Senator Clinton Hails Passage of Anti-Trafficking Legislation
December 22, 2005

Washington, DC — Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today released the following statement on last night’s Senate passage of H.R. 972, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005.

“I am pleased at the Senate’s unanimous passage last night of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, which will enable our government to strengthen its efforts to end the heinous crime of trafficking in persons, and I would urge the President to sign this legislation as quickly as possible.

The scourge of trafficking in women and children was a priority for me as First Lady and continues to be a priority for me as a U.S. Senator. Since the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, I have been working to raise awareness of the heinous practice of buying and selling women and children like commodities. This barbaric practice has caused far too many to exist in a perpetual state of fear and vulnerability, and we must do everything in our power to bring the scourge of trafficking out of the shadows and to the attention of the world.

I am proud to say that the United States has, for the past decade, been the leader in trying to persuade the rest of the world to eradicate this abhorrent practice. As the Clinton Administration increased the anti-trafficking activities of our government through programs at the State Department and the Department of Justice, Congress was developing bipartisan legislation to eradicate trafficking. This culminated in the passage of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. This law has meant the difference between freedom and enslavement for unknown numbers of potential trafficking victims, and this reauthorization only increases our ability help those who have been trafficked.

The bill that was passed last night enhances the 3 P’s strategy – prevention of trafficking, prosecution of those that engage in these acts, and protection of the vulnerable individuals who have been trafficked – that we developed in the Clinton Administration. It gives the Justice Department the authority to pursue extraterritorial prosecutions of federal employees or those accompanying them if they engage in trafficking activities. It encourages the prevention of trafficking by requiring reporting of the anti-trafficking activities of the organizations or contractors engaged in U.S.-supported peacekeeping efforts. And it will protect those who have been trafficked overseas by increasing funding for programs like residential treatment facilities.

In the fight against trafficking in persons, patience simply is not an option. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to end this barbaric practice in both the United States and around the world.”