ATEST Requests Biden-Harris Administration Dedicate $1.25 Billion to Combat Human Trafficking in Fiscal Year 2024

ATEST Requests Biden-Harris Administration Dedicate $1.25 Billion to Combat Human Trafficking in Fiscal Year 2024

October 5, 2022 • 12:42 pm • Terry FitzPatrick

WASHINGTON – The scale of forced labor is increasing worldwide, and the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST) is recommending the U.S. government increase funding to meet the growing human rights challenge of labor and sex trafficking inside the U.S. and around the globe. Our Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) request to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) totals $1.25 billion for anti-trafficking programs at the Department of State (DOS), Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor (DOL), Justice (DOJ), Education (DOE), Homeland Security (DHS), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

A lot has happened since our annual budget request to OMB last year: new global estimates of the scope of modern slavery have come out; the new U.S. National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking has been released; USAID's updated Counter-Trafficking in Persons policy has been released; DHS has continued to consolidate coordination of its activities under its new Center for Countering Human Trafficking; the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act has come into force; DOL has released a new  list of goods prohibited from import into the U.S. because they are tainted by forced or child labor; Trafficking Victims Protection Act reauthorization is close to final congressional approval; and a wave of vulnerable refugees has been created by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

ATEST has taken these developments into account in our FY24 requests for U.S. government programs, as well as longstanding inequities – such as entrenched cultural norms and discriminatory political, social, and economic power structures – that create vulnerability to human trafficking. We are asking for significant increases, especially for HHS programs and at-risk youth programs, emphasizing prevention strategies and services for victims/survivors.

The U.S. is a global leader in creating a whole-of-government approach to combating human trafficking. But funding remains insufficient to meet the magnitude of the problem. We urge the Biden-Harris Administration to increase resources to expand programs at federal agencies and provide grants to the many civil society organizations working on the front lines.

The Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking is a U.S.-based coalition that advocates for solutions to prevent and end all forms of human trafficking and modern slavery around the world. We advocate for lasting solutions to prevent forced labor and sex trafficking, hold perpetrators accountable, ensure justice for victims and empower survivors with tools for recovery. Our collective experience implementing programs at home and abroad provides our coalition an unparalleled breadth and depth of expertise.

ATEST member organizations include: Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST), Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), Covenant House, Free the Slaves, HEAL Trafficking, Human Trafficking Institute, Human Trafficking Legal Center, Humanity United Action (HUA), McCain Institute for International Leadership, National Network for Youth (NN4Y), Polaris, Safe Horizon, Solidarity Center, T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, United Way Worldwide, Verité, and Vital Voices Global Partnership.

Contact: ATEST Director Terry FitzPatrick | [email protected] | 571-282-9913

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