ATEST Applauds House Passage of Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act

The Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST) is grateful to Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) for championing the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017 (H.R. 2200), which passed unanimously today. We also thank the bill’s cosponsors, particularly the original cosponsors, Reps. Ed Royce (R-CA), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Susan Brooks (R-IN), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Ryan Costello (R-PA), and Judge Ted Poe (R-TX).

This legislation, which reauthorizes the landmark Trafficking Victims Protections Act (TVPA) of 2000, provides critical tools to assist in combating human trafficking and reasserts American leadership in the fight to end human trafficking in our generation. The bill will reauthorize nearly $130 million in funding for both domestic and international programming to combat all forms of human trafficking. It will also enhance efforts to prevent human trafficking, protect victims, and prosecute traffickers.

The TVPA established the United States Government’s anti-trafficking framework, and has been reauthorized with overwhelming bipartisan support four times. The Frederick Douglas Reauthorization Act not only continues the legacy of comprehensively addressing all forms of human trafficking, but also strives to fill critical gaps. The legislation strengthens the analysis and objectivity of the U.S. State Department’s Trafficking In Persons report, improves oversight to ensure taxpayer dollars are not used to support human trafficking in corporate supply chains, enables schools to educate students about how to avoid all forms of human trafficking, and bolsters efforts to prevent goods made by child and forced labor from entering the United States.

ATEST applauds the House for passing the Frederick Douglass Reauthorization Act, and is eager to work with the bill’s cosponsors and members of the Senate to swiftly enact the reauthorization of the landmark TVPA with strong bipartisan support.

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The Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking is a U.S.-based coalition that advocates for solutions to prevent and end all forms of human trafficking and modern slavery around the world. ATEST member organizations include: Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST), Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), ECPAT-USA, Free the Slaves, Futures Without Violence (FUTURES), International Justice Mission, National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), National Network for Youth (NN4Y), Polaris, Safe Horizon, Solidarity Center, Verité, and Vital Voices Global Partnership. ATEST is a project of Humanity United and Humanity United Action. www.EndSlaveryandTrafficking.org

Media Contact: Ann Brown [email protected], 301 633 4193