Press Release
“This legislation is of, by, and for survivors—to help heal, restore, and empower”Lawmakers, human trafficking survivors, and advocates call on Congress to pass Smith’s new anti-human trafficking bill, H.R. 1144
At a widely attended press conference on Capitol Hill, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), author of landmark anti-human trafficking legislation, and Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-MD) called upon Congress to pass their new, comprehensive bill, the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act (FD TVPRA) (H.R. 1144). The press conference gathered human trafficking survivors, advocates, and service providers from across the country to highlight the importance of this bipartisan legislation, as well as the urgency of its final passage. “Last year, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA)—comprehensive, bipartisan, landmark legislation that I authored and that became the cornerstone of U.S. and global efforts to combat human trafficking,” said Smith, the author of five comprehensive laws to combat human trafficking. Despite the United States’ undeniable progress in the fight against human trafficking—more than 5,200 human traffickers have been convicted under the TVPA and are serving long prison sentences—“the fight is far from over,” according to Smith. Smith’s survivor-informed and survivor-led FD TVPRA reauthorizes and strengthens anti-human trafficking programs across numerous federal agencies; promotes anti-trafficking strategies and situational awareness trainings for instructors and students within elementary and secondary schools; authorizes housing, educational resources, and employment assistance for trafficking survivors; and reauthorizes his International Megan’s Law to protect children from being trafficked and exploited by convicted child sex offenders abroad. “This legislation is of, by, and for survivors—to help heal, restore, and empower,” stated Smith. Rep. Mfume, the leading co-sponsor of the FD TVPRA of 2025, said: “Frederick Douglass, after he escaped from bondage, spent the rest of his life devoted to a simple conviction: that no human being can be bought, sold, owned, or exploited. That principle, sadly, still demands action today, as there are some 27 million people trapped in forced labor worldwide. Those 27 million souls are counting on us to get this bill passed. We owe it to every survivor, and every potential victim, to see this through – and I promise to do everything in my power to make that happen.”
Gina Cavallo, survivor leader and Vice President of the NJ Coalition Against Human Trafficking (NJCAHT), said: “This is not just another bill. It is a promise. This is not a partisan issue. It is a moral one. Human trafficking preys on the vulnerable, the unseen, and the unheard. And as long as even one person is exploited, none of us can truly call ourselves free.” Marcel van der Watt, Ph.D., President and CEO of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), said: “H.R. 1144, why we are all here today, is the result of real-world experiences translated into real-world solutions… This is why the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2025 matters. It really, really breathes life into a response system that should look remarkably similar to the system that perpetrates these crimes.” Hollie Nadel, survivor leader and Director of Advocacy and Engagement at 3Strands Global Foundation, said: “When we focus on prevention, prosecution, and liberation, what is often missing in the conversation is about what happens when systems fail to recognize victims—and the consequences of that failure… Through legislation like H.R. 1144, we have the opportunity to move closer to a truly survivor-centered response, one that prioritizes protection over punishment and justice over convenience.” Kevin Malone, Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Co-Founder of the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking, said: “We have to stand up and fight for our kids, and we have to get this bill passed. We have to. Because traffickers are not waiting; they’re using technology, they’re using relationships and moments of vulnerability to exploit individuals wherever they are. That is why prevention education matters… Congress, it’s your duty, it’s your responsibility to protect Americans, especially kids, from sex trafficking, labor trafficking, and tech-facilitated abuses.” Jan Edwards, President and Founder of Paving the Way Foundation, said: “Today, Congress has an opportunity to educate more kids to assist law enforcement in catching bad guys that are harming our children and provide much needed assistance to survivors. I, along with the 48,000 kids and parents we’ve had the opportunity to empower in preventing this horrific crime, are asking Speaker Johnson to bring H.R. 1144 to the floor for a vote and for our Senators to hotline this bill.”
Alexandra Bailey, Chair of the Foundation for Judicial Discretion, said: “When it comes to H.R. 1144 and combating human trafficking across this country, you can see that the union is with us. And we are fortunate to have Representative Smith leading us, and Representative Mfume also leading us. The union agrees that we are not for the exploitation of human beings for sex or labor in this country, or anywhere around the world—which is why the United States leads the fight against human trafficking, and we must maintain that mantle.” Katrina Massey, human trafficking survivor, subject matter expert, and member of Protect All Children from Trafficking (PACT)’s Survivors’ Council, said: “I stand in strong support of the TVPA because it recognizes a truth that often goes unaddressed: public safety is not just about responding to a crime. It is about preventing harm before it happens, and ensuring that survivors have the support they need to rebuild their lives… [The TVPA] acknowledges that real public safety is built through prevention, protection, and partnership. It aligns resources with the realities that survivors face, and reinforces the idea that safety must be proactive, not reactive.” Tanya Gould, Director of Public Policy at NCOSE, said: “[The Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act] interrupts the conditions that allow exploitation to exist in the very first place… What this bill gets right is that it prioritizes prevention education around grooming. Because when we teach young people, educators, parents, and communities how to recognize grooming, we are stopping the potential of trafficking before it forms.”
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