[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2104 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2104

        To support global labor rights, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 17, 2021

 Mr. Menendez introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
        To support global labor rights, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Global Labor 
Support Act of 2021''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
                      TITLE I--GLOBAL LABOR RIGHTS

Sec. 101. Statement of policy.
Sec. 102. Funding for global labor rights.
Sec. 103. Global labor program.
Sec. 104. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Labor Rights.
Sec. 105. Imposition of sanctions with respect to gross violations of 
                            the human rights of workers.
Sec. 106. Annual report on internationally recognized labor rights.
Sec. 107. Comptroller General report on United States Government work 
                            on labor rights.
                  TITLE II--LABOR RIGHTS IN BANGLADESH

Sec. 201. Findings.
Sec. 202. Statement of policy.
Sec. 203. Updated labor rights and worker safety commitments for 
                            Bangladesh.
Sec. 204. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 205. Embassy Dhaka labor attache.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The International Labour Organization (ILO) Declaration 
        on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, which ILO Member 
        States adopted in 1998, recognizes four fundamental rights at 
        work:
                    (A) Freedom of association and the effective 
                recognition of the right to collective bargaining.
                    (B) The elimination of all forms of forced or 
                compulsory labour.
                    (C) The effective abolition of child labour.
                    (D) The elimination of discrimination in respect of 
                employment and occupation, which may be referred to as 
                non-discrimination.
            (2) The ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair 
        Globalization, which ILO Member States adopted in 2008, 
        recognizes four strategic objectives through which the Decent 
        Work Agenda is expressed:
                    (A) Promoting employment by creating a sustainable 
                institutional and economic environment for the 
                sustainable development of individuals, enterprises, 
                and societies.
                    (B) Developing and enhancing measures of social 
                protection, including social security, healthy and safe 
                working conditions, and policies in regard to wages, 
                hours, and other conditions of work.
                    (C) Promoting social dialogue for translating 
                economic development into social progress and making 
                labour law and institutions effective.
                    (D) Respecting, promoting, and realizing the 
                fundamental principles and rights at work, noting that 
                freedom of association and effective recognition of the 
                right to collective bargaining are particularly 
                important.
            (3) On June 21, 2019, the International Labour Conference 
        of the ILO adopted the Violence and Harassment Convention (No. 
        190) and Recommendation (No. 206), which recognize the right of 
        everyone to a world of work free from violence and harassment, 
        including gender-based violence and harassment.
            (4) On June 21, 2019, the United States voted in favor of 
        the adoption of ILO Convention 190, but has not ratified it.
            (5) The Department of State documents worker rights in its 
        annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in the 
        following five categories:
                    (A) Freedom of association and the right to 
                collective bargaining.
                    (B) Prohibition of forced or compulsory labor.
                    (C) Prohibition of worst forms of child labor and 
                minimum age for employment.
                    (D) Prohibition of discrimination with respect to 
                employment and occupation.
                    (E) Acceptable conditions of work.
            (6) In 1999, the Department of State created the position 
        of Special Representative for International Labor Affairs.
            (7) Section 515 of volume 1 of the Foreign Affairs Manual 
        defines the duties of the Special Representative for 
        International Labor Affairs as follows: ``The Special 
        Representative for International Labor Affairs serves as the 
        senior policy advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Democracy, 
        Human Rights, and Labor on all matters related to international 
        labor affairs and rights; and reports directly to the Assistant 
        Secretary. The Special Representative alerts the Assistant 
        Secretary to opportunities for advancing existing policy, helps 
        formulate new policy approaches, and serves as a key front 
        office contributor to strategic thinking for the bureau in 
        relation to international labor affairs.''.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
                Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions of 
                the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
                Committee on Education and Labor of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) Internationally recognized labor rights.--The term 
        ``internationally recognized labor rights'' means--
                    (A) the freedom of association and the effective 
                recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
                    (B) the elimination of all forms of forced or 
                compulsory labor;
                    (C) the effective prohibition and abolition of all 
                forms of child labor;
                    (D) the elimination of discrimination in respect of 
                employment and occupation; and
                    (E) acceptable conditions of work with respect to 
                minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety 
                and health.
            (3) Vulnerable populations.--The term ``vulnerable 
        populations'' means--
                    (A) workers who identify as women or girls;
                    (B) workers with disabilities;
                    (C) child workers above the minimum age of 
                employment as defined by the ILO Minimum Age 
                Convention;
                    (D) workers who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, 
                transgender, queer, or intersex;
                    (E) workers from marginalized communities;
                    (F) migrant workers;
                    (G) domestic workers;
                    (H) workers in the informal economy;
                    (I) workers in non-standard forms of employment as 
                described by the ILO, including short-term contract 
                employment and home-based employment, among others; and
                    (J) workers who otherwise lack access to social 
                protection.

                      TITLE I--GLOBAL LABOR RIGHTS

SEC. 101. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States to--
            (1) support and advance internationally recognized labor 
        rights around the world;
            (2) recognize that barriers to workers, particularly 
        workers who identify as women or girls, accessing their full 
        internationally recognized labor rights include--
                    (A) workplace harassment and violence, particularly 
                gender-based harassment and violence;
                    (B) lack of pay equity;
                    (C) lack of access to family, medical, and sick 
                leave;
                    (D) lack of access to affordable child care;
                    (E) lack of access to safe and adequate water and 
                sanitation facilities and hygienic conditions; and
                    (F) restrictive social and gender norms;
            (3) engage governments directly and through multilateral 
        organizations, such as the International Labour Organization 
        and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 
        to advance internationally recognized labor rights, prevent and 
        respond to gender-based harassment and violence in the world of 
        work, and promote safe working conditions;
            (4) oppose the use of force or coercion to prevent workers 
        from exercising their internationally recognized labor rights, 
        including by employers and government entities, such as the use 
        of police or military force;
            (5) engage with labor unions, workers' organizations, 
        nongovernmental organizations, academia, and the private 
        sector, including industry associations and multistakeholder 
        initiatives, to strengthen respect for, and promote protection 
        of, internationally recognized labor rights around the world; 
        and
            (6) support transparency regarding, and corporate 
        accountability for, the protection of internationally 
        recognized labor rights in global supply chains.

SEC. 102. FUNDING FOR GLOBAL LABOR RIGHTS.

    (a) Global Labor Rights Fund.--
            (1) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of 
        the United States a fund for entities whose main purpose is to 
        protect and promote labor rights, to be known as the Global 
        Labor Rights Fund (in this section referred to as the 
        ``Fund''), consisting of such amounts as are appropriated 
        pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under paragraph 
        (2) or otherwise appropriated or otherwise made available to 
        the Fund.
            (2) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated to the Fund $30,000,000, of which 
        $25,000,000 shall be divided between the Department of State 
        and the United States Agency for International Development and 
        $5,000,000 shall be for the International Labor Affairs Bureau 
        at the Department of Labor for each of fiscal years 2022 
        through 2028.
            (3) Recipients of funds.--Funds from the Global Labor 
        Rights Fund shall be available to entities whose main purpose 
        is to protect and promote labor rights, such as labor unions 
        and nongovernmental organizations with a demonstrated record of 
        labor rights advocacy or effective implementation of labor 
        rights programs, and may be made available to foreign 
        government entities only for the purposes of providing 
        technical assistance for reforming labor laws, intensifying 
        labor law enforcement, implementing transparent reporting on 
        labor inspections, improving monitoring mechanisms to comply 
        with internationally recognized labor rights, and strengthening 
        the ability of dispute resolution mechanisms and the judicial 
        system to address labor issues in an impartial and independent 
        manner.
            (4) Use of funds.--Amounts in the Fund shall be used to 
        effectively implement the following goals:
                    (A) To build the capacity of labor rights 
                organizations in foreign countries, including labor 
                unions, to protect internationally recognized labor 
                rights, including building their capacity to organize 
                workers into labor unions and to negotiate strong 
                collective bargaining agreements.
                    (B) To build the capacity of government entities to 
                protect internationally recognized labor rights only 
                under the conditions described in paragraph (3).
                    (C) To develop social protection systems that help 
                workers overcome barriers to accessing their full 
                internationally recognized labor rights, such as 
                promoting access to paid family, medical, and sick 
                leave.
                    (D) To safeguard and promote the rights of workers 
                facing discrimination, harassment, and violence, 
                particularly workers who identify as women or girls and 
                workers from other vulnerable populations, including--
                            (i) supporting equal pay for equal work;
                            (ii) supporting workers' access to justice, 
                        including through access to quality legal 
                        assistance;
                            (iii) providing protection from 
                        retaliation; and
                            (iv) providing legal, psychosocial, and 
                        other support and services during 
                        investigations of abuse or exploitation.
                    (E) To support the development of worker-driven 
                labor monitoring and gender-sensitive complaint and 
                dispute resolution mechanisms.
                    (F) To increase the general population's awareness 
                of internationally recognized labor rights.
                    (G) To otherwise promote and protect 
                internationally recognized labor rights.
            (5) Implementation.--In general, the Secretary of State, in 
        coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency 
        for International Development and the Secretary of Labor, shall 
        coordinate and carry out activities to achieve the goals 
        described in paragraph (4).
            (6) Briefing on implementation.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary of State, in 
                coordination with the Administrator of the United 
                States Agency for International Development and the 
                Secretary of Labor, shall provide to the appropriate 
                congressional committees an annual briefing on the 
                programs and activities carried out to achieve the 
                goals described in paragraph (4) during the preceding 
                fiscal year and through fiscal year 2028, including all 
                programs and activities funded with amounts in the 
                Fund.
                    (B) Elements.--Each briefing shall include, with 
                respect to each program or activity described in 
                subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) a thorough description of the program 
                        or activity;
                            (ii) the amount of funding for the program 
                        or activity;
                            (iii) the identity of each recipient of 
                        funding for the program or activity, including 
                        any subgrantees;
                            (iv) the number of participants in the 
                        program or activity, disaggregated by industry 
                        or sector, age, gender identity, ethnic or 
                        racial identity, disability, educational 
                        attainment level, migratory status, and 
                        occupation to the extent that participants are 
                        willing and able to safely provide such 
                        information;
                            (v) a description of the goal or goals 
                        described in paragraph (4) to which the program 
                        or activity relates and the indicators 
                        established to monitor progress toward meeting 
                        the goal or goals;
                            (vi) an assessment of whether or not the 
                        program or activity met the goal or goals; and
                            (vii) future plans for the program or 
                        activity, including how the progress achieved 
                        through the program or activity will be 
                        sustained, and resources needed for those 
                        future plans, including appropriations.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations for Additional Labor Rights 
Programming.--
            (1) Authorization of appropriations.--In addition to the 
        amounts authorized to be appropriated pursuant to subsection 
        (a)(2), there is authorized to be appropriated $30,000,000, of 
        which $25,000,000 shall be divided between the Department of 
        State and the United States Agency for International 
        Development and $5,000,000 shall be for the International Labor 
        Affairs Bureau at the Department of Labor for each of fiscal 
        years 2022 through 2028 for additional labor rights 
        programming.
            (2) Use of funds.--Amounts appropriated by this section may 
        be used to effectively implement the following goals:
                    (A) To build the capacity of labor rights 
                organizations in foreign countries, including labor 
                unions, to protect internationally recognized labor 
                rights, including building their capacity to organize 
                workers into labor unions and to negotiate strong 
                collective bargaining agreements.
                    (B) To build the capacity of other nongovernmental 
                organizations in foreign countries to protect 
                internationally recognized labor rights.
                    (C) To improve the capability of foreign government 
                entities, including legislatures, the judiciary, 
                government agencies, and law enforcement bodies, 
                especially labor law enforcement bodies, to protect 
                internationally recognized labor rights.
                    (D) To develop social protection systems that help 
                workers overcome barriers to accessing their full 
                internationally recognized labor rights, such as 
                promoting access to paid family, medical, and sick 
                leave.
                    (E) To safeguard and promote rights of workers 
                facing discrimination, harassment, and violence, 
                particularly workers who identify as women or girls and 
                workers from other vulnerable populations, including--
                            (i) supporting equal pay for equal work;
                            (ii) supporting workers' access to justice, 
                        including through access to quality legal 
                        assistance;
                            (iii) providing protection from 
                        retaliation; and
                            (iv) providing legal, psychosocial, and 
                        other support and services during 
                        investigations of abuse or exploitation.
                    (F) To support the development of worker-driven 
                labor monitoring and gender-sensitive complaint and 
                dispute resolution mechanisms.
                    (G) To increase the general population's awareness 
                of internationally recognized labor rights.
                    (H) To otherwise promote and protect 
                internationally recognized labor rights.
            (3) Implementation.--In general, the Secretary of State, in 
        coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency 
        for International Development and the Secretary of Labor, shall 
        coordinate and carry out activities to achieve the goals 
        described in paragraph (2).

SEC. 103. GLOBAL LABOR PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Following the completion of the initial extended 
six-year Global Labor Program from 2016 to 2022, the Administrator of 
the United States Agency for International Development shall extend the 
Global Labor Program an additional five years, from 2023 to 2028.
    (b) Implementation.--The Global Labor Program extension shall 
maintain the single-implementer model used in the first program, though 
the Administrator may re-compete the award for that single implementer. 
The Administrator shall consult with the Assistant Secretary of State 
for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the Department of State and 
the Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs at the Department 
of Labor prior to making any changes to the scope, nature, or structure 
of the Global Labor Program. Any such changes shall be subject to the 
regular notification procedures of the appropriate congressional 
committees.
    (c) Use of Funds.--Of the amounts appropriated pursuant to 
subsections (a)(2) and (b)(1) of section 102, not less than $13,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2028 shall be made available for 
the Global Labor Program.

SEC. 104. AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL LABOR RIGHTS.

    (a) Ambassador-at-Large.--There is established the position of 
United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Labor Rights (referred to 
in this section as the ``Ambassador-at-Large''). The Ambassador-at-
Large shall replace the Special Representative for International Labor 
Affairs position described in section 515 of volume 1 of the Foreign 
Affairs Manual.
    (b) Appointment.--The Ambassador-at-Large shall be appointed by the 
President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
    (c) Central Objective.--The central objective of the Ambassador-at-
Large is to lead and coordinate the United States Government's 
diplomatic engagement with foreign governments on the promotion and 
protection of internationally recognized labor rights, including the 
policies described in section 101, in coordination with other agencies 
and offices of the United States Government, including--
            (1) other bureaus and offices of the Department of State, 
        particularly the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs;
            (2) the United States Agency for International Development;
            (3) the Department of Labor, particularly the Bureau of 
        International Labor Affairs;
            (4) the United States Trade Representative; and
            (5) U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
    (d) Duties and Responsibilities.--The Ambassador-at-Large shall--
            (1) engage with foreign government officials, both in 
        bilateral and multilateral contexts, to encourage them to 
        promote and protect internationally recognized labor rights;
            (2) engage with multilateral organizations to promote and 
        protect internationally recognized labor rights;
            (3) engage with nongovernmental organizations to support 
        their efforts to promote and protect internationally recognized 
        labor rights;
            (4) participate in the formulation of United States policy 
        regarding internationally recognized labor rights, including 
        through leading and coordinating relevant meetings at the 
        National Security Council and National Economic Council as 
        appropriate;
            (5) support United States ambassadors and United States 
        embassy personnel, including those specifically covering labor 
        issues, in their efforts to promote and protect internationally 
        recognized labor rights; and
            (6) consult on the development of United States Government 
        programs and activities to promote and protect internationally 
        recognized labor rights, including the programs and activities 
        described in sections 102 and 103.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary for the hiring of three 
full-time employees to support the Ambassador-at-Large, for the conduct 
of investigations by the Ambassador-at-Large, and for necessary travel 
to carry out the provisions of this section.
    (f) Report on Activities.--Not later than 180 days after the 
appointment of the Ambassador-at-Large, and annually thereafter, the 
Ambassador-at-Large shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report that details the activities that were undertaken in 
the preceding year under subsection (d).

SEC. 105. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO GROSS VIOLATIONS OF 
              THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF WORKERS.

    (a) Global Magnitsky Sanctions.--The President shall use the 
authority provided under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights 
Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114-328; 22 
U.S.C. 2656 note) to impose sanctions with respect to foreign persons, 
including foreign government officials and business owners, directors, 
officers, or managing agents, and associates of such persons, that the 
President determines are responsible for gross violations of the human 
rights of workers.
    (b) 7031(c) Sanctions.--The Secretary of State shall use the 
authority provided under section 7031(c) of the Department of State, 
Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2019 
(division F of Public Law 116-6; 8 U.S.C. 1182 note) and other existing 
authorities to implement visa bans with respect to foreign government 
officials and their immediate family members that the Secretary of 
State determines are responsible for gross violations of the human 
rights of workers.

SEC. 106. ANNUAL REPORT ON INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED LABOR RIGHTS.

    (a) Report.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of State, in coordination 
        with the Secretary of Labor and the Administrator of the United 
        States Agency for International Development, shall submit to 
        the appropriate congressional committees an annual public 
        report on the country-by-country status of internationally 
        recognized labor rights in addition to the Country Reports on 
        Human Rights Practices.
            (2) Countries covered.--The report required under paragraph 
        (1) shall include--
                    (A) all countries that receive United States 
                foreign assistance; and
                    (B) all countries in which the Secretary assesses 
                that there are challenges to the implementation of 
                internationally recognized labor rights.
            (3) Elements.--The report required by this section shall 
        include the following elements:
                    (A) A description of the extent to which the labor 
                laws of the country, broken down by their analogous 
                characterization to the laws of the United States 
                Government as administrative, civil, common, and 
                criminal laws, protect all internationally recognized 
                labor rights and of whether they apply to all workers 
                or whether certain categories of workers are excluded 
                from some protections.
                    (B) A description of efforts by the government of 
                the country to bring laws up to international standards 
                to protect internationally recognized labor rights.
                    (C) A description of the nature and extent of 
                violations of internationally recognized labor rights 
                in each country covered.
                    (D) A description of the roles vulnerable 
                populations hold in the world of work, the share of the 
                workforce they comprise, and the unequal treatment they 
                face.
                    (E) For each country in which violations of 
                internationally recognized labor rights are identified, 
                an assessment of the efforts by the government of that 
                country to prevent and respond to such violations, 
                including the following elements:
                            (i) Whether government officials in that 
                        country participate in, facilitate, or condone 
                        such violations.
                            (ii) What steps the government of that 
                        country has taken to prohibit government 
                        officials at the national or subnational 
                        officials from participating in, facilitating, 
                        benefitting from, or condoning such violations.
                            (iii) What steps the government of that 
                        country has taken to assist victims of such 
                        violations, including efforts to protect them 
                        from further victimization, provision of 
                        services including physical and mental health 
                        care, provision of legal support and access to 
                        justice through civil proceedings as well as 
                        criminal, and grants of relief from deportation 
                        as appropriate.
                            (iv) Which government authorities in that 
                        country are involved with preventing and 
                        identifying such violations and the capacity of 
                        those authorities, including numbers of 
                        personnel dedicated to activities such as labor 
                        inspections.
                            (v) The effectiveness of the country's 
                        administrative state, other civil authorities, 
                        law enforcement authorities, and judicial 
                        system in enforcing appropriate regulations and 
                        laws in response to such violations, including 
                        how many personnel are dedicated to addressing 
                        such violations, the frequency with which such 
                        violations are investigated and prosecuted, the 
                        durations and outcomes of such cases, and the 
                        transparency of outcomes.
                    (F) An assessment of the extent to which labor 
                unions, labor rights organizations, and other civil 
                society actors that work on labor rights issues, and 
                media that report on labor rights issues, have the 
                space to operate and of the extent to which the 
                government engages in dialogue with them.
            (4) Consultations.--In preparing the report, United States 
        diplomatic mission personnel shall consult with labor unions, 
        labor rights organizations, human rights organizations, 
        including women's rights groups, and other appropriate 
        nongovernmental organizations.
    (b) Embassy Labor Attache.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Labor, in coordination 
        with the Secretary of State, shall create a senior attache 
        position to lead interagency coordination of the labor 
        portfolio of the United States mission in each country 
        consistently identified in the report required under subsection 
        (a)(1) as having a poor performance record in the area of labor 
        rights.
            (2) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized 
        to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to create the 
        attache positions for each country.

SEC. 107. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT WORK 
              ON LABOR RIGHTS.

    (a) Assessment.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees an assessment of the 
work of the United States Government on labor rights around the world.
    (b) Elements.--The assessment required under subsection (a) shall 
include a description of what is known about the following:
            (1) The extent to which each of the internationally 
        recognized labor rights has been included in United States 
        Government foreign policy and programming.
            (2) Any labor rights not included within the definition of 
        internationally recognized labor rights that have been included 
        in United States Government foreign policy and programming.
            (3) What resources, including funding and personnel, the 
        United States Government has dedicated to the promotion and 
        protection of internationally recognized labor rights, and the 
        extent to which those resources have been dedicated to 
        vulnerable populations around the world.
            (4) A description of the types of programming the United 
        States Government has implemented to promote and protect 
        internationally recognized labor rights in the past 6 years 
        around the world.
            (5) The extent to which the United States Government 
        programs described in paragraph (4) achieved their intended 
        goals.
            (6) Specific internationally recognized labor rights or 
        countries for which the resources dedicated to date have been 
        insufficient to meet the goals of the United States.
            (7) The mechanisms for interagency coordination on 
        internationally recognized labor rights, the efficacy of said 
        mechanisms, and recommendations for improvements.

                  TITLE II--LABOR RIGHTS IN BANGLADESH

SEC. 201. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) In June 2013, two months after the April 2013 Rana 
        Plaza garment factory disaster that claimed the lives of over 
        one thousand ready-made garment (RMG) factory workers, the 
        United States suspended the participation of Bangladesh in the 
        Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program due to the 
        failure of the Government of Bangladesh to recognize the labor 
        rights of RMG workers.
            (2) In the March 2020 report ``Seven Years After Rana 
        Plaza, Significant Challenges Remain'' (in this section 
        referred to as the ``Report''), the minority staff of the 
        Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate (in this section 
        referred to as the ``Committee'') found that, 7 years after the 
        Rana Plaza garment factory disaster, improvements have been 
        made to the structural safety of many factories in Bangladesh, 
        but labor rights have declined precipitously.
            (3) The Report highlighted the increasing abuse of workers, 
        particularly union leaders and organizers, in ready-made 
        garment factories in Bangladesh and the lack of accountability 
        for the perpetrators.
            (4) The Report emphasized that workers who identify as 
        women or girls face disproportionate levels of abuse, and this 
        gender-based violence and harassment is a violation of the ILO 
        Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 ILO (No. 190).
            (5) The Report detailed the deteriorating environment for 
        union organizers and activists in Bangladesh, including 
        violence and repression during worker protests over the minimum 
        wage in December 2018 and January 2019 as well as lack of 
        enforcement of Bangladesh law on unfair labor practices.
            (6) In the Report, the Committee found that the Department 
        of Labor, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of 
        the Department of State, and the United States Agency for 
        International Development expended only $23,200,000 on labor 
        rights programs in Bangladesh between 2011 and the release of 
        the Report.

SEC. 202. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States to--
            (1) protect and promote internationally recognized labor 
        rights in Bangladesh;
            (2) support, in its capacity as a member of the ILO's 
        Governing Body of the International Labour Office, the proposal 
        to establish an ILO Commission of Inquiry on Bangladesh in 
        response to violations of the ILO Convention on the Freedom of 
        Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, the ILO 
        Convention on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining, 
        and the ILO Labor Inspection Convention; and
            (3) urge other members of the ILO governing body to support 
        the establishment of an ILO Commission of Inquiry on 
        Bangladesh.

SEC. 203. UPDATED LABOR RIGHTS AND WORKER SAFETY COMMITMENTS FOR 
              BANGLADESH.

     The President shall work with the Government of Bangladesh to 
update the previous commitments by the Government of Bangladesh 
regarding labor rights and worker safety to reflect the new and ongoing 
challenges to internationally recognized labor rights in Bangladesh.

SEC. 204. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

     Of the amount authorized to be appropriated under section 102(a), 
not less than $3,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated for 
programming that supports labor unions in order to promote labor rights 
in Bangladesh for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2028.

SEC. 205. EMBASSY DHAKA LABOR ATTACHE.

     Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of Labor, in coordination with the Secretary of 
State, shall deploy a senior attache or envoy to lead interagency 
coordination of the labor portfolio at the United States Embassy in 
Dhaka.
                                 <all>