[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2996 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2996

      To amend the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and 
  Accountability Act of 2015 with respect to the protection of human 
          rights and labor standards, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 23, 2019

  Mr. Lewis (for himself, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Higgins of New York, Mr. 
McGovern, Mr. Hastings, Ms. Norton, Mr. Rush, Ms. Omar, Mr. Cohen, Ms. 
 Kaptur, Mr. Levin of Michigan, Mr. Lowenthal, Ms. Schakowsky, and Mr. 
   Suozzi) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
                        the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To amend the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and 
  Accountability Act of 2015 with respect to the protection of human 
          rights and labor standards, 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 ``Labor, Human, and Civil Rights Trade 
Policy Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States has played a leading role in 
        developing global human rights standards since the inception of 
        the country.
            (2) The first 10 amendments to the Constitution are among 
        the guiding principles that helped develop the Universal 
        Declaration of Human Rights.
            (3) First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt led the United States 
        delegation and the United Nations in drafting the Universal 
        Declaration of Human Rights.
            (4) December 10, 2018, marked the 70th anniversary of the 
        adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
            (5) The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the 
        International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 
        and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 
        1966.
            (6) The United Kingdom implemented the Slave Trade Act of 
        1807, setting a global precedent towards the eventual 
        abolishment of slavery in the Americas that the United States 
        eventually followed.
            (7) The world celebrated the 212th anniversary of the 
        abolition of the transatlantic slave trade on May 1, 2019.
            (8) On January 1, 2019, the United States recognized the 
        156th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.
            (9) The United States has continuously enacted legislation 
        and ratified amendments to the Constitution to improve the 
        protections of the rights of all persons in the United States, 
        including--
                    (A) the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, 
                ratified in 1865;
                    (B) the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (14 Stat. 27);
                    (C) the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, 
                ratified in 1868;
                    (D) the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, 
                ratified in 1920;
                    (E) the Social Security Act of 1935 (42 U.S.C. 301 
                et seq.);
                    (F) the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
                201 et seq.);
                    (G) the Housing Act of 1949 (63 Stat. 413);
                    (H) the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (Public Law 88-38; 77 
                Stat. 56);
                    (I) the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Public Law 88-
                352; 78 Stat. 241);
                    (J) the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-
                110; 79 Stat. 437);
                    (K) the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
                1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.);
                    (L) the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 
                1967 (29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.);
                    (M) the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 
                1987 (42 U.S.C. 11301 et seq.);
                    (N) the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988 
                (Public Law 100-259; 102 Stat. 28);
                    (O) the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 
                U.S.C. 12101 et seq.);
                    (P) the Civil Rights Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-
                166; 105 Stat. 1071);
                    (Q) the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, Coretta Scott 
                King, Cesar E. Chavez, Barbara C. Jordan, William C. 
                Velasquez, and Dr. Hector P. Garcia Voting Rights Act 
                Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006 (Public Law 
                109-246; 120 Stat. 577); and
                    (R) the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate 
                Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-84; 123 
                Stat. 2835).
            (10) Labor, human, and civil rights standards and 
        protections require constant review and attention.
            (11) The Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations 
        set forth a 15-year plan to combat poverty, hunger, disease, 
        illiteracy, environmental degradation, and discrimination.
            (12) The 43rd General Assembly of the Organization of 
        American States adopted the Inter-American Convention against 
        Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance 
        on June 5, 2013.
            (13) The Global Slavery Index estimates that as many as 
        45,800,000 people around the world were in some form of modern 
        slavery in 2016.
            (14) The United States supported the adoption of the 
        Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the United Nations 
        General Assembly and has ratified significant international 
        human rights treaties, including the International Convention 
        on the Elimination of Racism and Discrimination (November 20, 
        1994), the International Convention on the Prevention and 
        Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (February 23, 1989), the 
        International Convention against Torture and other Cruel, 
        Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (November 20, 
        1994), and the International Covenant on Civil and Political 
        Rights (September 8, 1992).
            (15) The United States has ratified two of the eight 
        fundamental conventions outlined by the International Labor 
        Organization, including the Convention (ILO 105) concerning the 
        abolition of forced labor (September 25, 1992) and the 
        Convention (ILO 182) concerning the prohibition and immediate 
        action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labor 
        (December 2, 2000).
            (16) The United States has also ratified the Optional 
        Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the 
        Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography 
        (January 23, 2003) and the Optional Protocol to the Convention 
        on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in 
        Armed Conflicts (January 23, 2003).
            (17) The United States signed the Convention on the Rights 
        of Persons with Disabilities on July 30, 2009.
            (18) The United States is expected to be a regional and 
        global leader in the international civil and human rights 
        movement, including by fighting discrimination, xenophobia, 
        human, labor, and civil rights abuses as a part of both 
        domestic and foreign policy.
            (19) Throughout United States history, Congress has 
        addressed, debated, and advanced the protection of human rights 
        through legislation relating to taxes and international trade.
            (20) On May 10, 2007, President George W. Bush negotiated 
        an agreement with the leadership of the 110th Congress, which 
        intended to strengthen labor, environmental, intellectual 
        property, access to medicines, health, investment, government 
        procurement, and port security standards in United States trade 
        agreements.
            (21) This bipartisan deal, referred to as the ``May 10th 
        Agreement'', made significant progress in recognizing that 
        human, labor, and civil rights must be an integral component of 
        United States trade policy.
            (22) United States trade policy cannot be static in a 
        changing global economy, and it is critical that United States 
        trade policy proactively advance domestic and global efforts to 
        improve human, civil, and labor rights and conditions.
            (23) The trade negotiating objectives of the United States 
        should also address current, emerging, and future attempts to 
        undermine or fail to enhance the living, labor, civil, and 
        human rights standards of the United States or its trading 
        partners.

SEC. 3. STRENGTHENING TRADE, LABOR, AND HUMAN RIGHTS.

    The Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability 
Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 4201 et seq.) is amended as follows:
            (1) In section 103(b)(3)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking 
                ``strictly''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) For purposes of subparagraph (B)(ii), a 
                provision may be necessary or appropriate, with respect 
                to a trade agreement, if the provision addresses issues 
                relating to a party to the agreement, such as human 
                rights.
                    ``(D) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the 
                provisions of section 151 of the Trade Act of 1974 
                shall only apply to an implementing bill submitted for 
                an agreement that--
                            ``(i) achieves the principle negotiating 
                        objectives with respect to labor described in 
                        section 102(b)(10);
                            ``(ii) explicitly provides that, with 
                        respect to any country that is a party to the 
                        agreement--
                                    ``(I) any union in such country 
                                shall not be required to affiliate with 
                                any confederation and shall be free to 
                                form and affiliate with any vertical or 
                                horizontal workers organization, 
                                including any confederation, sector-
                                wide, or industry-wide union of its own 
                                choosing;
                                    ``(II) workers in such country 
                                shall have the right to freely form and 
                                join an autonomous and independent 
                                union of their choosing;
                                    ``(III) any union in such country 
                                engaged in collective bargaining with 
                                an employer shall be required to 
                                demonstrate majority support of that 
                                employer's workers, on behalf of whom 
                                it is negotiating, prior to 
                                registration of any collective 
                                bargaining agreement;
                                    ``(IV) for purposes of the labor 
                                obligations in the agreement relating 
                                to procedural guarantees for labor law 
                                enforcement, any administrative, quasi-
                                judicial, judicial, or labor tribunals 
                                or boards composed of members with 
                                direct or indirect interest in matters 
                                before them shall not be considered 
                                impartial and independent;
                                    ``(V) for purposes of evaluating 
                                any measures taken by a country to 
                                substantially reform its laws or 
                                institutions to comply with the core 
                                labor standards of the trade agreement, 
                                an independent panel of experts must 
                                regularly examine and publicly report 
                                on the implementation of such reforms, 
                                provide recommendations, and identify 
                                concerns relating to the compliance of 
                                such country with its labor obligations 
                                under the agreement, based on input 
                                from the parties to the trade 
                                agreement, interested stakeholders, and 
                                any other relevant information and 
                                reporting; and
                                    ``(VI) if such independent panel 
                                determines that such country is not in 
                                compliance with its obligations, the 
                                determination shall be treated as an 
                                initial report of an arbitration panel 
                                under the trade agreement, and the 
                                matter shall be addressed in accordance 
                                with the normal procedures laid out for 
                                such cases, including through an 
                                agreement to eliminate the 
                                nonconformity in the first instance or, 
                                as a last resort, to suspend benefits 
                                under the trade agreement; and
                            ``(iii) implements a trade agreement 
                        between parties that consistently demonstrates 
                        respect for internationally recognized human 
                        rights, as indicated through assessments such 
                        as the annual Country Reports on Human Rights 
                        Practices or the Trafficking in Persons Report, 
                        over a period of at least ten years.''.
            (2) In section 111--
                    (A) by amending paragraph (7)(E) to read as 
                follows:
                    ``(E) the elimination of discrimination, including 
                discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual 
                orientation, gender identity, religion, political 
                opinion, national extraction, social origin, age, 
                disability, HIV/AIDS status, engagement in organizing 
                activities, or union membership, with respect to 
                employment and occupation.'';
                    (B) by redesignating paragraphs (18) through (23) 
                as paragraphs (19) through (24), respectively; and
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (17) the 
                following:
            ``(18) Internationally recognized human rights.--The term 
        `internationally recognized human rights' means the rights 
        stated in the following:
                    ``(A) The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
                    ``(B) The International Covenant on Economic, 
                Social and Cultural Rights.
                    ``(C) The Convention on the Elimination of All 
                Forms of Discrimination Against Women and its Optional 
                Protocol.
                    ``(D) The Convention on the Rights of the Child.
                    ``(E) The Convention on the Rights of Persons with 
                Disabilities and its Optional Protocol.
                    ``(F) The Convention for the Protection of All 
                Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
                    ``(G) The First Optional Protocol to the Covenant 
                on Civil and Political Rights.
                    ``(H) The Optional Protocol to the Convention 
                Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading 
                Treatment or Punishment.''.
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