III 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 60 

Supporting the goals and ideals of observing the National Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Month from January 1 through February 1, 2015, 

to raise awareness of, and opposition to, modern slavery. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 30, 2015 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. KIRK, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. TOOMEY, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. COONS, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. BROWN, Mrs. 

SHAHEEN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. KAINE, Ms. HEITKAMP, Mr. KING, 

Mr. MARKEY, Mr. ISAKSON, and Mr. RUBIO) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals and ideals of observing the National 

Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Month from January 

1 through February 1, 2015, to raise awareness of, and 

opposition to, modern slavery. 

Whereas the United States has a tradition of advancing fundamental human rights, having abolished the Transatlantic Slave Trade in 1808 and having abolished chattel 

slavery and prohibited involuntary servitude in 1865; 

Whereas because the people of the United States remain committed to protecting individual freedom, there is a national imperative to eliminate human trafficking, which is 

the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or 


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obtaining of persons for labor or services through the use 

of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection 

to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery, and the inducement of a commercial sex act by force, 

fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; 

Whereas to combat human trafficking in the United States 

and globally, the people of the United States, the Federal 

Government, and State and local governments must be 

aware of the realities of human trafficking and must be 

dedicated to stopping this contemporary manifestation of 

slavery; 

Whereas human trafficking is estimated to be a 

$32,000,000,000 criminal enterprise, making it the second largest criminal enterprise in the world, behind the 

drug trade; 

Whereas the United Nations estimates that nearly 

21,000,000 people around the world are victims of forced 

labor, including 4,500,000 people who are victims of 

forced sexual exploitation; 

Whereas the Department of Justice estimates that up to 83 

percent of sex trafficking victims in the United States are 

citizens of the United States; 

Whereas beyond all differences of race, creed, or political persuasion, the people of the United States face national 

threats together and refuse to let modern slavery exist in 

the United States and around the world; 

Whereas the United States should actively oppose all individuals, groups, organizations, and nations that support, advance, or commit acts of human trafficking; 


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Whereas through education, the United States must also 

work to end slavery in all of its forms around the world; 

Whereas victims of modern slavery need support in order to 

escape and recover from the physical, mental, emotional, 

and spiritual trauma associated with their victimization; 

Whereas human traffickers use many physical and psychological techniques to control their victims, including the 

use of violence or threats of violence against the victim 

or the victim’s family, isolation from the public, isolation 

from the victim’s family and religious or ethnic communities, language and cultural barriers, shame, control of 

the victim’s possessions, confiscation of passports and 

other identification documents, and threats of arrest, deportation, or imprisonment if the victim attempts to 

reach out for assistance or to leave; 

Whereas although laws to prosecute perpetrators of modern 

slavery and to assist and protect victims of human trafficking, such as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 

2000 (22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) and title XII of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (Public Law 113–4; 127 Stat. 54), have been enacted in the 

United States, awareness of the issues surrounding slavery and trafficking by those people most likely to come 

into contact with victims is essential for effective enforcement because the techniques that traffickers use to keep 

their victims enslaved severely limit self-reporting; 

Whereas January 1 is the anniversary of the effective date 

of the Emancipation Proclamation; 

Whereas February 1 is the anniversary of the date on which 

President Abraham Lincoln signed the joint resolution 

sending the 13th Amendment to the States for ratificaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:23 Jan 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR60.ATS SR60

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tion, to forever declare that ‘‘Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude . . . shall exist within the United States, 

or any place subject to their jurisdiction’’ and is a date 

which has long been celebrated as National Freedom 

Day, as described in section 124 of title 36, United 

States Code; 

Whereas under its authority to enforce the 13th Amendment 

‘‘by appropriate legislation’’, Congress in the Trafficking 

Victims Protection Act of 2000 updated the post-Civil 

War involuntary servitude and slavery statutes and 

adopted an approach known as the ‘‘3P’’ approach of victim protection, vigorous prosecution, and prevention of 

human trafficking; and 

Whereas the effort by individuals, businesses, organizations, 

and governing bodies to commemorate January 11 as 

Human Trafficking Awareness Day represents one of the 

many positive examples of the commitment in the United 

States to raise awareness of, and to actively oppose, modern slavery: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate supports— 

2 (1) the goals and ideals of observing the Na3 tional Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Month 

4 from January 1 through February 1, 2015, to recog5 nize the vital role that the people of the United 

6 States have in ending modern slavery; 

7 (2) marking this observance with appropriate 

8 programs and activities culminating in the observ9 ance on February 1 of National Freedom Day, as 


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1 described in section 124 of title 36, United States 

2 Code; and 

3 (3) all other efforts to raise awareness of, and 

4 opposition to, human trafficking. 

Æ 


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