To the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports S. 2991, the Countering Human Trafficking Act of 2021. This important legislation would provide a government-wide approach to prevent human trafficking and deepen partnerships with the private sector.

S. 2991 would codify the Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT), the intercomponent operations center within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to counter human trafficking and increase staff from 28 to at least 45 employees. Also, this bill would authorize DHS to transfer the Blue Campaign and other departmental functions and resources combating human trafficking to CCHT, thus aligning the awareness campaign with the agency’s enforcement and investigative priorities.

This bill would, among other things, require CCHT to establish an Operations Unit to support law enforcement investigations of human trafficking and provide intelligence to enforcement efforts, and a Protection and Awareness Programs Unit, responsible for assisting victims and administering training and public awareness campaigns. These units would be key conduits to bolster DHS’s outreach efforts with the business community. CCHT’s strategy to improve the systems and processes used throughout DHS to combat human trafficking and the importation of goods produced with forced labor will require partnerships with key stakeholders, including the business community, to address the scope of the problem.

Further, this bill would spur development of new technologies to help law enforcement officials better manage analytical and data sharing capabilities, including formation of a Human Trafficking Information Modernization Initiative. The Chamber urges you to support this bill.

Download the letter here.