I am writing to urge you to act to protect funding for human trafficking victim services by urging the Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime to release the FY25 TVPA victim services Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs). These lifesaving services are the backbone of the US anti-trafficking response and ensure that survivors have a safe place to sleep, healthcare, food, and counseling. If the DOJ does not make new grant decisions before the end of this fiscal year, survivors will face drastic gaps in services across the country.
Congress established these victim services programs in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and subsequent reauthorizations (TVPA). Congress has overwhelmingly voted to continue these programs over the last 25 years and increase funding to ensure survivors across the country are able to escape and access what they need to survive. Congress should take action to ensure the Department of Justice distributes grant funds in accordance with the TVPA and Congressional appropriations. Protecting and fully funding these lifesaving programs is critical to protecting survivors and preventing re-exploitation.
I urge you to protect all victim services that survivors in the US need to survive, including the TVPA victim services grants. You should urge the US Attorney General to ensure appropriated funds are spent in accordance with the law, and urge the DOJ to release the TVPA solicitations immediately. Survivors in your district rely on these grants to escape trafficking and rebuild their lives. Allowing these funds to disappear would enable human trafficking and put survivors’ lives at risk.
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