On June 19, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released the 2012 Trafficking in Persons Report, which ranks 184 countries, including the United States, on their efforts to combat human trafficking.
While the United States has long been a global leader in the fight against modern-day slavery, this Congress thus far has failed to pass the reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
This reauthorization bill, S. 1301, renews the landmark anti-trafficking act of 2000, which made human trafficking a federal crime and established the Trafficking in Persons Office to combat trafficking internationally.
Fighting slavery has always been a rare point of bipartisan cooperation in Washington.
As we near the anniversary of our nation’s founding — a nation “conceived in liberty,” in the words of President Abraham Lincoln — Congress should come together again to rid the world of slavery, once and for all.
I encourage Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe to co-sponsor the S. 1301, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act.
Laurel Coleman
Manchester
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