[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 18 (Thursday, February 17, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E269-E271]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF THE TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PROTECTION REAUTHORIZATION ACT 
                                OF 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 17, 2005

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the 
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, which is 
intended to improve the United States' efforts in combating the scourge 
of human trafficking. I am pleased to be joined as original cosponsors 
by Representative Lantos, Ranking Member of the International Relations 
Committee, Representative Payne, Ranking Member of the International 
Relations Subcommittee on Global Human Rights, International Operations 
and Africa, Majority Whip Representative Blunt, Commerce, Justice, 
State Appropriations Committee Chairman Representative Wolf, Helsinki 
Commission Ranking Member Representative Cardin, Representative Ros-
Lehtinen, Chair of the International Relations Subcommittee on Middle 
East and Central Asia, and Representatives Pence, Pitts, and 
Faleomavaega.
  Mr. Speaker, the U.S. Government now estimates that 600,000 to 
800,000 women, children and men are bought and sold across 
international borders each year and exploited through forced labor or 
commercial sex exploitation. An estimated 80 percent of the victims of 
this barbaric trade are women and girls.
  Congress and President Bush have demonstrated unprecedented 
international leadership in combating human trafficking through 
enactment of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) and 
the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003. Since 
taking office, the Bush Administration has devoted more than $295 
million to combat trafficking worldwide.
  Under the framework of the TVPA, the United States Government's 
efforts to combat trafficking in persons have focused primarily on 
international trafficking in persons, including the trafficking of an 
estimated 14,500 to 17,500 foreign citizens into the United States each 
year.
  Across the globe, governments are taking action to prevent 
trafficking, to prosecute the exploiters and to give hope and 
restoration to those victimized by trafficking. Between 2003 and 2004, 
twenty-four countries enacted new laws to combat trade in human lives. 
Dozens more are in the process of drafting or passing such laws. 
Moreover, nearly 8,000 traffickers were prosecuted worldwide and 2,800 
were convicted. This bill would support the ongoing efforts that have 
made these gains possible by reauthorizing appropriations for anti-
trafficking programs here and abroad.
  The bill also offers solutions to a number of specific scenarios in 
which trafficking is a problem, but which would benefit from additional 
initiatives. For example, drawing lessons from the aftermath of war in 
the Balkans a decade ago, and the devastating tsunami in South Asia a 
mere few months ago, foreign policy and humanitarian aid professionals 
increasingly recognize the heightened vulnerability of indigenous 
populations in crisis situations to many forms of violence, including 
trafficking for sexual and labor exploitation. Traffickers also 
recognize this vulnerability. This bill would focus governmental 
efforts, particularly by the State Department, the U.S. Agency for 
International Development, and the Department of Defense, to develop 
trafficking prevention strategies for post-conflict and humanitarian 
emergency situations--strategies which do not currently exist in 
sufficient form.

  The bill would also take further steps to ensure that U.S. Government 
personnel and contractors are held accountable for involvement with 
acts of trafficking in persons while abroad on behalf of the U.S. 
Government. Although few would dispute that the involvement of U.S. 
personnel, including members of the U.S. Armed Forces, with trafficking 
in persons in any form is inconsistent with U.S. laws and policies and 
undermines the credibility and mission of U.S. Government programs in 
foreign countries, there remain loopholes in U.S. laws which allow such 
acts to go unpunished. This bill closes those loopholes by expanding 
U.S. criminal jurisdiction for serious offenses to all U.S. Government 
contractors abroad--jurisdiction which already exists with respect to 
contractors supporting Department of Defense missions abroad--and by 
making federal criminal laws against sex and labor trafficking 
applicable to members of the Armed Forces and others subject to the 
Uniform Code of Military Justice. The bill would also direct the 
Secretary of Defense to designate a director of anti-trafficking 
policies who would guide DOD's efforts to faithfully implement 
applicable policies against trafficking.
  The bill would also take on the outrageous situation of military and 
civilian peacekeepers, humanitarian aid workers, and international 
organizations' personnel, from complicity in trafficking and sexual 
exploitation in connection

[[Page E270]]

with international peacekeeping operations. To cite but the most recent 
examples of this, in December, United Nations Secretary General Kofi 
Annan admitted that U.N. peacekeepers and staff have sexually abused or 
exploited war refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Among the 
150 or so allegations of misconduct are instances of sexually abusing 
children, rape, and prostitution. On January 28, a senior official with 
the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees was arrested for sexual abuse 
of minors and trafficking in Kosovo. The long list of allegations 
against international peacekeeping personnel involving sex trafficking 
and other forms of sexual exploitation extends back at least a decade 
and yet the United Nations and most other international organizations 
have failed to take sufficient action to end this abuse.
  To his credit, Kofi Annan has promulgated a ``zero tolerance'' policy 
on sexual exploitation by peacekeepers. But words alone do not protect 
women and children from abuse. Earlier this week, President Bush asked 
Congress for $780,000,000 to pay for contributions to international 
peacekeeping activities this fiscal year. He has requested more than $1 
billion for next year. Prior to writing this check, the bill I am 
introducing would require that the Secretary of State no longer accept 
words alone as evidence that the United Nations, NATO, and other 
multilateral organizations are taking seriously the responsibility to 
address trafficking and exploitation by peacekeepers. The bill would 
require that the Secretary of State certify, prior to endorsing an 
international peacekeeping mission, that measures have been taken to 
prevent and, as necessary, hold accountable peacekeepers in the mission 
who are involved with trafficking or illegal sexual exploitation.
  In addition to a host of other measures to address trafficking 
overseas and to aid foreign victims in the United States, the bill also 
recognizes that trafficking in persons occurs within the borders of 
single countries, including the United States. According to the State 
Department, if the number of people trafficked internally within 
countries is added to the estimate, the total number of trafficking 
victims annually would be in the range of 2,000,000 to 4,000,000.
  This bill would address the trafficking of American citizens and 
nationals within the borders of the United States--which the bill 
defines as ``domestic trafficking.'' There are no precise statistics on 
the numbers of United States citizens or nationals who have been 
victimized through trafficking, but there is great reason for concern. 
It is well documented, for example, that runaway and homeless children 
are highly susceptible to trafficking for commercial sexual 
exploitation. Every day in our country, between 1,300,000 and 2,800,000 
runaway and homeless youth live on the streets. Researchers at the 
University of Pennsylvania have estimated that 100,000 to 300,000 
children in the United States are at risk for commercial sexual 
exploitation in the United States, including trafficking, at any given 
time.
  To date, U.S. victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation have 
been dismissed by the law enforcement community, particularly at the 
State and local levels, as prostitutes. Child victims are dealt with as 
juvenile delinquents. This bill would begin to shift the paradigm--much 
as we have done so successfully in the international arena--to view 
these exploited souls for what they really are--victims of crime and 
sexually exploited children.
  The bill I am introducing would begin the process of developing a 
comprehensive strategy to prevent the victimization of U.S. citizens 
and nationals through domestic trafficking. It would require the 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to undertake a study and 
then a program to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts in the 
United States, which in turn fuels trafficking for the purpose of 
commercial sexual exploitation. The bill would also authorize HHS to 
make grants to expand services to victims of domestic trafficking, with 
a priority for NGOs with experience in caring for victims of commercial 
sexual exploitation.
  NGOs who work with trafficked children in the United States have 
indicated time and again that a lack of housing options for such 
children is a debilitating impediment to providing effective 
rehabilitative and restorative help. In response, this bill would 
require HHS to carry out a pilot program for residential treatment 
facilities for minor victims of domestic trafficking and authorizes the 
appropriation of $10,000,000 over 2 years for this purpose.
  The bill would ensure that communities in the United States are fully 
informed about the presence of sex offenders in those communities. The 
bill would require that state sex offender registries include 
convictions in foreign court of a sexually violent offense, or a 
criminal offense against a child victim. The bill would also enhance 
State and local efforts to combat trafficking through a grants program 
to encourage the investigation and prosecution of domestic trafficking 
cases and the development of collaboration between law enforcement 
agencies and nongovernmental organizations.
  The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 would 
address these and many other areas of concern, would authorize funding 
to continue our government's efforts against trafficking, and would 
build upon the experience of implementing the TVPA to refine U.S. laws 
and practices to better fulfill the intent of that law.
  In summary, the TVPRA of 2005 would address trafficking in persons in 
foreign countries and the trafficking of foreigners into the United 
States by:
  Incorporating trafficking prevention activities in post-conflict and 
humanitarian emergency relief programs conducted by the Department of 
State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the 
Department of Defense;
  Requiring that sex offender registries, as established by the Jacob 
Wetterling Act and Megan's Law, include convictions in foreign courts;
  Improving trafficking victims' access to information about federally 
funded victim services programs and facilitating access to counsel for 
victims;
  Establishing a guardian ad litem program for child victims of 
trafficking;
  Requiring USAID to establish in two foreign locations a pilot program 
of long-term residential rehabilitation facilities for victims of 
trafficking and authorizing $2.5 million for 2 years for this purpose.
  Expanding U.S. criminal jurisdiction for felony offenses committed by 
contractors working abroad for Federal agencies;
  Amending the Uniform Code of Military Justice to create punitive 
provisions for sex and labor trafficking by members of the U.S. Armed 
Forces;
  Expanding the ability to prosecute traffickers for money laundering;
  Amending the Protect Act to require U.S. Embassies to seek local 
prosecution or extradition of American citizens who commit sex crimes 
overseas.
  Appointing the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland 
Security and the Director of National Intelligence to the Interagency 
Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking;
  Requiring that the Attorney General's annual report to Congress 
include data on the number of trafficking victims identified, and 
benefits granted, with respect to each trafficking case prosecuted by 
the Department of Justice;
  Refining criteria for determining, in the context of the State 
Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report, whether a government 
is making ``serious and sustained efforts'' to eliminate trafficking: 
(1) whether the government is taking measures to prevent its nationals 
from engaging in trafficking during peacekeeping operations, and (2) 
whether the government is implementing measures to reduce the demand 
for commercial sex acts and participation in international sex tourism;
  Expressing the need for research into the linkage between trafficking 
and the financing of terrorism; trafficking and HIV/AIDS; the 
development of an effective mechanism for quantifying the number of 
victims of trafficking; and the enslavement of children for use as 
soldiers;

  Requiring that human rights training for Foreign Service Officers 
include instruction about trafficking in persons;
  Requiring that the annual Trafficking in Persons Report include 
information on steps taken by the United Nations, the Organization for 
Security and Cooperation in Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty 
Organization and other international organizations to eliminate 
involvement of the organizations' personnel in trafficking;
  Requiring the Secretary of State to certify prior to endorsing an 
international peacekeeping mission that measures have been taken to 
prevent the peacekeepers from being involved with trafficking. The bill 
would prohibit the United States from providing logistical support or 
personnel in support of a peacekeeping mission until this certification 
is received unless the Secretary provides (a) an explanation as to the 
steps taken by the U.S. to encourage the international organization to 
take appropriate measures to prevent trafficking, and (b) a 
certification that endorsing the mission is in the national interests 
of the U.S., notwithstanding the failure of the international 
organization to address trafficking;
  Directing the Secretary of Defense to designate within the Office of 
the Secretary of Defense a director of anti-trafficking policies;
  Directing the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate acts of 
trafficking.
  The bill also provides for new initiatives to combat the trafficking 
of U.S. citizens and nationals within the United States by:
  Requiring the Secretary of Health and Human Services to prepare a 
report of best practices for reducing the demand for commercial sex 
acts, which demands feed into the demand for trafficking into 
prostitution, to post the report on the HHS website, and to establish 
and carry out programs to implement these practices;

[[Page E271]]

  Requires that all U.S. Government grants, contracts or cooperative 
agreements with private entities contain a clause authorizing 
termination if the grantee, subgrantee, contractor or subcontractor (a) 
engages in severe forms of trafficking in persons or has procured a 
commercial sex act during the period of time that the grant, contract 
or cooperative agreement is in effect, or (b) uses forced labor in the 
performance of the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement. Since 
2003 this requirement has been in place for international grants, 
contracts and cooperative agreements;
  Authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services to make grants 
to expand services to victims of domestic trafficking;
  Requires the Department of Health and Human Services to carry out a 
pilot program for residential treatment facilities for minor victims of 
domestic trafficking and authorizes the appropriation of $5,000,000 for 
2 years for this purpose;
  Enhances state and local efforts to combat trafficking through a 
grants program to encourage the investigation and prosecution of 
domestic trafficking cases and the development of collaboration between 
law enforcement agencies and nongovernmental organizations;
  Improves Interagency Coordination to Combat Domestic Trafficking by 
allowing the Director of the State Department's Office to Monitor and 
Combat Trafficking to participate in the Coordinating Council on 
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
  Reauthorizes appropriations for fiscal years 2006 and 2007:
  $5.5 million to the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat 
Trafficking; $3,000 in representation funds;
  $15 million to the Department of Health and Human Services;
  To the Secretary of State, $10 million for assistance for victims in 
other countries; $10 million for programs to improve law enforcement 
and prosecution; and $10 million for trafficking prevention 
initiatives;
  $15 million to the Department of Justice for assistance to victims in 
the United States; and $250,000 for anti-trafficking training 
activities at the International Law Enforcement Academies (ILEAs);
  $15 million to the President for foreign victim assistance 
(prevention activities); $15 million for assistance to foreign 
countries to meet the minimum standards to combat trafficking; $300,000 
for research; and $250,000 for anti-trafficking training activities at 
the ILEAs; and
  $10 million to the Department of Labor;
  $15 million, for FY06 only, to provide additional resources to the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate international and 
domestic trafficking cases.
  Mr. Speaker, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and its 
reauthorization in 2003 enjoyed bi-partisan support in both Houses of 
Congress. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill and 
enhance the good work underway to combat international trafficking in 
persons and to ensure that our government's response to all who are 
victimized by trafficking--whether foreign citizens or United States 
citizens--is one of deep compassion.

                          ____________________