Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2025

House Bill

H.R. 2961

119th Congress

Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2025

In Committee

Introduced:Jun 9, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Christopher H. Smith

Representative

Republican

NJ-4

Cosponsors

31

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Armed Forces and National Security

Summary

This bill would require the Pentagon to reduce its spending if it cannot prove its finances are in order. It would set aside any savings for reducing the federal deficit, but would exclude certain accounts like military personnel and healthcare.

Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.

SponsorChristopher H. Smith (R-NJ)

Introduced6/9/2025

StatusReferred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Workfo

ChamberHouse

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Vote Prediction

Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2025

This bill would require the Pentagon to reduce its spending if it cannot prove its finances are in order. It would set aside any savings for reducing the federal deficit, but would exclude certain accounts like military personnel and healthcare.

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This bill would require the Pentagon to reduce its spending if it cannot prove its finances are in order. It would set aside any savings for reducing the federal deficit, but would exclude certain accounts like military personnel and healthcare.

Bill Number: 2961
Sponsor: Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ)
Introduced: 6/9/2025
Status: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Workfo
Policy Area: Armed Forces and National Security

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2025
Bill Number: 2961
Sponsor: Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ)
Status: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Workfo
Introduced: 6/9/2025
Summary: This bill would require the Pentagon to reduce its spending if it cannot prove its finances are in order. It would set aside any savings for reducing the federal deficit, but would exclude certain accounts like military personnel and healthcare.

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill would require the Pentagon to reduce its spending if it cannot prove its finances are in order. It would set aside any savings for reducing the federal deficit, but would exclude certain accounts like military personnel and healthcare.

Last updated: 12/30/2025

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Audit the Pentagon Act of 2023 This bill requires defense spending reductions during any fiscal year after FY2022 where the Comptroller of the Department of Defense (DOD) fails to certify that a department, agency, or other element of DOD has achieved an unqualified opinion on its full financial statements. The amount of any reductions must be deposited in the Treasury and must be available for deficit reduction. The bill excludes from any reductions accounts related to military personnel, reserve personnel, National Guard personnel, and the Defense Health Program. The President may waive a reduction if the President certifies that a reduction would negatively affect (1) national security or members of the Armed Forces who are deployed in combat zones, or (2) the Defense Health Program account.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

The bill requires the Pentagon to reduce spending if it fails to certify it has properly accounted for its finances.
The savings from spending reductions would go towards reducing the federal deficit.
Certain accounts like military personnel and healthcare would be exempt from the spending cuts.

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

If this bill becomes law, it would impact the Department of Defense and federal budget. The Pentagon would need to improve its financial accounting practices to avoid mandatory spending cuts. Any savings from the cuts would reduce the federal deficit, which could benefit taxpayers. This could affect military operations and personnel, as well as defense contractors and others who rely on Pentagon funding.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Armed Forces and National Security

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

2961, 119th Congress (2025). "Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2025". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-hr-2961

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