Wagner, Fitzpatrick, Kamlager-Dove Introduce Put Trafficking Victims First Act

Washington, D.C.  – Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO), Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) released the following statement after they introduced the Put Trafficking Victims First Act, bipartisan legislation that will support increased restitution for survivors from their traffickers and develop more advanced methodologies to assess the prevalence of trafficking.

“January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and sadly, the United States falls woefully short on identifying the true scope of this pervasive crime.  This is absolutely unacceptable,” said Congresswoman Wagner.  “Every time a human trafficking case isn’t properly identified, another victim remains trapped in a cycle of exploitation. My bipartisan legislation, the Put Trafficking Victims First Act, will direct the Attorney General to take action to correct this glaring deficiency and enhance support for survivors. I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance this commonsense bill and to ensure the federal government is doing everything in its power to combat sex trafficking in our communities.”

“Human trafficking is no longer exclusively an issue abroad; this heinous crime occurs right here at home and affects communities across the country. The Put Trafficking Victims First Act would compel the Department of Justice to fully take the necessary action to identify and address human trafficking operations, while giving needed support to survivors,” said Congressman Fitzpatrick. “We have a solemn obligation to protect our communities and put an end to human trafficking, and I’m proud to co-sponsor this bipartisan legislation.”

“Every day, we know that hundreds of people are forced into modern-day slavery right here in the United States. That is just the tip of the iceberg. The Put Trafficking Victims First Act will give us much-needed insight into the scope of human trafficking in the U.S. and ensure that survivors are given the support they need,” said Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove. “We have a responsibility to protect the most vulnerable among us; our children, our recent immigrants, and our poor Black and brown women. I’m proud to stand by survivors in this bipartisan effort to end the practice of human trafficking.”

In 2020, the Department of Justice found that the federal government’s crime reporting system ‘significantly understates the extent of human trafficking crimes in the United States,’ and official trafficking statistics in some regions ‘represented as little as 14%’ of the total number of potential trafficking victims.  The Put Trafficking Victims First Act aims to fix this deficiency and helps law enforcement better assist victims in a time of crisis.

The Put Trafficking Victims First Act aims to fix this deficiency by directing the Attorney General to:

1. Establish an expert working group to identify barriers to data collection on the prevalence of human trafficking and recommend practices to enhance data collection. The Attorney General is then directed to implement a pilot program to test the working group’s recommended practices;
2. Develop a survey of trafficking survivors seeking victim assistance services for the purposes of improving the availability of assistance services and victim identification;
3. Work with the Secretaries of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security to submit a report to Congress on federal efforts to estimate the prevalence of trafficking in the United States, the effectiveness of current policies to help victims, an analysis of the demographics of victims, and recommendations on how to better support victims; and
4. Submit a report to Congress on efforts to increase restitution to trafficking victims.

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