More ATEST Questions for Trump Cabinet Confirmation Hearings
Two more key Trump cabinet nominees will appear on Capitol Hill this week for Senate confirmation hearings. ATEST has provided committee members with important questions for the nominees about their plans to combat forced labor and human trafficking.
FBI Director Nominee Kash Patel
- Congress has mandated (in a bill that originated in the Senate Justice Committee) that the FBI do more to investigate labor trafficking offenses because there has been an overemphasis on investigating and prosecuting sex trafficking. What will you do as Director to ensure that forced labor is investigated and referred for prosecution?
- As the federal government increases immigration enforcement, agents are more likely to encounter American farmers, factory owners, construction companies, domestic worker services, and other employers who are violating America’s anti-trafficking laws through the way they exploit undocumented migrants, including children. What will you do as Director to ensure the FBI will investigate and refer for prosecution human traffickers who target undocumented migrants inside the United States?
- Congress has mandated that federal law enforcement develop a victim protocol to ensure that individuals aren’t unfairly charged with crimes they are being forced by their traffickers to commit. What will you do as Director to ensure this protocol is completed, and how will the FBI establish national standards under your leadership to protect instead of prosecute trafficking victims by federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement?
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr
- HHS runs one of America’s largest domestic programs to prevent human trafficking and assist survivors to recover and rebuild their lives, the Office on Trafficking in Persons OTIP. The program provides food, clothing, housing, healthcare and legal services for U.S.-citizen and non-citizen trafficking survivors. OTIP also supports comprehensive training and support to organizations that prevent trafficking in the U.S. by addressing its root causes. Will you commit that HHS will continue all elements of this vital program, without stop-work orders or suspension of funding during a programmatic review if one is conducted? If you conduct a programmatic review, can you commit that Congress, civil society organizations and trafficking survivors will be consulted and that specific criteria for program continuation be made public?
- The National Human Trafficking Hotline, funded in part by HHS, reports callers to law enforcement only if the caller asks for a police response. Survivors have overwhelmingly opposed requiring the hotline to report all calls to police; most callers are looking for a local shelter operator or other services. Can you commit to honoring the confidentiality of trafficking victims and allow them to make their own decisions about activating police responses?
- The National Human Trafficking Hotline receives $5 million annually from HHS. Since it was instituted, the amount of callers has grown exponentially but the growth in funding is not meeting the scale of the need. What will you do as HHS Secretary to ensure the U.S. domestic anti-trafficking effort is properly funded?
- The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) provides placement and support for unaccompanied minor asylum seekers while their applications are considered by immigration authorities, including those fleeing human trafficking in their country of origin. Funding for the agency to fully vet potential sponsors and track children in the system has not kept pace with the need. What will you do as HHS secretary to ensure there are adequate protections in place?
ATEST will develop and publish additional questions for other key cabinet nominees in advance of their Senate confirmation hearings. We’ll share any responses that we see from the nominees.
ATEST policy and budget recommendations to the incoming administration for key federal agencies that combat trafficking are in our in-depth memos to the Trump Transition team.