House Financial Services Committee Votes Unanimously in Favor of the End Banking for Human Traffickers Act of 2017 (H.R.2219)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to advance legislation targeting the financing of human trafficking, in a move welcomed by the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition.

The End Banking for Human Traffickers Act of 2017 (H.R.2219) would add the Secretary of the Treasury to the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking, and assign the task force with generating recommendations to specifically target money laundering related to human trafficking.  Additionally, it would task the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council with reviewing and enhancing anti-money laundering programs to target human trafficking operations. It would also assign the Department of State with reporting on anti-money laundering efforts related to human trafficking.

Clark Gascoigne, the deputy director of the FACT Coalition, issued the following statement:

“Human trafficking is a uniquely heinous crime driven by a very common motivation — greed.  It’s estimated that human trafficking generates roughly $150 billion in illicit profits each year, making it one of the largest illegal industries in the world.  For too long, policymakers have neglected the financial aspect to this crime.  The End Banking for Human Traffickers Act is a strong first step toward reorienting our approach to combat the underlying driver of this illicit industry.”

Earlier this week, the FACT Coalition sent a letter to members of the House Financial Services Committee in support of H.R.2219.  The letter can be found here.

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Journalist Contact:

Clark Gascoigne
Deputy Director, The FACT Coalition
+1 202 810-1334
cgascoigne@thefactcoalition.org