3.0.0 436 2023-01-11T13:34:27Z 2023-01-11T13:34:27Z House HR 2017-01-11 115 [Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 7 (Wednesday, January 11, 2017)]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. SMITH of NewJersey:H.R. 436.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto thefollowing:Article 1, Section 8, Clauses 3 and 18, as this bill betterequips the Executive Branch to properly carry out thepowersvested in it by the Constitution, as well as ensures thatCongress is accurately informed of a foreignnations'trafficking record and tier ranking when Congressconsiders regulation of commerce with foreign nations.[Page H391]]]> hsfa00 Foreign Affairs Committee House Standing hsfa16 Africa Subcommittee Referred to 2017-02-16T21:54:06Z Referred to 2017-01-11T15:02:05Z 2017-02-16 hsfa16 Africa Subcommittee 1 House committee actions Referred to the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations. Committee 2017-01-11 Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. IntroReferral H11100 2 House floor actions hsfa00 Foreign Affairs Committee 2017-01-11 Introduced in House IntroReferral Intro-H 9 Library of Congress 2017-01-11 Introduced in House IntroReferral 1000 9 Library of Congress S000522 Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4] CHRISTOPHER SMITH R NJ H. 4 N M001188 Rep. Meng, Grace [D-NY-6] Grace Meng D NY 6 2017-01-11 True S001191 Rep. Sinema, Kyrsten [D-AZ-9] Kyrsten Sinema D AZ 9 2017-10-04 False International Affairs Congressional oversight Department of State Executive agency funding and structure Federal officials Human trafficking International Affairs 00 2017-01-11 Introduced in House 2017-02-06T23:20:23Z Human Trafficking Prioritization Act

This bill expresses the sense of Congress that the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking of the Department of State will be more effective in carrying out duties mandated by Congress in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and can do so without an increase in either personnel or budget, if: (1) the Office's status is changed to that of a Bureau within State; and (2) the Office is headed by an Assistant Secretary with direct access to the Secretary of State, rather than an Ambassador-at-Large.

The bill amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to change the status of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking to that of the Bureau to Combat Trafficking in Persons.

State must submit to Congress a report detailing:

  • for each current Assistant Secretary of State position, the exact title and length of designation as Assistant Secretary and whether that designation was legislatively mandated or authorized and, if so, the relevant statutory citation; and
  • whether State intends to designate one of the Assistant Secretary of State positions as the Assistant Secretary of State to Combat Trafficking in Persons and the reasons for that decision.

The bill prohibits subsequent inclusion for more than one consecutive year on the special watch list of countries whose compliance with minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking is full, partial, or insignificant of any country that:

  • was included on the list for four consecutive years after enactment of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, and
  • was subsequently included on the exclusive Tier 3 list of countries not making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with such standards.

No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated for diplomatic and consular programs to carry out this bill.

]]> Human Trafficking Prioritization Act Display Title Human Trafficking Prioritization Act Official Title as Introduced To prioritize the fight against human trafficking within the Department of State according to congressional intent in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 without increasing the size of the Federal Government, and for other purposes. Introduced in House IH Short Titles as Introduced Human Trafficking Prioritization Act Introduced in House 2017-01-11T05:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-115hr436ih/xml/BILLS-115hr436ih.xml 2017-02-16 Referred to the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations. text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.