March 17, WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and today announced that provisions to help prevent human trafficking passed the Senate Commerce Committee this week. The Stop Trafficking On Planes (STOP) Act which was introduced by Klobuchar and Warner earlier this month would require training for certain airline industry employees to recognize and report suspected human trafficking to law enforcement. The legislation builds on the voluntary Blue Lightning Initiative currently administered by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation. The Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2016, which includes a provision similar to the STOP Act, passed the Commerce Committee this week and will now head to the full Senate for a vote. The STOP ACT has been endorsed by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, and by the anti-trafficking organizations Polaris and ECPAT-USA, and a companion version of the bill has been introduced in the House by Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Barbara Comstock (R-VA).

“As the Senate works to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration, I’m glad that my colleagues on the Commerce Committee agree about the need to do more to prevent human trafficking,” Warner said. “We can and should equip airline personnel to detect and report human trafficking, in order to help save victims and bring perpetrators to justice.” 

“Flight attendants are on the front lines in the battle against trafficking. They want to help, and we need to arm them with the tools they need to identify and report these heinous crimes,” Klobuchar said. “This action in the Commerce Committee brings us one step closer to stepping up efforts to stop trafficking wherever it exists – on land, at sea, and in the sky.