[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3280 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3280

To increase intergovernmental coordination to identify and combat human 
            trafficking within Indian lands and of Indians.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 26, 2018

    Ms. Cortez Masto (for herself, Ms. Murkowski, and Ms. Heitkamp) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                      Committee on Indian Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To increase intergovernmental coordination to identify and combat human 
            trafficking within Indian lands and of Indians.

    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 ``End Trafficking of Native Americans 
Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the National Institute of Justice reports more than 80 
        percent of American Indian and Alaska Native men and women have 
        experienced violence in their lifetimes and more than 34 
        percent have experienced violence in the last year;
            (2) the National Institute of Justice also estimates that 
        56 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native women 
        experience sexual violence in their lifetimes;
            (3) populations that experience chronic unemployment, 
        homelessness, substance abuse, severe poverty, and high rates 
        of sexual violence and other crimes are at a higher risk of 
        trafficking;
            (4) American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls 
        disproportionately experience the above risk factors;
            (5) historical trauma has increased the vulnerability of 
        American Indians and Alaska Natives to trafficking;
            (6) the Department of Justice has identified combating 
        human trafficking as a priority;
            (7) the Federal Strategic Action Plan on Services for 
        Victims of Human Trafficking in the United States identifies 
        American Indians and Alaska Natives as vulnerable populations;
            (8) reliable data on the prevalence of human trafficking 
        within Indian lands and of Indians is not available;
            (9) according to the Government Accountability Office, from 
        fiscal years 2013 through 2016, there were only 14 Federal 
        investigations and 2 Federal prosecutions of human trafficking 
        offenses within Indian lands; and
            (10) the Government Accountability Office found that nearly 
        half of tribal law enforcement agencies surveyed believe human 
        trafficking is occurring on tribal land in their jurisdictions 
        beyond what had been brought to their attention.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``Committee'' means the Department of the 
        Interior and the Department of Justice Joint Advisory Committee 
        on Human Trafficking established under section 5;
            (2) the term ``human trafficking'' means 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) the term ``Indian'' means a member of an Indian tribe; 
        and
            (4) the terms ``Indian lands'' and ``Indian tribe'' have 
        the meanings given the terms in section 3 of the Native 
        American Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act 
        of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4302).

SEC. 4. HUMAN TRAFFICKING PREVENTION COORDINATOR.

    The Secretary of the Interior shall designate an official within 
the Office of Justice Services in the Bureau of Indian Affairs who 
shall--
            (1) coordinate human trafficking prevention efforts, 
        grants, and programs across offices within the Bureau of Indian 
        Affairs and with the Department of Justice, including the 
        Office of Justice Programs, the Office on Violence Against 
        Women, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, the 
        Office of Tribal Justice, and other agencies of the Federal 
        Government;
            (2) in coordinating efforts, take into account the unique 
        challenges of combating human trafficking faced by tribal 
        communities, tribal law enforcement, Federal law enforcement, 
        and State and local law enforcement;
            (3) work in cooperation with the Department of Homeland 
        Security's Blue Campaign and outside organizations with 
        expertise in working with Indian tribes to provide victim 
        centered and culturally relevant training to tribal law 
        enforcement, Indian Health Service health care providers, 
        tribal community members and businesses, on how to effectively 
        identify, respond to and report instances of human trafficking 
        within Indian lands and of Indians; and
            (4) report directly to the Secretary of the Interior.

SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR AND THE DEPARTMENT 
              OF JUSTICE JOINT ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, in coordination 
with the Attorney General, shall establish and appoint all members of 
an advisory committee on human trafficking within Indian lands and of 
Indians.
    (b) Membership.--
            (1) Composition.--The Committee shall be composed of not 
        more than 15 members whose diverse experience and backgrounds 
        enable them to provide balanced points of view with regard to 
        the duties of the Committee.
            (2) Selection.--The Secretary of the Interior, in 
        coordination with the Attorney General, shall appoint the 
        members to the Committee, including representatives from--
                    (A) tribal law enforcement;
                    (B) the Office of Justice Services of the Bureau of 
                Indian Affairs;
                    (C) State and local law enforcement in close 
                proximity to Indian lands, with a letter of 
                recommendation from a local tribal chair or tribal law 
                enforcement officer;
                    (D) the Federal Bureau of Investigation's victim 
                services division;
                    (E) the Department of Justice's Human Trafficking 
                Prosecution Unit;
                    (F) the Office of Native American Programs of the 
                Department of Housing and Urban Development;
                    (G) the Family Violence Prevention and Services 
                Program of the Department of Health and Human Services;
                    (H) a Federal public defender within Indian lands 
                with a letter of recommendation from a local tribal 
                chair or tribal law enforcement officer;
                    (I) the National American Indian Court Judges 
                Association;
                    (J) an elected leader of a federally recognized 
                Indian tribe;
                    (K) an elected leader of a Federally recognized 
                Indian tribe located in Alaska;
                    (L) a representative the Indian business community 
                with a letter from a local tribal chair or tribal law 
                enforcement officer;
                    (M) mental health counselors and providers with 
                experience in working with Indian survivors of 
                trafficking and sexual assault, with a letter of 
                recommendation from a local tribal chair or tribal law 
                enforcement officer;
                    (N) Indian advocacy organizations whose primary 
                clients are Indians, focused on trafficking and 
                violence against women and children specifically in 
                Indian lands; and
                    (O) at least 1 Indian survivor of human 
                trafficking.
            (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.
            (6) Travel expenses.--The Secretary of the Interior and the 
        Attorney General shall consider the provision of travel 
        expenses, including per diem, to Committee members when 
        appropriate.
    (c) Duties.--
            (1) Recommendations for the department of interior and 
        department of justice.--Not later than 18 months after the date 
        of enactment of this Act, the Committee shall make 
        recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior and Attorney 
        General on actions the departments can take to help combat 
        human trafficking of Indians and within Indian lands, including 
        the development and implementation of--
                    (A) successful strategies for identifying and 
                reporting instances of human trafficking in Indian 
                lands and of Indians;
                    (B) recommendations for legislative and 
                administrative changes necessary to use programs, 
                properties, or other resources funded or operated by 
                the Department of the Interior and Department of 
                Justice to combat human trafficking;
                    (C) recommendations for tracking and reporting data 
                on human trafficking in Indian lands and of Indians; 
                and
                    (D) recommendations for coordinating tribal, State, 
                and Federal resources to increase prosecution of human 
                trafficking offenses and increase information sharing 
                with tribal governments on human trafficking 
                investigations and prosecutions in Indian lands that 
                were terminated or declined.
            (2) Best practices and recommendations.--
                    (A) In general.--The Committee shall develop 
                recommended best practices for Indian tribes and 
                Federal, State, and local law enforcement officials in 
                close proximity to Indian lands to follow--
                            (i) in combatting human trafficking within 
                        Indian lands and of Indians; and
                            (ii) to address any gaps in services for 
                        Indian victims of trafficking.
                    (B) Development.--The best practices shall be based 
                on multidisciplinary and culturally relevant research, 
                evidence-based models and programs.
                    (C) Content.--The best practices shall be user-
                friendly, culturally responsive in form and delivery, 
                and include the following:
                            (i) Sample training materials.
                            (ii) Strategies to identify victims.
                            (iii) Sample guidelines and 
                        recommendations, including--
                                    (I) strategies to collect, 
                                document, and share information across 
                                systems and agencies;
                                    (II) strategies to help agencies 
                                better understand the types of 
                                trafficking involved, the prevalence of 
                                trafficking in Indian lands and of 
                                Indians, and the degree of victim 
                                interaction with multiple systems; and
                                    (III) strategies to improve 
                                coordination between law enforcement, 
                                victim service providers, victim 
                                advocates, and Indian communities to 
                                utilize their positions and resources 
                                in educating critical stakeholder 
                                groups and assisting victims.
                    (D) Secretarial response.--The Attorney General and 
                the Secretary of the Interior shall submit a written 
                response to the recommendations developed by the 
                Committee to--
                            (i) the Committee;
                            (ii) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
                        Senate;
                            (iii) the Committee on Indian Affairs of 
                        the Senate; and
                            (iv) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
                        House of Representatives.
                    (E) Study.--The Committee shall recommend whether a 
                Federal study is needed on the prevalence of human 
                trafficking within Indian lands and of Indians and the 
                range of and access to victim services for human 
                trafficking.
    (d) Reports.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Committee shall--
            (1) submit a report on the action of the Committee 
        described in subsection (c) that includes the responses of the 
        Department of the Interior and the Department of Justice to the 
        recommendations of the Committee to--
                    (A) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate;
                    (B) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 
                of Representatives;
                    (C) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; 
                and
                    (D) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
                Representatives; and
            (2) make the report under paragraph (1) publicly available 
        both in a hard copy and online.
    (e) FACA Exemption.--The Committee shall be exempt from the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).
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