House Approves Legislation to Prevent Human Trafficking in Transportation

Two pieces of bipartisan legislation aimed at preventing human trafficking in transportation have been presented to the President for his signature after they passed the U.S. House of Representatives.
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Two pieces of bipartisan legislation aimed at preventing human trafficking in transportation have been presented to the President for his signature after they passed the U.S. House of Representatives.

The House in December approved S. 1532, the No Human Trafficking on Our Roads Act, and S. 1536, the Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act under suspension of the rules.

The No Human Trafficking on Our Roads Act, S. 1532, introduced by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), disqualifies individuals from operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) for their lifetime if they used a CMV to commit a felony involving human trafficking.

The Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act, S. 1536, introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and co-sponsored by Sen. Thune, directs the Secretary of Transportation to designate a human trafficking prevention coordinator from within the Department, makes human trafficking prevention activities eligible for two Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) grant programs, and directs the Secretary to establish an advisory committee on human trafficking.

NATSO and the NATSO Foundation underscored the truckstop and travel plaza industry’s commitment to combating human trafficking in July 2017 when the Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing to explore the role that transportation providers play in combating human trafficking.

NATSO submitted a statement for the record with respect to how the travel plaza and truckstop industry is combating human trafficking.

The NATSO Foundation has been helping members of the truckstop and travel plaza community engage in the fight against human trafficking since 2012. The NATSO Foundation’s goal is to provide the truckstop and travel plaza industry with the necessary tools to train owners, operators and employees so that those individuals are equipped to help if they encounter a victim of this horrible crime.

All members of the truckstop and travel plaza community are encouraged to take the NATSO Foundation’s online course titled, “The Role of Truckstops in Combating Human Trafficking” to learn how to recognize and respond to suspected incidents of human trafficking. The course is available free of charge so that any member of the truckstop and travel plaza industry can leverage this educational resource. The course can be accessed at www.natso.com/onlinelearning.

Additional resources for the truckstop and travel plaza community may be found at https://www.natso.com/human-trafficking.

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