The House of Representatives passed comprehensive legislation today authorizing more than half a billion dollars over four years to fight sex and labor trafficking in the United States and globally.

     Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), the author of the bill, said it is named in honor of the, “incomparable Frederick Douglass—a former slave who dedicated his life to abolishing slavery—on the eve of his 200th birthday. Human trafficking is modern day slavery.” Click Here to read the bill.

     According to Smith, who also authored the original Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-386; TVPA) and three other trafficking laws including the International Megan’s Law (P.L. 114-119), the new legislation is both, “comprehensive and bipartisan,” and is, “a whole-of-government approach, designed to strengthen, expand and create new initiatives to protect victims, prosecute traffickers and prevent this cruelty and exploitation from happening in the first place.”

     During debate in the House, Smith said, “[a]ccording to the International Labor Organization (ILO), nearly 21 million people in the world are enslaved—most of them women and children. Every human life is of infinite value. We have a duty to protect the weakest and most vulnerable from harm.” Click Here to read Smith’s full statement.

     Smith was especially grateful to Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and noted that their, “deep commitment to fighting trafficking and protecting victims is unparalleled and inspiring.”

     Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), the lead Democratic co-Sponsor, said “The majority of underage trafficking victims are girls in foster care, where the average age of a girl entering into sex trafficking is twelve years old. One of the major reasons girls cannot escape is because they do not have housing. This is a good step forward and required at every level of government to stop and prevent child sex trafficking.”

     Among its numerous provisions, the bill authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grant money to “establish, expand and support programs” to provide age appropriate information to students to avoid becoming victims of sex and labor trafficking as well as educate school staff to recognize and respond to signs of trafficking.

     The Frederick Douglass legislation will authorize the following:

$180 million over four years to the Department of State (DOS) for their work to:

·         Support the training of U.S. and foreign law enforcement officials to better combat human trafficking

·         Write the Trafficking in Persons Report and encourage credible and effective use of the Report

·         Engage diplomatically with countries to help them improve their trafficking laws and implementation

·         Help countries develop better referral and assistance programs for rescued sex and labor trafficking victims

·         Improve coordination of government and civil society efforts abroad to fight child trafficking

·         Convene the President’s Interagency Task Force and Coordinate the efforts of various U.S. Government Agencies to fight human trafficking at home and abroad

·         Create a special complaint mechanism in embassies whereby the U.S. is warned of traffickers exploiting the U.S. entry system

·         Prevent abuse of domestic servants in embassies and diplomatic homes in the U.S.

·         Encourage USAID to integrate human trafficking prevention into disaster relief

$50 million over four years to the President for efforts to:

·         Assist foreign countries in meeting the minimum standards to eliminate human trafficking

·         Assist foreign victims of human trafficking

$94 million over four years to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to:

·         Provide U.S. Citizen and Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) victims with

o   Short and Long-term housing options

o   Substance abuse treatment

o   Mental health counseling

o   Educational opportunities

o   Job training and skills development

o   Legal advocacy

o   Financial advocacy and counseling

·         Provide foreign victims found in the U.S. with

o   Case management

o   Emergency assistance

o   Housing

o   Employability services

o   Mental health screening and therapy

o   Medical care

o   Legal services

$44 million over four years for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to:

·         Investigate and dismantle international trafficking rings

·         Investigate U.S. citizens who abuse trafficking victims abroad

·         Encourage enforcement of the Tariff Act of 1930’s prohibition on the importation of goods made with forced labor

$161 million over four years for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to:

·         Buttress state and local law enforcement for anti-trafficking programs, including combatting child sex trafficking

·         Help U.S., LPR and foreign victims with emergency assistance get back on their feet in the U.S., with the potential to assist in the prosecution of their traffickers

·         Prosecute and convict traffickers

·         Support FBI investigations into trafficking

·         Place an emphasis in grants on special housing needs of disconnected and underserved foster youth

·         Designate one prosecutor in each of the DoJ’s focus districts to investigate and prosecute labor trafficking cases

$20 million over four years to the Department of Labor (DOL) to: 

·         Facilitate trafficking-free supply chains in private businesses

$18 million over three years to DHS and DOJ and State to fund the International Megan’s Law

$1 million over four years to train airport personnel, flight attendants, and pilots to recognize and report to law enforcement potential trafficking victims in transit

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