This week, Humanity United Action was pleased to see the House Foreign Affairs Committee pass H.R. 5664, the Leveraging Information on Foreign Traffickers (LIFT) Act. This bipartisan legislation, introduced by Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY), makes important progress to support survivors of human trafficking and ensure the U.S. government continues to prioritize the fight against this horrific crime. Critically, for the first time ever, the LIFT Act provides authority for the trafficking survivors sitting on the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking to receive compensation for the work they do on the Advisory Council.
The Advisory Council was established in 2015 and is made up of survivors of human trafficking. The Advisory Council plays an important role to inform the policies of the U.S. government addressing human trafficking. In particular, the Advisory Council is tasked with providing advice and recommendations to the Senior Policy Operating Group and the President’s Interagency Task Force.
Humanity United Action strongly supports the LIFT Act’s provisions extending the authorization of the Advisory Council through 2025 and providing authority for the trafficking survivors on the Advisory Council to receive compensation for their work. Policies and programs addressing trafficking must be informed by survivors. They must be at the front of the conversation, not an afterthought. Additionally, it is important to remove barriers for survivors to participate in this work, which is why the LIFT Act’s inclusion of compensation authority for survivors on the Advisory Council is so important.
Humanity United Action applauds the leadership of Representatives McCaul and Engel and calls on Congress to quickly pass the LIFT Act.
