Today the United States Senate voted on final passage of S. 1311, the Abolish Human Trafficking Act of 2017, and S. 1312, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2017. These bills each reauthorize key portions of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), which is the cornerstone federal law outlining the federal government’s response to the crime of human trafficking.

Humanity United Action strongly applauds the hard work and leadership of Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) for this amazing accomplishment. Each office has shown unbelievable perseverance and a willingness to work in a bipartisan manner for the benefit of trafficking victims. We are grateful for the many hours each office has devoted to this important reauthorization.

In addition to S. 1311 and S. 1312, the Senate voted to pass S. 1862, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017, and H.R. 2200, the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2018. These two bills, introduced by Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Karen Bass (D-CA), reauthorize the remaining portions of the TVPA, including the international anti-trafficking programs. Humanity United Action also applauds the Senate’s amazing work to pass these bills in a bipartisan manner. These two bills now go to the House for final passage, and we strongly encourage the House to swiftly take up these bills to complete the TVPA reauthorization.