US House foreign affairs body OKs creation of trafficking survivors advisory body

Human trafficking survivors bill sponsor US Rep. Mike Honda of California.

WASHINGTON, DC – The House foreign affairs committee on April 23 approved a bill creating a survivors-led US Human Trafficking Survivors Advisory Council to advise and recommend federal government policies and programs on human trafficking.

Passage in the Committee on Foreign Affairs put the Survivors of Human Trafficking Empowerment Act — a landmark bipartisan measure introduced by Congressman Mike Honda (Dem-Calif.) and Reps. Ted Poe (GOP-Texas), Karen Bass (Dem-Calif.) and Rodney Davis (GOP-Illinois) — one step closer to becoming law.

The advisory group created by the bill would be the point of contact for federal agencies working on human trafficking survivors’ programs and policies. Most importantly, it would provide a platform for the Administration and policymakers to hear directly from the survivors.

The council’s goal is to learn how human trafficking can be prevented and how to best treat those who have been trafficked.

The advisory group will also represent the diversity of survivors of sex and labor trafficking, as well as US citizens and foreign nationals, so that policymakers understand the full scope of human trafficking and can address all facets of it.

“I’m glad this bill is one step closer to becoming law,” Congressman Honda said in press statement. “It was great to be able to work across the aisle to make sure the voices of the survivors of human trafficking are heard.”

Honda thanked committee chairman Royce and ranking member Engel “for bringing my bill before the committee, and I am glad to see it move forward with the full committee’s unanimous support.”

Honda added: “By letting those who have experienced this ordeal tell their stories to, and work with, key policymakers, we will be able to write better laws and regulations to eliminate this atrocity once and for all.”

The next step is a vote by the full House of Representatives. “I am working with Chairman Royce to convince Speaker Boehner and the House Leadership to schedule a vote on this important legislation,” Honda explained. “This is a bill with robust bipartisan support; it addresses a serious problem, and offers a path to help solve that problem.”

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