WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Vern Buchanan, announced that he introduced two bills to help protect America’s children from human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
Buchanan and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz introduced the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Training Act to help combat human trafficking by educating students, teachers and school personnel about how to properly identify the warning signs. Children account for more than half of all trafficking victims.
“Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery,” said Buchanan. “With Florida’s Suncoast Region receiving more trafficking reports than any other region in our state, we need to prioritize educating students and teachers about the horrors of this monstrous crime. This is critical to help current victims and prevent future instances of trafficking. I look forward to working with Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz to raise awareness and protect our vulnerable children.”
“Schools should be at the center of our strategy to protect young people from human trafficking. In addition to identifying and providing critical services to at-risk youth, they play a crucial role in educating all of us, children and adults, on key warning signs so we are equipped to prevent abductions and abuse. Our education system is one of our greatest strengths, and we must take advantage by providing our schools with the resources to support children who might otherwise fall victim to trafficking,” said Rep. Wasserman Schultz.
The Human Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Training Act would create a grant program within the Office of Trafficking in Persons under the Department of Health and Human Services to provide training for students, teachers and other school personnel on the warning signs of human trafficking. The bill would authorize $75 million in funding for the grant program over a five-year period.
These grants would be issued to nonprofit organizations that have shown expertise in creating and teaching human trafficking and exploitation prevention curricula. The bill also prioritizes funding for nonprofits serving geographic areas with the highest prevalence of human trafficking.
In 2023, Florida had the third-highest number of human trafficking cases reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. According to the Florida Department of Children and Families, out of the over 2,100 cases of human trafficking reported in Florida in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2023-2024, 1,965 of those cases involved children. Further, Florida’s Suncoast Region had the highest number of human trafficking reports of all regions in the state, with Hillsborough County receiving more reports than any other Florida county.
“The Foundation United supports the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Training Act, championed by Congressman Vern Buchanan. Education is one of the most powerful tools we have to prevent trafficking before it begins. By equipping students, teachers, and school personnel with the knowledge to recognize the warning signs, we can break cycles of exploitation and protect countless lives. The statistics are staggering—over 300,000 children in the U.S. are at risk of being trafficked each year, and the average age of entry into trafficking is between 12 and 14 years old; it is critical that we get this life-saving information into our education system now. At The Foundation United, we are passionate about getting ahead of trafficking and exploitation to save young lives and empower their caregivers and educators. Prevention must be a national priority, and this legislation is a crucial step in ensuring that our children and those who protect them have the tools to stop trafficking before it starts,” said Elizabeth Good, Founder & CEO, The Foundation United.
Buchanan also introduced the Curbing Realistic Exploitative Electronic Pedophilic Robots (CREEPER) Act 2.0 with Rep. Jared Moskowitz to help reduce pedophilia by banning the sale of lifelike sex dolls resembling children.
“It’s absolutely outrageous that we allow the sale and possession on these obscene products that are known to encourage pedophilia and the exploitation of children,” said Buchanan. “We need to enact a national ban on these sickening dolls to prevent further child abuse. I’m grateful for Congressman Moskowitz’s support in this crucial effort to protect our children in Florida and throughout the country.”
“As one of just a handful of states to ban child sex dolls, Florida’s been a national leader to get these sickening products off the market. I’m proud to stand beside sheriffs, district attorneys, and child safety advocates from across our state to push this commonsense, bipartisan bill with Congressman Buchanan that’ll advance our urgent efforts to fight child exploitation,” said Rep. Moskowitz.
The CREEPER Act 2.0 would ban the sale, possession, importation and transportation of sex dolls resembling children. It is modeled in part after a Florida law. The original CREEPER Act introduced in Congress in 2017 banned the transportation and importation of child sex dolls but languished in the U.S. Senate. The updated version adds language from the Florida law that also makes it illegal to sell or possess the dolls.
Florida is one of five states to ban child sex dolls, including Tennessee, Kentucky, Utah and Hawaii. Other states are actively considering similar legislation, including Louisiana and Washington.
Buchanan originally introduced this legislation in 2020 after NBC 6 in Miami reported that a lifelike doll resembling a real girl in the Miami area was being sold online. The mother said a photo of her child was stolen and her likeness was turned into a sex doll that was legally for sale on Amazon and other websites. The girl’s mother was horrified and expressed concern for her daughter’s safety.
Experts agree that the dolls are dangerous because they “normalize” pedophilia and encourage sexual assaults against real children. Peter Fagan, a researcher from John Hopkins School of Medicine stated that child sex dolls have a “reinforcing effect” on pedophilic ideation and “in many instances, cause it to be acted upon with greater urgency.”
Buchanan has been a leader in protecting children from abuse. In addition to these two bills, Buchanan recently helped introduce the Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Network (TAKE IT DOWN) Act with Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar and Madeleine Dean to criminalize the production of “revenge porn” and require websites to quickly remove it upon discover. Last Congress, Buchanan introduced the Stop Crimes Against Children Act with Rep. Chris Pappas to require the nonprofit sector and institutions of higher education to collaborate with the Department of Justice’s National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction.
