by Sabrina Salas
Matanane
Guam - Press release:
Attorney General Leonardo M. Rapadas, together with his colleagues of The
National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), sent a letter to
congressional leaders urging them to pass the Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) by the end of the year in order to adequately fund
programs to combat human trafficking and modern-day slavery.
The NAAG letter, signed by a total of 46 state and territorial
attorneys general, offers specific funding recommendations for programs within
the U.S. Dept. of Justice, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, and U.S.
Dept. of Homeland Security to curtail the human trafficking industry and
provide the resources necessary to rehabilitate survivors, both U.S. citizens
and foreign nationals
"We need to be aggressive to secure proper funding for these
victims and training for our law enforcement. They cannot be forgotten as our
overall budgets shrink," said Attorney General Leonardo M. Rapadas.
Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing criminal
industries in the world, generating over $32 billion in profits to traffickers
annually, according to some estimates.
In December 2008, Congress reauthorized the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act (TVPA), and it has been renewed three times since, but it needs
to be reauthorized by the end of this year or it will expire. "We understand
the tremendous fiscal challenges the nation faces. However, during this time,
we cannot lose sight of the needless human tragedies that are occurring within
and beyond our borders," reads the NAAG letter.
