This week, the House of Representatives focused on a topic that doesn’t make the headlines on a daily basis, but is a widespread problem that isn’t going away and needs to be mentioned more often.

The House voted on 12, bipartisan and important, bills to combat the scourge of human trafficking, which is the trade of human beings for exploitation. These bills would help our nation’s law enforcement stop traffickers and those who profit from trafficking; help victim survivors recover from its lasting effects; and train public servants on how to properly detect human trafficking. Before I dive into a couple of bills that I think were particularly important, I want to share some alarming numbers about the widespread nature of this problem.

The Department of Homeland Security estimates that there are 20 million individuals who are victims of human trafficking worldwide. And according to a 2013 Congressional Research Service report, more than 17,000 people are trafficked into the United States each year. Within those 17,000 individuals, some are forced into labor, exploited for sex, or sold into prostitution rings. This terrible exploitation of humans through trafficking is a $32 billion per year illicit industry – second only to drug trafficking. Not only are those numbers completely staggering, but this is an issue that does not often get the attention that it deserves, considering the scope of the problem.

While I wish I could discuss the importance of each and every one of the 12 anti-human trafficking bills that I was proud to support this week, I do want to highlight a couple of them.

The Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation Act, authored and championed by my friend and fellow Missourian, Congresswoman Ann Wagner, would amend the U.S. Criminal Code to make illegal knowingly advertising a victim for a commercial sex act, or knowingly benefiting from such an advertisement. Basically, this legislation would allow prosecution of website providers who are profiting from advertising the exploitation of victims of human trafficking. Congresswoman Wagner has been a real leader on this issue, and I was proud to cast my vote for her bill. 

I was also proud to support the Trafficking Awareness Training for Health Care Act. This legislation would direct the Secretary of Health Human Services and the Director of the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality to establish grant programs for eligible medical or nursing schools to develop strategies to identify victims of human trafficking. Health care professionals are among the few professionals to interact with trafficked women and girls and this legislation would give these professionals the guidance and training to assist these individuals. 

While much of the media stays focused on sensational news to garner the biggest ratings and headlines, I was very pleased that the House came together, across party lines, and overwhelmingly approved these 12 bills. It is my hope that the Senate will soon take them up and pass them as well.  I know more must be done to end this epidemic yet the House’s actions this week are great steps in the right direction to helping end the scourge of human trafficking.