Congressional Bills Introduced, Resolutions and Investigations: Did You Know that May 5 Was the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls?
On May 4, Congress passed H.R. 244, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017, which provides funding through September 30, the end of FY2017. 
Susan Davis, right, member of the US House of Representatives from California's 53rd district; Wikipedia
This Week:
The Senate is in session this week. The House is in recess until May 16; House Passes 'Obamacare' Repeal Bill. On May 4, the House approved H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act (AHCA). On May 2, the House approved H.R. 1180, the Working Families Flexibility Act.
Senate Raises Awareness of Violence Against Native Women: On May 3, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, S. Res. 60, a resolution designating May 5, 2017, as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls. Sponsored by Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), the legislation notes that homicide is a leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women and that little data exist on the number of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women in the United States. Among other provisions, the resolution would "commemorate the lives of missing and murdered American Indian and Alaska Native women whose cases are documented and undocumented in public records and the media."
On May 3, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved en bloc, by voice vote, H.R. 1625, the Targeted Rewards for the Global Eradication of Human Trafficking (TARGET) Act, and H.R. 2200, the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Reauthorization Act, as amended. Sponsored by Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), the TARGET Act would authorize the State Department’s rewards program to target transnational organized crime rings that engage in severe forms of human trafficking.
The legislation would reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-386) through 2021. Among other provisions, the measure would reauthorize several programs to support victims of, and individuals vulnerable to, human trafficking. It also would bolster federal efforts to prevent human trafficking: the bill would ensure that US procurement does not fund human trafficking; training to recognize human trafficking among certain air carriers would be required. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ).
On May 2, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations held a hearing, "Winning the Fight Against Human Trafficking: The Frederick Douglass Reauthorization Act." The hearing focused on efforts to combat human trafficking, specifically H.R. 2200, the Frederick Douglass Reauthorization Act of 2017. The Foreign Affairs Committee approved H.R. 2200 on May 3.
The hearing also emphasized the importance of increasing efforts to prevent girls in the foster care system from becoming victims of sex trafficking. According to the hearing, 60 percent of child victims of human trafficking have been in the foster care system.
The following witness testified: Robert Benz, co-founder and executive vice president, Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives; Jo Becker, advocacy director, children’s rights division, Human Rights Watch; Tim Gehring, policy and research manager, International Justice Mission; Melysa Sperber, director, Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking; and Malika Saada Saar, human rights lawyer, co-founder and former executive director, Human Rights Project for Girl(s).
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