Committee’s action comes after Guardian investigation revealed rollbacks of anti-trafficking efforts; Trump administration says it is committed to fighting trafficking
The House foreign affairs committee unanimously passed an amendment to the US Department of State’s budget late Wednesday that would require additional congressional oversight of the government’s efforts to combat human trafficking in the United States and around the world.
The bipartisan agreement came hours after the Guardian published an investigation that revealed the Trump administration had dramatically rolled back efforts to fight human trafficking across the federal government.
That included a more than 70% reduction of the workforce at the state department’s office to monitor and combat trafficking in persons (Tip office), which is responsible for leading anti-trafficking efforts across the US government.
“This is a bipartisan instance of accountability over the administration that we see far too rarely in this Congress,” the measure’s sponsor, Representative Sarah McBride, said after the move received unanimous support in the committee.
