ATEST Requests $1.7 Billion in Anti-trafficking Funding from Congress for FY2024
WASHINGTON – The Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST) is requesting $1.7 billion in federal funding next fiscal year to combat human trafficking, forced labor and their root causes. The requests include increases for key programs, noting that more people have become vulnerable to trafficking because of the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the affordable housing crisis, impacts of climate change, the invasion of Ukraine, migration, and global economic disruptions. A robust fiscal response is essential to mitigate these increased risks and to provide essential services to survivors.
The requests cover programs at the Departments of State, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, Justice, Homeland Security, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. They are included in letters to four congressional appropriations subcommittees:
- Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
- Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
- State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
- Department of Homeland Security
The FY24 appropriations requests embody changes to anti-trafficking law passed by the 117th Congress last year and signed by President Biden this January. They include the re-organization of anti-trafficking programs at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), newly-created teams at DHS and the FBI to focus exclusively on labor trafficking investigations, and strengthening efforts to ensure that goods tainted by child or forced labor are not imported into the United States. ATEST is seeking increases in funding to protect vulnerable youth and to increase workplace inspections to combat labor trafficking of children and adults.
As noted in our letters to Congress, ATEST understands the fiscal challenges our nation faces. However, we cannot lose sight of the human tragedies occurring every day within and beyond our borders. Trafficking is a national security, criminal justice, civil rights, and human rights issue that will define our generation. We can only eradicate it by dedicating the necessary resources.
ATEST 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. We advocate for lasting solutions to prevent forced labor and sex trafficking, hold perpetrators accountable, ensure justice for victims and empower survivors with tools for recovery. Our collective experience implementing programs at home and abroad provides our coalition with an unparalleled breadth and depth of expertise.
ATEST member organizations include: Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST), Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), Covenant House, Free the Slaves, HEAL Trafficking, Human Trafficking Legal Center, Humanity United Action (HUA), McCain Institute for International Leadership, National Network for Youth (NN4Y), Polaris, Safe Horizon, Solidarity Center, United Way Worldwide, Verité, and Vital Voices Global Partnership.
Contact: ATEST Director Terry FitzPatrick | [email protected] | 571-282-9913