Human traffickers are in the business of exploiting others in order to make a financial profit. With this in mind, a piece of bi-partisan proposed federal legislation to address human trafficking in the United States has been reintroduced by Representative Bill Keating (D-MA). H.R. 295, “End Banking for Human Traffickers Act of 2019”, aims to provide financial institutions and regulators with the proper tools to both detect and prevent instances of human trafficking.
The impetus for this bill is the idea that many traffickers have abandoned a cash-only system in the pursuit of sophisticated banking; therefore, banks, money transfers, and credit cards are all used by traffickers to further advance their business and exploit their victims. Removing the trafficker’s access to a banking system could theoretically hinder their illicit activity. The legislation will amend portions of the Trafficking Victims Protection act of 2000 (TVPA) to increase collaboration between appropriate government agencies. For a more detailed report about this cutting-edge policy proposal, read our analysis.
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