Monday, February 7, 2011

Support the Child Protection Compact Act

Did you know... that the CPCA was originally introduced in the House in early June of 2009? The bill, originally H.R. 2737, was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, but it never left the committee. No explanation was given. 

On March 25, 2010, the bill was introduced in the Senate as S. 3184. It was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where it was revised and then passed unanimously on Sept. 21, 2010. 

The bill was then placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders on September 28, 2010. It was expected to pass unanimously in November. It had overwhelming bipartisan support in both the Senate and the House...But the bill was never voted on. It was blocked by Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), who objected to spending for foreign aid. 

Don't let this happen again. Contact your representatives today and urge them to pass the Child Protection Compact Act of 2011!


About CPCA:

This legislation authorizes the Secretary of State to provide assistance through grants, cooperative agreements, and/or contracts to countries with a significant prevalence of child trafficking. In order to receive these resources, eligible countries must enter into a Child Protection Compact with the United States to support policies and programs to eradicate the trafficking of children.

The bill was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations, where it is currently being reviewed. The Child Protection Compact Act will provide incentives to "Tier 2" countries and "Tier 2 Watch-List" countries (as identified in the annual U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report) to protect and rescue children subjected to severe forms of trafficking in persons. 

The Compacts will aim to:

1. address institutional weaknesses within the government that result in the failure to protect vulnerable children and to rescue and properly rehabilitate victims;

2. increase local government capacity to apprehend perpetrators who engage in severe forms of trafficking in children and bring perpetrators to justice in national courts of law; and

3. ensure transparency and accountability in achieving the goals stipulated in the Compact over the course of its three-year implementation.

Eligible countries that enter into Compacts with the U.S. could receive up to $15 million in vital funding to combat child trafficking. Contact your congressional representatives and urge them to support the Child Protection Compact Act today!