On December 8, the House Judiciary Committee approved, by voice vote, a bill (H.R. 972) to reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (P.L. 106-386) through FY2007. The House International Relations Committee approved the measure on October 7 (see The Source, 10/11/05).
During consideration of the bill, the committee approved, by voice vote, an amendment offered by Chair James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) that would incorporate the text of the End Demand for Sex Trafficking Act (H.R. 2012). Sponsored by Reps. Deborah Pryce (R-OH) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), the measure would authorize $25 million for a grant program to assist state and local law enforcement in investigating and prosecuting sex trafficking cases in the United States. The bill also would authorize $10 million to establish and expand assistance programs for trafficking victims. In addition, the measure would authorize $6 million for two studies and an annual conference to examine “severe forms of human trafficking.”
