119-sres39

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 39 Agreed to Senate

    (ATS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
S. RES. 39

 Supporting the observation of National Trafficking and Modern Slavery 
 Prevention Month during the period beginning on January 1, 2025, and 
 ending on February 1, 2025, to raise awareness of, and opposition to, 
 human trafficking and modern slavery.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 January 27, 2025

 Mr. Grassley (for himself, Ms. Cortez Masto, Ms. Collins, Ms. 
 Murkowski, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Blumenthal, and 
 Mrs. Capito) submitted the following resolution; which was considered 
 and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

 Supporting the observation of National Trafficking and Modern Slavery 
 Prevention Month during the period beginning on January 1, 2025, and 
 ending on February 1, 2025, to raise awareness of, and opposition to, 
 human trafficking and modern slavery.

Whereas the United States abolished the transatlantic slave trade in 1808, and 
 abolished chattel slavery and prohibited involuntary servitude in 1865;
Whereas, because the people of the United States remain committed to protecting 
 individual freedom, there is a national imperative to eliminate human 
 trafficking and modern slavery, which is commonly considered to mean--

    (1) the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining 
of an individual through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the 
purpose of subjecting that individual to involuntary servitude, peonage, 
debt bondage, or slavery; or

    (2) the inducement of a commercial sex act by force, fraud, or 
coercion, or in which the individual induced to perform that act is younger 
than 18 years of age;

Whereas forced labor and human trafficking generates revenues of at least 
 $150,000,000,000 annually worldwide, and there are an estimated 
 50,000,000 victims of human trafficking and modern slavery across the 
 globe;
Whereas victims of human trafficking are difficult to identify and are subject 
 to manipulation, force, fraud, coercion, and abuse;
Whereas children and youths experiencing homelessness are particularly 
 vulnerable and susceptible to manipulation, making them a prime target 
 for the lucrative criminal industry of human trafficking;
Whereas the Department of Justice has reported that human trafficking and modern 
 slavery has been reported and investigated in each of the 50 States and 
 the District of Columbia;
Whereas the Department of State has reported that the top 3 countries of origin 
 of federally-identified human trafficking victims in the United States 
 in fiscal year 2021 were the United States, Mexico, and Honduras;
Whereas, to help businesses in the United States combat child labor and forced 
 labor in global supply chains, the Department of Labor has identified 
 159 goods from 78 countries that are made by child labor and forced 
 labor;
Whereas, since 2007, the National Human Trafficking Hotline has identified 
 100,891 instances of human trafficking involving 197,000 victims;
Whereas there are known risk factors that contribute to youths running away, 
 including domestic violence, child sexual abuse, and neglect, and 
 runaway youths who experience homelessness are potential targets for 
 human trafficking;
Whereas, in 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children 
 received over 27,800 reports of possible child sex trafficking;
Whereas, of the more than 29,000 missing children reported to National Center 
 for Missing and Exploited Children in 2024, 1 in 7 was likely a victim 
 of child sex trafficking;
Whereas today, the average age of child sex trafficking victims reported missing 
 to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is only 15 
 years old;
Whereas youth experiencing homelessness experience high rates of human 
 trafficking, and 1 in 5 homeless youths is a victim of sex trafficking, 
 labor trafficking, or both;
Whereas 22 percent of youths who experience homelessness were approached for 
 paid sex on their first night of homelessness;
Whereas LGBTQ youth are at higher risk of becoming sex trafficking victims than 
 their peers;
Whereas youths facing homelessness have a lower probability of being trafficked 
 if they have a supportive adult in their life;
Whereas the Administration for Native Americans of the Department of Health and 
 Human Services reports that American Indian, Alaska Native, and Pacific 
 Islander women and girls have a heightened risk for sex trafficking;
Whereas the Department of Justice found that studies on the topic of human 
 trafficking of American Indians and Alaska Natives suggest there are--

    (1) high rates of sexual exploitation of Native women and girls;

    (2) gaps in data and research on trafficking of American Indian and 
Alaska Native victims; and

    (3) barriers that prevent law enforcement agencies and victim service 
providers from identifying and responding appropriately to Native victims;

Whereas, according to the Government Accountability Office, from fiscal year 
 2013 through fiscal year 2016, there were only 14 Federal investigations 
 and 2 Federal prosecutions of human trafficking offenses in Indian 
 country;
Whereas, to combat human trafficking and modern slavery in the United States and 
 globally, the people of the United States, the Federal Government, and 
 State, Tribal, and local governments must be--

    (1) aware of the realities of human trafficking and modern slavery; and

    (2) dedicated to stopping the horrific enterprises of human trafficking 
and modern slavery;

Whereas the United States should hold accountable all individuals, groups, 
 organizations, governments, and countries that support, advance, or 
 commit acts of human trafficking and modern slavery;
Whereas, through education, the United States must also work to end human 
 trafficking and modern slavery in all forms in the United States and 
 around the world;
Whereas victims of human trafficking deserve a trauma-informed approach that 
 integrates the pursuit of justice and provision of social services 
 designed to help them escape, and recover from, the physical, mental, 
 emotional, and spiritual trauma they endured;
Whereas combating human trafficking requires a whole-of-government effort that 
 rests on a unified and coordinated response among Federal, State, 
 Tribal, and local agencies and that places equal value on the prevention 
 of trafficking, the identification and stabilization of victims, and the 
 investigation and prosecution of traffickers;
Whereas laws to prosecute perpetrators of human trafficking and to assist and 
 protect victims of human trafficking and modern slavery have been 
 enacted in the United States, including--

    (1) the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7101 et 
seq.);

    (2) title XII of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 
(Public Law 113-4; 127 Stat. 136);

    (3) the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-
22; 129 Stat. 227);

    (4) sections 910 and 914

    (e) of the Trade Facilitation and Trade 
Enforcement Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-125; 130 Stat. 239, 274);

    (5) section 1298 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 
Year 2017 (22 U.S.C. 7114);

    (6) the Abolish Human Trafficking Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-392; 132 
Stat. 5250);

    (7) the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-393; 
132 Stat. 5265);

    (8) the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and 
Protection Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-425; 132 Stat. 
5472);

    (9) the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017 
(Public Law 115-427; 132 Stat. 5503);

    (10) the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022 (Public 
Law 117-103; 136 Stat. 840);

    (11) the Abolish Trafficking Reauthorization Act of 2022 (Public Law 
117-347; 136 Stat. 6199);

    (12) the Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization 
Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-348; 136 Stat. 6211); and

    (13) the End Human Trafficking in Government Contracts Act of 2022 
(Public Law 117-211; 136 Stat. 2248);

Whereas the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-22; 
 129 Stat. 227) established the United States Advisory Council on Human 
 Trafficking to provide a formal platform for survivors of human 
 trafficking to advise and make recommendations on Federal anti-
 trafficking policies to the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat 
 Trafficking established by the President;
Whereas the Department of Defense, the General Services Administration, and the 
 National Aeronautics and Space Administration issued a final rule 
 entitled ``Federal Acquisition Regulation; Ending Trafficking in 
 Persons'' (80 Fed. Reg. 4967 (January 29, 2015)) to implement Executive 
 Order 13627 (41 U.S.C. 3101 note; relating to strengthening protections 
 against trafficking in persons in Federal contracts), which clarifies 
 the policy of the United States on combating trafficking in persons as 
 outlined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation by strengthening the 
 prohibition on contractors from charging employee recruitment fees;
Whereas, although such laws and regulations are currently in force, it is 
 essential to increase public awareness, particularly among individuals 
 who are most likely to come into contact with victims of human 
 trafficking and modern slavery, regarding conditions and dynamics of 
 human trafficking and modern slavery, precisely because traffickers use 
 techniques that are designed to severely limit self-reporting and evade 
 law enforcement;
Whereas January 1 is the anniversary of the effective date of the Emancipation 
 Proclamation;
Whereas February 1 is--

    (1) the anniversary of the date on which President Abraham Lincoln 
signed the joint resolution sending the 13th Amendment to the Constitution 
of the United States to the States for ratification to forever declare, 
``Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for 
crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within 
the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction''; and

    (2) a date that has long been celebrated as National Freedom Day, as 
described in 

section 124 of title 36, United States Code; and

Whereas, under the authority of Congress to enforce the 13th Amendment to the 
 Constitution of the United States ``by appropriate legislation'', 
 Congress, through the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 
 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.), updated the post-Civil War involuntary servitude 
 and slavery statutes and adopted an approach of victim protection, 
 vigorous prosecution, and prevention of human trafficking, commonly 
 known as the ``3P'' approach: Now, therefore, be it
 Resolved, That the Senate supports--

    (1) observing National Trafficking and Modern Slavery 
 Prevention Month during the period beginning on January 1, 
 2025, and ending on February 1, 2025, to recognize the vital 
 role that the people of the United States have in ending human 
 trafficking and modern slavery;

    (2) marking the observation of National Trafficking and 
 Modern Slavery Prevention Month with appropriate programs and 
 activities, culminating in the observance on February 1, 2025, 
 of National Freedom Day, as described in 

section 124 of title 
 36, United States Code;

    (3) urging continued partnerships with Federal, State, 
 Tribal, and local agencies, as well as survivors of human 
 trafficking, social service providers, and nonprofit 
 organizations to address human trafficking with a 
 collaborative, victim-centered approach; and

    (4) all other efforts to prevent, eradicate, and raise 
 awareness of, and opposition to, human trafficking and modern 
 slavery.
 <all>