WASHINGTON –U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) earned a perfect ‘A’ rating from the nonprofit U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking (USIAHT) for his record authoring and supporting legislation to end human trafficking in Texas and around the globe.
“Since even before I set foot in the U.S. Senate, combatting human trafficking has been a top priority of mine,” said Sen. Cornyn. “I’ve proudly used my platform to pass multiple bipartisan bills in support of victims and law enforcement working to curb the scourge of modern-day slavery, and I thank the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking for their work to amplify these efforts.”
Sen. Cornyn’s recent accomplishments to help end human trafficking:
- Authored the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, now law, to empower law enforcement to crack down on human traffickers while bringing about greater restitution and justice for victims. It also helps victims rebuild their lives by using fines and penalties against perpetrators to improve the availability of restitution and witness assistance funds.
- Authored the Abolish Human Trafficking Act, now law, to strengthen and reauthorize key programs supporting survivors of human trafficking and provide resources to law enforcement officials working to combat modern-day slavery.
- Authored the PROTECT Our Children Act, now law, to fight online sexual exploitation of children through the reauthorization of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program, a national network of 61 coordinated task forces representing 3,500 federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies.
- Authored the Human Trafficking Survivor Tax Relief Act to allow trafficking survivors to get back on their feet by exempting civil damages, restitution, and other monetary awards given to human trafficking survivors from federal income taxes.
- Authored the Cybertipline Modernization Act, now law, which cracks down on online child exploitation by facilitating the reporting of imminent or planned exploitation of children online to provide opportunities for intervention before children are harmed, and by expanding legal authorities to include all visual content, including videos and images.
- Cosponsored and supported the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, now law, which allows officers to use federal Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants to train for trafficking recognition and response, reauthorizes federal grants to combat sex trafficking of minors, and establishes the Public-Private Partnership Advisory Council to End Human Trafficking.
- Supported the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA-SESTA), now law, to clarify the ability to prosecute based on websites that unlawfully promote and facilitate prostitution and trafficking.
- Supported the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act, now law, to hold adults who work with children through youth sports accountable for reporting suspected child abuse.