We’re winning the fight against child sexual exploitation. Why cut funding now?

[nathan1977]

This is important.

Congress has a chance to help by passing the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act before the law expires this year. Failure to do so — and failure to fund its programs — sends a simple message to people who buy and sell other human beings: Feel free.

We’re winning the fight against child sexual exploitation. Why cut funding now? - The Washington Post

 

[BVS]

This is what happens when you have "big government" debates.

Children are getting hurt left and right with cuts in education and acts such as this, while a "war on drugs"(must be considered small government) that we've been losing for decades wastes trillions.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

It's a matter of priorities and playing politics with the lives of kids and women

 

[yolland]

I don't think actually passing the TVPA will be a problem--in the past it's cleared both houses unanimously; the issues will be how much money gets allocated to the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP), and whether and what provisions are included to ensure that countries which warrant a Tier III rating (inadequate anti-trafficking efforts, and hence threat of aid cuts) get one. The bill was just introduced in the Senate last week by Dick Durbin (D-IL), S.1259, and is now under consideration by the Committee on Foreign Relations, so at present the way to take direct action on this would be to contact your Senator if you're so inclined.

Congress cut the State Department's budget across the board last spring, by $8 billion, and G/TIP falls under the DoS, which is how it lost a quarter of what had been its $21.2 million budget.

Incidentally, the TVPA covers far more than child sex trafficking; millions of men, women, boys and girls in dozens of countries worldwide currently live hideously wretched lives of forced labor, forced prostitution, forced domestic servitude and as child soldiers, and they all desperately need and deserve help.

 

[nathan1977]

Agree. Symbolic action will not save the lives of those who have been forced into a life of slavery, servitude and prostitution. It would be nice to see the USA lead in this area.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

We have representatives who don't even care about a looming deadline to prevent people from losing Social Security and VA checks and who knows what else. So I don't think they're going to put too much effort into child sexual exploitation either.

Just keep those pork projects going though