Sen. Warner joins May 16 demonstration to underscore his concerns about human trafficking

This morning, Monday, May 16 at 11:30 AM, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) joined flight attendants, anti-trafficking advocates, and federal law enforcement at Ronald Reagan National Airport to call on Congress to pass legislation that would help to combat human trafficking on commercial air flights.

By a bipartisan vote of 95-3, the Senate last month approved legislation reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that includes a provision championed by Sens. Klobuchar and Warner to combat human trafficking in the skies.

The legislation – modeled on the Stop Trafficking on Planes (STOP) Act that the Senators introduced earlier this year – requires airlines to provide training for flight attendants to recognize and report suspected human trafficking to law enforcement.

Sens. Warner and Klobuchar worked to include language modeled on the STOP Act in the FAA bill because flight attendants, through their interactions with large numbers of air travelers, are uniquely positioned to identify potential victims and help bring human traffickers to justice.

Today Sens. Warner and Klobucha called on the House of Representatives to move forward on FAA reauthorization legislation so that the Senate and House can begin negotiations on a final bill to be signed into law that includes the anti-trafficking provision.