[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2522 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2522

To establish a congressional Commission on the Abolition of Modern-Day 
                                Slavery.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 24, 2007

   Mr. Lewis of Georgia (for himself, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mrs. 
 Maloney of New York, Mrs. Drake, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, 
Mr. Engel, Ms. Norton, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Scott 
   of Virginia, Mr. Honda, Ms. Clarke, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. 
    Cummings, Mr. Cohen, Mrs. Tauscher, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. 
 Conyers, and Ms. Schakowsky) introduced the following bill; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the 
    Committees on the Judiciary, Ways and Means, and Oversight and 
 Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish a congressional Commission on the Abolition of Modern-Day 
                                Slavery.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Congressional Commission on the 
Abolition of Modern-Day Slavery Act''.

SEC. 2. MODERN-DAY SLAVERY.

    In this Act, the term ``modern-day slavery'' means the status or 
condition of a person who is under the control of another person, where 
that control is enforced by violence, or psychological coercion, and 
who is exploited through involuntary servitude, forced labor, debt 
bondage or bonded labor, serfdom, peonage, trafficking in persons for 
forced labor or for sexual exploitation (including child sex tourism), 
forced marriage, or other similar means.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Modern-day slavery takes many forms, including chattel 
        slavery or slavery by descent, and the exploitation occurs in a 
        myriad of situations, including in the agricultural, commercial 
        sex, construction, manufacturing, and service industries, as 
        well as in domestic servitude.
            (2) The perpetrators of modern-day slavery violate the 
        dignity of men, women, and children, using violence that at 
        times results in death, sexual abuse, rape, torture, dangerous 
        and degrading working conditions, poor nutrition, drug and 
        alcohol addiction, and psychological trauma.
            (3) According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 
        ``No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the 
        slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.''.
            (4) The United States and the international community have 
        acknowledged that modern-day slavery must be abolished in 
        accordance with the International Covenant on Civil and 
        Political Rights; the Slavery, Servitude, Forced Labour and 
        Similar Institutions and Practices Convention of 1926; the 
        Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave 
        Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery; the 
        Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child 
        on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child 
        Pornography; the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the 
        Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed 
        Conflicts; the Convention concerning the Prohibition and 
        Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of 
        Child Labour; the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention; and 
        the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in 
        Persons, especially Women and Children, Supplementing the 
        United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized 
        Crime.
            (5) The Declaration of Independence recognizes the inherent 
        dignity and worth of all people and states that all people are 
        created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain 
        unalienable rights.
            (6) The 13th amendment to the Constitution of the United 
        States recognizes that ``Neither slavery nor involuntary 
        servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party 
        shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United 
        States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.''.
            (7) The United States has given particular priority to 
        combating trafficking in persons, a form of modern-day slavery, 
        through the enactment of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 
        of 2000 (division A of Public Law 106-386) and the Trafficking 
        Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-
        193) and the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act 
        of 2005 (Public Law 109-164).
            (8) The importation into the United States of goods mined, 
        produced, or manufactured by forced or indentured labor, 
        including forced or indentured child labor, is prohibited under 
        the Tariff Act of 1930.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established a congressional Commission 
on the Abolition of Modern-Day Slavery (in this Act referred to as the 
``Commission'').
    (b) Membership.--
            (1) Composition.--The Commission shall be composed of 12 
        members, of whom--
                    (A) 3 shall be appointed by the Speaker of the 
                House of Representatives;
                    (B) 3 shall be appointed by the majority leader of 
                the Senate;
                    (C) 3 shall be appointed by the minority leader of 
                the House of Representatives; and
                    (D) 3 shall be appointed by the minority leader of 
                the Senate.
            (2) Qualifications.--Members of the Commission shall be 
        individuals with demonstrated expertise or experience in 
        combating modern-day slavery.
            (3) Date.--The appointments of the members of the 
        Commission shall be made not later than 30 days after the date 
        of enactment of this Act.
    (c) Period of Appointment; Vacancies.--Members shall be appointed 
for the life of the Commission. Any vacancy in the Commission shall not 
affect its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner as the 
original appointment.
    (d) Co-Chairpersons.--The Speaker of the House of Representatives 
shall designate 1 of the members appointed under subsection (b)(1)(A) 
as a co-chairperson of the Commission. The majority leader of the 
Senate shall designate 1 of the members appointed under subsection 
(b)(1)(B) as a co-chairperson of the Commission.
    (e) Initial Meeting.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall hold its first meeting.
    (f) Meetings.--The Commission shall meet at the call of either Co-
chairperson.
    (g) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Commission shall 
constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may meet or hold 
hearings.

SEC. 5. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

    (a) Study.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission shall--
                    (A) conduct a thorough study of modern-day slavery 
                in all its forms and why it still exists, including the 
                failure by authorities to enforce laws prohibiting 
                slavery and prosecuting the perpetrators of slavery, 
                corruption among officials, and the vulnerability of 
                certain populations, such as those who are 
                discriminated against because of gender, ethnicity or 
                caste, and those in areas of conflict and post 
                conflict, transitioning states, or states undergoing 
                sudden political upheaval, economic collapse, civil 
                unrest, internal armed conflict, chronic unemployment, 
                widespread poverty, or manmade or natural disasters;
                    (B) review programs of relevant governmental 
                agencies with respect to modern-day-slavery, including 
                the Office of the United States Trade Representative, 
                the Department of Commerce, the Department of Defense, 
                the Department of Health and Human Services, the 
                Department of Homeland Security, the Department of 
                Labor, the Department of the Treasury, the United 
                States Agency for International Development, the 
                Department of State, the President's Interagency Task 
                Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, and 
                the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center;
                    (C) examine efforts undertaken by foreign countries 
                and multilateral organizations to prevent or combat 
                modern-day slavery in all its forms, prosecute the 
                perpetrators or protect its victims, and identify those 
                countries with the most significant number of victims 
                of modern-day slavery; and
                    (D) convene additional experts from relevant 
                nongovernmental organizations as part of the 
                Commission's review.
            (2) Goals.--Based on its findings under paragraph (1), the 
        Commission shall--
                    (A) advise the Congress on how the United States 
                could lend support to the efforts to eradicate modern-
                day slavery in all its forms;
                    (B) provide a comprehensive evaluation of 
                comparative models and strategies to prevent modern-day 
                slavery, rescue and rehabilitate victims of modern-day 
                slavery, prosecute offenders, increase accountability 
                within countries that tolerate modern-day slavery, 
                develop international cooperation to combat modern 
                slavery, and increase education about modern-day 
                slavery in all its forms, particularly among vulnerable 
                populations;
                    (C) provide a comprehensive evaluation of current 
                United States trade policy's effect on modern slavery, 
                including a list of the top ten countries with the 
                highest number of slaves within their borders, along 
                with the precise nature of the United States trade 
                relationship with each country;
                    (D) provide a comprehensive evaluation of the 
                effectiveness of United States laws prohibiting the 
                importation of goods manufactured or produced in whole 
                or in part through forced labor or child labor, 
                including a list of the five categories of slave-made 
                goods that most regularly are imported into the United 
                States, and any related law enforcement action taken to 
                prevent their importation;
                    (E) provide a comprehensive evaluation of United 
                States Government procurement policies and practices 
                regarding the procurement of slave-made goods or 
                services through grantees, contractors, or 
                subcontractors; and
                    (F) examine the economic impact on communities and 
                countries that demonstrate measured success in fighting 
                modern-day slavery in all its forms.
    (b) Recommendations.--The Commission shall recommend legislative 
and administrative actions necessary for the most effective ways to 
combat and eliminate modern-day slavery in all its forms, including 
incorporating best practices into all United States Government anti-
slavery programs for prevention, rescue and rehabilitation, 
prosecution, increasing accountability within governments that tolerate 
slavery, developing international cooperation to combat modern-day 
slavery, and increasing education about modern-day slavery, 
particularly among vulnerable populations. The Commission shall also 
determine the nature of what constitutes appropriate relations with 
countries that tolerate modern-day slavery in any form and make 
specific recommendations to eliminate the importation of slave-made 
goods and the United States Government's procurement of slave-made 
goods and services.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 11 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the Speaker and minority 
leader of the House of Representatives and the majority leader and 
minority leader of the Senate, a report containing the results of the 
study and other activities conducted under subsection (a) and the 
recommendations developed under subsection (b).

SEC. 6. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

    (a) Hearings.--The Commission may hold such hearings, sit and act 
at such times and places, take such testimony, and receive such 
evidence as the Commission considers necessary to carry out this Act.
    (b) Information From Governmental Agencies.--The Commission may 
secure directly from any department or agency such information as the 
Commission considers necessary to carry out this Act. Upon request of 
either co-chairperson of the Commission, the head of such department or 
agency shall furnish such information to the Commission.

SEC. 7. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.

    (a) Compensation of Members.--Each member of the Commission who is 
not an officer or employee of the Federal Government shall be 
compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate 
of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under 
section 5313 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (including 
travel time) during which such member is engaged in the performance of 
the duties of the Commission. All members of the Commission who are 
officers or employees of the United States shall serve without 
compensation in addition to that received for their services as 
officers or employees of the United States.
    (b) Travel Expenses.--The members of the Commission shall be 
allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at 
rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of 
chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from their homes 
or regular places of business in the performance of services for the 
Commission.
    (c) Staff.--
            (1) In general.--The co-chairpersons of the Commission, 
        acting jointly, may, without regard to the civil service laws 
        and regulations, appoint and terminate an executive director 
        and such other additional personnel as may be necessary to 
        enable the Commission to perform its duties. The employment of 
        an executive director shall be subject to confirmation by the 
        Commission.
            (2) Compensation.--The co-chairpersons of the Commission, 
        acting jointly, may fix the compensation of the executive 
        director and other personnel without regard to chapter 51 and 
        subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United Sates Code, 
        relating to classification of positions and General Schedule 
        pay rates, except that the rate of pay for the executive 
        director and other personnel may not exceed the rate payable 
        for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of 
        such title.
    (d) Detail of Government Employees.--Federal Government employees 
may be detailed to the Commission without reimbursement, and such 
detail shall be without interruption or loss of civil service status or 
privilege.
    (e) Procurement of Temporary and Intermittent Services.--The co-
chairpersons of the Commission, acting jointly, may procure temporary 
and intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United 
States Code, at rates for individuals which do not exceed the daily 
equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of 
the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such title.

SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF THE COMMISSION.

    The Commission shall terminate 90 days after the date on which the 
Commission submits its report under section 5(c).

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the 
Commission for fiscal year 2008 such sums as may be necessary to carry 
out this Act.
    (b) Availability.--Any sums appropriated under the authorization 
contained in this section shall remain available, without fiscal year 
limitation, until expended.
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