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Press Room
For Immediate Release: November 02, 2012
Federal Funds Needed to Combat Human Trafficking
Washington, DC---The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) sent a letter to congressional leaders today urging them to pass the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) by the end of the year in order to adequately fund programs to combat human trafficking and modern-day slavery. Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing criminal industries in the world, generating over $32 billion in profits to traffickers annually, according to some estimates.
In December 2008, Congress reauthorized the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), and it has been renewed three times since, but it needs to be reauthorized by the end of this year or it will expire. The NAAG letter, signed by 46 state and territorial attorneys general, offers specific funding recommendations for programs within the U.S. Dept. of Justice, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, and U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security to curtail the human trafficking industry and provide the resources necessary to rehabilitate survivors, both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals.
“We understand the tremendous fiscal challenges the nation faces. However, during this time, we cannot lose sight of the needless human tragedies that are occurring within and beyond our borders,” reads the NAAG letter.
NAAG has made anti-human trafficking efforts one of its major initiatives starting with a 2011-2012 Pillars of Hope presidential initiative and continuing with a NAAG Human Trafficking Committee.
A copy of the NAAG letter can be found here: http://www.naag.org/sign-on_archive.php
