Renewed Hope Act of 2024

HR 9532, the Renewed Hope Act of 2024, requires the Department of Homeland Security to hire 200 additional personnel (40 computer forensics analysts, 30 criminal analysts, and 130 combined analysts) for the Victim Identification Laboratory within Homeland Security Investigations to identify victims of child sexual exploitation. It also authorizes temporary hiring of forensic experts at GS-15 equivalent rates to support victim identification efforts and mandates coordination procedures to synchronize child exploitation investigations across DHS. The bill establishes a new Victim Identification Training Program to teach DHS and external law enforcement agencies (federal, state, local, tribal, military, and foreign) advanced tools for identifying victims in abusive images and enhancing audio/video evidence. These provisions directly affect Homeland Security Investigations personnel and law enforcement agencies conducting child exploitation investigations.