[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 436 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 436

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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 11, 2017

   Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself and Ms. Meng) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
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.

    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 ``Human Trafficking Prioritization 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The International Labor Organization estimates that 
        nearly 21 million people are subjected to modern slavery around 
        the world at any given time and that the majority of the 
        enslaved are women and girls.
            (2) Congress authorized the creation of a Department of 
        State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons in 
        the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (Division A of 
        Public Law 106-386) in order to directly assist the Secretary 
        of State in his or her effort to coordinate a United States 
        Government interagency response to domestic and international 
        trafficking in persons.
            (3) The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons 
        monitors trafficking worldwide and produces the online and 
        printed versions of the annual Trafficking in Persons Report, 
        which is Congress' primary resource for human trafficking 
        reporting, analysis, and recommendations on the United States 
        and 186 countries around the world.
            (4) The annual Trafficking in Persons Report contains tier 
        rankings of each country on which it reports, and these tier 
        rankings have become an essential diplomatic tool for promoting 
        protection for victims, prevention of trafficking, and 
        prosecution of perpetrators.
            (5) Some countries have openly stated, and many others have 
        confided, that dramatic improvements in the country's human 
        trafficking record were directly related to avoidance of a low 
        tier ranking in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report.
            (6) Ambassador Mark Lagon, former Ambassador-at-Large to 
        Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (2007-2009), 
        testified before the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, 
        Global Human Rights, and International Organizations of the 
        Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives on 
        April 18, 2013, that ``[T]he State Department does a tremendous 
        job in producing a report which tells it like it is, offering 
        objective rankings. Yet at times it pulls punches, typically 
        due to the urging of regional specialists rather than the TIP 
        Office's dedicated experts on trafficking.''.
            (7) Ambassador John Miller, former Ambassador-at-Large to 
        Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (2002-2006), recently 
        stated that, ``Upgrading the status of the Office to a Bureau 
        will not create additional bureaucracy--it will simply give 
        JTIP and the Ambassador-at-Large who heads it equal standing 
        with regional and functional bureaus at the State Department. 
        That standing is absolutely essential for the issue to remain a 
        priority, especially when multiple U.S. interests are 
        engaged.''.
            (8) The tier ranking process authorized by Congress in the 
        Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 has been in some 
        instances compromised by the Office to Monitor and Combat 
        Trafficking subordinate stature within the Department of State.
            (9) It is essential for Congress and the Secretary of State 
        to be accurately informed regarding United States and foreign 
        country successes and failures in the fight against human 
        trafficking.
            (10) The diplomatic power and credibility of the 
        Trafficking in Persons Report is based on rigorous scholarship 
        and scrupulous application of the minimum standards for the 
        elimination of human trafficking and is undermined by 
        political, rather than factual, tier rankings.
            (11) Strong and effective anti-slavery policy requires that 
        officials from the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking 
        have equal hierarchical standing with State Department regional 
        bureaus and direct access to the Secretary of State.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) 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 if the Office status is changed to that 
        of a Bureau within the Department hierarchy;
            (2) the change in status from Office to Monitor and Combat 
        Trafficking to a Bureau can be accomplished without increasing 
        the number of personnel or the budget of the current Office;
            (3) a Bureau to Monitor and Combat Trafficking would be 
        more effective in carrying out duties mandated by Congress in 
        the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 if the Bureau 
        were headed by an Assistant Secretary with direct access to the 
        Secretary of State, rather than an Ambassador-at-Large; and
            (4) the Secretary of State should review the current use of 
        the 24 Assistant Secretary positions authorized by section 
        1(c)(1) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 
        (22 U.S.C. 2651a(c)(1)) and make appropriate revisions, 
        consolidations, and eliminations, to ensure that those 
        positions reflect the highest Departmental needs and foreign 
        policy priorities of the United States, including efforts to 
        combat trafficking in persons.

SEC. 4. BUREAU TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 105(e) of the Trafficking Victims 
Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7103(e)) is amended--
            (1) in the heading, by striking ``Office to Monitor and 
        Combat Trafficking'' and inserting ``Bureau To Combat 
        Trafficking in Persons'';
            (2) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) in the first sentence, by striking ``Office to 
                Monitor and Combat Trafficking'' and inserting ``Bureau 
                to Combat Trafficking in Persons'';
                    (B) in the second sentence, by striking ``Office'' 
                and inserting ``Bureau''; and
                    (C) in the sixth sentence, by striking ``Office'' 
                and inserting ``Bureau''; and
            (3) in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2), by striking 
        ``Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking'' and inserting 
        ``Bureau to Combat Trafficking in Persons''.
    (b) Reference.--Any reference in the Trafficking Victims Protection 
Act of 2000 or in any other Act to the Office to Monitor and Combat 
Trafficking shall be deemed to be a reference to the Bureau to Combat 
Trafficking in Persons.

SEC. 5. REPORT REGARDING DESIGNATION OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE TO 
              COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations 
of the Senate a report detailing--
            (1) for each current Assistant Secretary of State 
        position--
                    (A) the title of that Assistant Secretary of State;
                    (B) how long that particular Assistant Secretary 
                designation has been in existence; and
                    (C) whether that particular Assistant Secretary 
                designation was legislatively mandated or authorized 
                and, if so, the relevant statutory citation for such 
                mandate or authorization; and
            (2) whether the Secretary intends to designate one of the 
        Assistant Secretary of State positions authorized by section 
        1(c)(1) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 
        (22 U.S.C. 2651a(c)(1)) as the Assistant Secretary of State to 
        Combat Trafficking in Persons, and the reasons for that 
        decision.

SEC. 6. COUNTRIES ON SPECIAL WATCH LIST FOR 4 CONSECUTIVE YEARS THAT 
              ARE DOWNGRADED AND REINSTATED ON SPECIAL WATCH LIST.

    Section 110(b)(2) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 
(22 U.S.C. 7107(b)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(F) Countries on special watch list for 4 
                consecutive years that are downgraded and reinstated on 
                special watch list.--Notwithstanding subparagraphs (D) 
                and (E), a country that--
                            ``(i) was included on the special watch 
                        list described in subparagraph (A) for 4 
                        consecutive years after the date of the 
                        enactment of the William Wilberforce 
                        Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization 
                        Act of 2008; and
                            ``(ii) was subsequently included on the 
                        list of countries described in paragraph 
                        (1)(C),
                may not thereafter be included on the special watch 
                list described in subparagraph (A) for more than 1 
                consecutive year.''.

SEC. 7. COST LIMITATION.

    No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated for 
``Diplomatic and Consular Programs'' to carry out the provisions of 
this Act.
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