Congressman Ron Estes voted in favor of a bill Tuesday that reauthorizes programs to combat human trafficking and addresses related issues.
Estes, a Republican, represents Kansas’ 4th Congressional District, which includes Cowley County.
The bill reauthorizes through FY2026 various programs, including Department of State and Department of Justice activities to combat human trafficking internationally and the Angel Watch Center, a U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement program that notifies foreign countries of the pending arrival of certain convicted sex offenders.
The bill passed the House 401-20, with Kansas’ three other representatives — Republicans Jake LaTurner and Tracey Mann and Democrat Sharice Davids — joining Estes in voting in favor of the legislation.
Last week Estes voted against the Right to Contraception Act — a bill that prohibits measures that single out and impede access to contraception and related information. It passed the House 228-195 with the only Kansas yes vote from Rep. Davids.
Earlier in July, Estes voted against an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 that would direct the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and the Secretary of Defense to publish a report that analyzes and sets out strategies to combat White supremacist and neo-Nazi activity in the uniformed services and Federal law enforcement agencies.
The amendment passed 218-208 on a party-line vote.
All three bills await the U.S. Senate.
