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Last updated on Thursday, May 4, 2017
(WASHINGTON DC) - House Foreign Affairs subcommittee Chairman Chris Smith (R-N.J.) has formally introduced legislation designed to crack down on international human trafficking operations.
"The new bill seeks to restore credibility to the Trafficking in Persons Report, produced annually by the State Department, to hold countries accountable for progress, or the lack thereof, in the fight against human trafficking," Smith said at a hearing on Tuesday before hearing testimony from a panel of witnesses.
Bryan Renbaum of Talk Media News reports,The Fredrick Douglas Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Act includes language allocating $130 million over a four-year period so as to prevent child exploitation efforts and provide critical services to persons who have been victimized.
The legislation provides funds for educational services so that hotel personnel and others in charge of venues often used for trafficking operations can be trained to identify and report suspicious activity.
Smith along with co-sponsor and ranking member Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) first introduced the legislation at a news conference last week. The great-great-great grandson of the legendary Maryland slave-turned-abolitionist for whom the bill is named was present and spoke in support of the legislation.
The legislation seeks to reauthorize provisions contained in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, which Smith previously introduced.
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