Chair Cardin Applauds Passage of Anti-Human Trafficking Legislation in the Senate

WASHINGTON-Today, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, applauded the passage of the substitute amendment to the International Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2023 in the U.S. Senate, which he championed with Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and was originally cosponsored by Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). This legislation reauthorizes global anti-trafficking programs created in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, a landmark federal law that provides programming, policy, and funding essential to U.S. efforts to combat human trafficking around the world. The bipartisan substitute amendment is a combination of House and Senate texts, which would renew these critical authorities that lapsed in 2021.

"Human trafficking is a horrific practice that robs 27.6 million people across the globe of their freedom and dignity through forced labor and sexual exploitation," said Chair Cardin. "This legislation, built upon a framework known as the '3 Ps'-Protection, Prevention, and Prosecution-has saved lives and protected countless innocent people. Its overwhelming bipartisan support across Republican and Democratic administrations is a testament to its effectiveness and represents a value-based approach to foreign policy. I urge my colleagues in the House to swiftly take up and pass this bill."

Key provisions of the substitute amendment to the International Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2023:

• Reauthorizes the Program to End Modern Slavery
  
• Increases authorized funding for the U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office)
  
  
• Makes technical amendments to the TIP Report tier rankings
  
  
• Expands anti-trafficking programming at the U.S. Agency for International Development
  
  
• Combats trafficking of domestic workers by UN officials or foreign missions

The U.S. Senate passed Chair Cardin's substitute amendment by voice vote. It now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives for final passage.

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