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.