This powerful tool to end human trafficking isn’t talked about enough

As Americans, we elect members of Congress to represent us in Washington, D.C. Through the electoral process, we empower these government officials to write and enact laws on our behalf. Sadly, it's a common belief that once our elected officials get to Washington, D.C., we no longer can have an impact on their decision-making.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The truth is that the entire role of Congress is to represent you – meaning you have a right to speak into the laws they write and enact and the programs they choose to fund. And if advocates aren’t speaking up for anti-trafficking policies and funding, those elected officials will turn their attention to other competing priorities.

What does Congress have to do with ending slavery?

For years, advocates like you have signed petitions, sent letters, recorded videos, made phone calls, sent tweets and visited congressional offices in person to tell your elected officials about the realities of human trafficking and ask them to use their power to end it. And it made a difference.

Over twenty-five years ago, awareness about the realities of modern slavery drove unprecedented action in Congress, and the U.S. government passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000. This comprehensive law equipped the U.S. government with the legal framework and resources to address human trafficking at home and abroad. It also established the U.S. government’s key anti-trafficking office – the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office).

In its first year, the TIP Office managed about $9 million in funding. In fiscal years 2024 and 2025, Congress dedicated $111 million for foreign assistance programming to combat human trafficking and $23.1 million for the TIP Office’s staffing and administration.

Among its key leadership duties, the TIP Office awards critical grants for trafficking prevention, protection for survivors, training for law enforcement and legal support, among many other key strategies. The TIP Office also produces the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report, a powerful diplomatic tool that sheds light on whether countries are meeting the minimum standards established in the TVPA. Together, the report and grants serve as the U.S. government’s primary mechanisms to combat trafficking, enabling significant reforms around the world.

Citizen advocacy has also led to other congressionally established initiatives against human trafficking like the Child Protection Compacts (CPC) and the Program to End Modern Slavery (PEMS). This incredible progress has mobilized lifesaving work all around the world and would never have happened unless concerned citizens like you stood up, spoke out and made their views known to their representatives.

But the work isn’t over. We still need people like you to regularly advocate for ending human trafficking.

Why?

Enter the annual federal budget and appropriations process.

U.S. foreign assistance can help save lives.

Each year, Congress is responsible for determining how the U.S. government spends taxpayer dollars. The House and Senate both have appropriations committees, and those committees have subcommittees responsible for allocating funds to different areas of the federal government. They take time to review spending requests and needs before drafting a bill for the full Senate or House of Representatives to vote on.

This budget and appropriations process determines whether the U.S. government’s critical anti-trafficking programs actually get funded on an annual basis.

Here’s where you come in.

As an American who cares about ending human trafficking around the world, it’s time to reach out to your members of Congress and urge them to protect funds for the State Department’s anti-trafficking programs.

With just a couple clicks, you can share a pre-written email with your elected officials, letting them know this issue is important to you.