The Senate recently passed the Preventing Child Trafficking Act of 2025, a bipartisan bill designed to strengthen coordination between the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to stop child trafficking and protect victims.
The bill was sponsored by Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and requires the two departments to collaborate on implementing strategies to prevent child trafficking and support its survivors.
The departments will also need to collaborate on establishing performance goals for anti-trafficking programs. These programs will need to be proactive and set reasonable goals.
The bill will also require the departments to submit a report to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and House of Representatives. This report will need to be submitted after the enactment of this bill and include each step taken to implement these programs.
This legislation comes as a response to a 2023 report from the Government Accountability Office, which found that no mechanisms were ever established to facilitate inter-departmental collaboration.
The report concluded that improving collaboration would “enable the offices to overcome challenges specific to children and meet the distinct needs of child trafficking survivors.”
Sen. Jon Ossoff spoke on the floor of the Senate to advocate for the passage of this bill, appealing to President Donald Trump with common ground concerns.
“I’ve got two young daughters at home, Mr. President, and I know that there is no more fundamental question for any human being than ‘is my child safe?’” Ossoff questioned. “And that’s why here in the Senate, despite whatever differences and divisions we might have, we have to work together to protect children from trafficking.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley made a similar appeal when he spoke on the Senate floor, appealing to the idea of a safer future for children nationwide. “Preventing future instances of trafficking is very, very essential, and I’m happy to support this bill’s advancement today,” Grassley stated.
