[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 541 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 541

 Supporting the observation of National Trafficking and Modern Slavery 
 Prevention Month during the period beginning on January 1, 2024, and 
 ending on February 1, 2024, to raise awareness of, and opposition to, 
                 human trafficking and modern slavery.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 1, 2024

 Mr. Grassley (for himself, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Wyden, 
Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Collins, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Blumenthal, 
 Mr. Brown, and Ms. Butler) 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, 2024, and 
 ending on February 1, 2024, 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 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 
        82,301 situations of human trafficking involving 164,839 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 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children 
        received over 18,400 reports of possible child sex trafficking;
Whereas, of the more than 28,800 missing children reported to National Center 
        for Missing and Exploited Children in 2023, 1 in 6 were likely victims 
        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 youths are disproportionally affected, accounting for 33.8 percent 
        of sex trafficking victims;
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 enterprise 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 and 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 (80 
        Fed. Reg. 4967) to implement Executive Order 13627, entitled 
        ``Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal 
        Contracts'', that 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, 
        2024, and ending on February 1, 2024, 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, 2024, 
        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.
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