[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8706 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8706

     To amend the Act of March 4, 1913 to establish the Bureau of 
  International Labor Affairs within the Department of Labor, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 30, 2020

 Mr. DeSaulnier (for himself and Mr. Walberg) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in 
addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, and Ways and Means, 
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 Act of March 4, 1913 to establish the Bureau of 
  International Labor Affairs within the Department of Labor, 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 ``Bureau of International Labor 
Affairs Authorization Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT.

    The Act of March 4, 1913 (37 Stat. 736, chapter 141; 29 U.S.C. 551 
et seq.), is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 12. BUREAU OF INTERNATIONAL LABOR AFFAIRS.

    ``(a) Establishment of the Bureau of International Labor Affairs.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is established within the 
        Department of Labor a Bureau of International Labor Affairs 
        (referred to in this section as the `Bureau'). The Bureau shall 
        include offices to carry out functions related to--
                    ``(A) trade and labor affairs;
                    ``(B) child labor, forced labor, and human 
                trafficking;
                    ``(C) international relations and economic affairs; 
                and
                    ``(D) other functions and activities as designated 
                by the Secretary of Labor.
            ``(2) Deputy undersecretary.--The Secretary of Labor shall 
        appoint a Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs to 
        head the Bureau. The Deputy Undersecretary for International 
        Affairs shall continue to carry out all duties assigned to the 
        Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs as of the day 
        before the date of enactment of the Bureau of International 
        Labor Affairs Authorization Act of 2020 and other duties and 
        functions, as appropriate, to fulfill the mission of the 
        Bureau.
            ``(3) Functions.--The functions of the Bureau on and after 
        the date of enactment of the Bureau of International Labor 
        Affairs Authorization Act of 2020 shall include the 
        responsibilities and functions of the Bureau on the day before 
        the date of enactment of the Bureau of International Labor 
        Affairs Authorization Act of 2020, and include all of its 
        personnel, assets, authorities, liabilities, and other 
        resources, including representational funds, required to 
        support such functions.
            ``(4) Mission.--The mission of the Bureau shall be to--
                    ``(A) promote a fair global playing field for 
                workers and businesses in the United States and around 
                the world by enforcing trade commitments, strengthening 
                international labor standards, and combating 
                international child labor, forced labor, and human 
                trafficking;
                    ``(B) assist trading partners, through technical 
                assistance and capacity building, in improving working 
                conditions, combating child labor, forced labor, and 
                human trafficking, raising living standards, and 
                protecting the ability of workers to exercise their 
                internationally recognized labor rights to promote a 
                fair global playing field for workers and businesses in 
                the United States and trade partner countries;
                    ``(C) support negotiations, conduct monitoring, and 
                administer, and engage in enforcement of, labor 
                commitments in trade agreements and preference 
                programs;
                    ``(D) hire and designate labor attaches to serve at 
                United States diplomatic and consular posts to assess 
                working conditions, advance worker rights, address the 
                workplace exploitation of children and other vulnerable 
                populations, and serve as authoritative experts on 
                labor policies and practices;
                    ``(E) carry out representational activities, 
                research, and other functions as designated by the 
                Secretary of Labor; and
                    ``(F) implement the duties and responsibilities 
                assigned to the Department of Labor under the 
                Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 
                7101 et seq.), the Trade and Development Act of 2000 
                (19 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.), the United States-Mexico-
                Canada Agreement Implementation Act (Public Law 116-
                113), and other Acts, and Executive orders, as 
                appropriate.
    ``(b) Grants, Contracts, and Cooperative Agreements.--The Secretary 
of Labor may utilize funds made available to the Bureau to administer 
or operate international labor activities and provide bilateral and 
multilateral technical assistance by or through contracts, grants, 
cooperative agreements, and other arrangements to carry out the mission 
and functions set forth in this section.
    ``(c) Report to Congress.--The Secretary shall submit to Congress 
on an annual basis a report on the activities of the Bureau during the 
previous year, including--
            ``(1) activities to prevent forced and child labor;
            ``(2) support for trade agreement monitoring and 
        enforcement activities;
            ``(3) the location and activities of labor attaches; and
            ``(4) the use of funds for contracts, grants, cooperative 
        agreements and other funding arrangements.''.
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