[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1427 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1427
To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for priority for
making payments for lodging expenses for Federal employees that are
booked in places with policies to protect individuals from severe forms
of human trafficking, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 28, 2019
Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself and Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New
York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Oversight and Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for priority for
making payments for lodging expenses for Federal employees that are
booked in places with policies to protect individuals from severe forms
of human 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. PRIORITY FOR ACCOMMODATION IN PLACES WITH CERTAIN POLICIES
RELATING TO SEVERE FORMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
(a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 5712. Priority for accommodation in places with certain policies
relating to severe forms of human trafficking
``(a) In General.--For the purpose of making payments under this
chapter for lodging expenses each agency shall ensure that, to the
extent practicable, commercial-lodging room nights in the United States
for employees of that agency are booked in a preferred place of
accommodation.
``(b) Eligibility as a Preferred Place of Accommodation.--To be
considered a preferred place of accommodation, a hotel, motel, or other
place of public accommodation shall--
``(1) enforce a zero-tolerance policy regarding severe
forms of trafficking in persons (as defined in section 103(11)
of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C.
7102(11))) developed by the Administer of the General Services
Administration under subsection (c)(1), or a similar zero-
tolerance policy developed by the place of accommodation,
demonstrated by--
``(A) attesting through the website of the General
Services Administration to the use of a zero-tolerance
policy;
``(B) posting such policy in a non-public space
within the place of accommodation that is accessible by
all employees; or
``(C) including such policy in the employee
handbook;
``(2) have procedures in place for employees to identify
and report any such exploitation to the appropriate law
enforcement authorities and to hotel management;
``(3) post the informational materials developed under
subsection (c)(3) in an appropriate non-public space within the
place of accommodation that is accessible by all employees;
``(4) require each employee who is physically located at
the place of accommodation and who is likely to interact with
guests including security, front desk, housekeeping, room
service and bell staff to complete the training developed under
subsection (c)(2), or a training developed pursuant to
subsection (d), that shall--
``(A) take place not later than 180 days after the
starting date of the employee, or in the case of an
employee starting employment before the effective date
of this section, not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this section; and
``(B) include training on the identification of
possible cases of sexual exploitation of children and
procedures to report suspected abuse to the appropriate
authorities;
``(5) include a notice to all independent contractors in
any agreement negotiated or renewed on or after the date of
enactment of this section that states the following: `Federal
law prohibits the trafficking of humans under the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act (22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.).';
``(6) ensure that the place of accommodation does not
retaliate against employees for reporting suspected cases of
such exploitation if reported according to protocol identified
in the employee training; and
``(7) keep records, to the extent permissible by law and on
an individual hotel property basis, of each suspected case of
such exploitation that is reported to accommodation management
or law enforcement, including the date, approximate time, and
the name of the accommodation manager or law enforcement agency
to which the report was made.
``(c) GSA Requirements.--The Administrator of General Services
shall--
``(1) develop, and make available on the Internet website
of the General Services Administration, a zero-tolerance policy
for places of accommodation regarding severe forms of
trafficking in persons (as defined in section 103(11) of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C.
7102(11))), including informational materials regarding such
policy to be posted in places of accommodation in non-public
spaces;
``(2) make available on its Internet website a list of
Federal Government and privately produced training programs
that address the identification of severe forms of human
trafficking and reporting to law enforcement authorities;
``(3) in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland
Security's Blue Campaign, develop training materials on
preventing severe forms of human trafficking and informational
materials to be posted in non-public spaces in places of
accommodation on spotting the signs of severe forms of human
trafficking and reporting possible incidences of such
exploitation; and
``(4) maintain a list of each preferred place of
accommodation that meets the requirements of subsection (b),
beginning by examining places of accommodation that are--
``(A) enrolled in government travel programs such
as FedRooms;
``(B) included on the FEMA Fire Safe List; or
``(C) otherwise known to have received government
travel business in the 2 years prior to enactment of
this section.
``(d) Training Programs.--A place of accommodation or lodging
company may use a training program developed or acquired by such place
of accommodation or company to satisfy the requirements of subsection
(b)(4) if such training program--
``(1) focuses on identifying and reporting suspected cases
of severe forms of human trafficking; and
``(2) was developed in consultation with a globally or
nationally recognized organization with expertise in anti-
trafficking initiatives.
``(e) Previously Trained Employees.--
``(1) Training prior to effective date.--Any employee of a
place of accommodation who has been trained to identify and
report potential cases of severe forms of human trafficking
prior to the effective date of this section shall be considered
to have met the training requirement in subsection (b)(4) with
respect to any employment at that place of accommodation or at
any another place of accommodation managed by the same entity.
``(2) Training prior to a transfer of employment.--Any
employee of a place of accommodation who has met the training
requirements under subsection (b)(4) shall be considered to
have met such requirements with respect to any employment at a
place of accommodation managed by the same entity.
``(f) Property-by-Property Implementation.--Compliance with the
requirements of this section shall be assessed and enforced separately
for each individual place of accommodation. Lack of compliance by one
place of accommodation shall not impact the eligibility of affiliated
places of accommodation to receive funds from Federal employee travel.
Lack of compliance by a franchisee shall not impact the eligibility of
the respective franchisor for other places of accommodation affiliated
with that franchisor.
``(g) Statutory Construction.--No provision in this Act that
applies to an employee of a place of accommodation shall be construed
to apply to an individual who is an independent contractor or otherwise
not directly employed by a place of accommodation, unless the contract
is for housekeeping services.
``(h) Regulations Required.--The Administrator of General Services
shall issue such regulations as are necessary to carry out this
section.''.
(b) Effective Date.--Section 5712(a) of title 5, United States Code
(as added by subsection (a)), shall take effect on the later of--
(1) the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act; and
(2) 60 days after the completion of the requirements under
subsections (c) and (d) of such section.
(c) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for subchapter I
of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following new item:
``5712. Priority for accommodation in places with certain policies
relating to severe forms of human
trafficking.''.
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