Catholic anti-trafficking advocates urge Congress to pass stalled trafficking bill

Catholic anti-trafficking advocates urged Congress to pass legislation strengthening prevention efforts, expanding survivor protections, and combating online exploitation.

WASHINGTON — Catholic sisters, survivor advocates, and lawmakers gathered on Capitol Hill Tuesday to urge Congress to quickly pass bipartisan legislation they say would strengthen protections for victims of human trafficking and help prevent future exploitation.

Hosted by the Alliance to End Human Trafficking and the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, the July 14 congressional briefing focused on the need to reauthorize federal anti‑trafficking programs through fiscal 2029 and pass legislation to impose requirements on social media platforms to reduce harms to minors.

Sponsor Rep. Chris Smith, R‑New Jersey, titled his human trafficking bill the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2025 (H.R. 1144), and the measure is next up for House consideration. A separate bill, named the Kids Online Safety Act (S. 1748) by sponsor Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R‑Tennessee, has not yet seen action in the Senate Commerce Committee.

Smith’s legislation would reauthorize federal anti-trafficking programs while expanding prevention initiatives, survivor services, and law enforcement training.

Catholic advocates emphasize prevention

Advocates at the briefing argued that prevention must become the centerpiece of the nationʼs anti-trafficking strategy.

Sister Ann Scholz, SSND, a founding member of the Alliance to End Human Trafficking, said the time has come for Congress to move beyond simply raising awareness about trafficking.

“We believe this Congress has the opportunity to enact two pieces of bipartisan legislation that will move us closer to ending the scourge of human trafficking,” Scholz said, describing both bills as measures that emphasize prevention and protect vulnerable populations.

Fran Eskin-Royer, executive director for National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, said Congress has allowed the legislation to languish despite bipartisan backing. She said reauthorization would strengthen prevention efforts while updating federal responses to evolving forms of exploitation.

“Both bills are not new. Theyʼve been around, and they are not moving … We need everyone to contact their members of Congress and urge that this bill pass,” Eskin-Royer told “EWTN News Nightly” host Veronica Dudo.

The briefing featured survivor leaders, legal experts, clinicians, and service providers who argued that preventing trafficking requires greater investment in education, technology safeguards, and long-term support for survivors.

Gina Cavallo, president of the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking and a survivor of trafficking, told attendees that legislation such as H.R. 1144 could have dramatically changed the course of her life.

“Had these bills been put in place, this would not have happened to me,” she said. “My life could have been dramatically different.”

Cavallo recounted being failed by multiple institutions during her childhood, including family, schools, and law enforcement, leaving her vulnerable to exploitation. Rather than being recognized as a victim, she said, she was criminalized.

“I had my childhood taken, my dignity, my dreams — everything,” she said, urging lawmakers to continue treating human trafficking as a bipartisan issue centered on protecting human dignity.

Katie Boller Gosewisch, executive director of the Alliance to End Human Trafficking, told “EWTN News Nightly” that the crime remains vastly underreported worldwide.

“According to the Global Slavery Index, on any given day, about 50 million people are caught in human trafficking,” she said, noting that the figure includes forced marriage, organ trafficking, sex trafficking, and forced labor.

Smith calls for House vote

Smith told attendees the bill’s consideration has been delayed despite broad bipartisan support.

“It was supposed to be up yesterday,” Smith said, explaining that House leadership had postponed floor consideration. “Delay is denial. We need to get this bill on the floor.”

Smith, who authored the original Trafficking Victims Protection Act in 2000, said the legislation has led to thousands of prosecutions over the past two decades but argued that reauthorization is needed to strengthen prevention efforts, expand survivor services, and address emerging forms of exploitation.

Catholic leaders warn delay leaves greater risk

Advocates called on Congress to approve the legislation without further delay, arguing that every day of inaction leaves vulnerable people at greater risk.

“The reauthorization of this essential law has been delayed for too long,” the Alliance to End Human Trafficking said in a statement. “Every day it’s delayed is another day we fall short of our commitment to those affected by one of the most egregious violations of human dignity.”