WASHINGTON D.C. – Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Congressman Dave Joyce (OH-14), Elissa Slotkin (MI-07), Ann Wagner (MO-02), and Dina Titus’ (NV-01) IMPACTT Human Trafficking Act to provide survivors of human trafficking and the law enforcement officers working to combat these terrible crimes the resources and support they need. U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and James Lankford (R-OK) introduced and passed companion legislation in the Senate. 

Watch Congressman Joyce’s full remarks here.

“Human trafficking affects communities in Ohio and across our country, where traffickers threaten, deceive, and use manipulative tactics to force people into modern day slavery,” said Congressman Joyce, Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Task Force to End Sexual Violence. “With Ohio ranking among the worst states in the nation for human trafficking, I am proud to see this critical legislation pass the House and head to the President’s desk. In doing so, we can work to stop these crimes from taking place and ensure that survivors receive the specialized support they need, while also providing law enforcement officers with additional resources to protect themselves and hold perpetrators accountable.”

Background: 

The IMPACTT Human Trafficking Act would make permanent and expand the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Victim Assistance Program to provide services to victims of human trafficking. The bill also makes permanent the Investigators Maintain Purposeful Awareness to Combat Trafficking Trauma (IMPACTT) program to assist HSI employees dealing with the stress and trauma associated with their job of working directly alongside these vulnerable individuals. The IMPACTT Human Trafficking Act will provide increased outreach and training for victim assistance specialists, forensic interviewers, task force officers, and other partners who have been exposed to trauma while investigating human trafficking. This bill would also increase the number of victim assistance specialists to ensure that every office participating in human trafficking or child exploitation task forces will have an assigned victim assistant specialist. Additionally, the bill will provide victims with support and services throughout the investigative and prosecutorial process.