Washington, D.C. – Today, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, chaired by Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), passed two bipartisan anti-human trafficking measures.  The Targeted Rewards for the Global Eradication of Human Trafficking Act (H.R. 1625), introduced by Chairman Royce, allows the State Department to use cash rewards to help bring human traffickers to justice.  And the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017 (H.R. 2200), introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), reauthorizes the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. 

Prior to the passage of the anti-human trafficking bills, Chairman Royce said:  “Human trafficking is increasingly perpetrated by organized, sophisticated criminal enterprises, and profits from this illicit industry contribute to the expansion of organized crime and even terrorism in the United States and worldwide.  That is why combating human trafficking requires a global approach to identify and apprehend the world’s worst offenders.  The TARGET Act specifically authorizes the State Department and law enforcement to target international human traffickers by offering rewards for their arrest or conviction – anywhere on earth.  I want to thank the bill’s Democratic co-author, Rep. Lois Frankel, for her good work on this measure.

“Today, we also consider the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act.  This ambitious bill not only extends the legal authorities from the groundbreaking Trafficking Victims Protection Act that Rep. Smith authored 17 years ago, but also contains important reforms to our foreign and domestic anti-trafficking programs.  This bill strengthens the State Department’s annual TIP Report and the Country Tier Rankings. Namely, they must tell the truth about the trafficking situation on the ground, and should not be subject to manipulation for the sake of diplomatic, economic, or political considerations.”

Additionally, the Committee passed the following measure:

  • as amended, H.R. 1677, Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2017, introduced by Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), which works to halt the wholesale slaughter of the Syrian people, encourage a negotiated political settlement, and hold Syrian human rights abusers accountable for their crimes. 

A summary of the Committee action, including adopted amendments, will be available HERE.

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