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act authorizes $130 million over four years to prevent human trafficking, protect victims and beef up prosecution at home and abroad,” said Smith. “Among other things, I note that this bill encourages more hotels at home and abroad to put policies and trainings in place so that the hotels cannot be used by human traffickers to exploit children. To the extent practicable, the U.S. government will directs U.S. government travelers using taxpayer money to use hotels that have taken affirmative steps to end trafficking within their walls.” Click Here to read Smith’s Full Statement.

     Among other key provisions, the Smith-Bass Frederick Douglass anti-trafficking bill:  

·         Directs grant money for the education of vulnerable children to avoid traffickers;

·         Incentivizes hotels to train their employees to identify potential trafficking victims;

·         Requires pilots and flight attendants to have airline industry-specific anti-trafficking training;

·         Enhances and funds Department of Labor reporting to Customs and Border Patrol and businesses on foreign products and components likely tainted with human trafficking, helping to keep these products out of the U.S.—and profits out of the hands of traffickers; 

·         Educates procurement officers in U.S. government agencies to apply all U.S. law and regulations preventing purchases of goods made with trafficking or services from contractors who participate in human trafficking;

·         Encourages  more accurate reporting and tier ranking in the U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report, which is used to guide better policy and accountability at home and abroad; and

·         Empowers trafficking survivors to educate government on better, more effective anti-trafficking policies.  

     Robert J. Benz, Co-Founder of the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, highlighted the benefit the education plays, “To be clear, when we speak of primary prevention, we are referring to the application of knowledge in the form of education, training and/or awareness initiatives for general populations. The cost benefits to taxpayers, for preventing or mitigating human trafficking at an early stage, are enormous. The human benefit for preventing someone from being victimized is incalculable.” Click Here to read Benz’s full statement.

     Jo Becker, Advocacy Director, Children Rights Division, at Human Rights Watch, explained the benefit that the U.S. can have on world-wide trafficking, “The United States has played an important role in helping to curtail use of child soldiers. The US exerted leadership in 2002 by ratifying the UN treaty that prohibits the use of children in hostilities. After ratification, all branches of the armed services immediately issued new rules to keep under-age soldiers out of combat. This has helped to set a positive example for other militaries worldwide.” Click Here to read Becker’s full statement.

     Tim Gehring, Policy Director at International Justice Mission, noted the benefits that the original TVPA brought, “Chairman Smith, thanks to your leadership almost two decades ago, Congress passed the original Trafficking Victims Protect act of 2000, which identified trafficking in persons as a priority for the United States Government and brought about much-needed foreign assistance to help countries improve their response to trafficking in persons. Other iterations … have created innovative anti-trafficking programs like the Child Protection Compact, which is being implemented in Ghana and, most recently, the Philippines… to identify gaps and weaknesses in anti-trafficking programs and policies, and to equip, train, and support effective law enforcement operations to rescue children from exploitation and abuse.” Click Here to read Gehring’s full statement.

     Melysa Sperber, Director of the Alliance to End Slavery & Trafficking, described how her experience helping victims focused her attention on ending human trafficking, “The message these women conveyed was straightforward: their suffering could have been prevented. Their reason for sharing the message was just as straightforward: they wanted to prevent someone else’s suffering. My clients taught me the importance of prevention, and they left me with an even more valuable lesson: survivors are the experts. They know the most about this crime – how to prevent it, how to recover from it, how to thrive as a survivor of it.” Click Here to read Sperber’s full statement.

     After the original TVPA, Smith wrote two subsequent anti-trafficking laws (PL 108-193 and PL 109-164) increasing resources for crime prevention and expanding treatment assistance for victims. The original co-Sponsors for the new bill include Rep. Ed Royce (CA-39), Rep. Shelia Jackson-Lee (TX-18), Rep. Susan Brooks (IN-05), Rep. Lois Frankel (FL-21), Rep. Ann Wagner (MO-02), Rep. Tony Cárdenas (CA-29) and Rep. Ted Poe (TX-02).

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