U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) have successfully pushed the Enduring Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act through the Senate. According to Cornyn, the bill would correct a technical error in existing statute, and permanently extend a criminal penalty requiring certain offenders found guilty of human trafficking and abuse to pay a special assessment fine, which would go towards the Domestic Trafficking Victims Fund operated by the Department of Justice.
“It is only right and just for vile predators who are guilty of trafficking, abuse, and exploitation to be penalized and held accountable for the unimaginable pain they inflicted on innocent victims,” said Sen. Cornyn. “I was proud to author the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act a decade ago, and I’m looking forward to building on its successes by permanently codifying into law this criminal penalty requiring offenders to pay a fine that benefits survivors on their path to healing.”
Cornyn previously authored the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, which was signed into law in 2015, with a goal to target predators who seek to exploit people for human trafficking. The law mandated the collection of a $5,000 special assessment from persons convicted of certain federal offenses related to human trafficking and sexual exploitation, but that provision was subject to sunset.
“For over a decade, we have been working across the aisle to strengthen and reauthorize our Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. Our work has helped curb trafficking in Minnesota and around the country,” said Sen. Klobuchar. “This bill ensures critical programs that help support survivors and improve the tools available to federal, state, and local law enforcement will remain available in the future.”
Payments from guilty offenders are deposited to the Department of Justice’s Domestic Trafficking Victims’ Fund, which provides survivors with restorative services and assists law enforcement with anti-trafficking operations. It is estimated that the fund has accumulated more than $100 million in total deposits for survivors since its inception. In 2024 alone, it raised nearly $9 million.
