III 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 541 

Supporting the observation of National Trafficking and Modern Slavery Prevention Month during the period beginning on January 1, 2024, and 

ending on February 1, 2024, to raise awareness of, and opposition 

to, human trafficking and modern slavery. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2024 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. WYDEN, 

Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. COLLINS, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BROWN, and Ms. BUTLER) submitted the following 

resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the observation of National Trafficking and Modern Slavery Prevention Month during the period beginning on January 1, 2024, and ending on February 1, 

2024, to raise awareness of, and opposition to, human 

trafficking and modern slavery. 

Whereas the United States abolished the transatlantic slave 

trade in 1808 and 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 and 

modern slavery, which is commonly considered to mean— 


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•SRES 541 ATS 

(1) the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of an individual through the use of 

force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjecting 

that individual to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt 

bondage, or slavery; or 

(2) the inducement of a commercial sex act by force, 

fraud, or coercion, or in which the individual induced to 

perform that act is younger than 18 years of age; 

Whereas forced labor and human trafficking generates revenues of at least $150,000,000,000 annually worldwide, 

and there are an estimated 50,000,000 victims of human 

trafficking and modern slavery across the globe; 

Whereas victims of human trafficking are difficult to identify 

and are subject to manipulation, force, fraud, coercion, 

and abuse; 

Whereas children and youths experiencing homelessness are 

vulnerable and susceptible to manipulation, making them 

a prime target for the lucrative criminal industry of 

human trafficking; 

Whereas the Department of Justice has reported that human 

trafficking and modern slavery has been reported and investigated in each of the 50 States and the District of 

Columbia; 

Whereas the Department of State has reported that the top 

3 countries of origin of federally identified human trafficking victims in the United States in fiscal year 2021 

were the United States, Mexico, and Honduras; 

Whereas, to help businesses in the United States combat 

child labor and forced labor in global supply chains, the 

Department of Labor has identified 159 goods from 78 

countries that are made by child labor and forced labor; 


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•SRES 541 ATS 

Whereas, since 2007, the National Human Trafficking Hotline has identified 82,301 situations of human trafficking 

involving 164,839 victims; 

Whereas there are known risk factors that contribute to 

youths running away, including domestic violence, child 

sexual abuse, and neglect, and runaway youths who experience homelessness are potential targets for human trafficking; 

Whereas, in 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received over 18,400 reports of possible 

child sex trafficking; 

Whereas, of the more than 28,800 missing children reported 

to National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 

2023, 1 in 6 were likely victims of child sex trafficking; 

Whereas today, the average age of child sex trafficking victims reported missing to the National Center for Missing 

and Exploited Children is only 15 years old; 

Whereas youth experiencing homelessness experience high 

rates of human trafficking, and 1 in 5 homeless youths 

is a victim of sex trafficking, labor trafficking, or both; 

Whereas 22 percent of youths who experience homelessness 

were approached for paid sex on their first night of 

homelessness; 

Whereas LGBTQ youths are disproportionally affected, accounting for 33.8 percent of sex trafficking victims; 

Whereas youths facing homelessness have a lower probability 

of being trafficked if they have a supportive adult in their 

life; 

Whereas the Administration for Native Americans of the Department of Health and Human Services reports that 


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•SRES 541 ATS 

American Indian, Alaska Native, and Pacific Islander 

women and girls have a heightened risk for sex trafficking; 

Whereas the Department of Justice found that studies on the 

topic of human trafficking of American Indians and Alaska Natives suggest there are— 

(1) high rates of sexual exploitation of Native 

women and girls; 

(2) gaps in data and research on trafficking of 

American Indian and Alaska Native victims; and 

(3) barriers that prevent law enforcement agencies 

and victim service providers from identifying and responding appropriately to Native victims; 

Whereas, according to the Government Accountability Office, 

from fiscal year 2013 through fiscal year 2016, there 

were only 14 Federal investigations and 2 Federal prosecutions of human trafficking offenses in Indian country; 

Whereas, to combat human trafficking and modern slavery in 

the United States and globally, the people of the United 

States, the Federal Government, and State, Tribal, and 

local governments must be— 

(1) aware of the realities of human trafficking and 

modern slavery; and 

(2) dedicated to stopping the horrific enterprise of 

human trafficking and modern slavery; 

Whereas the United States should hold accountable all individuals, groups, organizations, governments, and countries that support, advance, or commit acts of human 

trafficking and modern slavery; 


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•SRES 541 ATS 

Whereas, through education, the United States must also 

work to end human trafficking and modern slavery in all 

forms in the United States and around the world; 

Whereas victims of human trafficking deserve a trauma-informed approach that integrates the pursuit of justice 

and provision of social services designed to help them escape, and recover from, the physical, mental, emotional, 

and spiritual trauma they endured; 

Whereas combating human trafficking requires a whole-ofgovernment effort that rests on a unified and coordinated 

response among Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies 

and that places equal value on the prevention of trafficking, the identification and stabilization of victims, and 

the investigation and prosecution of traffickers; 

Whereas laws to prosecute perpetrators of human trafficking 

and to assist and protect victims of human trafficking 

and modern slavery have been enacted in the United 

States, including— 

(1) the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 

(22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.); 

(2) title XII of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (Public Law 113–4; 127 Stat. 

136); 

(3) the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 

2015 (Public Law 114–22; 129 Stat. 227); 

(4) sections 910 and 914(e) of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (Public Law 

114–125; 130 Stat. 239 and 274); 

(5) section 1298 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (22 U.S.C. 7114); 

(6) the Abolish Human Trafficking Act of 2017 

(Public Law 115–392; 132 Stat. 5250); 


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•SRES 541 ATS 

(7) the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2017 

(Public Law 115–393; 132 Stat. 5265); 

(8) the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2018 

(Public Law 115–425; 132 Stat. 5472); 

(9) the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–427; 132 Stat. 5503); 

(10) the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022 (Public Law 117–103; 136 Stat. 840); 

(11) the Abolish Trafficking Reauthorization Act of 

2022 (Public Law 117–347; 136 Stat. 6199); 

(12) the Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2022 (Public Law 117–348; 

136 Stat. 6211); and 

(13) the End Human Trafficking in Government 

Contracts Act of 2022 (Public Law 117–211; 136 Stat. 

2248); 

Whereas the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 

(Public Law 114–22; 129 Stat. 227) established the 

United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking to 

provide a formal platform for survivors of human trafficking to advise and make recommendations on Federal 

anti-trafficking policies to the Interagency Task Force to 

Monitor and Combat Trafficking established by the 

President; 

Whereas the Department of Defense, the General Services 

Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration issued a final rule (80 Fed. Reg. 4967) 

to implement Executive Order 13627, entitled ‘‘Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal Contracts’’, that clarifies the policy of the United 

States on combating trafficking in persons as outlined in 


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the Federal Acquisition Regulation by strengthening the 

prohibition on contractors from charging employee recruitment fees; 

Whereas, although such laws and regulations are currently in 

force, it is essential to increase public awareness, particularly among individuals who are most likely to come into 

contact with victims of human trafficking and modern 

slavery, regarding conditions and dynamics of human 

trafficking and modern slavery, precisely because traffickers use techniques that are designed to severely limit 

self-reporting and evade law enforcement; 

Whereas January 1 is the anniversary of the effective date 

of the Emancipation Proclamation; 

Whereas February 1 is— 

(1) the anniversary of the date on which President 

Abraham Lincoln signed the joint resolution sending the 

13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United 

States to the States for ratification to forever declare, 

‘‘Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a 

punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been 

duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or 

any place subject to their jurisdiction’’; and 

(2) a date that has long been celebrated as National 

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

United States Code; and 

Whereas, under the authority of Congress to enforce the 13th 

Amendment to the Constitution of the United States ‘‘by 

appropriate legislation’’, Congress, through the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7101 

et seq.), updated the post-Civil War involuntary servitude 

and slavery statutes and adopted an approach of victim 

protection, vigorous prosecution, and prevention of 


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human trafficking, commonly known as the ‘‘3P’’ approach: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate supports— 

2 (1) observing National Trafficking and Modern 

3 Slavery Prevention Month during the period begin4 ning on January 1, 2024, and ending on February 

5 1, 2024, to recognize the vital role that the people 

6 of the United States have in ending human traf7 ficking and modern slavery; 

8 (2) marking the observation of National Traf9 ficking and Modern Slavery Prevention Month with 

10 appropriate programs and activities, culminating in 

11 the observance on February 1, 2024, of National 

12 Freedom Day, as described in section 124 of title 

13 36, United States Code; 

14 (3) urging continued partnerships with Federal, 

15 State, Tribal, and local agencies, as well as survivors 

16 of human trafficking, social service providers, and 

17 nonprofit organizations to address human trafficking 

18 with a collaborative, victim-centered approach; and 

19 (4) all other efforts to prevent, eradicate, and 

20 raise awareness of, and opposition to, human traf21 ficking and modern slavery. 

Æ 


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