President Trump signed a congressional budget package in law Wednesday that includes a provision made by Senator Josh Hawley to increase efforts to combat child trafficking.
What We Know: The president signed a $70 billion reconciliation package which he called the “Secure America Act”. Included in the wide-ranging package is a measure to combat child exploitation created by Senator Josh Hawley from Missouri.
His plan gives the Department of Homeland Security $108.5 million to hire 200 new child exploitation investigators and analysts. DHS currently only has 7 full-time specialists.
What It Means: Hawley says the plan will provide a generational investment to both identify and rescue unidentified victims.
The plan sees DHS hiring 40 additional forensic analysts, 30 child exploitation investigators and 130 additional investigators who can do both roles at field offices.
It also calls to create a victim identification training program for all law enforcement agencies to better coordinate investigations.
What They’re Saying: Senator Hawley worked with former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow on the measure.
Hawley said in a statement, “My legislation with Tim Tebow to rescue thousands of kids from online child exploitation was just signed into law by President Trump. I want to thank the President for leading on this vital issue. This is the largest surge against child trafficking ever by the federal government. Time is of the essence. Let’s rescue these children.”
(Photo courtesy of Josh Hawley, U.S. Senate)