[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1536 Referred in House (RFH)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1536
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 18, 2017
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To designate a human trafficking prevention coordinator and to expand
the scope of activities authorized under the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration's outreach and education program to include human
trafficking prevention activities, 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 ``Combating Human Trafficking in
Commercial Vehicles Act''.
SEC. 2. HUMAN TRAFFICKING PREVENTION COORDINATOR.
The Secretary of Transportation shall designate an official within
the Department of Transportation who shall--
(1) coordinate human trafficking prevention efforts across
modal administrations in the Department of Transportation and
with other departments and agencies of the Federal Government;
and
(2) in coordinating such efforts, take into account the
unique challenges of combating human trafficking within
different transportation modes.
SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF OUTREACH AND EDUCATION PROGRAM.
Section 31110(c)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following: ``The program authorized under this
subsection may support, in addition to funds otherwise available for
such purposes, the recognition, prevention, and reporting of human
trafficking, while deferring to existing resources, as practicable.''.
SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM.
Section 31313(a)(3) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``or'' at the end;
(2) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as subparagraph (F);
and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following:
``(E) support, in addition to funds otherwise
available for such purposes, the recognition,
prevention, and reporting of human trafficking; or''.
SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY
COMMITTEE ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish an advisory
committee on human trafficking.
(b) Membership.--
(1) Composition.--The Committee shall be composed of not
more than 15 external stakeholder members whose diverse
experience and background enable them to provide balanced
points of view with regard to carrying out the duties of the
Committee.
(2) Selection.--The Secretary shall appoint the external
stakeholder members to the Committee, including representatives
from--
(A) trafficking advocacy organizations;
(B) law enforcement; and
(C) trucking, bus, rail, aviation, maritime, and
port sectors, including industry and labor.
(3) Periods of appointment.--Members shall be appointed for
the life of the Committee.
(4) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Committee shall be filled
in the manner in which the original appointment was made and
shall not affect the powers or duties of the Committee.
(5) Compensation.--Committee members shall serve without
compensation.
(c) Authority.--Not later than 9 months after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall establish and appoint all members of
the Committee.
(d) Duties.--
(1) Recommendations for the department of transportation.--
Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Committee shall make recommendations to the Secretary
on actions the Department can take to help combat human
trafficking, including the development and implementation of--
(A) successful strategies for identifying and
reporting instances of human trafficking; and
(B) recommendations for administrative or
legislative changes necessary to use programs,
properties, or other resources owned, operated, or
funded by the Department to combat human trafficking.
(2) Best practices and recommendations.--
(A) In general.--The Committee shall develop
recommended best practices for States and State and
local transportation stakeholders to follow in
combating human trafficking.
(B) Development.--The best practices shall be based
on multidisciplinary research and promising, evidence-
based models and programs.
(C) Content.--The best practices shall be user-
friendly, incorporate the most up-to-date technology,
and include the following:
(i) Sample training materials.
(ii) Strategies to identify victims.
(iii) Sample protocols and recommendations,
including--
(I) strategies to collect,
document, and share data across systems
and agencies;
(II) strategies to help agencies
better understand the types of
trafficking involved, the scope of the
problem, and the degree of victim
interaction with multiple systems; and
(III) strategies to identify
effective pathways for State agencies
to utilize their position in educating
critical stakeholder groups and
assisting victims.
(D) Informing states of best practices.--The
Secretary shall ensure that State Governors and State
departments of transportation are notified of the best
practices and recommendations.
(e) Reports.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall--
(1) submit a report on the actions of the Committee
described in subsection (d) to--
(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; and
(2) make the report under paragraph (1) publicly available
both physically and online.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Committee.--The term ``Committee'' means the Department
of Transportation Advisory Committee on Human Trafficking
established under subsection (a).
(2) Human trafficking.--The term ``human trafficking''
means an act or practice described in paragraph (9) or
paragraph (10) of section 103 of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102).
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Transportation.
Passed the Senate September 14, 2017.
Attest:
JULIE E. ADAMS,
Secretary.