I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2961 
To reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 17, 2025 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. MFUME, Mr. MCCAUL, Ms. SALA-
ZAR, Mr. JACK, Mr. CUELLAR, Mrs. WAGNER, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, and 
Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on 
Education and Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 
2000, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Frederick Douglass 
Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthor-
ization Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 
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(3) in the heading of subparagraph (C), by in-
serting ‘‘FOR FREDERICK DOUGLASS HUMAN TRAF-
FICKING
PREVENTION
EDUCATION
GRANTS’’ after 
‘‘PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS’’; 
(4) by amending subparagraph (D) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(D) PRIORITY.—In awarding Frederick 
Douglass Human Trafficking Prevention Edu-
cation Grants under this paragraph, the Sec-
retary shall— 
‘‘(i) give priority to local educational 
agencies serving a high-intensity child sex 
trafficking area or an area with significant 
child labor trafficking; 
‘‘(ii) give additional priority to local 
educational agencies that partner with 
non-profit organizations specializing in 
human trafficking prevention education, 
which partner with law enforcement and 
technology or social media companies, to 
assist in training efforts to protect children 
from labor trafficking and sexual exploi-
tation and abuse including grooming, ma-
terials depicting the sexual abuse of chil-
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dren, and human trafficking transmitted 
through technology; and 
‘‘(iii) consult, as appropriate, with the 
Secretary of Education, the Secretary of 
Housing and Urban Development, the Sec-
retary of the Interior, the Secretary of 
Labor, and the Attorney General, to iden-
tify the geographic areas in the United 
States with the highest prevalence of at- 
risk populations for child trafficking, in-
cluding children who are homeless youth, 
foster youth, youth involved in the child 
welfare system, and children and youth 
who run away from home or an out-of- 
home placement.’’; and 
(5) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(E) CRITERIA FOR SELECTION.—Grant-
ees should be selected based on their dem-
onstrated ability to— 
‘‘(i) engage stakeholders, including 
survivors of human trafficking, and Fed-
eral, State, local, or Tribal partners, to de-
velop the programs; 
‘‘(ii) train the trainers, guardians, K– 
12 students, teachers, and other school 
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personnel in an age-appropriate and trau-
ma-informed fashion; and 
‘‘(iii) create a scalable, repeatable pro-
gram or model, to be publicly available for 
distribution online, that can be adapted to 
address the needs of any school to prevent 
child labor trafficking, child sex traf-
ficking, and child sexual exploitation and 
abuse including grooming, child sexual 
abuse materials, and trafficking trans-
mitted through technology that— 
‘‘(I) uses evidence-based (as such 
term 
is 
defined 
in 
section 
8101(21)(A) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7801(21)(A))) best practices; 
and 
‘‘(II) employs appropriate techno-
logical tools and methodologies, in-
cluding age-appropriate and trauma- 
informed approaches for trainers, 
guardians, educators, and K–12 stu-
dents. 
‘‘(F) TRAIN
THE
TRAINERS.—For pur-
poses of subparagraph (E), the term ‘train the 
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trainers’ means having experienced or master 
trainers coach new trainers who are less experi-
enced with a particular topic or skill, or with 
training overall, who can then teach the mate-
rial to others, creating a broader reach, sustain-
ability, and making efforts cost- and time-effi-
cient (commonly referred to as ‘training of 
trainers’). 
‘‘(G) TARGET BENEFICIARIES.—The Sec-
retary shall consult with the Secretary of Edu-
cation, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development, and the Secretary of the Interior 
to determine the appropriate recipients or stu-
dents at risk of being trafficked or exploited, to 
be reported with respect to grants under this 
paragraph, which shall include, at a minimum, 
homeless youth, foster youth, youth involved in 
the child welfare system, and children and 
youth who run away from home or an out-of- 
home placement. 
‘‘(H) REPORT.—Not later than 540 days 
after the date of the enactment of this subpara-
graph, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services shall submit to the 
Committees on Education and Workforce, En-
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ergy and Commerce, and the Judiciary of the 
House of Representatives and the Committees 
on the Judiciary and Health, Education, Labor, 
and Pensions of the Senate and make available 
to the public a report, including data on the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(i) The total number of entities that 
received a Frederick Douglass Human 
Trafficking Prevention Education Grant 
over the past year. 
‘‘(ii) The total number of partnerships 
or consultants that included survivors, 
non-profit 
organizations 
specialized 
in 
human trafficking prevention education, 
law enforcement, and technology or social 
media companies. 
‘‘(iii) The total number of elementary 
and secondary schools that established and 
implemented evidence-based (as such term 
is defined in section 8101(21)(A) of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801(21)(A))) best 
practices 
through 
programs 
developed 
using such grants. 
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‘‘(iv) The total number and geo-
graphic distribution of trainers, guardians, 
students, teachers, and other school per-
sonnel trained using such grants pursuant 
to this paragraph. 
‘‘(v) The results of pre-training and 
post-training surveys to gauge trainees’ in-
creased understanding of the scope and 
signs of child trafficking and child sexual 
exploitation and abuse; how to interact 
with potential victims and survivors of 
child trafficking and child sexual exploi-
tation and abuse using age-appropriate 
and trauma-informed approach; and the 
manner in which to respond to potential 
child trafficking and child sexual exploi-
tation and abuse. 
‘‘(vi) The number of potential victims 
and survivors of child trafficking and child 
sexual exploitation and abuse identified 
and served by grantees, excluding any indi-
vidually identifiable information about such 
children and acting in full compliance with 
all applicable privacy laws and regulations. 
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‘‘(vii) The number of students in ele-
mentary or secondary school identified by 
grantees as being at risk of being traf-
ficked or sexually exploited and abused, ex-
cluding any individually identifiable infor-
mation about such children. 
‘‘(viii) The demographic characteris-
tics of child trafficking survivors and vic-
tims, sexually exploited and abused chil-
dren, and students at risk of being traf-
ficked or sexually exploited and abused de-
scribed in clauses (vi) and (vii), excluding 
any individually identifiable information 
about such children. 
‘‘(ix) Any service gaps and best prac-
tices identified by grantees.’’. 
SEC. 102. HUMAN TRAFFICKING SURVIVORS EMPLOYMENT 
AND EDUCATION PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services may carry out a Frederick Douglass 
Human Trafficking Survivors Employment and Education 
Program to prevent the re-exploitation of eligible individ-
uals who have been victims of trafficking, by assisting 
such individuals to integrate or reintegrate into society 
through social services support for the attainment of life- 
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skills, employment, and education necessary to achieve 
self-sufficiency. 
(b) SERVICES PROVIDED.—Services offered, pro-
vided, and funded by the Program shall include (as rel-
evant to the victim of trafficking)— 
(1) enrollment and participation in— 
(A) basic education, including literacy edu-
cation; 
(B) job-related skills training; 
(C) vocational and certificate programs; 
and 
(D) programs for attaining a regular high 
school diploma or its recognized equivalent; 
(2) life-skill training programs, including man-
agement of personal finances, self-care, and par-
enting classes; 
(3) re´sume´ creation and review; 
(4) interview coaching and counseling; 
(5) assistance with expungement of criminal 
records when such records are for nonviolent crimes 
that were committed as a consequence of the eligible 
individual’s victimization, including assistance with 
credit repair; 
(6) assistance with enrollment in college or 
technical school; 
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(7) scholarship assistance for attending college 
or technical school; 
(8) professional coaching or professional devel-
opment classes; 
(9) case management to develop an individual-
ized plan with each victim of trafficking, based on 
each person’s needs and goals; and 
(10) assistance with obtaining victim compensa-
tion, direct victim assistance, or other funds for 
mental health care. 
(c) SERVICE PERIOD.—Eligible individuals may re-
ceive services through the Program for a cumulative pe-
riod of 5 years. 
(d) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Subject to the 
availability of appropriations, the Secretary shall enter 
into cooperative agreements with one or more eligible or-
ganizations to carry out this section. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘eligible 
individual’’ means a victim of trafficking who— 
(A) has attained the age of 18 years; and 
(B) is eligible to receive services under sec-
tion 107(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protec-
tion Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7105(b)). 
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(2) ELIGIBLE
ORGANIZATION.—The ‘‘eligible 
organization’’ may include a nongovernmental orga-
nization and means a service provider that meets the 
following criteria: 
(A) Experience in using national or local 
anti-trafficking networks to serve victims of 
trafficking. 
(B) Experience qualifying, providing, and 
coordinating services for victims of trafficking, 
as described in subsection (b), that is trauma- 
informed. 
(C) A provider that has experience identi-
fying and assisting victims of trafficking, as 
such term is defined in section 103 of the Traf-
ficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 
U.S.C. 7102). 
(3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 
the Frederick Douglass Human Trafficking Sur-
vivors Employment and Education Program estab-
lished under this section. 
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 
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TITLE II—AUTHORIZATION OF 
APPROPRIATIONS 
SEC. 201. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATIONS UNDER THE 
VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING AND VIOLENCE 
PROTECTION ACT OF 2000. 
Section 113 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 
of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7110) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(1)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘To carry out the purposes 
of sections 106(b) and 107(b),’’ and inserting 
‘‘To carry out the purposes of sections 106(b) 
and 107(b) of this Act and sections 101 and 
102 of the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Vic-
tims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization 
Act of 2023,’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘$19,500,000’’ and all that 
follows, and inserting ‘‘$30,755,000 for each of 
the fiscal years 2025 through 2029, of which 
$5,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated in 
each fiscal year for the National Human Traf-
ficking Hotline and for cybersecurity and public 
education campaigns, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, for identifying 
and responding as needed to cases of human 
trafficking.’’; and 
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