[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2925 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2925

To establish a grant program to benefit victims of sex trafficking, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 22, 2009

   Mr. Wyden introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish a grant program to benefit victims of sex trafficking, and 
                          for other purposes.

    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 ``Trafficking Deterrence and Victims 
Support Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Human trafficking is modern-day slavery. It is the 
        fastest-growing, and second largest, criminal enterprise in the 
        world. Human trafficking generates an estimated profit of 
        $32,000,000,000 per year, world wide.
            (2) In the United States, human trafficking is an 
        increasing problem. This criminal enterprise includes citizens 
        of the United States, many of them children, who are forced 
        into prostitution, and foreigners brought into the country, 
        often under false pretenses, who are coerced into forced labor 
        or commercial sexual exploitation.
            (3) Sex trafficking is one of the most lucrative areas of 
        human trafficking. Criminal gang members in the United States 
        are increasingly involved in recruiting young women and girls 
        into sex trafficking. Interviews with gang members indicate 
        that the gang members regard working as an individual who 
        solicits customers for a prostitute (commonly known as a 
        ``pimp'') to being as lucrative as trafficking in drugs, but 
        with a much lower chance of being criminally convicted.
            (4) Minors in the United States are highly vulnerable for 
        sexual exploitation and sex trafficking. As many as 2,800,000 
        children live on the streets. Of the estimated 1,600,000 
        children who run away each year, 77 percent return home within 
        1 week. However, 33 percent of children who run away are lured 
        into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home.
            (5) National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, 
        Runaway and Throwaway Children, the definitive study of 
        episodes of missing children, found that of the children who 
        are victims of non-family abduction, runaway or throwaway 
        children, the police are alerted by family or guardians in only 
        21 percent of the cases. In 79 percent of cases there is no 
        report and no police involvement, and therefore no official 
        attempt to find the child.
            (6) In 2007, the Administration of Children and Families, 
        Department of Health and Human Services, reported to the 
        Federal Government 265,000 cases of serious physical, sexual, 
        or psychological abuse of children.
            (7) Experts estimate that over 100,000 children in the 
        United States are at risk for prostitution.
            (8) Children who have run away from home are at a high risk 
        of becoming involved in sex trafficking. Children who have run 
        away multiple times are at much higher risk of not returning 
        home and of engaging in prostitution.
            (9) The vast majority of children involved in sex 
        trafficking have suffered previous sexual or physical abuse, 
        live in poverty, or have no stable home or family life. These 
        children require a comprehensive framework of specialized 
        treatment and mental health counseling that addresses post-
        traumatic stress, depression, and sexual exploitation.
            (10) The average age of entry into prostitution is 12. 
        Seventy-five percent of minors engaged in prostitution have a 
        pimp. A pimp can earn $200,000 per year prostituting 1 
        trafficking victim.
            (11) Sex trafficking is a complex and varied criminal 
        problem that requires a multi-disciplinary, cooperative 
        solution. Reducing trafficking will require the Government to 
        address victims, pimps, and johns; and to provide training 
        specific to sex trafficking for law enforcement officers and 
        prosecutors, and child welfare, public health, and other social 
        service providers. A good model for this type of approach is 
        the Internet Crimes Against Children task force program.
            (12) Human trafficking is a criminal enterprise that 
        imposes significant costs on the economy of the United States. 
        Government and non-profit resources used to address trafficking 
        include those of law enforcement, the judicial and penal 
        systems, and social service providers. Without a range of 
        appropriate treatments to help trafficking victims overcome the 
        trauma they have experienced, victims will continue to be 
        involved in crime, unable to support themselves, and continue 
        to require Government resources rather than being productive 
        contributors to the legitimate economy.
            (13) Many domestic minor sex trafficking victims are 
        younger than 18 years old and are below the age of consent. 
        Because trafficking victims have been forced to engage in 
        prostitution rather than willfully to committing a crime, these 
        victims should not be charged as criminal defendants. Instead, 
        these victims of trafficking should have access to treatment 
        and services to help them escape and overcome being sexually 
        exploited, and should also be allowed to seek appropriate 
        remuneration from crime victims' compensation funds.
            (14) The State of New York has adopted a safe harbor law 
        that establishes a presumption a minor charged with a 
        prostitution offense is a severely trafficked person. This law 
        allows the child to avoid criminal charges of prostitution and 
        instead be considered a ``person in need of supervision.'' The 
        statute also provides support and services to sexually 
        exploited youth who are under the age of 18 years old. These 
        services include safe houses, crisis intervention programs, 
        community-based programs, and law-enforcement training to help 
        officers identify sexually exploited youth.
            (15) Sex trafficking is not a problem that occurs only in 
        urban settings. This crime exists also in rural areas and on 
        Indian reservations. Efforts to address sex trafficking should 
        include partnerships with organizations that seek to address 
        the needs of such under-served communities.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE SENATE.

    It is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) the Attorney General should implement changes to the 
        National Crime Information Center database in order to ensure 
        that--
                    (A) a child entered into the database will be 
                automatically designated as an endangered juvenile if 
                the child has been reported missing not less than 3 
                times in a 1-year period;
                    (B) the database be programmed to cross-reference 
                newly entered reports with historical records already 
                in the database; and
                    (C) the database be programmed to include a visual 
                cue on the record of a child designated as an 
                endangered juvenile in order to assist law enforcement 
                officers in recognizing the child and providing the 
                child with appropriate care and services; and
            (2) funds awarded under subpart 1 of part E of title I of 
        the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
        U.S.C. 3750 et seq.) (commonly known as Byrne Grants) should be 
        used to provide programs relating to sex trafficking education, 
        training, deterrence, and prevention.

SEC. 4. SEX TRAFFICKING BLOCK GRANTS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``Assistant Attorney General'' means the 
        Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs 
        of the Department of Justice;
            (2) the term ``domestic minor'' means an individual who 
        is--
                    (A) a citizen of the United States or a lawful 
                permanent resident of the United States; and
                    (B) under the age of 18 years old; and
            (3) the term ``eligible entity'' means a State or unit of 
        local government that--
                    (A) has significant sex trafficking activity;
                    (B) has demonstrated cooperation between State and 
                local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and social 
                service providers in addressing sex trafficking; and
                    (C) has developed a workable, multi-disciplinary 
                plan to combat sex trafficking, including--
                            (i) the establishment of a shelter for sex 
                        trafficking victims;
                            (ii) the provision of comprehensive 
                        services to domestic minor victims;
                            (iii) the provision of specialized training 
                        for law enforcement officers and social service 
                        providers; and
                            (iv) deterrence and prosecution of sex 
                        trafficking offenses.
    (b) Grants Authorized.--
            (1) In general.--The Assistant Attorney General is 
        authorized to award 6 block grants to eligible entities in 
        different regions of the United States to combat sex 
        trafficking, and not less than 1 of the block grants shall be 
        awarded to an eligible entity with a State population of less 
        than 5,000,000.
            (2) Grant amount.--Each grant awarded under this section 
        shall be in the amount of $2,500,000.
            (3) Duration.--
                    (A) In general.--A grant awarded under this section 
                shall be for a period of 1 year.
                    (B) Renewal.--The Secretary may renew a grant under 
                this section for two 1-year periods.
    (c) Use of Funds.--
            (1) Allocation.--For each grant awarded under subsection 
        (b)--
                    (A) not less than 25 percent of the funds shall be 
                used to provide shelter and services to victims of sex 
                trafficking; and
                    (B) not less than 10 percent of the funds shall be 
                awarded by the eligible entity to a subcontractor with 
                annual revenues of less than $750,000, to provide 
                services to victims of sex trafficking or training for 
                law enforcement and social service providers.
            (2) Other activities.--Grants awarded pursuant to 
        subsection (b) may be used for activities such as--
                    (A) providing shelter to domestic minor trafficking 
                victims, including temporary or long-term placement as 
                appropriate;
                    (B) providing trafficking victims with clothing and 
                other daily necessities needed to keep the trafficking 
                victims from returning to living on the street;
                    (C) counseling and legal services for victims of 
                sex trafficking, including substance abuse treatment, 
                trauma-informed care, and sexual abuse or other mental 
                health counseling;
                    (D) specialized training for law enforcement 
                personnel and social service providers, specific to sex 
                trafficking issues;
                    (E) funding salaries, in whole or in part, for law 
                enforcement officers, including patrol officers; 
                detectives; and investigators; provided that the 
                percentage of the salary of the law enforcement officer 
                paid for by funds from a grant awarded under subsection 
                (b) shall be no less than the percentage of the time 
                dedicated to working on sex trafficking cases by the 
                law enforcement officer;
                    (F) funding salaries for State and local 
                prosecutors, including assisting in paying trial 
                expenses for prosecution of sex trafficking law 
                offenders;
                    (G) investigation expenses, including--
                            (i) wire taps;
                            (ii) consultants with expertise specific to 
                        sex trafficking cases;
                            (iii) travel; and
                            (iv) any other technical assistance 
                        expenditures; and
                    (H) outreach and education programs to provide 
                information about deterrence and prevention of sex 
                trafficking, including programs to provide treatment to 
                men charged with solicitation of prostitution in cases 
                where--
                            (i) a treatment program is an appropriate 
                        alternative to criminal prosecution; and
                            (ii) the men were not charged with 
                        solicitation of sex with a minor.
    (d) Application.--
            (1) In general.--Each eligible entity desiring a grant 
        under this Act shall submit an application to the Assistant 
        Attorney General at such time, in such manner, and accompanied 
        by such information as the Assistant Attorney General may 
        reasonably require.
            (2) Contents.--Each application submitted pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) shall--
                    (A) describe the activities for which assistance 
                under this section is sought; and
                    (B) provide such additional assurances as the 
                Secretary determines to be essential to ensure 
                compliance with the requirements of this Act.
    (e) Evaluation.--The Assistant Attorney General shall, in 
consultation with the Comptroller General of the United States, enter 
into a contract with an academic or non-profit organization that has 
experience in sex trafficking issues and evaluation of grant programs 
to conduct an annual evaluation of grants made under this section to 
determine the impact and effectiveness of programs funded with grants 
awarded under subsection (b).
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--For fiscal years 2011 through 
2014, there are authorized to be appropriated, to carry out the 
provisions of this section, the following sums:
            (1) $45,000,000 to fund grants awarded under subsection 
        (b).
            (2) $1,500,000 to conduct the evaluation under subsection 
        (e).
            (3) $3,500,000 to the Attorney General, to design and 
        implement improvements to the NCIC database.

SEC. 5. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Reporting Requirement for State Child Welfare Agencies.--
            (1) Requirement for state child welfare agencies to report 
        children missing or abducted.--Section 471(a) of the Social 
        Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)) is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (32), by striking ``and'' after 
                the semicolon;
                    (B) in paragraph (33), by striking the period and 
                inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (33) the 
                following:
            ``(34) provides that the State has in effect procedures 
        that require the State agency to promptly report information on 
        missing or abducted children to the law enforcement authorities 
        for entry into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) 
        database.''.
            (2) Regulations.--The Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services shall promulgate regulations implementing the 
        amendment made by paragraph (1). The regulations promulgated 
        under this subsection shall include provisions to withhold 
        Federal funds to any State that fails to substantially comply 
        with the requirement imposed under the amendment made by 
        paragraph (1).
            (3) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
        shall take effect on October 1, 2010, without regard to whether 
        final regulations required under paragraph (2) have been 
        promulgated by that date.
    (b) Annual Statistical Summary.--Section 3701(c) of the Crime 
Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 5779(c)) is amended by inserting ``, 
that includes the total number of reports received and the total number 
of entries made to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) 
database'' after ``of this title''.
    (c) State Reporting.--Section 3702 of the Crime Control Act of 1990 
(42 U.S.C. 5780) is amended in paragraph (4)--
            (1) by striking ``(2)'' and inserting ``(3)'';
            (2) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``, and a photograph 
        taken within the previous 180 days'' after ``dental records'';
            (3) in subparagraph (B), by striking the ``and'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (4) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (D); 
        and
            (5) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:
                    ``(C) notify the National Center for Missing and 
                Exploited Children of each report received relating to 
                a child reported missing from a foster care family home 
                or childcare institution; and''.
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