Advisory Committee Advances Final Human Trafficking Report to Transportation Secretary

The Department of Transportation Advisory Committee on Human Trafficking (ACHT) formally voted to adopt its latest human trafficking report, advancing it to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, during the committee’s final public meeting Sept 6, 2024.

The report, titled “Preventing and Addressing Human Trafficking in the Transportation Sector,” must be submitted to Congress by November 2024. Secretary Buttigieg can either approve the report or return it to the committee for revision. A final report is due to Congress on November 15, 2024.

During the meeting, Annie Petsonk, Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs, said the new report serves as a “force multiplier for transportation employees” across all modes, “sensitizing them” to the issue of human trafficking and helping them to respond.

The ACHT report includes recommendations for U.S. DOT, Congress, states, private industry, associations and NGOs, and local transportation stakeholders in specific areas of leadership and funding; policies and reporting; partnerships; training and awareness; research and data; and victim and survivor support.

At a high level, the new report focuses on elevating the transportation sector’s human trafficking initiatives beyond education and training. Recommendations focus on the need to harmonize data collection while addressing data gaps, an evaluation of the role that technology can play in anti-trafficking efforts, and the impact of COVID-19 on existing human trafficking programs. The report further identifies evolving trends in human trafficking.

The advisory committee, which kicked off its first meeting in October 2023, was recharted under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and Congressionally mandated to produce a triennial counter-trafficking report with recommendations for countering human trafficking, an assessment of best practices by transportation stakeholders, and human trafficking violations involving commercial motor vehicles.

NATSO currently serves on DOT’s Advisory Committee on Human Trafficking and served for the inaugural 2018-2019 term. NATSO Vice President of Public Affairs Tiffany Wlazlowski Neuman served both terms.

Once the report has been submitted to Congress, NATSO will share it with industry and members.

Tiffany Wlazlowski Neuman

Wlazlowski Neuman leads NATSO and the NATSO Foundation’s public affairs initiatives and communications strategies to promote the truck stop and travel center industry to the public, opinion leaders, elected officials, and the media. Her outreach includes a spectrum of policy issues facing the industry, with a particular focus on transportation and fuel issues, truck parking, and human trafficking. She serves as NATSO’s representative on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Truck Parking Coalition, the Clean Freight Coalition, and various state truck parking technical advisory committees. She is the architect of the truck stop and travel center industry’s anti-human trafficking campaign and currently serves as a Committee member for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Human Trafficking Advisory Council. Wlazlowski Neuman serves on the American Highway Users Policy and Government Affairs Committee.

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