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Senate Approves Human Trafficking Bills

This week, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, several human trafficking bills: S. 1311, the Abolishing Human Trafficking Act, sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), S. 1312, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), S. 1532, the No Human Trafficking on our Roads Act, sponsored by Sen. John Thune (R-SD), and S. 1536, the Combatting Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act, sponsored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). The Senate Judiciary Committee passed S. 1311 and S. 1312 on June 29 (see The Source, 6/30/17); the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee approved S. 1532 and S. 1536 on August 2 (see The Source, 8/4/17).

S. 1311 would prioritize efforts to end human trafficking, while S. 1312 would require mandatory restitution for victims of commercial sexual exploitation and would continue efforts to combat sex tourism.

Individuals who commit felonies involving human trafficking would be disqualified from operating commercial motor vehicles under S. 1532.

S. 1536 would expand human trafficking prevention programs among the scope of activities authorized within the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.