The Trafficking in Persons Office works worldwide to draw attention to instances of trafficking and mobilize individuals and governments to bring an end to modern-day slavery. Currently, its main functions are to report annually on trafficking worldwide (thus placing positive pressure on countries to improve their response to the issue) and to provide grants to organizations that are combatting global slavery.

The Human Trafficking Prioritization Act, which has passed unanimously out of the House of Representatives and is now up for vote in the Senate, will elevate the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Office into a State Department Bureau. This change has no fiscal impact and will add no bureaucracy, but it will help ensure that human trafficking is given the priority it deserves in our nation's foreign policy decisions.

Colorado Senator Michael Bennet has co-sponsored this bill, and we are grateful that our state is on the list of states supporting this change! We now would like Senator Mark Udall to join Senator Bennet in supporting S. 1249.

Senator Udall, we are dedicated to eradicating slavery, and we hope that Colorado will be one of the states known for being on the forefront of this fight. Please co-sponsor the Human Trafficking Prioritization Act.