Trump Signs Legislation Funding 200 Additional Child Exploitation Investigators

President Trump signed legislation from Sen. Josh Hawley that allocates $108.5 million to expand federal child exploitation enforcement, including funding for 200 new investigators and forensic analysts across the Department of Homeland Security's Victim Identification Laboratory and Child Exploitation Investigations Unit. The measure, included in a $70 billion reconciliation package that passed the House, represents a substantial increase from the current seven forensic analysts dedicated to such cases nationwide. The legislation was developed in part following testimony by former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow before Hawley's Senate Judiciary Subcommittee, in which Tebow cited data showing 338,000 unique IP addresses downloading, sharing, or distributing child sexual abuse material in the United States over a short period. The bill also establishes a dedicated training program to improve collaboration between federal, state, and local law enforcement on child exploitation investigations. According to Hawley's office, this constitutes the largest federal investment ever made to combat child trafficking.