Great News: Massive Bipartisan Support for Vital Legislation in the U.S. House

by | Feb 14, 2024 | News From the Frontlines

On February 13, 2024 the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act (H.R. 5856) with an overwhelming and bipartisan majority. This crucial piece of legislation, championed by Representative Chris Smith, underscores a united stand against the atrocities of human trafficking.

It represents a significant step in reinforcing and expanding successful anti-trafficking programs, emphasizing prevention, support for survivors, and prosecution of traffickers.

 

The Frederick Douglass Act focuses on several key areas:

1. Promotes prevention education in schools through grants, emphasizing situational awareness to avoid victimization.

2. Supports survivor programs for employment, housing, and education.
3. Allocates $175 million over five years for Department of Justice Housing Assistance Grants for trafficking victims.
4. Enhances training programs, including collaboration with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
5. Advocates for accessible, trauma-informed prevention efforts in USAID programs and incorporates counter-trafficking measures in development initiatives.
6. Streamlines the Tier 2 Watch List process.
7. Reauthorizes the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking.
8. Includes forced organ harvesting in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report.

The bill moves to the Senate where it is expected to pass, continue to check back with Not For Sale because we’ll keep you updated.

 

“In the words of my great-great-great grandfather and the great American abolitionist Frederick Douglass—enslavement is a scourge on humanity that ‘to expose it is to kill it. Slavery is one of those monsters of darkness to whom the light of truth is death. Expose slavery, and it dies,’” said Kenneth B. Morris, Jr, President of the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, who helped craft the legislation.

 

Collaborative Efforts Bearing Fruit

This victory is a testament to the dedication of many organizations like Not For Sale, IJM, Polaris Project, the Alliance to End Human Trafficking, the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, and many other organizations.

Tireless advocacy and collaboration have played a crucial role in pushing forward systemic reforms, focusing on eliminating the root causes of trafficking and supporting migrants in their home countries.

 

Looking Forward

Keep visiting our site and social media channels for continuous updates on the progress in the fight against modern-day slavery and human trafficking.