(COLUMBUS, Ohio)-Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today joined Attorneys General from 41 States and 4 Territories in urging Congress to pass the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) by the end of the year. The request was made in a letter sent to House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and other the leaders of the House and Senate.
"Human trafficking and slavery criminal cases are often complicated and involve lengthy legal proceedings requiring additional resources for prosecutors as well as victims," DeWine and the Attorneys General said in their letter. "We cannot lose sight of the needless human tragedies that are occurring within and beyond our borders."
The TVPRA would reenact a previous federal law, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), which Congress let expire last year. TVPA was reauthorized three times by Congress, most recently in 2008. TVPRA, like the previous law, would provide funding to prosecutors and investigators to bring human traffickers to justice. The law would also provide funding to help victims of human trafficking.
Since becoming Attorney General, DeWine has worked to focus attention on the issue of human trafficking. In 2011, he re-established the Attorney General's Human Trafficking Commission, continuing the work of a previous statutory commission which had ceased operations. The Commission released an in-depth report on the scope of human trafficking in Ohio in August. DeWine also worked to support the enactment of HB 262, which increased penalties for human trafficking convictions and offered assistance to trafficking victims. That bill was signed into law by Governor John Kasich in June.
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Documents
Attorneys' General Letter to Congress (PDF)
Media Contacts
Dan Tierney: 614-466-3840
Jill Del Greco: 614-466-3840