Klobuchar and a group of senators introduced the bipartisan PROTECT Our Children Act, which reauthorized the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program 

WASHINGTON– U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) announced that the U.S. Department of Justice has awarded the Minnesota Department Of Public Safety a grant totaling $358,010 for the state’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program. The ICAC Task Force Program is a national network of 61 coordinated task forces, representing 3,500 federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies that combat child exploitation across the country. The funding will allow Minnesota’s ICAC Task Force Program to continue its work with local and state law enforcement to create and implement effective responses to technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and Internet crimes against children. Klobuchar and Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Dean Heller (R-NV) led the bipartisan PROTECT Our Children Act which reauthorized the ICAC Task Force Program and was signed into law in last year.

“As the former Hennepin County Attorney, I know how critical the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program is for our law enforcement officials and for the safety of our families,” Klobuchar said. “This grant will help us continue to fund the effort to protect children from predators on the internet.”

Klobuchar is a national leader in the fight to combat human trafficking. In April, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 (FOSTA) was signed into law, which included the Klobuchar-backed Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) to help stop online sex trafficking and provide justice for victims. Earlier this year, Klobuchar and Senator John Thune’s (R-SD) bipartisan Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act became law. The legislation designates a human trafficking prevention coordinator at the U.S. Department of Transportation and increases outreach and education efforts at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to help prevent human trafficking. Last year, Klobuchar introduced the Abolish Human Trafficking Act with Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) as well as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act she and Cornyn introduced with Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), both of which passed the Senate. In 2015, Klobuchar’s Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act became law, increasing the resources and tools available for combating human trafficking in the United States, and establishing the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. 

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