House Committee Passes Bill to Fight Online Sex Trafficking

The House Judiciary Committee approved, by voice vote, H.R. 1865, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017, as amended. The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology and Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations have held hearings on the bill (see The Source, 12/1/17 and 10/6/17, respectively).

Sponsored by Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO), the bill, among other provisions, would ensure the ability to enforce federal and state criminal law relating to sexual exploitation of children or sex trafficking.

Above, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)

 House Committees Curb Money Laundering by Human Traffickers

On December 13, the House Financial Services Committee approved, 59-0, H.R. 2219, the End Banking for Human Traffickers Act, sponsored by Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA). The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved the legislation en bloc, by voice vote, on December 14.

The legislation would add the secretary of the Treasury to the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Human Trafficking, as well as review and update procedures to combat money laundering by human trafficking organizations.

House Committee Approves PROSPER Act

On December 12, the House Education and the Workforce Committee passed, 23-17, H.R. 4508, the Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity through Education Reform (PROSPER) Act, as amended.

Sponsored by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), the legislation would amend the Higher Education Opportunity Act (P.L. 110-315), which authorizes financial support for students and various programs in postsecondary education. The current authorization expired in 2008; Congress extended it through 2016.

Among other provisions, the bill would address sexual assault at higher education institutions receiving federal funding. The measure would require institutions to conduct a campus climate survey, which would measure attitudes towards sexual assault on campus, and to provide counselors to support students who are victims of sexual assault. 

The legislation includes provisions to reauthorize the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program.

*Editor's Note: This proposed legislation is strongly opposed by Democrats: "Republicans bury anti-LGBTQ provisions in massive higher education bill; The bill would ensure that anti-LGBTQ discrimination does not endanger funding."

Pages: 1 · 2

More Articles

• Legislative Update: Violence Against Women –– A bill to include sexual assault and aggravated sexual violence in the definition of aggravated felonies under the Immigration and Nationality Act
• National Institutes of Health: For Healthy Adults, Taking Multivitamins Daily is Not Associated With a Lower Risk of Death
• Legislative Update: Bills, Resolutions, Introduced: March 18-22, 2024; Hirono, Gillibrand, Tillis, Graham, Duckworth, Murkowski, Granger, Ernst and More
• Director Allison Randall of the Office on Violence Against Women Delivers Remarks at the Launch of the National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence
• Selective Exposure and Partisan Echo Chambers in Television News Consumption: Innovative Use of Data Yields Unprecedented Insights
• "Henry Ford Innovation Nation", a Favorite Television Show
• Jo Freeman's Review of Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin's Wrath
• Congressional Weekly Legislative Update March 14, 2022, Bills Introduced and Passed: Benefits of Gender Diversity in Boards of Directors & Other Senior Management Positions, Disparate Impact of Climate Change on Women
• National Institutes of Health: COVID-19 Vaccines Linked to Small Increase in Menstrual Cycle Length
• Ask KHN (Kaiser Health News) - PolitiFact: Is My Cloth Mask Good Enough? The 2022 Edition