Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) praised the U.S. Senate for passing H.R.4980, the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act, on Friday but urged additional action on 11 other anti-trafficking provisions that have been passed in the House of Representatives.
H.R. 4980 seeks to prevent child sex trafficking, focusing specifically on at-risk youth in the foster care system.
“Children within our foster care system are vulnerable to falling into the hands of human traffickers,” Noem said. “After months of bipartisan pressure from the House, I am very pleased that this bill will be delivered to the president’s desk. I’m hopeful it will put more tools in our arsenal as we work to identify and protect those who are at the greatest risk. Our efforts to combat this disgusting and illegal industry, however, must not end here. Now, the Senate must act on the rest of our bipartisan package before the end of the year so we don’t lose precious time to stop trafficking.”
Noem currently serves on a congressional task force in charge of developing stronger legislative solutions to sex trafficking and has been invited to participate in a congressional appropriations hearing on the issue.