Bills pass during #EndTrafficking Week in House of Representatives

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, applauded House passage of three House Foreign Affairs Committee measures to combat human trafficking:
 

  • Human Trafficking Prioritization Act (H.R. 514), authored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), elevates the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons to the level of a Bureau within the State Department to better prioritize the fight against human trafficking without increasing the size of the Federal Government.  Similar legislation passed the Committee and the House last year.
  • Human Trafficking Prevention Act (H.R. 357), authored by Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), requires that certain State Department personnel undergo training to identify victims of human trafficking around the world.  Similar legislation passed the Committee and the House last year.

Chairman Royce on passage of anti-human trafficking measures: “While some progress has been made in our long fight against human trafficking, more than 20 million people remain subject to the horrors of this form of modern-day slavery.  With more work to be done, I am pleased that we have chosen to make this issue a focus.  The passage of these important anti-human trafficking bills represents a concerted effort by the House of Representatives to combat this appalling injustice.”

Video of Chairman Royce speaking in support of these measures on the House floor is available HERE.

NOTE: Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel recently introduced H.R. 400, the bipartisan Trafficking Prevention in Foreign Affairs Contracting Act.  Over the past two years as Chairman, Royce convened a number of hearings on human trafficking, including a field hearing in Orange County, California to examine international human trafficking and to assess efforts to combat trafficking at the international, Federal, State and local levels.  These hearings culminated in Committee action on multiple anti-trafficking bills.  Chairman Royce also launched a Human Trafficking Congressional Advisory Committee (HTCAC) to address human trafficking concerns, as well as offer policy recommendations; the HTCAC is comprised of victims’ rights groups, local and federal law enforcement agencies, and community advocates.

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