[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 184 (Tuesday, December 4, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H14098-H14122]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WILLIAM WILBERFORCE TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PROTECTION REAUTHORIZATION ACT
OF 2007
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules
and pass the bill (H.R. 3887) to authorize appropriations for fiscal
years 2008 through 2011 for the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of
2000, to enhance measures to combat forced labor, and for other
purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3887
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``William
Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization
Act of 2007''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act
is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
TITLE I--COMBATTING INTERNATIONAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS
Sec. 101. Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking.
Sec. 102. Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking.
Sec. 103. Prevention and prosecution of trafficking in foreign
countries.
Sec. 104. Assistance for victims of trafficking in other countries.
Sec. 105. Increasing effectiveness of anti-trafficking programs.
Sec. 106. Minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.
Sec. 107. Actions against governments failing to meet minimum
standards.
Sec. 108. Research on domestic and international trafficking in
persons.
Sec. 109. Presidential Award for Extraordinary Efforts to Combat
Trafficking in Persons.
Sec. 110. Responsibilities of consular officers of the Department of
State.
Sec. 111. Report on activities of the Department of Labor to monitor
and combat forced labor and child labor.
Sec. 112. Sense of Congress regarding multilateral framework between
labor exporting and labor importing countries.
[[Page H14099]]
TITLE II--COMBATTING TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS IN THE UNITED STATES
Subtitle A--Ensuring Availability of Possible Witnesses and Informants
Sec. 201. Protecting trafficking victims against retaliation.
Sec. 202. Information for work-based nonimmigrants on legal rights and
resources.
Sec. 203. Relief for certain victims pending actions on petitions and
applications for relief.
Sec. 204. Expansion of authority to permit continued presence in the
United States.
Sec. 205. Implementation of Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act of 2005.
Subtitle B--Assistance for Trafficking Victims
Sec. 211. Victim of trafficking certification process.
Sec. 212. Assistance for certain nonimmigrant status applicants.
Sec. 213. Interim assistance for child victims of trafficking.
Sec. 214. Ensuring assistance for all victims of trafficking in
persons.
Subtitle C--Penalties Against Traffickers and Other Crimes
Sec. 221. Enhancing trafficking and other related offenses.
Sec. 222. Jurisdiction in certain trafficking offenses.
Sec. 223. Amendment of other crimes related to trafficking.
Sec. 224. New model statute provided to States.
Subtitle D--Activities of the United States Government
Sec. 231. Annual report by the Attorney General.
Sec. 232. Anti-trafficking survey and conferences.
Sec. 233. Senior Policy Operating Group.
Sec. 234. Efforts by Departments of Justice and Labor to combat human
trafficking.
Sec. 235. Preventing United States travel by traffickers.
Sec. 236. Enhancing efforts to combat the trafficking of children.
Sec. 237. Temporary increase in fee for certain consular services.
TITLE III--AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS
Sec. 301. Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.
Sec. 302. Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005.
Sec. 303. Rule of construction.
Sec. 304. Technical amendments.
TITLE IV--PREVENTION OF THE USE OF CHILD SOLDIERS
Sec. 401. Short title.
Sec. 402. Definitions.
Sec. 403. Findings.
Sec. 404. Sense of Congress.
Sec. 405. Prohibition on provision of military assistance to foreign
governments that recruit or use child soldiers.
Sec. 406. Reports.
Sec. 407. Training for Foreign Service officers.
TITLE I--COMBATTING INTERNATIONAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS
SEC. 101. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE TO MONITOR AND COMBAT
TRAFFICKING.
Section 105(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of
2000 (22 U.S.C. 7103(b)) is amended by inserting ``the
Secretary of Education,'' after ``the Secretary of Homeland
Security,''.
SEC. 102. OFFICE TO MONITOR AND COMBAT TRAFFICKING.
(a) In General.--Section 105(e) of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7103(e)) is amended to read
as follows:
``(e) Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking.--
``(1) Establishment.--The Secretary of State shall
establish within the Department of State an Office to Monitor
and Combat Trafficking, which shall be headed by a Director,
who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate, with the rank of
Ambassador-at-Large.
``(2) Responsibilities.--The Director shall have the
following responsibilities:
``(A) The Director shall have primary responsibility for
assisting the Secretary of State in carrying out the purposes
of this division, shall provide assistance to the Task Force,
and may have additional responsibilities as determined by the
Secretary of State.
``(B) The Director shall consult with nongovernmental
organizations and multilateral organizations, and with
trafficking victims or other affected persons. The Director
shall have the authority to take evidence in public hearings
or by other means.
``(C) The Director shall, in coordination and cooperation
with the Assistant Secretary for International Labor Affairs
and other officials at the Department of State involved in
corporate responsibility and other relevant officials of the
United States Government, be responsible for promoting,
building, and sustaining partnerships between the United
States Government and private entities (including
foundations, universities, corporations, community-based
organizations, and other nongovernmental organizations) to
ensure that United States citizens do not use any item,
product, or material produced or extracted with the use of
labor from victims of severe forms of trafficking and to
ensure that such entities do not contribute to trafficking in
persons involving sexual exploitation, such as through work
with the airlines and tourism industries.
``(D) The Director shall be solely responsible for all
policy, funding, and programming decisions regarding funds
made available for trafficking in persons programs that are
centrally controlled by the Department of State.
``(3) Coordination.--Any trafficking in persons programs of
the Department of State or the United States Agency for
International Development that are not centrally controlled
by the Department of State shall be carried out with
concurrence of the Director.''.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Secretary of State should make every effort to
locate the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking,
established pursuant to section 105(e) of the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act of 2000 (as amended by subsection (a)
of this section), at the headquarters for the Department of
State, known as the Harry S. Truman Federal Building, located
in the District of Columbia; and
(2) the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking should be
assigned office space in such building that reflects the
importance of the implementation of such Act and the broad
and historic mission of the Office to end modern-day slavery.
SEC. 103. PREVENTION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKING IN
FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
(a) Prevention.--Section 106 of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S. C. 7104) is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
``(i) Additional Measures To Prevent and Deter
Trafficking.--The President shall establish and carry out
programs to prevent and deter trafficking in persons. Such
programs may include--
``(1) technical assistance and other support for the
capacity of foreign governments to investigate, identify, and
carry out inspections of private entities, including labor
recruitment centers, at which trafficking victims may be
exploited, particularly exploitation involving forced and
child labor;
``(2) technical assistance and other support for foreign
governments and nongovernmental organizations to provide
immigrant populations with information regarding the rights
of such populations in the foreign country and any
information regarding in-country nongovernmental
organization-operated hotlines of the type described in
section 107(a)(1)(A) of this Act, with such information to be
provided in the native languages of the major immigrant
groups of such populations;
``(3) technical assistance to provide legal frameworks and
other programs to foreign governments and nongovernmental
organizations to ensure that foreign migrant workers are
provided protection equal to nationals of the foreign
country, that labor recruitment firms are regulated, and that
workers providing domestic services in households are
provided protection under labor rights laws; and
``(4) assistance to foreign governments to register
vulnerable populations as citizens or nationals of the
country to reduce the ability of traffickers to exploit such
populations.''.
(b) Prosecution.--Section 134(a)(2) of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2152d(a)(2)) is amended by
adding at the end before the semi-colon the following: ``,
including investigation of individuals and entities that may
be involved in trafficking in persons involving sexual
exploitation''.
SEC. 104. ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING IN OTHER
COUNTRIES.
Section 107(a) of Trafficking Victims Protection Act of
2000 (22 U.S.C. 7105(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in the second sentence, by inserting at the end before
the period the following: ``, and shall be carried out in a
manner which takes into account the cross-border, regional,
and transnational aspects of trafficking in persons''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(F) In cooperation and coordination with the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International
Organization of Migration, and other relevant organizations
(including private nongovernmental organizations that
contract with the United States Government to assist refugees
and internally displaced persons), support for increased
protections for refugees and internally displaced persons,
including outreach and education efforts to prevent such
refugees and internally displaced persons from being
exploited by traffickers and ensuring performance of best
interest determinations for unaccompanied and separated
children to identify child trafficking victims and assist
their safe integration, reintegration, and resettlement.'';
and
(2) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the following
new sentence: ``In carrying out this paragraph, the Secretary
and the Administrator shall take all appropriate steps to
ensure that cooperative efforts among foreign countries are
undertaken on a regional basis.''.
[[Page H14100]]
SEC. 105. INCREASING EFFECTIVENESS OF ANTI-TRAFFICKING
PROGRAMS.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) United States assistance programs require enhanced
monitoring and evaluation to ensure that United States funds
are appropriately spent.
(2) Such monitoring and evaluation should measure results--
the actual effects of assistance--as well as outcomes--the
numerical product of assistance, such as the number of
individuals assisted, systems established, and funds provided
through programs.
(3) While the results of programs related to trafficking in
persons may be difficult to measure because of the criminal
and underground nature of trafficking in persons, making
efforts to measure such results are critical to learning the
extent to which United States assistance programs affect the
nature and severity of trafficking and change the fundamental
conditions that facilitate trafficking.
(b) Amendment.--The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of
2000 (22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after
section 107 the following new section:
``SEC. 107A. INCREASING EFFECTIVENESS OF ANTI-TRAFFICKING
PROGRAMS.
``(a) Awarding of Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and
Contracts.--The head of each department and agency of the
United States Government that administers funds made
available for programs described in this division and the
amendments made by this division in the United States and
foreign countries shall--
``(1) make solicitations of grants, cooperative agreements,
and contracts for such programs publicly available;
``(2) award grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts
on a full and open competitive basis, consistent with
existing law; and
``(3) ensure that internal department or agency review
process for such grants, cooperative agreements, and
contracts is not subject to ad hoc or intermittent review by
individuals or organizations outside the United States
Government not otherwise provided for in the process
described in paragraphs (1) and (2).
``(b) Evaluation of Trafficking Programs.--
``(1) In general.--The President shall establish and
implement a system to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness
and efficiency of assistance provided under anti-trafficking
programs established and carried out under this division and
the amendments made by this division on a program-by-program
basis in order to maximize the long-term sustainable
development impact of such assistance.
``(2) Requirements.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the
President shall--
``(A) establish performance goals for assistance described
in paragraph (1) and express such goals in an objective and
quantifiable form, to the extent practicable;
``(B) ensure that performance indicators are used for each
United States program authorized by this division and the
amendments made by this division to measure and assess the
achievement of the performance goals described in
subparagraph (A); and
``(C) provide a basis for recommendations for adjustments
to assistance described in paragraph (1) to enhance the
impact of such assistance.
``(c) Targeted Use of Trafficking Programs.--The Director
of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking shall
undertake efforts to provide assistance to foreign countries
and nongovernmental organizations under this division and the
amendments made by this division based on the priorities and
country assessments contained in the most recent report
submitted by the Secretary of State to Congress pursuant to
section 110(b) of this Act.
``(d) Consistency With Other Programs.--The President shall
take steps to ensure that the design, monitoring, and
evaluation of United States assistance programs for emergency
relief, development, and poverty alleviation under part I and
chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
and other similar United States assistance programs are
carried out in a manner that takes into account and are
consistent with United States policies and other United
States programs relating to combatting trafficking in
persons.
``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--For each of the
fiscal years 2008 through 2011, up to 2 percent of the
amounts made available to carry out this division and the
amendments made by this division may be used to carry out
this section.''.
SEC. 106. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR THE ELIMINATION OF
TRAFFICKING.
(a) Minimum Standards.--Subsection (a) of section 108 of
the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C.
7106) is amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by
striking ``a significant number of''.
(b) Criteria.--Subsection (b) of such section is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in the first sentence, by inserting at the end before
the period the following: ``, including in all appropriate
cases requiring incarceration of individuals convicted of
such acts''; and
(B) by inserting after the first sentence the following new
sentence: ``For purposes of the preceding sentence, suspended
or significantly-reduced sentences for convictions of
principal actors in cases of severe forms of trafficking in
persons shall not be considered to be an indicator of serious
and sustained efforts to eliminate severe forms of
trafficking in persons.'';
(2) in paragraph (2), by inserting at the end before the
period the following: ``, including by providing training to
law enforcement and immigration officials in the
identification and treatment of trafficking victims using
approaches that focus on the needs of the victims'';
(3) in paragraph (3), by striking ``, measures to reduce
the demand for commercial sex acts and for participation in
international sex tourism by nationals of the country'' and
inserting ``, measures to establish the identity of local
populations, including birth registration, citizenship, and
nationality''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(11) Whether the government of the country has made
serious and sustained efforts to reduce the demand for--
``(A) commercial sex acts; and
``(B) participation in international sex tourism by
nationals of the country.''.
SEC. 107. ACTIONS AGAINST GOVERNMENTS FAILING TO MEET MINIMUM
STANDARDS.
(a) Countries on Special Watch List Relating to Trafficking
in Persons for Two Consecutive Years.--Subsection (b)(3) of
section 110 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000
(22 U.S.C. 7107) is amended by adding the following at the
end the following new subparagraph:
``(D) Countries on special watch list for two consecutive
years.--If a country is included on the special watch list
described in subparagraph (A) for two consecutive years, such
country shall be included on the list of countries described
in paragraph (1)(C), unless the Secretary of State determines
that (i) the country has a written plan to begin making
significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, (ii)
the plan, if implemented, would constitute making such
significant efforts, and (iii) the country is devoting
sufficient resources to implement the plan, and, as part of
the report required by paragraph (1) and the interim
assessment required by subparagraph (B), the Secretary
provides to the appropriate congressional committees credible
evidence that the country meets the requirements of clauses
(i) through (iii). The Secretary may make a determination
under the preceding sentence with respect to a country for
not more than two consecutive years.''.
(b) Clarification of Measures Against Certain Foreign
Countries.--Subsection (d)(1)(A)(ii) of such section is
amended by striking ``the United States will not provide''
and inserting ``the United States will not provide such
assistance to the government of the country for the
subsequent fiscal year and will not provide''.
(c) Translation of Trafficking in Persons Report.--
(1) Translation required.--The Secretary of State shall
expand the timely translation of the annual report required
under section 110(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection
Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107(b)) into the principal languages
of as many countries as possible, with particular emphasis on
those countries on the lists described in subparagraphs (B)
and (C) of paragraph (1) of such section and shall ensure
that such translations are made available to the public,
including through postings on appropriate Internet websites.
(2) Matters to be included.--The translation required by
paragraph (1) shall include the introduction, other sections
of general interest, and the relevant country narratives of
the annual report. The Secretary of State shall ensure that
such translations are available on the Internet website of
the Department of State.
SEC. 108. RESEARCH ON DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS.
(a) In General.--Subsection (a)(5) of section 112A of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7109a)
is amended by adding at the end the following new sentence:
``Such mechanism shall include, not later than two years
after the date of the enactment of the William Wilberforce
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2007,
the establishment of an integrated data base by combining all
applicable data collected by each Federal department and
agency represented on the Interagency Task Force to Monitor
and Combat Trafficking (established under section 105 of this
Act) and, to the maximum extent practicable, applicable data
from relevant international organizations, for the purposes
of improving coordination of the collection of data related
to trafficking in persons by each agency of the United States
Government that collects such data, promoting uniformity of
such data collection and standards and systems related to
such collection, and undertaking a meta-analysis of patterns
of trafficking in persons, slavery, and slave-like
conditions.''.
(b) Role of Government.--Subsection (b) of such section is
amended by inserting after ``subsection (a)(4)'' the
following: ``and the second sentence of subsection (a)(5)''.
SEC. 109. PRESIDENTIAL AWARD FOR EXTRAORDINARY EFFORTS TO
COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS.
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C.
7101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 112A the
following new section:
[[Page H14101]]
``SEC. 112B. PRESIDENTIAL AWARD FOR EXTRAORDINARY EFFORTS TO
COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS.
``(a) Establishment of Award.--The President is authorized
to establish an award for extraordinary efforts to combat
trafficking in persons, to be known as the `Presidential
Award for Extraordinary Efforts to Combat Trafficking in
Persons'. To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary
should make the award annually to up to 5 individuals or
organizations, including individuals who are United States
citizens or foreign nationals and United States or foreign
nongovernmental organizations.
``(b) Selection.--The President shall establish procedures
for selecting recipients of the award authorized under
subsection (a).
``(c) Ceremony.--The President shall host an annual
ceremony for recipients of the award authorized under
subsection (a) at the time the report required by section
110(b) of this Act is submitted by the Secretary of State to
Congress pursuant to such section. The Secretary of State is
authorized to pay the costs associated with travel by each
recipient and a guest of the recipient to the ceremony.
``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this
section, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as
may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2008 through
2011.''.
SEC. 110. RESPONSIBILITIES OF CONSULAR OFFICERS OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
(a) Interviews.--
(1) In general.--In the case of a consular interview of an
alien for an employment- or education-based nonimmigrant
visa, the consular officer conducting the interview shall
ensure that the alien has received, both orally in a language
that the applicant understands and though the pamphlet
required under section 202, information relating to the
following:
(A) The illegality of slavery, peonage, trafficking in
persons, sexual assault, extortion, blackmail and worker
exploitation in the United States, and the right of the alien
to retain the alien's passport in the alien's possession at
all times.
(B) The availability of services for victims of human
trafficking and worker exploitation in the United States,
including the contact information for relevant community
organizations that provide services to trafficking victims
(to the extent practicable), Federal law enforcement and
victim services complaint lines, and a general description of
the types of victims services available if an individual is
subject to trafficking in persons.
(C) The legal rights of immigrant victims of trafficking in
persons, worker exploitation, and other related crimes under
immigration, labor, and employment law, including the right
to report abuse without retaliation, the availability of
immigration and public benefits to such victims, and the
right to seek redress in United States courts.
(D) If applicable, the requirements that section 202(g)(2)
places upon persons engaging in foreign labor contracting
activity.
(2) Review.--Before conducting an interview described in
paragraph (1), the consular officer shall review the summary
of the pamphlet required under section 202.
(3) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``employment-
or education-based nonimmigrant visa'' has the meaning given
such term in section 202(h).
(b) Special Provisions Relating to Aliens Issued A-3 and G-
5 Visas.--
(1) Elements of mandatory interview.--The interview
required under subsection (a) shall be required for the
issuance to an alien of a nonimmigrant visa under
subparagraph (A)(iii) or (G)(v) of section 101(a)(15) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)). The
consular officer conducting the interview shall ensure that
the employment contract of the alien is in a language that
the alien can understand.
(2) Feasibility of oversight of employees of diplomats and
representatives of other institutions.--Not later than 180
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on the feasibility
of--
(A) establishing a system to monitor the treatment of
aliens who have been admitted to the United States as
nonimmigrants described in subparagraph (A)(iii) or (G)(v) of
section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act;
and
(B) a range of compensation approaches, such as a bond
program, compensation fund, or insurance scheme, to ensure
that nonimmigrants described in subparagraph (A)(iii) or
(G)(v) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act receive appropriate compensation if their
employer violates the terms of their employment contract and,
with respect to each proposed compensation approach, an
evaluation and proposal of how claims of rights violations
will be adjudicated, compensation determinations will be
made, and the program, fund, or scheme will be administered.
(3) Assistance to law enforcement investigations.--The
Secretary of State shall cooperate, to the fullest extent
possible consistent with the United States obligations under
the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, done at
Vienna, April 18, 1961, (23 U.S.T. 3229), with any
investigation by United States law enforcement authorities of
crimes related to trafficking in persons, worker
exploitation, or other related violations of United States
law with respect to an alien described in paragraph (1).
(4) Zero tolerance for abuse.--
(A) Limitation.--The Secretary of State shall direct
consular officers not to issue a visa to an alien who applies
for a visa under subparagraph (A)(iii) or (G)(v) of section
101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act if the
person who would employ such an alien serves at a diplomatic
mission or an international institution described in
subparagraph (B) of this paragraph.
(B) Mission or institution.--A diplomatic mission or
international institution is referred to in subparagraph (A)
if--
(i) the Secretary of State determines that an alien
described in paragraph (1) has been subjected to trafficking
of persons, worker exploitation, or other related violations
of United States law, by an individual serving at such a
mission or institution during the two year period before the
date of the application for a visa referred to in
subparagraph (A); or
(ii) an individual serving at such a mission or institution
has departed the United States and there is credible evidence
that such individual trafficked, exploited, or otherwise
abused an alien described in paragraph (1).
(C) Exception.--The Secretary of State may suspend the
application of the limitation under subparagraph (A) if the
Secretary determines and reports to the committees specified
in paragraph (2) that a mechanism is in place to ensure that
such trafficking, exploitation, or abuse does not occur again
with respect to any alien employed by such mission or
institution.
(5) Report.--Not later than June 1, 2008, and annually
thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report
describing the diplomatic missions or international
institutions that are subject to the visa restriction
referred to in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (4), any
exceptions that have been made pursuant to subparagraph (C)
of such paragraph (4), and any requests for waivers of
diplomatic immunity that have been made that are related to
actions involving trafficking of persons, worker
exploitation, or other related violations of United States
law. Such report may be combined with the annual report
required by section 110(b) of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107(b)).
SEC. 111. REPORT ON ACTIVITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR TO
MONITOR AND COMBAT FORCED LABOR AND CHILD
LABOR.
(a) Interim Report.--Not later than 120 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees an interim
report on the implementation of section 105(b) of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005
(22 U.S.C. 7112(b)), which shall include a description of the
progress made toward developing the list of goods described
in paragraph (2)(C) of such section.
(b) Final Report; Public Availability of List.--Not later
than January 15, 2009, the Secretary of Labor shall--
(1) submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
final report on the implementation of section 105(b) of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005,
which shall include an initial list of goods described in
paragraph (2)(C) of such section; and
(2) make available to the public such list of goods in
accordance with paragraph (2)(C) of such section.
(c) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this
section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
has the meaning given the term in section 103 of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102).
SEC. 112. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING MULTILATERAL FRAMEWORK
BETWEEN LABOR EXPORTING AND LABOR IMPORTING
COUNTRIES.
It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State, in
conjunction with the International Labor Organization, the
United Nations Office of Drug and Crime Prevention, and other
relevant international and nongovernmental organizations,
should seek to establish a multilateral framework between
labor exporting and labor importing countries to ensure that
workers migrating between such countries are protected from
trafficking in persons and worker exploitation of any kind.
TITLE II--COMBATTING TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS IN THE UNITED STATES
Subtitle A--Ensuring Availability of Possible Witnesses and Informants
SEC. 201. PROTECTING TRAFFICKING VICTIMS AGAINST RETALIATION.
(a) T Visas.--Section 101(a)(15)(T) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(T)) is amended--
(1) in clause (i)--
(A) in the matter preceding subclause (I), by striking
``Security and the Attorney General jointly;'' and inserting
``Security, in consultation with the Attorney General,'';
(B) in subclause (I), by striking the comma at the end and
inserting a semicolon;
(C) in subclause (II), by adding at the end the following:
``including physical presence on account of the alien having
been allowed entry into the United States for participation
in investigative or judicial processes;'';
(D) in subclause (III)--
[[Page H14102]]
(i) in item (aa), by striking ``or'' at the end;
(ii) in item (bb), by striking ``, and'' at the end and
inserting ``; and'';
(iii) by redesignating item (bb) as item (cc); and
(iv) by inserting after item (aa) the following:
``(bb) in the Secretary's sole and unreviewable discretion,
in consultation with the Attorney General, that the alien is
unlikely or unable to cooperate with such a request due to
physical or psychological trauma; or''; and
(E) in subclause (IV), by adding ``and'' at the end;
(2) in clause (ii)--
(A) in subclause (I), by striking ``or'' at the end;
(B) in subclause (II), by striking ``and'' at the end and
inserting ``or''; and
(C) by adding the following at the end:
``(III) any parents or siblings of an alien described in
subclause (I) or (II) who face a present danger of
retaliation, as attested to by a representative of a law
enforcement agency, as a result of the alien's escape from
the severe form of trafficking or cooperation with law
enforcement.''; and
(3) by striking clause (iii).
(b) Requirements for T Visa Issuance.--Section 214(o) of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(o)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (7)(B)--
(A) by striking ``subparagraph (A) if a Federal'' and
inserting the following:
``subparagraph (A) if--
``(i) a Federal'';
(B) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``;
or''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(ii) the Secretary of Homeland Security determines, as a
matter of the Secretary's sole discretion, that an extension
of the period of such nonimmigrant status is warranted due to
exceptional circumstances.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) In determining whether extreme hardship described in
section 101(a)(15)(T)(i)(IV) exists, the Secretary of
Homeland Security, in consultation with the Attorney General
and relevant investigators, prosecutors, and individuals
responsible for working with victims and witnesses, may
consider whether the country to which the alien is likely to
be removed can adequately address security concerns and the
mental and physical health needs of the alien and of persons
described in section 101(a)(15)(T)(ii).''.
(c) Conditions on Nonimmigrant Status for Certain Crime
Victims.--Section 214(p)(6) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(p)(6)) is amended by adding at
the end the following: ``The Secretary of Homeland Security
may extend the authorized period of status of an alien as a
nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(U) of this title for a
period exceeding 4 years if the Secretary determines, as a
matter of the Secretary's sole discretion, that an extension
of such period is warranted due to exceptional
circumstances.''.
(d) Adjustment of Status for Trafficking Victims.--Section
245(l) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1255(l)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by striking ``the Attorney General,,'' and inserting
``the Secretary of Homeland Security in consultation with the
Attorney General,'';
(2) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting ``subject to
paragraph (6),'' after ``(B)'';
(3) in paragraph (1)(C)(ii), by striking ``, or in the case
of subparagraph (C)(i), the Attorney General,'';
(4) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and
inserting the following: ``, unless the absence is in order
to assist in the investigation or prosecution or unless an
official involved in the investigation or prosecution
certifies that the absence was otherwise justified.''; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) For purposes of paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary of
Homeland Security, in the Secretary's sole and unreviewable
discretion, may waive consideration of a disqualification
from good moral character (described in section 101(f)) with
respect to an alien if the disqualification was caused by, or
was incident to, the trafficking described in section
101(a)(15)(T)(i)(I).''.
(e) Adjustment of Status for Crime Victims.--Section
245(m)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1255(m)(1)) is amended, in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by striking ``unless the Attorney General'' and
inserting ``unless the Secretary, in consultation with the
Attorney General,''.
SEC. 202. INFORMATION FOR WORK-BASED NONIMMIGRANTS ON LEGAL
RIGHTS AND RESOURCES.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, in
consultation with the Secretary of State, the Attorney
General, and the Secretary of Labor, shall develop an
information pamphlet, as described in subsection (b), on
legal rights and resources for aliens applying for
employment- or education-based nonimmigrant visas, and shall
distribute and make such pamphlet available as described in
subsection (e). In preparing the information pamphlet, the
Secretary of Homeland Security shall consult with
nongovernmental organizations with expertise on the legal
rights of workers and victims of severe forms of trafficking
in persons.
(b) Information Pamphlet.--The information pamphlet
developed under subsection (a) shall include information on
employment- or education-based nonimmigrant visas or on
student or cultural exchanges, as follows:
(1) The nonimmigrant visa application processes, including
information about whether the particular employment- or
education-based nonimmigrant visa program includes
portability of employment or educational institution.
(2) The illegality of slavery, peonage, trafficking in
persons, sexual assault, extortion, blackmail, and worker
exploitation in the United States.
(3) Services for victims of severe forms of trafficking in
persons and worker exploitation in the United States,
including Federal law enforcement and victim services
complaint lines.
(4) The legal rights of immigrant victims of worker
exploitation and other crimes in immigration, criminal
justice, family law, and other matters, including the right
of access to immigrant and labor rights groups, the right to
seek redress in United States courts, and the right to report
abuse without retaliation.
(5) The requirements that subsection (g) places upon a
person engaging in foreign labor contracting activity,
including the disclosure of any debts.
(c) Summaries.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, in
consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of
State, shall develop summaries of the information pamphlet
developed under subsection (a) that shall be used by Federal
officials when reviewing the pamphlet in interviews required
by section 110.
(d) Translation.--
(1) In general.--In order to best serve the language groups
having the greatest concentration of employment- or
education-based nonimmigrant visas, the information pamphlet
developed under subsection (a) shall, subject to paragraph
(2), be translated by the Secretary of State into foreign
languages, including Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese,
Chinese, Ukrainian, Thai, Korean, Polish, Japanese, French,
Creole, Arabic, Portuguese, Hindi, and such other languages
as the Secretary of State, in the Secretary's discretion, may
specify.
(2) Revision.--Every two years, the Secretary of Homeland
Security, in consultation with the Attorney General and the
Secretary of State, shall determine at least 14 specific
languages into which the information pamphlet shall be
translated based on the languages spoken by the greatest
concentrations of employment- or education-based nonimmigrant
visas.
(e) Availability and Distribution.--
(1) Posting on federal websites.--The information pamphlet
developed under subsection (a) shall be posted on the
websites of the Department of State and the Department of
Homeland Security, as well as on the websites of all United
States consular posts processing applications for
nonimmigrant visas.
(2) Other distribution.--The information pamphlet developed
under subsection (a) shall also be made available to any
foreign labor broker, government agency, or nongovernmental
advocacy organization.
(f) Deadline for Pamphlet Development and Distribution.--
The information pamphlet developed under subsection (a) shall
be distributed and made available (including in the languages
specified under subsection (d)) not later than 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(g) Protections for Workers Recruited Abroad.--
(1) Definitions.--In this section--
(A) the term ``foreign labor contractor'' means any person
who for any money or other consideration paid or promised to
be paid, performs any foreign labor contracting activity;
(B) the term ``foreign labor contracting activity'' means
recruiting, soliciting, hiring, employing, or furnishing, an
individual who resides outside of the United States to be
employed in the United States; and
(C) the term ``worker'' means an individual who is the
subject of foreign labor contracting activity.
(2) Disclosure.--Any person who engages in foreign labor
contracting activity shall ascertain and disclose in writing,
in English and in a language understood by the worker being
recruited, to each worker who is recruited for employment, at
the time of the worker's recruitment, the following
information:
(A) The location and period of employment, and any travel
or transportation expenses to be assessed.
(B) The compensation for the employment and any other
employee benefit to be provided and any costs to be charged
for each benefit.
(C) A description of employment requirements and
activities.
(D) The existence of any labor organizing effort, strike,
lockout, or other labor dispute at the place of employment.
(E) The existence of any arrangement with any person
involving the receipt of a commission or any other benefit
for the provision of items or services to workers.
(F) The extent to which workers will be compensated through
workers' compensation, private insurance, or other means for
injuries or death.
(G) Any education or training to be provided or required,
including the nature and cost of such training and the person
who will pay such costs, and whether the training is a
condition of employment, continued employment, or future
employment.
[[Page H14103]]
(3) Restriction.--No foreign labor contractor or employer
who engages in foreign labor contracting activity shall
knowingly provide materially false or misleading information
to any worker concerning any matter required to be disclosed
under paragraph (2). The disclosure required by this section
is a document concerning the proper administration of a
matter within the jurisdiction of a department or agency of
the United States for the purposes of section 1519 of title
18, United States Code.
(4) Registration.--
(A) In general.--Before engaging in any foreign labor
contracting activity, any person who is a foreign labor
contractor shall obtain a certificate of registration from
the Secretary of Labor pursuant to regulations promulgated by
the Secretary under subparagraph (B).
(B) Issuance.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate
regulations to establish an efficient electronic process for
the timely investigation and approval of an application for a
certificate of registration of foreign labor contractors,
including--
(i) requirements under paragraphs (1), (4), and (5) of
section 102 of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker
Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 1812);
(ii) an expeditious means to update registrations and renew
certificates; and
(iii) any other requirements that the Secretary may
prescribe.
(C) Term of registration.--Unless suspended or revoked, a
certificate under this subparagraph shall be valid for two
years.
(D) Refusal to issue; revocation.--In accordance with
regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor, the
Secretary shall refuse to issue or renew, or shall revoke,
after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, a certificate
of registration under this subparagraph if--
(i) the applicant for, or holder of, the certification has
knowingly made a material misrepresentation in the
application for such certificate;
(ii) the applicant for, or holder of, the certification is
not the real party in interest in the application or
certificate of registration and the real party in interest--
(I) is a person who has been refused issuance or renewal of
a certificate;
(II) has had a certificate revoked; or
(III) does not qualify for a certificate under this
paragraph;
(iii) the applicant for, or holder of, the certification
has been convicted within the preceding five years of any
crime described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of section
103(a)(5) of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker
Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 1813(a)(5)); or
(iv) the applicant for, or holder of, the certification has
knowingly or recklessly failed to comply with this
subsection.
(E) Complaints and investigations.--The Secretary of Labor
shall establish a process for the receipt, investigation, and
disposition of complaints filed by any person, including
complaints initiated by the Secretary, respecting a foreign
labor contractor's compliance with this subsection. No
investigation or hearing shall be conducted on a complaint
concerning a violation of this subsection unless the
complaint was filed not later than 12 months after the date
of the violation. The Secretary may conduct an investigation
under this paragraph if there is reasonable cause to believe
that such a violation occurred.
(F) Maintenance of lists.--
(i) In general.--The Secretary shall maintain a list of all
foreign labor contractors registered under this subsection;
and
(ii) Public availability.--The Secretary shall make the
list described in clause (i) publicly available, including
through publication on the Internet.
(G) Re-registration of violators.--The Secretary shall
provide a procedure by which a foreign labor contractor that
has had its registration revoked may seek to re-register
under this paragraph by demonstrating to the Secretary's
satisfaction that the foreign labor contractor has not
violated this subsection in the previous 5 years.
(5) Amendment to immigration and nationality act.--Section
214 of the Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(s) A visa shall not be issued under the subparagraph
(A)(iii), (B)(i) (but only for domestic servants described in
clause (i) or (ii) of section 274a.12(c)(17) of title 8, Code
of Federal Regulations (as in effect on December 4, 2007)),
(G)(v), (H), (J), (L), (Q), or (R) of section 101(a)(15)
until the consular officer--
``(1) has provided to and reviewed with the applicant, in
the applicant's language (or a language the applicant
understands), a copy of the information and resources
pamphlet required by section 202 of the William Wilberforce
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2007;
and
``(2) has reviewed and made a part of the visa file the
foreign labor recruiter disclosures required by such section
202.''.
(6) Enforcement provisions.--
(A) Administrative enforcement.--The Secretary of Labor may
impose against any foreign labor contractor, for knowingly or
recklessly failing to comply with the requirements of this
subsection--
(i) a fine in an amount not more than $4,000 per violation;
and
(ii) upon the occasion of a third violation or a failure to
comply with representations, a fine of not more than $10,000
per violation.
(B) Civil action.--
(i) In general.--The Secretary of Labor may bring a civil
action against any foreign labor contractor in any court of
competent jurisdiction--
(I) to seek remedial action, including injunctive relief;
(II) to recover damages on behalf of any worker harmed by a
violation of this subsection; and
(III) to ensure compliance with requirements of this
subsection.
(ii) Sums recovered.--Any sums recovered by the Secretary
on behalf of a worker under clause (i) shall be held in a
special deposit account and shall be paid, on order of the
Secretary, directly to each employee affected. Any such sums
not paid to an employee because of inability to do so within
a period of three years shall be credited as an offsetting
collection to the appropriations account of the Secretary of
Labor for expenses for the administration of this subsection
and shall remain available to the Secretary until expended.
(iii) Representation.--Except as provided in section 518(a)
of title 28, United States Code, the Solicitor of Labor may
appear for and represent the Secretary of Labor in any civil
litigation brought under this paragraph. All such litigation
shall be subject to the direction and control of the Attorney
General.
(C) Agency liability.--Beginning 180 days after the
Secretary of Labor has promulgated regulations pursuant to
paragraph (4)(B), an employer who retains the services of a
foreign labor contractor shall only use those foreign labor
contractors who are registered under paragraph (4). An
employer who uses a foreign labor contractor who is not
registered under paragraph (4) after such time period, or who
uses a foreign labor contractor knowing or in reckless
disregard that such contractor has violated any provision of
this subsection, shall be subject to the provisions of this
paragraph for violations committed by such foreign labor
contractor to the same extent as if the employer were the
foreign labor contractor who had committed the violation.
(D) Retaliation.--An individual who is a victim of a
violation of section 1512(A)(2)(D), 1512(b)(4), or 1513(B)(3)
of title 18, United States Code, may, in a civil action,
recover appropriate relief (including reasonable attorneys'
fees) with respect to that violation. Any civil action under
this subparagraph shall be stayed during the pendency of any
criminal action arising out of the violation.
(E) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to preempt or alter any other rights or remedies,
including any causes of action, available under any other
Federal or State law.
(h) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Employment- or education-based nonimmigrant visa.--The
term ``employment- or education-based nonimmigrant visa''
means a nonimmigrant visa issued for the purpose of
employment, education, or training in the United States,
including a visas issued under subparagraph (A)(iii), (B)(i)
(but only for domestic servants described in clause (i) or
(ii) of section 274a.12(c)(17) of title 8, Code of Federal
Regulations (as in effect on December 4, 2007)), (G)(v), (H),
(J), (L), (Q), or (R) of section 101(a)(15) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)).
(2) Severe forms of trafficking in persons.--The term
``severe forms of trafficking in persons'' has the meaning
given the term in section 103 of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102).
SEC. 203. RELIEF FOR CERTAIN VICTIMS PENDING ACTIONS ON
PETITIONS AND APPLICATIONS FOR RELIEF.
Section 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1227) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(d)(1) In the case of an alien in the United States for
whom an application for nonimmigrant status (whether as a
principal alien or a derivative relative) under section
101(a)(15)(T) has been filed, if the application sets forth a
prima facie case for approval, the Secretary of Homeland
Security may grant the alien a stay of removal or deportation
until the application is approved or the application is
denied after exhaustion of administrative appeals. Any appeal
of the denial of a stay of removal or deportation under this
paragraph must accompany any appeal of the underlying
substantive petition or application for benefits.
``(2) During a period in which an alien is provided a stay
of removal under this subsection, the alien shall not be
removed or deported.
``(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as
limiting the authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security
to grant a stay of removal or deportation in any case not
described in this subsection.''.
SEC. 204. EXPANSION OF AUTHORITY TO PERMIT CONTINUED PRESENCE
IN THE UNITED STATES.
(a) Expansion of Authority.--
(1) In general.--Section 107(c)(3) of the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7105(c)(3)) is
amended to read as follows:
``(3) Authority to permit continued presence in the united
states.--
``(A) Trafficking victims.--
``(i) In general.--Upon application from a Federal law
enforcement official that makes a prima facie showing that an
alien is a victim of a severe form of trafficking and a
potential witness to such trafficking, in order to effectuate
investigation and prosecution
[[Page H14104]]
of those responsible, the Secretary of Homeland Security may
permit an alien's continued presence in the United States.
``(ii) Safety.--Federal law enforcement officials described
in clause (i), in investigating and prosecuting traffickers,
shall endeavor to protect the safety of trafficking victims,
including taking measures to protect trafficked persons and
their family members from intimidation, threats of reprisals,
and reprisals from traffickers and their associates.
``(iii) Continuation of presence.--The Secretary shall
continue to permit the continued presence of an alien
described in clause (i) if such alien has filed a civil
action under section 1595 of title 18, United States Code,
until such action is concluded. Failure to exercise due
diligence in pursuing such a civil action, as determined by
the Secretary in consultation with the Attorney General, may
result in revocation of continued presence.
``(B) Parole for relatives.--Pursuant to section 240A(b)(6)
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1229b(b)(b)), as added by section 204(b) of the William
Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization
Act of 2007, law enforcement officials may submit a written
request to the Secretary of Homeland Security to permit the
parole into the United States of certain relatives of an
alien described in subparagraph (A)(i).
``(C) State and local law enforcement.--The Secretary of
Homeland Security, in consultation with the Attorney General,
shall develop materials for State and local law enforcement
on working with Federal law enforcement to obtain continued
presence for victims of a severe form of trafficking in cases
investigated or prosecuted at the State or local level, for
distribution to State and local law enforcement by each
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent in
Charge.''.
(2) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1)
shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act
and shall apply to requests for continued presence filed
pursuant to section 107(c)(3) of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act (22 U.S.C. 7105(c)(3)) before, on, or after
such date, except that this paragraph does not permit the
application of section 107(c)(3)(A) of such Act, as added by
paragraph (1), to an alien who is not present in the United
States.
(b) Parole for Derivatives of Trafficking Victims.--Section
240A(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1229b(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(6) Relatives of trafficking victims.--
``(A) In general.--Upon written request by a law
enforcement official, the Secretary of Homeland Security may
grant parole under section 212(d)(5) to any alien who is a
relative of an alien granted continued presence pursuant to
section 107(c)(3)(A) of the Trafficking Victims Protection
Act (22 U.S.C. 7105(c)(3)(A)), if the relative--
``(i) was, on the date on which law enforcement applied for
such continued presence--
``(I) in the case of an alien granted continued presence
who is under 21 years of age, the spouse, child, parent, or
unmarried sibling under 18 years of age, of the alien; or
``(II) in the case of an alien granted continued presence
who is 21 years of age or older, the spouse or child of the
alien, or
``(ii) is a parent or sibling of the alien who, in the
judgment of the requesting law enforcement official, is in
present danger of retaliation as a result of the alien's
escape from the severe form of trafficking or cooperation
with law enforcement, irrespective of age.
``(B) Duration of parole.--
``(i) In general.--The grant of parole under subparagraph
(A) shall extend until the date an application filed by the
principal alien under section 101(a)(15)(T)(ii) has been
finally adjudicated.
``(ii) Other limits on duration.--If no such application is
filed, the grant of parole shall extend until the later of--
``(I) the date on which the principal alien's continued
presence in the United States under section 107(c)(3)(A) of
the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (22 U.S.C.
7105(c)(3)(A)) is terminated; or
``(II) the date on which a civil action filed by the
principal alien under section 1595 of title 18, United States
Code, is concluded.
``(iii) Due diligence.--Failure by the principal alien to
exercise due diligence in filing a visa petition on behalf of
an alien described in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A),
or in pursuing the civil action described in clause (ii)(II)
(as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security in
consultation with the Attorney General), may result in
revocation of parole.''.
SEC. 205. IMPLEMENTATION OF TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PROTECTION
REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2005.
Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall issue
interim regulations regarding the adjustment of status to
permanent residence for nonimmigrants admitted into the
United States under section 101(a)(15)(T) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(T)). If the
regulations are not issued before such deadline, the
Secretary shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations and
the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate explaining in
detail the reasons such regulations have not been issued .
Subtitle B--Assistance for Trafficking Victims
SEC. 211. VICTIM OF TRAFFICKING CERTIFICATION PROCESS.
Section 107(b)(1)(E) of the Trafficking Victims Protection
Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7105(b)(1)(E)), is amended--
(1) in clause (i)--
(A) in the matter preceding subclause (I), by striking
``consultation'' and all that follows through ``person'' and
inserting ``consultation with the Attorney General and the
Secretary of Homeland Security, that the person'';
(B) in subclause (I), by adding at the end before the
semicolon the following: ``or is unlikely or unable to
cooperate with such a request due to physical or
psychological trauma;''; and
(C) in subclause (II)(bb), by striking ``United States''
and all that follows through ``ensuring'' and inserting
``United States the Secretary of Homeland Security is
ensuring''; and
(2) in clause (ii), by striking ``so long as'' and all that
follows through ``determines'' and inserting ``so long as the
Secretary of Homeland Security determines''.
SEC. 212. ASSISTANCE FOR CERTAIN NONIMMIGRANT STATUS
APPLICANTS.
(a) In General.--Section 431(c) of the Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of
1996 (8 U.S.C. 1641(c)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (2)(B);
(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (3)(B)
and inserting ``; or''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) an alien who has had approved, or has pending, a
petition that sets forth a prima facie case for status as a
nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(T) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(T)).''.
(b) Construction.--The provisions of section 431(c)(4) of
the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1641(c)(4)), as added by
subsection (a), are in addition to the access to public
benefits provided in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act
of 2000 and the Trafficking Victims Reauthorization Act of
2003.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a)
apply to applications for public benefits and public benefits
provided on or after the date of the enactment of this Act
without regard to whether regulations to carry out such
amendments are implemented.
SEC. 213. INTERIM ASSISTANCE FOR CHILD VICTIMS OF
TRAFFICKING.
(a) In General.--Subsection (b)(1) of section 107 of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7105)
is amended by adding at the end the following new
subparagraphs:
``(F) Eligibility of interim assistance for child
victims.--
``(i) Determination.--With respect to a person referred to
in subparagraph (C)(ii)(I) who is seeking assistance under
this paragraph, if credible information is presented on
behalf of the person that the person has been subjected to a
severe form of trafficking in persons, the Secretary of
Health and Human Services shall promptly make a determination
of the person's eligibility under this paragraph.
``(ii) Exclusive authority.--The Secretary of Health and
Human Services shall have exclusive authority in making
determinations of eligibility under clause (i).
``(iii) Duration.--Assistance provided under this paragraph
for an individual determined to be eligible under clause (i)
may be provided for up to 90 days and may be extended for an
additional 30 days.
``(iv) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress
that--
``(I) to ensure the best interests of the child and to
create an increased chance of cooperation by child victims of
severe forms of trafficking in persons, the United States
Government should provide assistance to protect and care for
such child victims during the pendency of proceedings to
determine whether a child is a victim of severe forms of
trafficking; and
``(II) in order to further the objective of subclause (I),
the Secretary of Health and Human Services should make the
determination of eligibility for assistance under clause (i)
on the basis of the information provided and the Secretary's
own assessment of such information without regard to the
assessments by other departments and agencies of the United
States Government regarding whether such child victim's
application for relief or benefits under this Act or the
Immigration and Nationality Act will be approved.
``(G) Notification of child victims for interim
assistance.--
``(i) Federal officials.--Any Federal official who has
reason to believe that a person may be a juvenile victim of
trafficking referred to in subparagraph (C)(ii)(I) shall
notify the Secretary of Health and Human Services not later
than 48 hours after the official first learns that the person
may be a juvenile victim of trafficking for the purpose of
facilitating the provision of interim assistance under
subparagraph (F).
``(ii) State and local officials.--Any State or local
official who has reason to believe that a person may be a
juvenile victim of trafficking referred to in subparagraph
(C)(ii)(I) shall notify the Secretary of Health
[[Page H14105]]
and Human Services not later than 72 hours after the official
first learns that the person may be a juvenile victim of
trafficking for the purpose of facilitating the provision of
interim assistance under subparagraph (F).''.
(b) Training of Government Personnel.--Subsection (c)(4) of
such section is amended--
(1) by striking ``and the Department of Justice'' and
inserting ``, the Department of Homeland Security, and the
Department of Health and Human Services'';
(2) by inserting before the period at the end the
following: ``, including the identification of juvenile
victims of trafficking''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``The
Attorney General and the Secretary of Heath and Human
Services shall provide education and guidance to State and
local officials on the identification of aliens who are the
victims of severe forms of trafficking, and in particular
child victims of trafficking, including education and
guidance on the requirements of subsection (b)(1)(G)(ii).''.
SEC. 214. ENSURING ASSISTANCE FOR ALL VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS.
(a) Amendments to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of
2000.--
(1) Assistance for united states citizens and lawful
permanent residents.--Section 107 of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7105) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(h) Assistance for United States Citizens and Lawful
Permanent Residents.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Health and Human
Services and the Attorney General, in consultation with the
Secretary of Labor, are authorized to establish a program to
provide assistance to citizens of the United States, and
aliens who are lawfully admitted for permanent residence (as
defined in section 101(a)(20) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20))), who are victims of
severe forms of trafficking. In determining the types of
assistance that would be most beneficial for such victims,
the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney
General shall consult with nongovernmental organizations that
provide services to victims of severe forms of trafficking in
the United States.
``(2) Use of existing programs.--In addition to such other
specialized services as may be required for victims described
in paragraph (1), the program established pursuant to
paragraph (1) shall facilitate communication and coordination
between the providers of assistance to such victims, and
provide a means of identifying such providers and making
referrals to programs for which such victims are already
eligible (including programs administered by the Department
of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services).
``(3) Grants.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services
and the Attorney General may make grants to States, Indian
tribes, units of local government, and non-profit,
nongovernmental victims' service organizations to develop,
expand, and strengthen victim service programs authorized
under this subsection. The Federal share of a grant made
under this subsection may not exceed 75 percent of the total
costs of the projects described in the application
submitted.''.
(2) Authorization of appropriations.--Section 113 of such
Act (22 U.S.C. 7110) is amended--
(A) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the following
new sentence: ``To carry out the purposes of section 107(h),
there are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of
Health and Human Services $2,500,000 for fiscal year 2008,
$5,000,0000 for fiscal year 2009, $10,000,000 for fiscal year
2010, and $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2011.''; and
(B) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the following
new sentence: ``To carry out the purposes of section 107(h),
there are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney
General $2,500,000 for fiscal year 2008, $5,000,0000 for
fiscal year 2009, $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, and
$15,000,000 for fiscal year 2011.''.
(3) Technical assistance.--Section 107(b)(2)(B)(ii) of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C.
7105(b)(2)(B)(ii)) is amended to read as follows:
``(ii) five percent for training and technical assistance,
including increasing capacity and expertise on security for
and protection of service providers from intimidation or
retaliation for their activities.''.
(b) Assistance for Potential Victims of Trafficking and
Related Crimes.--
(1) Victims of crime act.--The Victims of Crime Act of 1984
(42 U.S.C. 10601 et seq.)) is amended by inserting after
section 1404E the following new section:
``SEC. 1404F. VICTIMS OF COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND
OTHER CRIMES.
``Notwithstanding any statutory or regulatory limitation on
providing assistance for offender rehabilitation or for any
individual who may have violated Federal or State law, and
except as provided in sections 1404B and 1404C, in this
chapter the terms `victim', `crime victim', and `victim of
crime' include an individual who is exploited or otherwise
victimized by any person who is in violation of an offense
described by chapter 117 of title 18, United States Code, or
section 1328 of title 8, United States Code, or any similar
offense under State law, regardless of whether such offense
involves participation by such individual in any commercial
sex act (as defined in section 2429 of title 18, United
States Code).''.
(2) Use of existing programs.--The President is authorized
to facilitate communication and coordination between the
providers of assistance to persons victimized in cases
brought under chapter 117 of title 18, United States Code,
and to provide a means of identifying such providers and
making referrals to programs for which such victims are
already eligible (including programs administered by the
Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human
Services).
(3) Effect on other programs.--Nothing in this section or
the amendments made by this section shall derogate from the
programs for victims of sexual abuse or commercial sexual
exploitation or survivors of sexual abuse or commercial
sexual exploitation authorized by section 202 of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization of 2005.
(c) Partnerships Among Organizations.--Beginning not later
than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
all applications for grants made by the Attorney General or
the Secretary of Health and Human Services to States, Indian
tribes, units of local government, and nonprofit,
nongovernmental victims' service organizations to establish
or maintain assistance programs for victims of severe forms
of trafficking in persons or sex trafficking that occurs, in
whole or in part, within the territorial jurisdiction of the
United States shall include a statement by the applicant of
whether the services will be available to both United States
citizens and foreign trafficking victims, or if the applicant
intends to specialize in serving a particular victim
population, what referral mechanisms or collaborative
relationships they will undertake to ensure that all victims
are assisted regardless of alienage. The statement required
by this section will not be used to make a determination
regarding the award of the grant.
(d) Study.--
(1) Requirement.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General and the
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report identifying the
existence or extent of any service gap between foreign and
United States citizen victims of severe forms of trafficking
and victims of sex trafficking, as defined in section 103 of
the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.
(2) Elements.--In carrying out the study under subparagraph
(1), the Attorney General and Secretary of Health and Human
Services shall--
(A) investigate factors relating to the legal ability of
foreign and United States citizen victims of trafficking to
access government-funded social services in general,
including the application of the Personal Responsibility and
Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C.
1641(c)(5)) and the Illegal Immigration and Immigrant
Responsibility Act of 1996 (division C of Public Law 104-208;
110 Stat. 3009 et seq.);
(B) investigate any other impediments to the access of
foreign and United States citizen victims of trafficking to
government-funded social services in general;
(C) investigate any impediments to the access of foreign
and United States citizen victims of trafficking to
government-funded services targeted to victims of severe
forms of trafficking and victims of sex trafficking;
(D) investigate the effect of trafficking service-provider
infrastructure development, continuity of care, and
availability of caseworkers on the eventual restoration and
rehabilitation of foreign and United States citizen victims
of trafficking; and
(E) include findings, best practices, and recommendations
based on the study of the elements in subparagraphs (A)
through (D) and any other related information.
Subtitle C--Penalties Against Traffickers and Other Crimes
SEC. 221. ENHANCING TRAFFICKING AND OTHER RELATED OFFENSES.
(a) Transfer and Modification of Section 1591.--
(1) New section.--Chapter 117 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 2429. Aggravated sex trafficking
``(a) Whoever knowingly--
``(1) in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, or
within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of
the United States, recruits, entices, harbors, transports,
provides, or obtains by any means a person; or
``(2) benefits, financially or by receiving anything of
value, from participation in a venture which has engaged in
an act described in violation of paragraph (1),
knowing that force, fraud, or coercion will be used to cause
the person to engage in a commercial sex act, or, in the case
of a person who has not attained the age of 18 years, that
the person will be caused to engage in a commercial sex act,
or attempts to do so, shall be punished as provided in
subsection (b).
``(b) In a prosecution under this subsection, the
Government need not prove that the defendant knew that the
person had not attained the age of 18 years.
``(c) The punishment for an offense under this section is--
``(1) if the offense was effected by force, fraud, or
coercion or if the person recruited, enticed, harbored,
transported, provided, or obtained had not attained the age
of 14 years at the time of such offense, by a fine under this
title and imprisonment for any term of years not less than 15
or for life; or
[[Page H14106]]
``(2) if the offense was not so effected, and the person
recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, provided, or
obtained had attained the age of 14 years but had not
attained the age of 18 years at the time of such offense, by
a fine under this title and imprisonment for not less than 10
years or for life.
``(d)(1) Section 1593 (relating to mandatory restitution)
applies to an offense under this section to the same extent
and in the same manner as it applies to an offense under
chapter 77.
``(2) Section 1595 (relating to civil remedy) applies with
respect to a violation of this section to the same extent and
in the same manner it applies to a violation of a section to
which section 1595 is made applicable by section 1595.
``(e) In this section--
``(1) the term `commercial sex act' means any sex act, on
account of which anything of value is given to or received by
any person;
``(2) the term `coercion' means--
``(A) threats of serious harm to or physical restraint
against any person;
``(B) any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause a
person to believe that failure to perform an act would result
in serious harm to or physical restraint against any person;
or
``(C) the abuse or threatened abuse of law or the legal
process; and
``(3) the term `venture' means any group of two or more
individuals associated in fact, whether or not a legal
entity.''.
(2) Repeal of transferred section.--Section 1591 of title
18, United States Code, is repealed.
(3) Elimination of cross references to repealed section.--
(A) Section 1594 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by striking ``1590, or 1591'' and inserting ``or
1591''.
(B) Section 1595 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by striking ``, 1590, or 1591'' and inserting ``or
1591''.
(4) Clerical amendments to tables of sections.--
(A) The table of sections for chapter 77 of title 18,
United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating
to section 1591.
(B) The table of sections for chapter 117 of title 18,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following new item:
``2429. Aggravated sex trafficking.''.
(5) Change in chapter headings.--
(A) The heading for chapter 77 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended to read as follows:
``CHAPTER 77--PEONAGE, SLAVERY, AND TRAFFICKING INTO SERVITUDE''.
(B) The heading for chapter 117 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended to read as follows:
``CHAPTER 117--SEX TRAFFICKING, SEX TOURISM, AND OTHER TRANSPORTATION
FOR ILLEGAL SEXUAL ACTIVITY''.
(C) The table of chapters at the beginning of part I of
title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(i) so that the item relating to chapter 77 reads as
follows:
``77. Peonage, Slavery, and Trafficking into Servitude..... 1581''; and
(ii) so that the item relating to chapter 117 reads as
follows:
``117. Sex Trafficking, Sex Tourism, and Other Transportation for
Illegal Sexual Activity.................................2421''.....
(b) Compelled Service.--
(1) In general.--Section 1592 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 1592. Unlawful compelled service
``(a) Generally.--Whoever knowingly, with intent to obtain
or maintain the labor or services of a person or to obtain or
maintain a person for use in a commercial sex act (as defined
in section 2429)--
``(1) destroys, conceals, removes, confiscates, or
possesses any actual or purported passport or other
immigration document, or any other actual or purported
government identification document, of another person to
prevent or restrict or to attempt to prevent or restrict,
without lawful authority, the person's ability to move or
travel;
``(2) acts or fails to act, or threatens to do so, under
color of official right;
``(3) blackmails another person; or
``(4) causes or exploits financial harm or a fear of
financial harm on the part of that person;
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5
years, or both.
``(b) Definition.--For purposes of this paragraph,
`financial harm' includes the factors set forth in section
892(b) of this title, and fees charged for foreign labor
contracting activity, as defined in section 202(g) of the
William Wilberforce Trafficking Reauthorization Act of 2007,
that are not reasonably related to services provided to the
foreign worker.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The item relating to section 1592
in the table of sections at the beginning of chapter 77 of
title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``1592. Unlawful compelled service.''.
(c) Restitution of Forfeited Assets.--(1) Section 1593(b)
of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting at
the end the following:
``(4) The distribution of proceeds among multiple victims
in an order of restitution under this section shall govern
the distribution of forfeited funds through the processes of
remission or restoration under this section or any other
statute that explicitly authorizes restoration or remission
of forfeited property.''
(2) Section 1594 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended--
(A) in subsection (b), by striking ``The court,'' and
inserting ``Subject to remission or restoration, the
court,''; and
(B) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the following:
``(3) The Attorney General shall grant restoration or
remission of property to victims of an offense under this
chapter that result in forfeiture under this section or under
any other statute that explicitly authorizes restoration or
remission of forfeited property.
``(4) In a prosecution brought under any other provision of
Federal law, the Attorney General may grant restoration or
remission of property to victims of severe forms of
trafficking as defined in section 103 of the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act of 2000, in accordance with section
1594(b)(4).''.
(d) Enhancement of Civil Action.--Section 1595 of title 18,
United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a) by--
(A) by striking ``of section 1589, 1590, or 1591''; and
(B) by inserting ``(or any person who knowingly benefits,
financially or by receiving anything of value from
participation in a venture which has engaged in an act in
violation of this chapter)'' after ``perpetrator''.
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(c) No action shall be maintained under this section
unless it is commenced within 10 years after the cause of
action arose.''.
(e) Retaliation in Foreign Labor Contracting.--Title 18,
United States Code, is amended--
(1) in section 1512(a)(2)--
(A) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph (B);
(B) by striking ``proceedings;'' at the end of subparagraph
(C) and inserting ``proceedings; or''; and
(C) by inserting immediately after subparagraph (C) the
following:
``(D) hinder, delay or prevent the disclosure of
information concerning a violation with respect to aliens of
the requirements of an employment-based visa or any Federal
labor or employment law;'';
(2) in section 1512(b)--
(A) by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (2);
(B) by striking ``proceedings;'' at the end of paragraph
(3) and inserting ``proceedings; or''; and
(C) by inserting immediately after paragraph (3) the
following:
``(4) hinder, delay, or prevent the cooperation of any
person in an investigation or other proceeding concerning
compliance with respect to aliens with the requirements of
employment-based visas or any Federal labor or employment
law;'';
(3) in section 1513(b)--
(A) by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (1);
(B) by inserting ``or'' at the end of paragraph (2); and
(C) by inserting immediately after paragraph (2) the
following:
``(3) hinder, delay, or prevent the cooperation of any
person in an investigation or other proceeding concerning
compliance with respect to aliens with the requirements of
employment-based visas or any other Federal labor or
employment law;''; and
(4) in section 1515(a)--
(A) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (5);
(B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (6) and
inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(7) the term `employment-based visa' means a nonimmigrant
visa issued for the purpose of employment, student exchange
employment, or job training in the United States, including
those issued under subparagraph (A)(iii), (B)(i) (but only
for domestic servants described in clause (i) or (ii) of
section 274a.12(c)(17) of title 8, Code of Federal
Regulations (as in effect on December 4, 2007)), (G)(v), (H),
(J), (L), (Q), or (R) of section 101(a)(15) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act.''.
(f) Sex Trafficking.--
(1) New offense.--Chapter 117 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by inserting at the end the following:
``Sec. 2430. Sex trafficking
``Whoever knowingly, in or affecting interstate or foreign
commerce, within the special maritime and territorial
jurisdiction of the United States, or in any territory or
possession of the United States, persuades, induces, or
entices any individual to engage in prostitution for which
any person can be charged with an offense, or attempts to do
so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more
than 10 years, or both''.
(2) Amendment to the table of sections.--The table of
sections at the beginning of chapter 117 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by inserting at the end the following
new item:
``2430. Sex trafficking.''.
(g) Sex Tourism.--
(1) Generally.--Chapter 117 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by inserting at the end the following:
``Sec. 2431. Sex tourism
``(a) Arranging Travel and Related Conduct.--Whoever, for
the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial
gain,
[[Page H14107]]
knowingly arranges, induces, or procures the travel of a
person in foreign commerce for the purpose of engaging in any
commercial sex act (as defined in section 2429), or attempts
to do so, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not
more than 10 years, or both.
``(b) Increased Penalty for Offenses Involving Children.--
If the commercial sex act is with a person under 18 years of
age, the maximum term of imprisonment for an offense under
this section is 30 years.'';
(2) Amendment to table of sections.--The table of sections
at the beginning of chapter 117 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by inserting at the end the following new
item:
``2431. Sex tourism.''.
(h) Amendment to the Sentencing Guidelines.--Pursuant to
its authority under section 994 of title 28, United States
Code, and in accordance with this section, the United States
Sentencing Commission shall review and, if appropriate, amend
the sentencing guidelines and policy statements applicable--
(1) to persons convicted of offenses created by this
section other than those created by subsections (f) and (g),
to ensure conformity with the United States Sentencing
Guidelines, sections 2H4.1 (peonage offenses) and 2H4.2
(labor offenses); and
(2) to persons convicted of offenses created by subsection
(f) or (g) of this section, to ensure conformity with the
United States Sentencing Guidelines, sections 2G1.1
(promoting commercial sex acts with persons other than
minors) and 2G1.3 (promoting commercial sex acts or
prohibited sexual conduct with a minor, and related offenses.
SEC. 222. JURISDICTION IN CERTAIN TRAFFICKING OFFENSES.
(a) In General.--Chapter 77 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1596. Additional jurisdiction in certain trafficking
offenses
``(a) In General.--In addition to any domestic or extra-
territorial jurisdiction otherwise provided by law, the
courts of the United States have extra-territorial
jurisdiction over any offense (or any attempt or conspiracy
to commit an offense) under section 1581, 1583, 1584, 1589,
1590, or 2429 if--
``(1) an alleged offender or victim of the offense is a
national of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted
for permanent residence (as those terms are defined in
section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1101)); or
``(2) an alleged offender is present in the United States,
irrespective of the nationality of the alleged offender.
``(b) Limitation on Prosecutions of Offenses Prosecuted in
Other Countries.--No prosecution may be commenced against a
person under this section if a foreign government, in
accordance with jurisdiction recognized by the United States,
has prosecuted or is prosecuting such person for the conduct
constituting such offense, except upon the approval of the
Attorney General or the Deputy Attorney General (or a person
acting in either such capacity), which function of approval
may not be delegated.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of chapter 77 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following new item:
``1596. Additional jurisdiction in certain trafficking offenses.''.
SEC. 223. AMENDMENT OF OTHER CRIMES RELATED TO TRAFFICKING.
(a) Aliens Entering the United States.--
(1) In general.--Section 278 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1328) is amended to read as
follows:
``ALIENS IN PROSTITUTION
``Sec. 278. (a) Generally.--Whoever, for the purposes of
prostitution or for any other sexual activity for which any
person can be charged with a criminal offense--
``(1) knowingly imports or attempts to import any alien; or
``(2) knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an
individual is an alien who lacks lawful authority to come to,
enter, or reside in the United States, knowingly holds,
keeps, maintains, supports, employs, or harbors the
individual in any place in the United States, including any
building or any means of transportation, or attempts to do
so,
shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or
imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.
``(b) Special Evidentiary Rule.--In all prosecutions under
this section, the testimony of a husband or wife shall be
admissible and competent evidence against each other.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents of the
Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by amending the
item relating to section 278 to read as follows:
``Sec. 278. Aliens in prostitution.''.
(b) Amendment to the Sentencing Guidelines.--Pursuant to
its authority under section 994 of title 28, United States
Code, and in accordance with this section, the United States
Sentencing Commission shall review and, if appropriate, amend
the sentencing guidelines and policy statements applicable to
persons convicted of offenses created by this section to
ensure conformity with the United States Sentencing
Guidelines, section 2H4.1 (peonage offenses) in violations
involving a holding under section 278(a)(2) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1328(a)(2)), and
section.2G1.1 otherwise.
(c) IMBRA Violations.--Section 833(d)(5)(B) of the Violence
Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act
of 2005 (Public Law 109-162) is amended by striking
``interstate or foreign commerce, an international marriage
broker that, within the special maritime and territorial
jurisdiction of the United States, violates'' and inserting
``interstate or foreign commerce or within the special
maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States,
an international marriage broker that violates''.
SEC. 224. NEW MODEL STATUTE PROVIDED TO STATES.
(a) New Model Statute.--The Attorney General shall provide
a new model law for State anti-trafficking offenses that
shall reflect all concepts relating to trafficking in persons
included in Chapters 77 and 117 of title 18, United States
Code, as amended by this title, including crimes related to
forced labor, sex trafficking, and related offenses, with the
elements of force, fraud or coercion or age in sex
trafficking used as the bases for aggravated crimes or
sentencing enhancements.
(b) Distribution.--The model law described in subsection
(a) shall be posted on the website of the Department of
Justice and shall be distributed to the States and at the
anti-trafficking conference described in section 201(a)(2) of
the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of
2005 (42 U.S.C. 14044(a)).
(c) Adoption of Model Statute.--
(1) Assistance.--The Attorney General shall provide
assistance to States and local governments to adopt and apply
the model law described in subsection (a).
(2) Report.--Not later than six months after the enactment
of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General
shall submit to the Committees on Foreign Affairs and the
Judiciary of the House and the Committees on Foreign
Relations and the Judiciary of the Senate a report describing
the assistance provided pursuant to paragraph (1) and the
results achieved by such assistance, including a list of
State and local governments that have adopted the model law.
Subtitle D--Activities of the United States Government
SEC. 231. ANNUAL REPORT BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.
Section 105(d)(7) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act
of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7103(d)(7)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A)--
(A) by striking ``section 107(b)'' and inserting
``subsections (b) and (h) of section 107''; and
(B) by inserting ``the Attorney General,'' after ``the
Secretary of Labor,'';
(2) in subparagraph (G), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(3) by redesignating subparagraph (H) as subparagraph (J);
and
(4) by inserting after subparagraph (G) the following new
subparagraphs:
``(H) activities by the Department of Defense to combat
trafficking in persons, including educational efforts for and
disciplinary actions taken against members of the United
States Armed Forces, materials included in training of the
armed forces of foreign countries, and efforts to ensure that
United States Government contractors and their employees or
United States Government subcontractors and their employees
do not engage in trafficking in persons;
``(I) activities or actions by Federal departments and
agencies to enforce--
``(i) section 106(g) of this Act and any similar provision
of law, regulation, or policy relating to United States
Government contractors and their employees or United States
Government subcontractors and their employees that engage in
severe forms of trafficking in persons, procurement of
commercial sex acts, or use of forced labor, including debt
bondage;
``(ii) section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.
1307; relating to prohibition on importation of convict made
goods), including any determinations by the Secretary of
Homeland Security to waive the restrictions of such section;
and
``(iii) prohibitions on the procurement by the United
States Government of items or services produced by slave
labor, consistent with Executive Order 13107 (December 10,
1998); and''.
SEC. 232. ANTI-TRAFFICKING SURVEY AND CONFERENCES.
(a) Survey.--Paragraph (1) of section 201(a) of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005
(42 U.S.C. 14044(a)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(C) Additional requirements.--With respect to the study
described in subparagraph (B)(ii), the Attorney General shall
solicit on a biennial basis, beginning as soon as practicable
after the date of the enactment of the William Wilberforce
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2007,
requests for proposals for such a study from nongovernmental
entities with expertise in the field of illegal economic
activities and shall complete such study not later than one
year after the date of the enactment of such Act.''
(b) Annual Conference.--Paragraph (2)(A) of such section is
amended--
(1) in the first sentence, by striking ``in consultation''
and inserting ``in coordination with the Secretary of State
and in consultation''; and
(2) in clause (ii), by inserting before the semicolon at
the end the following: ``and the use of existing Federal and
State criminal
[[Page H14108]]
laws that do not require force, fraud, or coercion as an
element of a felony crime to prosecute such person.''.
SEC. 233. SENIOR POLICY OPERATING GROUP.
Section 206 of the Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 14044d) is amended by
striking ``, as the department or agency determines
appropriate,''.
SEC. 234. EFFORTS BY DEPARTMENTS OF JUSTICE AND LABOR TO
COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
(a) Activities at the Department of Justice.--
(1) Role of criminal division in trafficking cases.--
(A) Redesignation.--The Child Exploitation and Obscenity
Section of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice
shall be redesignated as the Sexual Exploitation and
Obscenity Section.
(B) Expansion.--The Attorney General shall expand the
responsibilities of the Innocence Lost Task Forces to
incorporate situations involving adults who are sexually
exploited by persons in violation of offenses such as section
2430.
(C) Responsibilities.--The chief of the section described
in subsection (a) should work with other parts of the
Department of Justice and State and local law enforcement to
ensure effective prosecutions through the task force
described in subparagraph (B).
(D) References.--Any reference to the Child Exploitation
and Obscenity Section of the Criminal Division in any law,
regulation, rule, directive, instruction or other official
United States Government document in effect on the date of
enactment of this Act shall be deemed to refer to the Sexual
Exploitation and Obscenity Section.
(2) Construction.--Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed as affecting the activities of the Criminal Section
of the Civil Rights Division relating to the 13th Amendment's
prohibition of slavery and involuntary servitude.
(b) Department of Labor.--
(1) Establishment.--The Secretary of Labor shall establish
within the Department of Labor a Coordinator to Combat Human
Trafficking.
(2) Duties.--In addition to any other responsibilities that
the Secretary of Labor may assign, the Coordinator shall have
the following responsibilities:
(A) Ensure coordination of policies relating to victims of
trafficking, both in the United States and abroad, among the
various offices and components of the Department of Labor,
including the Office of the Solicitor, the Employment
Standards Administration, the Wage and Hour Division, the
Bureau of International Labor Affairs, and the Office of
Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking.
(B) Ensure improved communication and coordination with
State labor agencies relating to trafficking in persons.
(C) Represent the Department at inter-agency mechanisms
relating to trafficking in persons, including assisting
appropriate high-level officials of the Department of Labor
who are members of the Senior Policy Operating Group.
(D) Serve, in conjunction with the Coordinator to Combat
Human Trafficking of the Department of Justice (established
pursuant to subsection (a)), as the executive secretariat of
the Trafficking in Persons and Worker Exploitation Task.
(3) Staff.--The Secretary of Labor shall ensure that the
Coordinator has sufficient staff to carry out the duties
described in paragraph (2).
(4) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out
this subsection.
(c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed as affecting or derogating from the
responsibilities of the Senior Policy Operating Group
established by section 206 of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005.
(d) Definition.--In this section, the term ``victim of
trafficking'' has the meaning given the term in section 103
of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C.
7102).
SEC. 235. PREVENTING UNITED STATES TRAVEL BY TRAFFICKERS.
Section 212(a)(2)(H)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(H)(i)) is amended by striking
``consular officer'' and inserting ``consular officer, the
Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of State,''.
SEC. 236. ENHANCING EFFORTS TO COMBAT THE TRAFFICKING OF
CHILDREN.
(a) Findings and Sense of Congress.--
(1) Findings.--The Congress finds as follows:
(A) The United States Government currently estimates that
up to 17,500 individuals are trafficked into the United
States each year. Of these, some 50 percent are believed to
be under the age of 18. Many of these children are victims of
sex trafficking and are forced into prostitution and other
exploitative activities in the United States.
(B) Despite the large number of children trafficked into
the United States every year, the Department of Health and
Human Services has identified an average of 20 children per
year as trafficking victims through fiscal year 2006. This
disparity between estimated and identified victims
demonstrates that much more needs to be done in educating
individuals who may be coming into contact with trafficked
children.
(2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of the Congress
that, to the extent consistent with the treaties and other
international agreements to which the United States is a
party, and to the extent practicable, the United States
Government should undertake efforts to protect children from
severe forms of trafficking and ensure that it does not
repatriate children in Federal custody into settings that
would threaten their life or safety.
(b) Combatting Child Trafficking at the Border and Ports of
Entry of the United States.--
(1) Policies and procedures.--In order to enhance the
efforts of the United States to prevent trafficking in
persons, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the
Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Health
and Human Services, shall develop policies and procedures to
ensure that unaccompanied alien children in the United States
are safely repatriated to their country of nationality or of
last habitual residence.
(2) Special rules for children from contiguous countries.--
(A) Determinations.--Any unaccompanied alien child who is a
national or habitual resident of a country that is contiguous
with the United States shall be treated in accordance with
subparagraph (B), if the Secretary of Homeland Security
determines, on a case-by-case basis, that--
(i) such child has not been a victim of a severe form of
trafficking in persons, and there is no credible evidence
that such child is at risk of being trafficked upon return to
the child's country of nationality or of last habitual
residence;
(ii) such child does not have a fear of returning to the
child's country of nationality or of last habitual residence
owing to a credible fear of persecution; and
(iii) the child is able to make an independent decision to
withdraw the child's application for admission to the United
States.
(B) Return.--An immigration officer who finds an
unaccompanied alien child described in subparagraph (A) at a
land border or port of entry of the United States and
determines that such child is inadmissible under the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) may--
(i) permit such child to withdraw the child's application
for admission pursuant to section 235(a)(4) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(a)(4)); and
(ii) return such child to the child's country of
nationality or country of last habitual residence.
(C) Contiguous country agreements.--The Secretary of State
shall negotiate agreements between the United States and
countries contiguous to the United States with respect to the
repatriation of children. Such agreements shall be designed
to protect children from severe forms of trafficking in
persons, and shall, at a minimum, provide that--
(i) no child shall be returned to the child's country of
nationality or of last habitual residence unless returned to
appropriate officials or employees of the accepting country's
government;
(ii) no child shall be returned to the child's country of
nationality or of last habitual residence outside of
reasonable business hours; and
(iii) border personnel of the countries that are parties to
such agreements are trained in the terms of such agreements.
(3) Rule for other children.--The custody of unaccompanied
alien children not described in paragraph (2)(A) who are
apprehended at the border of the United States or at a United
States port of entry shall be treated in accordance with
subsection (c).
(4) Screening.--Within 48 hours of the apprehension of a
child who is believed to be described in paragraph (2)(A),
but in any event prior to returning such child to the child's
country of nationality or of last habitual residence, the
child shall be screened to determine whether the child meets
the criteria listed in paragraph (2)(A). If the child does
not meet such criteria, or if no determination can be made
within 48 hours of apprehension, the child shall immediately
be transferred to the Secretary of Health and Human Services
and treated in accordance with subsection (c).
(5) Ensuring the safe repatriation of children.--
(A) Repatriation pilot program.--To protect children from
trafficking and exploitation, the Secretary of State shall
create a pilot program, in conjunction with non-governmental
organizations and other national and international agencies
and experts, to develop and implement best practices to
ensure the safe and secure repatriation and reintegration of
unaccompanied alien children into their country of
nationality or of last habitual residence, including
placement with their families or other sponsoring agencies.
(B) Report on repatriation of unaccompanied alien
children.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary
of Homeland Security, in conjunction with the Secretary of
State and Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall
submit a report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the
Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives on efforts to repatriate unaccompanied alien
children. Such report shall include--
(i) the number of unaccompanied alien children ordered
removed and the number of such children actually removed from
the United States;
[[Page H14109]]
(ii) a statement of the nationalities, ages, and gender of
such children;
(iii) a description of the policies and procedures used to
effect the removal of such children from the United States
and the steps taken to ensure that such children were safely
and humanely repatriated to their country of nationality or
of last habitual residence, including a description of the
repatriation pilot program created pursuant to subparagraph
(A);
(iv) a description of the type of immigration relief sought
and denied to such children; and
(v) statistical information and other data on unaccompanied
alien children as provided for in section 462(b)(1)(J) of the
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(b)(1)(J)).
(C) Placement in removal proceedings.--Any unaccompanied
alien child sought to be removed by the Department of
Homeland Security, except for an unaccompanied alien child
from a contiguous country subject to exceptions under
subsection (b)(2), shall be placed in removal proceedings
under section 240 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1229a).
(c) Combatting Child Trafficking and Exploitation in the
United States.--
(1) Care and custody of unaccompanied alien children.--
Consistent with section 462 of the Homeland Security Act of
2002 (6 U.S.C. 279), and except as otherwise provided under
subsection (b), the care and custody of all unaccompanied
alien children, including responsibility for their detention,
where appropriate, shall be the responsibility of the
Secretary of Health and Human Services.
(2) Notification.--Each department or agency of the Federal
Government shall notify the Department of Health and Human
services within 48 hours upon--
(A) the apprehension or discovery of an unaccompanied alien
child; or
(B) any claim or suspicion that an alien in the custody of
such department or agency is under 18 years of age and is
unaccompanied.
(3) Transfers of unaccompanied alien children.--Any
department or agency of the Federal Government that has an
unaccompanied alien child in its custody shall transfer the
custody of such child to the Secretary of Health and Human
Services within 72 hours, except in the case of exceptional
circumstances, upon a determination that such child is an
unaccompanied alien child.
(4) Age determinations.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services
shall make an age determination for an alien described in
paragraph (2)(B) and take whatever other steps are necessary
to determine whether such alien is eligible for treatment
under this section or section 462 of the Homeland Security
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279).
(B) Procedures.--The Secretary of Health and Human
Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland
Security, shall develop procedures to make a prompt
determination of the age of an alien, which shall be used by
the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of
Health and Human Services for children in their respective
custody. At a minimum, these procedures shall permit the
presentation of multiple forms of evidence, including the
non-exclusive use of radiographs, to determine the age of the
unaccompanied alien.
(d) Providing Safe and Secure Placements for Children.--
(1) Policies and programs.--The Secretary of Health and
Human Services, Secretary of Homeland Security, Attorney
General, and Secretary of State shall establish policies and
programs to ensure that unaccompanied alien children in the
United States are protected from traffickers and other
persons seeking to victimize or otherwise engage such
children in criminal, harmful, or exploitative activity,
including policies and programs reflecting best practices in
witness security programs.
(2) Safe and secure placements.--Subject to section
462(b)(2) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C.
279(b)(2)), an unaccompanied alien child in the custody of
the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall be promptly
placed in the least restrictive setting that is in the best
interest of the child. In making such placements, the
Secretary of Health and Human Services may consider danger to
self, danger to the community, and risk of flight. Placement
of child trafficking victims may include placement with
competent adult victims of the same trafficking scheme in
order to ensure continuity of care and support. A child shall
not be placed in a juvenile delinquency or other secure
detention facility (as defined in section 103(12) of the
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42
U.S.C. 5603(12)) absent a determination that the child poses
a danger to others or has been accused of having committed a
criminal offense.
(3) Safety and suitability assessments.--
(A) In general.--Subject to the requirements of
subparagraph (B), an unaccompanied alien child may not be
placed with a person or entity unless the Secretary of Health
and Human Services makes a determination that the proposed
custodian is capable of providing for the child's physical
and mental well-being. Such determination shall, at a
minimum, include verification of the custodian's identity and
relationship to the child, if any, as well as an independent
finding that the individual has not engaged in any activity
that would indicate a potential risk to the child.
(B) Home studies.--Before placing the child with an
individual, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall
determine whether a home study is first necessary. A home
study shall be conducted for a child who is a victim of a
severe form of trafficking in persons, a special needs child
with a disability (as defined in section 3 of the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102(2))), or a
child who has been a victim of physical or sexual abuse under
circumstances that indicate that the child's health or
welfare has been significantly harmed or threatened. The
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall conduct follow-
up services, during the pendency of removal proceedings, on
children and custodians for whom a home study was conducted.
(C) Access to information.--Upon request from the Secretary
of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Homeland
Security shall provide information necessary to conduct
suitability assessments from appropriate Federal, State, and
local law enforcement and immigration databases.
(4) Legal orientation presentations.--The Secretary of
Health and Human Services shall cooperate with the Executive
Office for Immigration Review to ensure that custodians
receive legal orientation presentations provided through the
Legal Orientation Program administered by the Executive
Office for Immigration Review. At a minimum, such
presentations shall address the custodian's responsibility to
ensure the child's appearance at all immigration proceedings
and to protect the child from mistreatment, exploitation, and
trafficking.
(5) Access to counsel.--The Secretary of Health and Human
Services shall ensure, to the greatest extent practicable and
consistent with section 292 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1362), that all unaccompanied alien
children who are or have been in the custody of the Secretary
or the Secretary of Homeland Security, and who are not
described in subsection (b)(2)(A), have competent counsel to
represent them in legal proceedings or matters and protect
them from mistreatment, exploitation, and trafficking. To the
greatest extent practicable, the Secretary of Health and
Human Services shall make every effort to utilize the
services of competent pro bono counsel who agree to provide
representation to such children without charge.
(6) Child advocates.--The Secretary of Health and Human
Services is authorized to appoint independent child advocates
for child trafficking victims and other vulnerable
unaccompanied children. A child advocate shall be provided
access to materials necessary to effectively advocate for the
best interest of the child. The child advocate shall not be
compelled to testify or provide evidence in any proceeding
concerning any information or opinion received from the child
in the course of serving as a child advocate. The child
advocate shall be presumed to be acting in good faith and be
immune from civil and criminal liability for lawful conduct
of duties as described in this paragraph.
(e) Permanent Protection for Certain At-Risk Children.--
(1) In general.--Section 101(a)(27)(J) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(J)) is amended--
(A) in clause (i), by striking ``State and who has been
deemed eligible by that court for long-term foster care due
to abuse, neglect, or abandonment;'' and inserting ``State,
or an individual or entity appointed by a State or juvenile
court located in the United States, and whose reunification
with one or both of the immigrant's parents is not viable due
to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or a similar basis found
under State law;'';
(B) in clause (iii), in the matter preceding subclause (I),
by striking ``the Attorney General expressly consents to the
dependency order serving as a precondition to the grant of
special immigrant juvenile status;'' and inserting ``the
Secretary of Homeland Security consents to the grant of
special immigrant juvenile status,''; and
(C) in clause (iii)(I), by striking ``in the actual or
constructive custody of the Attorney General unless the
Attorney General specifically consents to such
jurisdiction;'' and inserting ``in the custody of the
Secretary of Health and Human Services unless the Secretary
of Health and Human Services specifically consents to such
jurisdiction;''.
(2) Adjustment of status.--Section 245(h)(2)(A) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255(h)(2)(A)) is
amended to read as follows:
``(A) paragraphs (4), (5)(A), (6)(A), (6)(C), (6)(D),
(7)(A), and (9)(C)(i)(I) of section 212(a) shall not apply;
and''.
(3) Eligibility for assistance.--A child who has been
granted special immigrant status under section 101(a)(27)(J)
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1101(a)(27)(J)) and who was either in the custody of the
Secretary of Health and Human Services at the time a
dependency order was granted for such child or who was
receiving services pursuant to section 501(a) of the Refugee
Education Assistance Act of 1980 (8 U.S.C. 1522 note) at the
time such dependency order was granted, shall be eligible for
placement and services under section 412(d) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1522(d)) until the
earlier of--
(A) the date on which the child reaches the age designated
in section 412(d)(2)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1522(d)(2)(B)); or
(B) the date on which the child is placed in a permanent
adoptive home.
[[Page H14110]]
(4) State courts acting in loco parentis.--A department or
agency of a State, or an individual or entity appointed by a
State court or juvenile court located in the United States,
acting in loco parentis, shall not be considered a legal
guardian for purposes of this section or section 462 of the
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279).
(5) Transition rule.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, an alien described in section 101(a)(27)(J) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(J)), as
amended by paragraph (1), may not be denied special immigrant
status under such section after the date of the enactment of
this Act based on age if the alien was a child on the date on
which the alien applied for such status.
(6) Access to asylum protections.--Section 208 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158) is amended--
(A) in subsection (a)(2), by adding at the end the
following:
``(E) Applicability.--Subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall not
apply to an unaccompanied alien child (as defined in section
462(g) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C.
279(g))).''; and
(B) in subsection (b)(3), by adding at the end the
following:
``(C) Initial jurisdiction.--An asylum officer (as defined
in section 235(b)(1)(E)) shall have initial jurisdiction over
any asylum application filed by an unaccompanied alien child
(as defined in section 462(g) of the Homeland Security Act of
2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g))), regardless of whether filed in
accordance with this section or section 235(b).''.
(7) Specialized needs of children.--Applications for asylum
and other forms of relief from removal in which a child is
the principal applicant shall be governed by regulations
which take into account the specialized needs of children and
which address both procedural and substantive aspects of
handling children's cases.
(f) Training.--The Secretary of State, the Secretary of
Homeland Security, the Secretary of Health and Human Services
and the Attorney General shall provide specialized training
to all Federal personnel who come into contact with
unaccompanied alien children. Such personnel shall be trained
to work with unaccompanied alien children, including
identifying children who are a victim of a severe form of
trafficking in persons, and children for whom asylum or
special immigrant relief may be appropriate, including
children described in subsection (b)(2).
(g) Amendments to the Homeland Security Act of 2002.--
(1) Additional responsibilities.--Section 462(b)(1)(L) of
the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(b)(1)(L)) is
amended by striking the period at the end and inserting ``,
including regular follow-up visits to such facilities,
placements, and other entities, to assess the continued
suitability of such placements.''.
(2) Technical corrections.--Section 462(b) of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(b)) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ``paragraph (1)(G),'' and
inserting ``paragraph (1),''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Rule of construction.--Nothing in paragraph (2)(B)
may be construed to require that a bond be posted for an
unaccompanied alien child who is released to a qualified
sponsor.''.
(h) Definition of Unaccompanied Alien Child.--For purposes
of this section, the term ``unaccompanied alien child'' has
the meaning given such term in section 462(g) of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g)).
(i) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect on the
date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
(j) Grants and Contracts.--The Secretary of Health and
Human Services may award grants to, and enter into contracts
with, voluntary agencies to carry out this section and
section 462 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C.
279).
SEC. 237. TEMPORARY INCREASE IN FEE FOR CERTAIN CONSULAR
SERVICES.
(a) Increase in Fee.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, not later than October 1, 2008, the Secretary of
State shall increase by $2.00 the fee or surcharge assessed
under section 140(a) of the Foreign Relations Authorization
Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 (Public Law 103-236; 8 U.S.C.
1351 note) for processing machine readable nonimmigrant visas
and machine readable combined border crossing identification
cards and nonimmigrant visas.
(b) Deposit of Amounts.--Notwithstanding section 140(a)(2)
of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994
and 1995 (Public Law 103-236; 8 U.S.C. 1351 note), fees
collected under the authority of subsection (a) shall be
deposited in the Treasury.
(c) Duration of Increase.--The fee increase authorized
under subsection (a) shall terminate on the date that is 2
years after the date on which such fee is first collected.
TITLE III--AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS
SEC. 301. TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PROTECTION ACT OF 2000.
Section 113 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of
2000 (22 U.S.C. 7110) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in the first sentence--
(i) by striking ``104,''; and
(ii) by striking ``$1,500,000'' and all that follows
through ``2007'' and inserting ``$5,000,000 for each of the
fiscal years 2008 through 2011''; and
(B) in the second sentence--
(i) by inserting ``$1,500,000 for additional personnel for
each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2011'' after ``Office
to Monitor and Combat Trafficking''; and
(ii) by striking ``2006 and 2007'' and inserting ``2008
through 2011'';
(2) in the first sentence of subsection (b), by striking
``$5,000,000'' and all that follows through ``2007'' and
inserting ``$15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008
through 2011'';
(3) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007'' each place
it appears and inserting ``2008 through 2011'';
(ii) in subparagraph (B)--
(I) by striking ``$15,000,000'' and inserting
``$10,000,000''; and
(II) by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``To
carry out the purposes of section 107(a)(1)(F), there are
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of State
$500,000 for fiscal year 2008, $750,000 for fiscal year 2009,
and $1,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 and 2011.'';
and
(iii) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``(as added by
section 109)'' after ``section 134 of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961'';
(B) by striking paragraph (2);
(C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (2); and
(D) in paragraph (2) (as redesignated by subparagraph
(C))--
(i) by striking ``section 104'' and inserting ``sections
116(f) and 502B(h) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (as
added by section 104)''; and
(ii) by striking ``, including the preparation'' and all
that follows through ``section'';
(4) in subsection (d)--
(A) in the first sentence, by striking ``$10,000,000'' and
all that follows through ``2007'' and inserting ``$15,000,000
for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2011''; and
(B) in the second sentence, by striking ``$250,000'' and
all that follows through ``2007'' and inserting ``$500,000
for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2011'';
(5) in subsection (e)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``$5,000,000'' and all
that follows through ``2007'' and inserting ``$15,000,000 for
each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2011'';
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by striking ``section 109'' and inserting ``section 134
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (as added by section
109)''; and
(ii) by striking ``$5,000,000'' and all that follows
through ``2007'' and inserting ``$15,000,000 for each of the
fiscal years 2008 through 2011''; and
(C) in paragraph (3), by striking ``$300,000'' and all that
follows through ``2007'' and inserting ``$1,000,000 for each
of the fiscal years 2008 through 2011'';
(6) in subsection (f)--
(A) by striking ``section 107(b)'' and inserting ``section
107(b) of this Act and section 202(g) of the William
Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization
Act of 2007''; and
(B) by striking ``$5,000,000'' and all that follows through
``2007'' and inserting ``$15,000,000 for each of the fiscal
years 2008 through 2011'';
(7) in subsection (h), by striking ``fiscal year 2006'' and
inserting ``each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2011''; and
(8) in subsection (i), by striking ``$18,000,000'' and all
that follows through ``2007'' and inserting ``$18,000,000 for
each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2011''.
SEC. 302. TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PROTECTION REAUTHORIZATION ACT
OF 2005.
The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of
2005 (Public Law 109-164) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (7) of section 102(b), by striking ``2006
and 2007'' and inserting ``2008 through 2011'';
(2) in subsection (b) of section 105, by adding at the end
the following new paragraph:
``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--To carry out this
subsection, there are authorized to be appropriated to the
Secretary of Labor $1,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
2008 through 2011.'';
(3) in subsection (c) of section 201--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``$2,500,000 for each of
the fiscal years 2006 and 2007'' each place it appears and
inserting ``$3,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008
through 2011''; and
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``$1,000,000'' and all
that follows through ``2007'' and inserting ``$1,000,000 for
each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2011'';
(4) in subsection (d) of section 202, by striking
``$10,000,000'' and all that follows through ``2007'' and
inserting ``$15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008
through 2011'';
(5) in subsection (g) of section 203, by striking
``$5,000,000'' and all that follows through ``2007'' and
inserting ``$5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008
through 2011''; and
(6) in subsection (d) of section 204, by striking
``$25,000,000'' and all that follows through ``2007'' and
inserting ``$25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008
through 2011''.
SEC. 303. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
The amendments made by sections 301 and 302 shall not be
construed to affect the availability of funds appropriated
pursuant to the authorizations of appropriations under the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (division A of
Public Law 106-386; 22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) and the
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005
(Public
[[Page H14111]]
Law 109-164) before the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 304. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.
(a) Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.--Sections
103(1) and 105(d)(7) of the Trafficking Victims Protection
Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102(1) and 7103(d)(7)) are amended by
striking ``Committee on International Relations'' each place
it appears and inserting ``Committee on Foreign Affairs''.
(b) Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of
2005.--Section 102(b)(6) and subsections (c)(2)(B)(i) and
(e)(2) of section 104 of the Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-164) are amended
by striking ``Committee on International Relations'' each
place it appears and inserting ``Committee on Foreign
Affairs''.
TITLE IV--PREVENTION OF THE USE OF CHILD SOLDIERS
SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Child Soldier Prevention
Act of 2007''.
SEC. 402. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
(2) Child soldier.--Consistent with the provisions of the
Optional Protocol, the term ``child soldier''--
(A) means--
(i) any person under age 18 who takes a direct part in
hostilities as a member of governmental armed forces, where
the government has failed to take all feasible measures to
ensure that members of its armed forced under age 18 do not
take a direct part in hostilities;
(ii) any person under age 18 who has been compulsorily
recruited into governmental armed forces;
(iii) any person under age 16 voluntarily recruited into
governmental armed forces; and
(iv) any person under age 18 recruited or used in
hostilities by armed forces distinct from the armed forces of
a state, where the government has failed to take all feasible
measures to prevent such recruitment and use, including the
adoption of legal measures necessary to prohibit and
criminalize such practices; and
(B) includes any person described in clauses (ii), (iii),
and (iv) of subparagraph (A) who is serving in any capacity,
including in a support role such as a cook, porter,
messenger, medic, guard, or sex slave.
(3) Optional protocol.--The term ``Optional Protocol''
means the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights
of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed
Conflict, which establishes 18 as the minimum age for
conscription or forced recruitment and requires states party
to take all feasible measures to ensure that members of their
armed forces under the age of 18 do not take a direct part in
hostilities
(4) United states munitions list.--The term ``United States
Munitions List'' means the list referred to in section
38(a)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C.
2778(a)(1)).
SEC. 403. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) According to the September 7, 2005, report to the
General Assembly of the United Nations by the Special
Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and
Armed Conflict, ``In the last decade, two million children
have been killed in situations of armed conflict, while six
million children have been permanently disabled or injured.
Over 250,000 children continue to be exploited as child
soldiers and tens of thousands of girls are being subjected
to rape and other forms of sexual violence.''.
(2) According to the Center for Emerging Threats and
Opportunities (CETO), Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory,
``The Child Soldier Phenomenon has become a post-Cold War
epidemic that has proliferated to every continent with the
exception of Antarctica and Australia.''.
(3) Many of the children currently serving in armed forces
or paramilitaries were forcibly conscripted through
kidnapping or coercion, a form of human trafficking, while
others joined military units due to economic necessity, to
avenge the loss of a family member, or for their own personal
safety.
(4) Some military and militia commanders force child
soldiers to commit gruesome acts of ritual killings or
torture, including acts of violence against other children.
(5) Many female child soldiers face the additional
psychological and physical horrors of rape and sexual abuse,
enslavement for sexual purposes by militia commanders, and
severe social stigma should they return home.
(6) Some military and militia commanders target children
for recruitment because of their psychological immaturity and
vulnerability to manipulation and indoctrination. Children
are often separated from their families in order to foster
dependence on military units and leaders. Consequently, many
of these children suffer from deep trauma and are in need of
psychological counseling and rehabilitation.
(7) Child soldiers are exposed to hazardous conditions and
are at risk of physical injury and disability, psychological
trauma, sexually transmitted diseases, respiratory and skin
infections, and often death.
(8) On May 25, 2000, the United Nations adopted and opened
for signature, ratification, and accession the Optional
Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the
Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.
(9) On June 18, 2002, the Senate unanimously approved the
resolution advising and consenting to the ratification of the
Optional Protocol.
(10) On December 23, 2002, the United States presented the
ratified Optional Protocol to the United Nations.
(11) More than 110 governments worldwide have ratified the
Optional Protocol, establishing a clear international norm
concerning the use of children in combat.
(12) On December 2, 1999, the United States ratified
International Labour Convention 182, the Convention
concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the
Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, which
includes the use of child soldiers among the worst forms of
child labor.
(13) On October 7, 2005, the Senate gave its advice and
consent to the ratification of the Protocol to Prevent,
Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women
and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention
Against Transnational Organized Crime.
(14) It is in the national security interest of the United
States to reduce the chances that members of the United
States Armed Forces will be forced to encounter children in
combat situations.
(15) Section 502B(a)(3) of the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(a)(3)) provides that ``the President is
directed to formulate and conduct international security
assistance programs of the United States in a manner which
will promote and advance human rights and avoid
identification of the United States, through such programs,
with governments which deny to their people internationally
recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms, in
violation of international law or in contravention of the
policy of the United States as expressed in this section or
otherwise''.
SEC. 404. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the United States Government should condemn the
conscription, forced recruitment or use of children by
governments, paramilitaries, or other organizations in
hostilities;
(2) the United States Government should support and, where
practicable, lead efforts to establish and uphold
international standards designed to end this abuse of human
rights;
(3) the United States Government should expand ongoing
services to rehabilitate recovered child soldiers and to
reintegrate them back into their communities by--
(A) offering ongoing psychological services to help victims
recover from their trauma and relearn how to deal with others
in nonviolent ways such that they are no longer a danger to
their community, taking into consideration the needs of girl
soldiers, who may be at risk of exclusion from disarmament,
demobilization, and reintegration programs;
(B) facilitating reconciliation with their communities
through negotiations with traditional leaders and elders to
enable recovered abductees to resume normal lives in their
communities; and
(C) providing educational and vocational assistance;
(4) the United States should work with the international
community, including, where appropriate, third country
governments, nongovernmental organizations, faith-based
organizations, United Nations agencies, local governments,
labor unions, and private enterprise--
(A) on efforts to bring to justice rebel organizations that
kidnap children for use as child soldiers, including the
Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda, Fuerzas Armadas
Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), and Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka, including, where feasible,
by arresting the leaders of such groups; and
(B) on efforts to recover those children who have been
abducted and to assist them in their rehabilitation and
reintegration into communities;
(5) the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Labor, and the
Secretary of Defense should coordinate programs to achieve
the goals specified in paragraph (3), and in countries where
the use of child soldiers is an issue, whether or not it is
supported or sanctioned by the governments of such countries,
United States diplomatic missions should include in their
mission program plans a strategy to achieve the goals
specified in such paragraph;
(6) United States diplomatic missions in countries in which
governments use or tolerate child soldiers should develop, as
part of annual program planning, strategies to promote
efforts to end this abuse of human rights, identifying and
integrating global best practices, as available, into such
strategies to avoid duplication of effort; and
(7) in allocating or recommending the allocation of funds
or recommending candidates for programs and grants funded by
the United States Government, United States diplomatic
missions should give serious consideration to those programs
and candidates deemed to promote the end to this abuse of
human rights.
[[Page H14112]]
SEC. 405. PROHIBITION ON PROVISION OF MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO
FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS THAT RECRUIT OR USE CHILD
SOLDIERS.
(a) In General.--Subject to subsections (b), (c), and (d),
none of the funds made available to carry out sections 516 or
541 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321j or
2347) or section 23 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C.
2763) may be used to provide assistance to the government of
a country that the Secretary of State determines has
governmental armed forces or government supported armed
groups, including paramilitaries, militias, or civil defense
forces, that recruit or use child soldiers.
(b) Publication of List of Foreign Governments and
Notification to Foreign Governments.--
(1) Publication of list of foreign governments.--The
Secretary of State shall include a list of the foreign
governments subject to the prohibition in subsection (a) in
the report required by section 110(b) of the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107(b)).
(2) Notification to foreign governments.--The Secretary of
State shall formally notify each foreign government subject
to the prohibition in subsection (a).
(c) National Interest Waiver.--
(1) Waiver.--The President may waive the application to a
foreign government of the prohibition in subsection (a) if
the President determines that such waiver is in the interest
of the United States.
(2) Publication and notification.--The President shall
publish each waiver granted under paragraph (1) in the
Federal Register and shall notify the appropriate
congressional committees of each such waiver, including the
justification for the waiver, in accordance with the regular
notification procedures of such committees.
(d) Reinstatement of Assistance.--The President may provide
to a foreign government assistance otherwise prohibited under
subsection (a) upon certifying to the appropriate
congressional committees that the foreign government--
(1) has implemented effective measures to come into
compliance with the standards of this title; and
(2) has implemented effective policies and mechanisms to
prohibit and prevent future use of child soldiers and to
ensure that no children are recruited, conscripted, or
otherwise compelled to serve as child soldiers.
(e) Exceptions.--
(1) Assistance to address the problem of child soldiers and
professionalization of the military.--
(A) In general.--The President may provide to a foreign
government assistance under section 541 of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2347; relating to
international military education and training) otherwise
prohibited under subsection (a) upon certifying to the
appropriate congressional committees that--
(i) the government is implementing effective measures to
demobilize child soldiers in its forces or in government
supported paramilitaries and to provide demobilization,
rehabilitation, and reintegration assistance to those former
child soldiers; and
(ii) the assistance provided by the United States
Government to the government will go to programs that will
directly support professionalization of the military.
(B) Limitation.--The exception under subparagraph (A) may
not remain in effect for more than 2 years following the date
of notification specified in subsection (b)(2).
(2) Assistance for demining activities, the clearance of
unexploded ordinance, the destruction of small arms, and
related activities.--The President may use funds made
available under section 23 of the Arms Export Control Act (22
U.S.C. 2763; relating to credit sales) to provide to a
foreign government assistance otherwise prohibited under
subsection (a) if the purpose of the assistance is to carry
out demining activities, the clearance of unexploded
ordinance, the destruction of small arms, or related
activities.
(3) Assistance to further cooperation with the united
states to combat international terrorism.--The President may
provide to a foreign government assistance under any
provision of law specified in subsection (a) if the purpose
of the assistance is specifically designed to further
cooperation between the United States and the foreign
government to combat international terrorism.
(f) Effective Date; Applicability.--This section takes
effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act
and shall apply to funds made available for the first fiscal
year beginning after such effective date and each subsequent
fiscal year.
SEC. 406. REPORTS.
(a) Preparation of Reports Regarding Child Soldiers.--The
Secretary of State shall ensure that United States missions
abroad thoroughly investigate reports of the use of child
soldiers in the countries in which such missions are located.
(b) Information for Annual Human Rights Reports.--In
preparing those portions of the Department of State's annual
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices that relate to
child soldiers, the Secretary of State shall ensure that such
portions include a description of the use of child soldiers
in each foreign country, including--
(1) trends toward improvement in such country of the status
of child soldiers or the continued or increased tolerance of
such practices; and
(2) the role of the government of such country in engaging
in or tolerating the use of child soldiers.
(c) Notification to Congress.--Not later than June 15 of
each year for 10 years following the date of the enactment of
this Act, the President shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees--
(1) a list of any waivers or exceptions exercised under
section 405;
(2) a justification for those waivers and exceptions; and
(3) a description of any assistance provided pursuant to
section 405.
(d) Report on Implementation of Title.--Not later than 180
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
President shall submit to appropriate congressional
committees a report setting forth a strategy for achieving
the policy objectives of this title, including a description
of an effective mechanism for coordination of United States
Government efforts to implement this strategy.
(e) Report on Child Soldiers in Burma.--Not later than 120
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary
of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report of the recruitment and use of child
soldiers by the governmental armed forces or government-
supported armed groups of the Government of Burma, including
paramilitaries, militias, or civil defense forces.
SEC. 407. TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS.
Section 708 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C.
4028) is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(c) The Secretary of State, with the assistance of other
relevant officials, shall establish as part of the standard
training provided after January 1, 2008, for members of the
Service, including chiefs of mission, instruction on matters
related to child soldiers and the terms of the Child Soldier
Prevention Act of 2007.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Texas.
General Leave
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
the gentlemen from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) control 10 minutes of the
time allocated for H.R. 3887, the William Wilberforce Trafficking
Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2007.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of
this resolution, and I yield myself such time as I my consume.
It is all too common these days to see headlines in media around and
about the rise of modern-day slavery. The stories are enough to turn
anyone's stomach. Cambodian mothers driven by intense poverty selling
their daughters into prostitution; children as young as 5 shipped to
Nigeria to slave away in underground granite mines; hundreds of African
boys and girls smuggled to Britain, forced to work as domestic
servants; brutish uniformed soldiers dragging Burmese men and women
from their homes to labor on government construction projects; and even
though it is not directly related, women in Saudi Arabia victimized by
getting the lash and being convicted even though they have been a
victim of rape and being utilized as sex tools or toys and sometimes
being utilized as slaves.
These nightmares unfolding thousands of miles from our shores are
deeply tragic. But to many, they seem profoundly disconnected from our
comfortable lives here in America. They are not. Human trafficking
happens here at home right under our noses.
Let me, of course, thank Chairman Lantos and Ranking Member Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen for working with Congressman Conyers and many of us on
this important legislation. Let me thank Congressman Conyers for his
constant and consistent leadership on this important legislation, and
as well his continued work as the chairman of the House Judiciary
Committee, on which I serve with him.
Just a few weeks ago, a frightened young Tanzanian woman bravely came
[[Page H14113]]
before the Foreign Affairs Committee to testify. For more than 4 years,
she had been forced to do domestic work without pay for a diplomat at
the Tanzanian Embassy in Washington. She was denied medical care. And
when this frail young woman complained that her feet were infected, she
was forced outside without shoes to shovel snow. While we would all
like to view this heart-rending case as an isolated incident, it is
sadly part of a growing international trend in which millions of men,
women and children are forced into sexual slavery, labor or indentured
servitude each year.
Think for a moment if each of these individuals had a little camera
on their back or their shoulder and we could truly see this woman with
infected feet in icy snow shoveling snow, or someone who was never able
to leave their house and never have any time off even here in the
United States, or some of the other examples that we have already
highlighted, we had a camera to see the harshness of it, the shame of
it, the sadness of it, the cruelty of it.
Trafficking is the world's fastest growing international organized
crime, and one of the most profitable, yielding up to $17 billion each
year. Every year traffickers move between 700,000 and 2 million women
and children across international borders for the purpose of serving in
the sex trade or in forced labor. Congress has worked for nearly a
decade to ramp up our country's efforts to prevent trafficking, protect
victims and prosecute perpetrators.
With approval of the bill before the House today, we can redouble
these efforts and dramatically increase the ability the United States
has to work to end the scourge of modern-day slavery. H.R. 3887
requires the administration to compile data from every U.S. agency,
international organizations and private sources so that the executive
branch can prepare a comprehensive analysis of trafficking patterns.
This will help us better understand where victims are actually going
and how to free them. It also provides help for countries to prevent
trafficking by registering vulnerable populations that currently go
unrecognized so that potential victims can be identified and educated.
And it provides assistance to increase inspections abroad where forced
labor occurs to help trafficking victims from slave-like conditions.
The legislation also prevents new visas for domestic servants for
diplomats in the United States who belong to any embassy where abuse of
such workers occurs. This will encourage self-policing of such
embassies by their ambassadors.
The bipartisan bill before the House will not end trafficking
overnight but it will dramatically increase America's ability to stop
trafficking here at home and to work with other countries to battle
this rapidly growing international crime.
{time} 1500
The legislation shows that it is still possible for Republicans and
Democrats to work together to get something big and important done and
to save lives.
Mr. Speaker, let me thank my good friend and colleague, the ranking
member of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, Chris Smith,
for his extraordinary leadership on the trafficking issue for many
years and for his many contributions to this important legislation. Let
me also thank Chairman Payne for working with him on this issue and
working together with the full committee.
Two centuries ago, William Wilberforce moved mountains to convince
the British Parliament to ban slavery in the United Kingdom. In fact,
there is a Historically Black College named after him: Wilberforce
University. More than 140 years ago our Nation adopted a 13th amendment
banning slavery right here at home. But slavery in many forms still
stubbornly persists in our country, in Britain, and in nations around
the world.
Mr. Speaker, enough is enough. Modern-day slavery must end. Our
country already plays a leadership role in bringing about this
supremely moral objective, but we simply must do more.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, as an original cosponsor, I rise in favor of the bill
before us, H.R. 3887, the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims
Protection Reauthorization Act. This was introduced by the chairman of
our committee, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Mr. Lantos; and it
remains one of the premier issues facing us today, Mr. Speaker.
Human trafficking is modern-day slavery. It is a major source of
revenue for international criminal syndicates, and it is a grave abuse
against human dignity. Hundreds of thousands of people are trafficked
across international borders every year. It is estimated that 80
percent of those are women, and half are children. Millions more are
trafficked into sexual servitude and forced labor within their own
countries.
In Iran, children are trafficked into sexual slavery and forced into
involuntary servitude as beggars and day laborers. In Syria, women
trafficked from South and Southeast Asia are forced to work as domestic
servants, and women from Eastern Europe and Iraq are forced into
prostitution. In China, up to 90 percent of North Korean refugee women
fall prey to traffickers who sell them into sexual slavery. In our own
hemisphere, Mr. Speaker, Cuba has been shamefully promoted as a
destination for sex tourism that exploits large numbers of Cuban
children.
The dehumanization and the brutality suffered by trafficking victims
are nearly incomprehensible. I am proud that the Congress has helped
turn this former non-issue into a priority for our United States
Government and an issue, indeed, of international concern.
The enactment of the original Trafficking Victims Protection Act 7
years ago was a watershed event. I want to commend the author of that
act and the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Chris Smith, whose
leadership on these issues has been central to the progress that we
have made so far.
While there have been some signs of improvement, such as a larger
number of countries that have enacted anti-trafficking legislation,
other problems remain widespread. The number of countries, for example,
listed in tier three, that is the most problematic category in the
State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report, has actually
increased from 12 countries to 16 since last year. Some of the
governments with the worst records, such as Burma, Cuba, Iran, North
Korea, Sudan and Venezuela, continue to resist making even basic
efforts to protect vulnerable children and women.
A number of problem countries like Russia and China sit on the tier
two ``Watch List'' year after year after year without further
consequences, even though that category was originally created as a
warning that countries are about to slip into the tier three category.
The bill before us today, Mr. Speaker, will not only reauthorize key
aspects of prior trafficking legislation but it will also enhance our
international anti-trafficking efforts, our domestic law enforcement
and victim assistance activities, and efforts to fight the use of child
soldiers worldwide. It will improve our Nation's victim-centered
approach to fight human trafficking by strengthening each of the so-
called ``Three P's,'' prevention, protection, prosecution.
I want to commend the author of this bill again, Mr. Speaker,
Chairman Lantos, and my fellow cosponsors for the perseverance and the
compromise that they have invested in ensuring that this bill receive
wide bipartisan support throughout consideration by the three
committees of jurisdiction: Foreign Affairs, Judiciary, and Energy and
Commerce. The revised text before us today also has been endorsed by an
impressively broad array of organizations and experts from across the
political spectrum.
The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act of 2007 is a vital weapon in our fight against the
heartbreaking scourge of human trafficking, and it deserves our full
support.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the committee, I rise to
yield myself such time as I may consume.
Ladies and gentlemen of the House of Representatives, although we
passed
[[Page H14114]]
the constitutional amendment against slavery in 1865, slavery still
exists, not just in the world, but in the United States of America. And
so we begin an examination of H.R. 3887, commending the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, Republicans and Democrats, and commending those
members of the House Judiciary Committee, Republicans and Democrats,
that have come together today to pass under suspension H.R. 3887.
Slavery is a social, ugly circumstance that still controls and guides
the destiny of so many people in this country. It is important that the
13th amendment's guarantee of freedom operates, whether it involves
forced prostitution, whether it operates in farms or sweat shops, or in
domestic service.
Mr. Speaker, if you could have heard the powerful testimony that was
given by our witnesses on this bill. It shocked me. People were forced
to live and work under conditions of fear and terror that was extended
to their parents. A young woman, who couldn't even use her real name in
the committee, told about the trafficking of human beings inside of
America, in the City of Detroit, where this club was using her to
commit all kinds of acts and raise huge amounts of money at the same
time. As one of the television shows on NBC showed yesterday morning,
guess what? There is more money being taken out of prostitution in
America than in the drug industry. Drugs come number two to
prostitution and involuntary servitude.
This is what brings all of us to the floor today. I am very proud of
these two committees in the House that are dealing with new enforcement
tools to combat modern-day slavery, whether the exploitation is by
unscrupulous labor recruiters, by diplomats who abuse their services,
or by brutal street pimps who coerce and keep under their domain these
women, young women, at that.
Mr. Speaker, I want to just take a moment here to respond to concerns
to that an aspect of this bill, that it will somehow federalize
prostitution. That is not the case. That is not what we are trying to
do. The sex slavery offense, renamed ``aggravated sex trafficking,''
still captures cases of coercion that implicate the 13th amendment. The
new ``sex trafficking offenses'' improves the Mann Act to allow
prosecution of pimps who affect commerce but don't actually cross State
lines.
This new tool should not diminish other anti-slavery efforts or the
fight against child exploitation. We expect it to be used consistently
with the principles of Federal prosecution that defer to local
authority as appropriate. We want the States to control the prosecution
of this offense.
There is no place in today's America for slavery. And for that
reason, H.R. 3887 is critically important, because it puts new potency
in the Thirteenth Amendment's guarantee of freedom: whether on farms or
sweatshops, in domestic service or forced prostitution.
In a recent hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, we heard
moving and powerful testimony from a young woman who has further
inspired us to work together to bring this bill to the floor, to draw
the line against modern slavery.
The bravery of that young woman, her story, and her willingness to
speak on behalf of all victims of human trafficking, are an example for
all of us, and a call to action for us to meet again our Nation's
ongoing mission to deliver on the promise of freedom that has been
enshrined in our Constitution since the Civil War.
The Thirteenth Amendment's prohibition against involuntary servitude
and slavery is as important and basic a civil right today as it was at
the time of Emancipation. Its promise of freedom is a sacred trust,
written in the suffering of all of those who have been held in bondage.
As a country, we owe it to them to never stop fighting for freedom.
This bill is named in honor of William Wilberforce, the famous
English antislavery legislator of the Nineteenth Century.
It will equip our law enforcers with tough new enforcement tools to
combat modern slavery, whether the exploitation is by unscrupulous
labor recruiters, by diplomats who abuse their servants, or by brutal
pimps.
It will protect immigrants and U.S. citizens alike within our
country, and provide law enforcement training and victim protections
overseas as well.
I would like to take a minute to respond to concerns that aspects of
the bill could somehow ``federalize'' all prostitution and pimping.
This is not the case.
The servitude offense--which the bill renames ``aggravated sex
trafficking''--still captures only those prostitution offenses that
implicate a liberty interest under the 13th amendment because they
involve coercion.
The new ``compelled service'' crime allows more flexibility in
proving enslavement.
And the crime entitled ``sex trafficking'' improves the Mann Act to
allow prosecution of pimps whose activities affect interstate commerce,
not just those who actually cross a State line.
It is not our intent to redirect resources away from child
exploitation, terrorism, or other important law enforcement, or to
depart from the principles of federal prosecution that defer to local
prosecutions where possible and serve as a ``backstop'' to catch the
worst of the worst.
This approach maintains the structure and definitions of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, and builds upon the good
work of the Civil Rights Division and its antitrafficking task forces
around the country. As was noted in yesterday's New York Times, these
Federal and State task forces are vigorously confronting modern slavery
in forced prostitution and forced labor alike.
We expect those efforts to continue, and now to intensify with these
additional enforcement tools. This bill brings law enforcement
officials and service providers together, to punish traffickers and to
protect victims and their families. And it provides critical
immigration mechanisms to protect children and other vulnerable people.
In the 1800s, escaped slaves such as Frederick Douglass and Sojourner
Truth spoke out against chattel slavery. Their voices, and the voices
and efforts of many others, led to a constitutional commitment that
everyone in this country would be forevermore free from slavery and
involuntary servitude.
The young woman who testified before our committee did not allow her
enslavement and incarceration to silence her either. She became a voice
not only for herself, but for other victims of slavery in its various
forms, many of whom remain in bondage.
We owe it to her, and to the millions who continue under the
oppression of modern slavery and involuntary servitude, to support this
bill.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume
to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Drake).
Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, the abolition of slavery was never fully
achieved in our country, or anywhere else in the world. While the
slavery that exists today looks different from the slavery of our
country's past, it is still a widespread, horrific reality. Human
trafficking is modern-day slavery. It manifests itself in many forms:
forced and bonded labor, sex slavery, and even militant activity, as
has been seen with child soldiers.
I am outraged that such an offense against humanity and against the
ideals of our country is allowed to flourish on our soil and abroad. As
the co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Human Trafficking, I am
proud to be an original co-sponsor to H.R. 3887. This reauthorization
brings renewed attention to the fight against human trafficking.
Mr. Speaker, trafficking is a shared global problem which will
require a global response. Congress has rightly taken the lead in
putting this issue on the international agenda. Human trafficking is an
issue that transcends political ideology and every faith. We have a
moral imperative to put an end to this modern-day slavery. For this
reason, I support H.R. 3887, because I believe it will put us on the
right path to finally abolishing slavery in our country and around the
world.
Mr. Speaker, only through increasing public awareness to this global
problem and demanding action will we bring an end to slavery. I commend
the sponsor of this bill and the many Members of Congress who have
joined together to bring an end to slavery once and for all.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to
yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney),
the co-chair of the Human Trafficking Caucus.
(Mrs. MALONEY of New York asked and was given permission to revise
and extend her remarks.)
{time} 1515
Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support
of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act, that I believe it is fair to describe as historic.
As cochair of the Human Trafficking Caucus and as an original
cosponsor, I am pleased that this bill
[[Page H14115]]
will provide strong, new, innovative, flexible tools to combat modern-
day slavery, whether labor exploiters, diplomats who abuse their
servants, or brutal pimps.
I want to commend the extra offered leadership of Chairman Lantos and
Chairman Conyers, as well as Lamar Smith and Randy Forbes, and their
staffs, for bringing this important bill to the floor. I truly do
believe that books will be written about this effort, a major one, to
end this terrible abuse of human people.
I ask my colleagues to look at this picture. I want them to see that
the lives of trafficking victims are pure horror. If you look at the
first line, each girl looks different, but after one or two years, they
all look the same, shells of people. In the end, they have been abused,
psychologically captured, broken and devastated at the hands of their
pimps.
The fight against human trafficking has brought together Democrats
and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, religious leaders and
secular leaders. I will place in the Record a list of the very large
bipartisan coalition that was sent to the Department of Justice and our
colleagues and signed by many advocates, including Gloria Steinem,
Jessica Neuwirth, Kim Gandy, Tony Campolo, Jim Wallis, Ron Sider,
Walter Fauntroy and Beverly LaHaye, among many others.
The bipartisan bill before us is historic and will dramatically
strengthen our capability to fight human trafficking.
Mr. Speaker, I became interested in this when Big Apple Oriental
Tours in my district was advertising sex tours, sex trafficking. Come
to the Philippines, come here, come there, and we will give you a young
girl, many young girls. We could not close them down.
With this Congress in a bipartisan way, we have strengthened the laws
to crack down on this terrible human abuse. This bill before us gives
law enforcement even greater tools to go after the predators.
Coalition Against
Trafficking in Women,
New York, NY, October 5, 2007.
Hon. Peter Keisler,
Acting Attorney General of the United States, Department of
Justice, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Acting Attorney General: Founded in 1988, the
Coalition Against Trafficking in Women is the first
international non-governmental organization to challenge the
trafficking of women and girls as an acute form of gender
discrimination and a severe violation of human rights. The
one hundred representative signers of this letter include
leaders of organizations and communities that range across
the country's religious, ideological and political spectrums.
What unites us is our collective outrage at human trafficking
and our commitment to end it.
More than six months ago, Congresswoman Maloney and
Congressmen Wolf and Scott wrote to former Attorney General
Gonzales to express their concerns with the Department's
anti-trafficking policies and strategies. They did so in the
context of his public statements that the initiative against
domestic trafficking was a matter of high priority to the
Department. We share these views and applaud these
statements. The multibillion dollar ``industry'' operated
within the United States by criminal traffickers enslaves and
devastates hundreds of thousands of girls and women in a
manner eerily reminiscent of the 19th Century African slave
trade.
We write because of the Department's apparent rejection of
the views expressed in the Maloney-Scott-Wolf letter and
because of our serious concerns about the Department's anti-
trafficking activities. First, we fail to understand why the
Department has called on States to enact a model statute that
effectively requires proof of fraud, force or coercion for
the conviction of sex traffickers, instead of encouraging
State and local prosecutors to strengthen and enforce
existing statutes under which traffickers can be convicted on
proof that they have ``merely'' engaged in sex trafficking.
Our concern about the Department's model law is made
particularly grave by its seriously misguided definition of
prostitution as a form of ``labor or services.'' The effect
of conceptualizing prostitution as a form of ``work'' not
only conflicts with public statements that former Attorney
Generals Ashcroft and Gonzales and other administration
officials have made, it also effectively converts the pimps,
brothel owners and others who profit from the prostitution
``industry'' into presumptively legal employers. The
Department's ``labor or services'' definition is thus in
clear conflict with repeated statements of the President,
with his National Security Policy Directive 22 and with
almost all State and local laws on the subject.
What the Department's trafficking policy as embodied in the
model law dangerously ignores is the acute difficulty of
gaining testimonial evidence of fraud, force or coercion from
terrified and brutalized victims of trafficking, and the
potential danger that such a requirement poses to victims'
safety. It is well documented that many victims enslaved by
traffickers suffer from traumatic bonding and related
conditions that make it impossible for them to give the
testimony essential to the prosecution of fraud, force or
coercion cases. In fact, we believe that the Department's
policy will cause predatory traffickers to increase their
acts of violence and psychological abuse in order to ensure
that the persons they abuse will not serve as prosecution
witnesses.
Requiring proof of force, fraud, and coercion has not only
had a detrimental effect on the prosecution of cases of
domestic trafficking. Such proof requirements have been cited
by anti-trafficking leaders in other countries as obstacles
to holding traffickers accountable for their systematic acts
of violence against girls and women. If trafficking victims
are afraid to testify against their traffickers in the U.S.,
as they are, they are more afraid to do so in foreign
countries with even more violent traffickers and often less
protective legal systems.
The approach of the Department's model law appears to be
replicated in the Department's prosecution policies and
strategies. We are gravely concerned by the Department's
failure to more fully utilize D.C. Criminal Code Sec. 22-
2707, which makes sex trafficking per se a felony offense. In
enforcing the D.C. Criminal Code, the Department functions
much like State and local prosecutors, so that vigorous
utilization of Section 22-2707 would send a powerful
leadership message to those prosecutors, one that would
help ameliorate the negative effects of the Department's
model State law. In the same vein, we are troubled by the
Department's failure to more fully utilize 18 U.S. Code
Sec. 2422(a), a statute recently amended by Congress that
requires no proof of fraud, force or coercion and that
would be of particular value in jurisdictions where major
cities in different States border each other.
There are a number of additional aspects of the
Department's anti-trafficking policies and strategies that
trouble us, and about which we ask your views:
The Department has given domestic traffickers effective
immunity from criminal tax laws, when otherwise legal
business owners are prosecuted for such acts as failing to
provide W-2 forms. Congresswoman Maloney has recently
introduced legislation that would ensure that traffickers are
prosecuted for violating criminal tax laws, a leadership act
that builds on Senator Grassley's leadership in the 109th
Congress. The Grassley bill was unanimously endorsed by the
Senate Finance Committee. Will the Department support this
initiative?
In the face of persuasive research conducted by Equality
Now, the Department has failed to utilize existing criminal
statutes to prosecute so-called ``sex tourism'' operators. Do
you agree?
The Department prioritizes the prosecution of traffickers
of girls and women brought into the United States from
foreign countries. Are American citizens who have been
subjected to trafficking any less worthy of the Department's
protection?
The Department, through its grants under the Violence
Against Women Act and like programs, often denies support to
applicants who operate programs for trafficking survivors.
Clearly, victims of domestic trafficking, routinely subjected
to rape and battery, are as much in need of and as much
entitled to assistance and services as victims of other forms
of gender-based violence. Do you share this view, and do you
believe that victims of domestic trafficking are underserved?
The Department has failed to pursue funds for the grant
programs and the survey of the unlawful domestic commercial
sex industry that were authorized by the Trafficking Victims
Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005. Is it not important
for the Department, and the country, to know as much about
the predatory world of trafficking as is known about the
country's gambling and drug operations?
There is an apparent lack of coordination within the
Department of its anti-trafficking activities. We believe it
essential, as called for in the Maloney-Scott-Wolf letter,
for there to be a single, accountable office headed by an
experienced criminal prosecutor to whom Congress and the
American public can look for results in the conduct of the
Department's anti-trafficking activities. Do you share this
view?
The Departmental leadership on the trafficking issue has
been vested in the Civil Rights Division even though the
Division's sole jurisdiction is the prosecution of
traffickers who have committed provable acts of fraud, force,
or coercion against adult victims. While we celebrate the
highly professional and committed prosecutors who have
brought such cases, we are deeply concerned that the anti-
trafficking strategy adopted by the Department will shield
traffickers from prosecution while encouraging them to
intensify their acts of violence and psychological abuse. Do
you believe this concern legitimate?
Attached is a report prepared by Professor Donna Hughes of
the March 13 Human Trafficking Training session conducted by
the head of the Civil Rights Division's Anti- Trafficking
Unit--a session broadcast to United States Attorneys
throughout the country. The Hughes report demonstrates the
Department's seeming disinterest in enforcing per se statutes
against trafficking.
[[Page H14116]]
The report also shows that the Department's anti-
trafficking initiative is directed against provable
physical violence rather than trafficking per se.
We are dismayed by the comments of Department officials
described in the Hughes report that leaders of the country's
trafficking survivor community are ``not . . . ready'' to
engage in education, awareness and service initiatives on
behalf of trafficked women. Is this your perception, or the
Department's, of the groundbreaking and courageous work of
such survivor-led groups as GEMS, Dignity House, Veronica's
Voice, SAGE, and Breaking Free?
Congress, the administration, and a broad and fully engaged
anti-trafficking coalition now in place can in our view make
history, and do so this year, in ending the reign of terror
and enslavement long practiced by traffickers operating
within this country.
Additionally, effective prosecution of domestic
traffickers, and committed Federal government support for
their victims, will strengthen the capacity of the State
Department's Trafficking in Persons Office to deal with
countries that are complicit or indifferent to mass
trafficking within their borders. Such action would save
millions of trafficked and at risk girls and women throughout
the world.
The Department has significantly increased the number of
its trafficking prosecutions and the resources it has
committed to anti-trafficking activities. Yet in spite of
this, there has been no decline in the incidence of domestic
trafficking or in the number of girls and women abused and
destroyed by domestic traffickers during the five year period
in which the Department has conducted its costly
antitrafficking initiative. Moreover and critically, the
model law promoted by the Department has produced few if any
State prosecutions or convictions--an outcome that we are
certain will continue for the reasons set forth in this
letter. Until the Department begins prosecuting and calling
for the prosecution of traffickers on a per se basis, and
ends its effective call for limiting such prosecutions to
cases where fraud, force or coercion can be proven, domestic
and international trafficking will continue to flourish and
grow. Human trafficking can and must be ended within our
borders. But it is only through strong and strategic measures
that we will do so. Accordingly, we respectfully request a
meeting to discuss the matters set forth in this letter.
Respectfully,
Dorchen Leidholdt, President, Coalition Against Trafficking
in Women.
Norma Ramos, Co-Executive Director, Coalition Against
Trafficking in Women.
Winnie Bartel, Board Member, National Association of
Evangelicals.
Michelle Battle, Chief Operating Officer, The National
Congress of Black Women, Inc.
Gary Bauer, President, American Values.
Dr. David Black, President, Eastern University.
Twiss Butler, Board Member, Coalition Against Trafficking
in Women.
Tony Campolo, Professor Emeritus, Eastern University.
Phyllis Chesler, Ph.D., Co-Founder, National Women's Health
Network.
Hon. David N. Cicilline, Mayor, Providence, Rhode Island.
Richard Cizik, VP, Government Affairs, National Association
of Evangelicals.
Michael Cromartie, Ethics and Public Policy Center
Catherine J. Douglass, Executive Director, inMotion, Inc..
Janice Shaw Crouse, Director, Beverly LaHaye Institute,
Concerned Women for America.
Barrett Duke, PhD, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission,
Southern Baptist Convention.
Geri B. Elias, LCSW, National Outreach Manager, Jewish
Women International.
Bonnie Erbe, Scripps Howard Columnist.
Bonaventure N. Ezekwenna, Publisher, Africans in America.
Melissa Farley, PhD Director, Prostitution Research &
Education.
Rev. Walter Fauntroy, Former DC Delegate to Congress,
Pastor, New Bethel Church.
Georgette Forney, President, Anglicans for Life.
Commissioner Israel Gaither, National Commander, The
Salvation Army USA.
Commissioner Eva Gaither, National President of Women's
Ministries, The Salvation Army USA.
Kim A. Gandy, President, National Organization for Women.
Todd Gitlin, Professor of Journalism and Sociology,
Columbia University.
Victor Goode, Former Executive Director, National
Association for Black Lawyers.
Rabbi David Greenstein, The Academy for Jewish Religion,
Riverdale, NY.
Joseph K. Grieboski, President, Institute on Religion and
Public Policy.
Agnes Gund, Art Historian, Activist.
Dr. David P. Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of
Christian Studies, Mercer University.
Mimi Haddad, PhD, President, Christians for Biblical
Equality.
Rev. Dr. James V. Heidinger, II, President Good News
Movement.
Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld Coalition of Jewish Concerns--Amcha.
Michael Horowitz, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute.
Bishop Clyde M. Hughes, International Pentecostal Church of
Christ.
Donna M. Hughes, Carlson Chair Professor, Women's Studies
Program, University of Rhode Island.
Sandra Hunnicutt, Executive Director, Captive Daughters.
Rt. Rev. Jack L. Iker, Bishop of Fort Worth, Episcopal
Church.
Richard Israel, Former Attorney General, Rhode Island.
Kristin Komamicki, Editor, PRISM Magazine, Evangelicals for
Social Justice.
James M. Kushiner, Executive Director, The Fellowship of
St. James.
Mrs. Beverly LaHaye, Founder, Chair, Concerned Women for
America.
Nancy Lewis, UN Representative, International Immigrants
Foundation.
Sister LeeAnn Mackeprang, Good Shepherd, Contemplative
Sisters.
Catharine A. MacKinnon, Elizabeth A. Long, Professor,
University of Michigan Law School.
Frederica Mathewes-Green, Speaker, Author.
Faith McDonnell, Director, Religious Liberty Program,
Institute on Religion and Democracy.
Alyssa Milano, Actress, Human Rights Activist.
John R. Miller, Research Professor in International
Studies, George Washington University.
Ronna J. Miller, Director, MHGS Conferences.
Richard J. Mouw, President, Fuller Seminary.
Patricia Murphy, North American Coordinating Center, School
Sisters of Notre Dame.
Jessica Neuwirth, President, Equality Now.
Susan O'Malley, Business and Professional Women
International.
Katherine R. Parisi, CSJP, PhD, Justice & Peace
Coordinator, Congregation of the Sisters, St. Joseph of
Peace.
Kathryn Cameron Porter, Founder, President, Leadership
Council for Human Rights.
Margaret Purvis, Founder, President, Faces of Children,
Midland, TX.
Dana Raphael, PhD, Director, Human Lactation Center.
Judith A. Reisman, PhD, President, Institute for Media
Education.
Shirley Rodriguez Remeneski, President, 100 Hispanic Women,
Inc.
Eva H. Richter, International Federation of Business and
Professional Women.
Elizabeth D. Rios, Founder, Board President, Center for
Emerging Female Leadership.
Rev. David Runnion-Bareford, Executive Director, Biblical
Witness Fellowship, United Church of Christ.
Austin Ruse, President, Catholic Family & Human Rights
Institute.
Diana E.H. Russell, PhD, Emerita Professor of Sociology,
Mills College.
Denise Scotto, International Federation of Women in Legal
Careers (FIFCJ).
Nadia Shmigel, World Federation of Ukrainian Women's
Organizations.
L. Faye Short, President, RENEW Women's Network.
Ron Sider, President, Evangelicals for Social Action.
Lucianne Siers, Director, Partnership for Global Justice.
Deborah Sigmund, Founder, Innocence at Risk.
Carol Smolenski, Executive Director, ECPAT-USA.
Gloria Steinem, Co-Founder, Ms. Magazine.
Cheryl Thomas, Director, Women's Human Rights Program,
Advocates for Human Rights.
Jim Wallis, President, CEO, Sojourners/Call to Renewal.
Rev. Gloria E. White-Hammond, M.D., Co-Founder, My Sister's
Keeper, Co-Pastor, Bethel AME Church.
Wendy Wright, President, Concerned Women for America.
Service Providers
Anne Bissell, Executive Director, Voices for Justice.
Vednita Carter, Executive Director, Breaking Free.
Rita Chaikin, Anti-Trafficking Project Coordinator, Isha
L'Isha--Haifa Feminist Center, Haifa, Israel.
Kristy Childs, Executive Director, Founder VERONICA'S
Voice.
Katherine Chon, Executive Director, Co-Founder, Polaris
Project.
Rachel Durchslag, Executive Director, Chicago Alliance
Against Sexual Exploitation.
Laurel W. Eisner, Executive Director, Sanctuary for
Families, New York, NY.
Juliette Engel, Founding Director, MiraMed Institute,
Moscow, Russia.
Sid Ford, Founder, Director, YANA (You are Never Alone),
Baltimore, MD.
Leah Gruenptere Gold, Director, Machon Toda'a Awareness
Center, Israel.
Patricia Green, Founder, RAHAB INTERNATIONAL, World
Outreach International, Berlin, Germany.
Norma Hotaling, Founder, Director, SAGE, San Francisco, CA.
Phyllis Kilbourn, Director, Crisis Care Training
International, Rainbows of Hope.
Chong N. Kim, Founder, MASIE (Minorities & Survivor
Improving Empowerment), USA.
Donna Robin Lippman, Director, Incest and Rape Recovery
Center, New York.
Rachel Lloyd, Executive Director, Founder, GEMS, New York
City.
Kathleen Mitchell, Founder, Catholic Charities DIGNITY
Services.
Beatrice Okezie, Founding Board Member, Chairperson of
Board of Directors, Africans in America, Inc.
[[Page H14117]]
Moira Olson, Adults Saving Kids, Minneapolis, MN.
Artika Roller, PRIDE, Minneapolis, MN.
Donna Sabella, M.Ed, MSN, RN, Director, Phoenix Project,
Philadelphia, PA.
Ed Shurna, Executive Director, Coalition for the Homeless,
Chicago, IL.
Shaleen Horrocks Silva, Executive Director, The Paul & Lisa
Program, Inc.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman
from California (Mr. Daniel E. Lungren), an esteemed member of the
Judiciary Committee.
Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, women brought to
Northern California from China with false promises of life in a far-off
land, only to be trapped in prostitution; Mexican women forced to serve
up to 50 men each day in dingy brothels in New York; African teenagers
held in servitude as nannies in Washington, D.C.; American women and
girls lured on to the streets with promises of love and glamour, only
to be held in prostitution through coercive force; the issue of human
trafficking is a moral tragedy, perpetrated against the most vulnerable
of our fellow human beings. Whether it be the sexual exploitation of
children or the forced labor of young men in the drug trade recently
chronicled in the London Economist, it is a transnational stain which
should evoke the singular emotion of revulsion.
Human trafficking is tantamount to slavery, and therefore it is most
fitting that H.R. 3887 be entitled be entitled the William Wilberforce
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, for, as we know,
William Wilberforce, was a leader among English abolitionists and
played a crucial role in the passage of both the Slave Trade Act of
1807 and the Slave Abolition Act of 1833, shortly before his death.
The promise of freedom and the prohibition against involuntary
servitude enshrined in the 13th amendment to our Constitution is a
clear statement of the opprobrium which we hold for the notion that
some human beings should be used as chattel for exploitation by others.
In fact, our commitment to this first principle predates the
Constitution, for it was Thomas Jefferson who penned those immortal
words in the preamble of our Nation's foundational statement of
political philosophy that there are certain inalienable rights with
which we are endowed as human beings by our Creator, and it is this
source of ours rights which render them inviolable.
This was affirmed by that other bookend of human freedom, the
Gettysburg Address, where President Lincoln visualized the fulfillment
of the Declaration with the admonition that ``All men are created
equal,'' or, as we would put it today, all human beings are created
equal.
Thus, Mr. Speaker, the specter of a modern version of slavery cuts
against our national aspirations as people. The Wilberforce Act is thus
an appropriate expression of our collective outrage over this more
recent transgression of basic human rights. And although I might have
crafted the response to some of the issues addressed in this
legislation differently, we must not allow the perfect to overcome or
be the enemy of the good.
H.R. 3887 provides resources so that nongovernmental organizations,
Federal and local law enforcement, and faith-based entities can work
together towards a common aim of justice. The bill holds forth the
promise of a new birth of freedom for those coerced into sexual slavery
and child exploitation.
Finally, I would be remiss were I to fail to add that the Wilberforce
Act exemplifies what is possible when Members of this body are willing
to cross the aisle in order to address real-life problems which compel
a response from all of us.
Mr. Speaker, I would ask for a unanimous vote in support of the
Wilberforce Act.
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Scott), the chairman of the Crime Subcommittee, who has
worked with us in a highly cooperative way.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the William Wilberforce Trafficking
Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2007. Human trafficking for
exploitive labor, sex or other exploitive reasons, is equivalent to
modern-day slavery in many instances and requires a concerted effort
among the nations of the world not only to control it, but eventually
to end it. I am pleased that the United States is leading an effort to
root out this dreadful form of misery and suffering, and I am proud to
be part of that effort.
Of course, we need to make sure that we do what we can to stop and
prevent it here in the United States. In this regard, I am particularly
pleased with the provisions in the bill which strengthen the ability of
the Department of Justice to deal with abusive commercial sex
traffickers who have been able to victimize women and children with
relative impunity because of the difficulty of getting victims to
testify as to force, fraud or coercive tactics or to show that they
were trafficked across State lines.
The bill also strengthens the ability of the Department of Justice to
address domestic sex trafficking by transferring the responsibility of
the prosecuting domestic sex trafficking cases from the Civil Rights
Division at the Department of Justice to the Criminal Division, both
when it is commercial sex trafficking, where force, fraud and coercion
can be proved, and when it is trafficking where force, fraud and
coercion cannot be proved. The Civil Rights Division continues to have
jurisdiction in cases where slavery is involved, but the existence of
force, fraud or coercion in commercial sex trafficking cases in and of
itself does not constitute the conditions of slavery which the Civil
Rights Division prosecutes as a civil rights violation.
For these reasons, Mr. Speaker, I support the bill and urge my
colleagues to support it.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman
from Nebraska (Mr. Fortenberry), a hardworking and esteemed member of
our Foreign Affairs Committee.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. I would like to thank the distinguished ranking
member of the Foreign Affairs Committee for the time.
Mr. Speaker, as we approach the end of the year with much serious
legislative business remaining before us, we have a noteworthy
opportunity today to pass a measure in which each and every American
can justifiably take great pride. The William Wilberforce Trafficking
Victims Protection Reauthorization Act represents the culmination of
extensive work and exemplary bipartisan cooperation. It illustrates
what we in this House can achieve when we unite in recognition of
shared and enduring truth in an effort to defeat one of the world's
most glaring injustices.
Human trafficking is a singularly merciless and degrading criminal
activity. It has deeply tarnished every nation, including our own. Its
ruthless perpetrators brutally exploit and devastate the lives of
innocent persons, including children, often turning bastions of freedom
and civil society into nightmarish realms seemingly beyond the reach of
sanctuary.
Mr. Speaker, I want to also commend my distinguished colleagues Mr.
Smith of New Jersey and Mr. Lantos of California for raising awareness
about this cruel enterprise and for leading the Foreign Affairs
Committee in taking substantive, credible actions to bring hope and
healing to victims of this pernicious global trade in human beings. I
also want to thank them for working to incorporate the Child Soldier
Prevention Act of 2007 into this bill, bringing years of hard work to
fruition and recognizing our Nation's commitment to ending the forced
conscription, recruitment or use of children in combat, yet another
grave affront to human dignity. I also wish to commend many individuals
throughout our government and the many nongovernmental organizations
whose tireless efforts have made this moment possible.
I urge my colleagues to join me in passing the William Wilberforce
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. Together, let us
end the nightmare of human trafficking and lead the world to see, in
the poignant words of Alexis de Tocqueville, that America is great
because America is good.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield
1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Virginia (Mr.
Moran), a member of the Appropriations Committee and a committed and
dedicated fighter against human trafficking.
[[Page H14118]]
Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank my very good friend from
Texas.
Mr. Speaker, human trafficking is one of the greatest human rights
tragedies of our time. The passage of this legislation will bring
thousands of victims of slavery out of the shadows and prosecute those
that would take advantage of voiceless souls for a marginal profit.
One of the key provisions in this legislation is the prevention and
punishment of diplomats who abuse their servants. As many as 50,000
women and children, according to the Department of State, are
trafficked into the United States annually and are trapped in slavery-
like situations, including forced prostitution.
Currently, no government agency tracks instances of forced domestic
labor at the hands of diplomats. Last year, the State Department issued
about 2,000 domestic worker visas. In the plush residences of
diplomats, servants' passports can be withheld. Many are paid as little
$1 a day and suffer emotional and physical abuse. While the Department
of State has indicated that some diplomats are asked to leave because
of domestic abuse, it is unclear how many are prosecuted.
We are redefining our policies on human trafficking, and I would hope
that with these new provisions we are able to crack down on this
loophole that makes it too easy for diplomats to abuse their domestic
servants.
Diplomats currently hide behind diplomatic immunity. This should not
be the case when it comes to serious crimes such as human trafficking.
They abuse domestic servants, and it is increasingly hard to prosecute
them. This has to change. This legislation will help prevent future
instances of domestic servant abuse in diplomatic residences.
So I look forward to these new provisions being implemented by the
Department of State as they attempt to eliminate all forms of slavery,
and I thank both committees for getting this legislation to the floor
and urge everybody to vote for it.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 7\1/2\ minutes to the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the author of the original
Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the ranking member of the
Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from Michigan
(Mr. Conyers) control the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlelady for
yielding and for her outstanding leadership and for that of the
chairman of the committee, Tom Lantos. He has been extraordinarily
effective in this fight against modern-day slavery, and I thank him for
his leadership as well.
Mr. Speaker, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, Public
Law 106-386, has made, I believe, an enormous positive difference in
our efforts to end modern-day slavery, a nefarious enterprise that nets
the exploiters billions of dollars each year.
The 7-year-old landmark law and its numerous reinforcing provisions
to prevent trafficking, to protect victims and to prosecute to the max
those who traffic, has been a model statute worldwide. Indeed, many of
its provisions have been adopted into law in whole or in part by
governments around the world.
Mr. Speaker, the TVPA of 2000 does not pull any punches. By naming
the names of countries out of compliance with what we call minimum
standards and by imposing smart sanctions that are prescribed in the
act, the withholding of nonhumanitarian aid, for example, we have
signaled to the world that ending this egregious practice is among the
highest priorities of the United States.
{time} 1530
By protecting the victims and not sending them back to their home
country where they are often exploited in a vicious cycle of
exploitation, we say to the victims we will make every effort to make
you safe and secure. By prosecuting the traffickers and imposing
serious jail time, we are telling these exploiters we are coming after
you, we will hunt you down, and you are going to pay for your crimes.
Since the enactment of the TVPA, the traffickers here and abroad are
increasingly likely to face prosecution and conviction. In the 6-year
period before its enactment, DOJ prosecuted 89 suspected traffickers.
In the last 6 years, the Justice Department has prosecuted 360,
representing more than a 300 percent increase. The Department has
secured 238 convictions and guilty pleas, compared with 67 in the same
period prior to the act. And it has opened 639 new investigations, an
almost four-fold increase over the 128 opened prior to implementation
of the law. Worldwide, nearly 6,000 traffickers were prosecuted last
year alone, and more than 3,000 were convicted.
Notwithstanding these successes, it is clear that more has to be done
to destroy this mob-infested, criminal enterprise known as human
trafficking. According to research sponsored by the U.S. Government and
completed in 2006, approximately 800,000 people are trafficked
internationally and millions more are trafficked within their country.
According to the same research, the vast majority of transnational
victims, almost 80 percent, are women and girls, and almost half of
those 800,000 victims are minors. These figures are low compared to
those posited by the International Labor Organization, which estimates
12.3 million people are subjected to forced labor, bonded labor, forced
child labor, and sexual servitude.
The bill before us today, Mr. Speaker, is a very good piece of
bipartisan legislation; and I thank the gentleman from California (Mr.
Lantos) for his extraordinary leadership on this. We are working in a
partnership, and it is really making a difference. The legislation that
is before us aims to update, expand, and improve the TPVA.
There have been lessons learned since the first law was enacted 7
years ago and subsequently reauthorized in 2003 and 2005. They are
incorporated into this legislation as we try to do an even better job
in mitigating the suffering of the victims while simultaneously going
after those who traffic and the countries that harbor traffickers who
are also part of the problem themselves.
The bill is appropriately named after William Wilberforce, who was 21
years old when he was elected to the House of Commons in 1780. John
Newton, the former slave captain turned convert to Christ, encouraged
Wilberforce as well as others to fight the battle against slavery.
Wilberforce agreed and then poured his heart into that battle.
Wilberforce once said: ``Never, never will we desist until we
extinguish every trace of this bloody traffic to which our posterity,
looking back to the history of those enlightened times, will scarce
believe that it has been suffered to exist so long to disgrace and
dishonor this country.''
He also said: ``So enormous, so dreadful, so remediable did the
trade's wickedness quickly appear that my own mind was completely made
up for its abolition.'' We need to fight with Wilberforce-like tenacity
against this modern-day slave trade.
One of the most prominent provisions of the original TVPA was the
establishment of the tier-ranking system that indicates how well or
poorly a country is conforming to the minimum standards. We found when
we created the watch list that some of the countries began to realize
they could be ``parked'' there with no serious consequence for their
failure. Tier 2 watch list countries found there was no penalty even
though they made no improvements. That has to change: Two years and
then you are off the watch list, up or down. If significant
improvements fail to materialize, that country is put on tier three,
subject to penalties.
Finally let me just say, Mr. Speaker, that effective cooperation, and
especially the bipartisan cooperation we see here today, and
partnership with other countries, is essential if we are to win this
winnable war. Without it, we are doomed to either meager results or
outright failure. With so many lives hanging in the balance, failure
simply is not an option. None of us alone can stop human trafficking.
Too much evil is involved here, and the prospect of making billions has
enticed some of the most unsavory and cruel individuals on Earth,
including organized crime.
[[Page H14119]]
Too much demand, enabled by crass indifference, unbridled hedonism
and misogynistic attitudes has turned people, especially women, into
objects, only valued for their utility in the brothel or in the
sweatshop. And the relative lack of visibility makes the task of
combating trafficking all the more difficult.
Trafficking, like germs, infection and disease, thrives in shadowy
and murky places. But the contagion slows and it even dies when exposed
to the light. This legislation brings more light, bright light, to this
problem; and it will act as a powerful disinfectant.
So the challenge to us today is to bring this new light, the bright
light of sustained scrutiny and enacting good laws, like this one, and
then implementing them aggressively. We need to employ best practices
and well-honed strategies in order to win the freedom of the slaves and
to spare others unspeakable agony.
Together, we can make the pimps and the exploiters pay by doing
serious jail time as well as the forfeiture of their assets, their
boats, their villas, and their fat bank accounts.
We can end this barbaric, cruel modern-day slavery. Make no mistake
about it, this is a winnable war but we need to fight in a way so as to
win. This legislation further propels us in that fight, and we will win
this and the slaves will be free.
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith)
first dusted off the 13th amendment of the Constitution in 1999, but it
is the present chairman of the Constitution Subcommittee in the
Judiciary, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler), who has brought
this incredibly important constitutional amendment, enacted in 1865,
into real live use, and I am proud to recognize the chairman of that
committee for 2\1/4\ minutes.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the William Wilberforce Trafficking
Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2007.
This bill delivers on the promise of the 13th amendment by creating
tough new enforcement tools to punish exploitation, whether by
unscrupulous labor recruiters, diplomats who abuse their servants, or
brutal pimps.
It provides resources so that nongovernmental organizations, Federal
and local law enforcement, and the faith community can work together to
liberate victims and bring their traffickers to justice.
It will protect victims of modern slavery in the United States and
provide foreign aid and diplomatic tools to combat modern slavery
overseas as well.
In many ways, the fight against modern slavery began in New York City
in the mid-1990s. There was the infamous ``Bowery Brothel'' case in
which Thai women were held in prostitution and literally chained to
their beds. And there were the so-called ``Deaf Mexican'' trinket
peddlers who were enslaved under our own eyes, unable to ask for help
as they were forced to beg on the subways.
Since then, criminal civil rights investigators have uncovered
examples of enslavement across the country, including many in the New
York City area.
Recently, we have seen the liberation of Honduran women who were
forced to drink and dance with clients in dance halls in New Jersey;
Peruvian families freed from enslavement by a labor recruiter on Long
Island; and the rescue of young American women from a street pimp in
Connecticut. All of their traffickers have been convicted and
imprisoned because they violated the Constitution prohibition against
involuntary servitude and slavery.
More than a century after the abolition of slavery, we would expect
slavery to be a closed chapter in our Nation's history. But,
unfortunately, it is not. The Constitution promises to end the
suffering of all those who have been held in bondage. As a country, we
owe it to the victims of modern-day slavery never to stop fighting for
their freedom.
This bill, the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act, renews our commitment to fulfilling the promise of
the 13th amendment by providing new enforcement tools and more
resources to remove the stain of modern-day slavery from our Nation.
I urge its adoption and thank the chairman of the committee and Mr.
Smith who was involved in developing the 2000 act and in developing
this act, and I urge its adoption.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill, the Wilberforce bill, tracks the definitions
in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of the year 2000, builds upon
the good work of the civil rights division within the Department of
Justice and its anti-trafficking task forces around the country which
vigorously confront modern-day slavery which does exist in forced
prostitution and forced labor alike. We expect these efforts to
continue, and we will monitor them with great scrutiny.
In the 1800s, escaped slaves such as Frederick Douglass and Sojourner
Truth, who came out of this brutal experience in America, spoke out
against chattel slavery. Their voices and the voices of many others led
to a constitutional commitment that everyone in this country would be
forevermore free from bondage.
The young lady who testified with an assumed name before the
Judiciary Committee did not allow her suffering to silence her. And
neither will our voices be silenced. We urge that this bill pass,
hopefully unanimously, from the House of Representatives.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of
my time.
Mr. Speaker, I urge the complete passage of this legislation, and I
thank my colleagues for their convictions and their messages on the
floor today.
Might I add for my colleagues' information, there are about 17,500
individuals trafficked in the United States, and we believe 50 percent
of those may be children. In this legislation, we have language to
combat the trafficking of our children.
Along with the other tragic stories we have heard today, we must be
able to support our children and prevent the trafficking of our
children.
I thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Zoe Lofgren) for her
efforts in this area, and I include an article from the San Jose
Mercury News for the Record.
[The Mercury News, Dec. 4, 2007]
Reaching Across Party Lines To End Modern-Day Slavery
(By Zoe Lofgren and Dan Lungren)
They are age-old stories. Women brought to the Bay Area
from China with false promises of life in a far-off land,
only to be trapped in prostitution. Latino men laboring in
debt bondage on ranches and farms in inland valleys. These
stories may be redolent of the Gold Rush and frontier days,
but in fact are situations that have been uncovered in
present-day California. Some call it human trafficking,
perhaps to make the crime less disturbing to confront. We
call it modern slavery. It must be stopped.
Especially in the past decade, federal criminal civil
rights prosecutions have uncovered cases of enslavement
across the country. The litany of cases goes on and on, each
one equally tragic: Mexican women forced to serve up to 50
men each day in dingy brothels in New York; African teenagers
held in servitude as nannies in Washington, D.C.; American
women and girls lured onto the streets with promises of love
and glamour only to be held in prostitution through coercive
force; African-American men laboring in orange groves of
Florida trapped by drug addiction and ``company-store''
debts; Asian workers trapped in sweatshop garment factories
in American Samoa and Saipan; Honduran women forced to drink
and dance with clients in dance halls in Texas; and mentally
ill white Americans forced to work on a Kansas farm.
From the beginning, the promise of freedom enshrined in the
13th Amendment has protected everyone in the United States,
whether African-Americans, Latinos, Asians or Europeans.
Slavery might seem like a closed chapter in our nation's
history, but it is worth remembering that the civil rights
movement was only possible after the NAACP and the FBI worked
together during the Roosevelt administration to dismantle the
system of sharecropping and peonage in the American south.
Even today, farmworker advocates routinely have to fight
against enslavement in the fields before they can address
other concerns that the migrant community faces. Asian-
American community activists and legal service providers have
built their efforts upon the successful liberation of workers
from the notorious El Monte sweatshop more than a decade ago.
The Constitution's promise of freedom is written in the
suffering of all of those who have been held in bondage. As a
country we
[[Page H14120]]
owe it to them to never stop fighting against servitude and
slavery.
This week, the House of Representatives will consider a
bill that we are co-sponsoring to update our anti-slavery
statutes, the William Wilberforce Act. Named in honor of the
famous English legislator who fought the transatlantic slave
trade in the 19th century, the proposed law will provide new
tools to protect against modern slavery. The law will protect
people in the United States, both in the immigrant community
and among American citizens, and will provide foreign aid and
diplomatic tools to combat slavery and trafficking overseas
as well.
The Wilberforce Act protects workers, ensures compassionate
immigration treatment for children, and allows for the
reunification of victims and their families. The bill
delivers on the promise of freedom by creating tough new
enforcement tools to punish exploitation, whether by
unscrupulous labor recruiters, diplomats who abuse their
servants or brutal pimps.
The bill provides resources so that non-governmental
organizations, federal and local law enforcement and the
faith community can work together to liberate victims and
bring their traffickers to justice. In our congressional
districts--in the South Bay and Sacramento--such
interdisciplinary task forces have begun the important work
of implementing state and federal anti-trafficking statutes.
The Wilberforce Act will allow them to intensify their
efforts.
There are some who feel that there is no room for
bipartisanship in Washington. Some say that the political
parties are so far apart as to preclude any cooperation at
all, especially on legislation that combines compassionate
and pragmatic immigration solutions with tough law
enforcement standards. The Wilberforce Act disproves that
notion. We will continue to work together to ensure that no
one is held in bondage in California or elsewhere.
Coretta Scott King once said ``Freedom is never really
won--you earn it and win it in every generation.'' We are
proud that the California congressional delegation can come
together across party lines to lead the fight to guarantee
the constitutional promise of liberty for all.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support
of H.R. 3887, the William Wilburforce Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act of 2007. I would like to thank the Chairman of the
Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Lantos, for introducing this important,
bipartisan legislation that will authorize appropriations for FY 2008-
2011 for the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, enhancing
measures to combat forced labor, as well as for your ongoing leadership
on this and other crucial human rights issues. I am proud to join over
40 of my colleagues in co-sponsoring this bill.
Mr. Speaker, the issue of the trafficking of persons is one of the
utmost significance, one which no nation is exempt from. Within the
United States, we pride ourselves on overcoming the historic stain of
slavery, and we are comforted by the thought that while others may
persist in this repulsive practice, we do not. This however, is simply
not the case. According to the GAO, ``as many as 17,500 people are
believed to be trafficked into the United States each year.'' The
trafficking of persons is our problem; they are forced through our
borders and used by our people. This extreme injustice can no longer go
unnoticed.
The flow of human trafficking is no surprise; traffic flows from the
less industrialized countries to the more industrialized countries.
This fact makes the issue of human trafficking a problem for all
nations alike on a political, social, and moral level. The U.S.
Department of State estimates that 800,000 people are trafficked across
national borders every year, in addition to the reported millions of
people trafficked within their own countries. The trafficking industry
generates billions of dollars annually, and, together with drugs and
weapons, is now a leading source of profits for organized crime.
According to most analysts, the largest number of victims trafficked
internationally come from Asia, though significant numbers of women and
girls trafficked to work in the commercial sex industry come from the
former Soviet Union and southeastern Europe.
One subset of trafficking, and one of particular interest to the
United States, is trafficking for forced labor, which the International
Labor Organization defines as ``any situation in which work is carried
out involuntarily under the menace of a penalty.'' The ILO estimates
that some 12.3 million people have been the victims of forced labor,
with agriculture, construction, domestic service, restaurants, and
manufacturing sectors being the most prominent industries into which
forced labor is trafficked.
In March of this year, the Committee on Homeland Security, on which I
am a senior Member and I serve as Chairwoman of a subcommittee, held a
hearing on the crossing of borders and victims of trafficking which
produced a meaningful discourse on horrific implications of the
trafficking of persons and sought to address said issues. However, 7
months later, the issue is not resolved. The current policy of the
United States, under the Trafficking Victims Prevention Act of 2000,
allows the government to support many types of anti-trafficking
domestically and overseas. However, much more must be done. The GAO
currently reports that, while the government allocated funds to combat
trafficking, there was an overemphasis by the government on sex
slavery, which came at a price for the majority of others who are a
victim of human trafficking.
Reliable information and independent evaluations of the success of
the United States in combating this human atrocity have been hard to
come by. While the State Department points to progress by citing the
increase of countries with anti-trafficking initiatives and an increase
in the number of arrests and convictions for human traffickers, the GAO
report cites a less optimistic reality. The U.S. Government has yet to
develop a coordinated, interagency response to combat trafficking
overseas or a systematic way to evaluate the effectiveness of its anti-
trafficking policies. In addition, a July 2007 GAO report entitled
``Monitoring and Evaluation of International Projects Are Limited, But
Experts Suggest Improvements,'' found that monitoring mechanisms are
lacking in U.S.-funded international projects, and that the U.S. and
international organizations have encountered difficulties collaborating
with host governments that often lack the resources, capacity, and/or
political will to address trafficking.
Given the very real and persistent nature of the crime of human
trafficking, it is our responsibility as Members of the Congress of the
most powerful nation in the world to address and resolve this atrocity
once and for all. Nearly 150 years after our great country abolished
slavery at home, it is our job to once again be a beacon of progress
and hope and no longer allow one man to profit from the suffering of
another.
I believe that this legislation makes important strides towards
addressing this serious problem. After hearing the profoundly
disturbing testimony presented before the Committee on Foreign Affairs
in a hearing on this issue earlier this year, I am particularly pleased
that this legislation includes provisions aimed at ensuring that
individuals are trafficked into the United States to work in diplomatic
missions and embassies. I an extremely concerned about this issue, and
I look forward to working further with my colleagues to establish a
mechanism capable of preventing such abuses in the future.
Mr. Speaker, this important reauthorization speaks directly to a
serious but often hidden problem that we face, on both a national and
an international level. I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in
supporting this legislation.
Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I would like to express my support for H.R.
3887, the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Act of
2007. I have long worked to support action on what may be considered
the most egregious human rights violation occurring in the world today.
I was pleased to be an original cosponsor of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000, TVPA, which created an office at the U.S. State
Department to monitor trafficking in persons around the world.
The trafficking of people and the effects on victims--mostly women
and children--can only be described as evil. In many cases, women and
children are misled and forced to move across borders, to live in a
foreign country, alone, away from family, friends and any kind of
support network. They are then bought, sold, and forced into the sex
trade. Billions of dollars are generated each year through trafficking.
Unfortunately, the United States is also a destination for some of
these victims. It is shocking to learn about women being held as sex
slaves literally in houses and basements that I drive by every day on
my way to the Nation's capital. This reauthorization addresses this
aspect of international trafficking by protecting victims in the United
States from retaliation by those who trafficked them; expanding and
revising U.S. criminal violations to allow offenses against
international trafficking criminals and sex tour operators; ensuring
assistance to U.S. victims of trafficking, and preventing the
trafficking of foreign children found in the United States by ensuring
that they are not repatriated into the hands of traffickers or abusive
families and are well cared for.
The focus and commitment of the administration on this issue is
making a difference in Countries around the globe. We still have a long
way to go, but this reauthorization bill is a significant step in
giving the State Department the necessary tools to combat this
appalling practice. It is a privilege for me to support this important
legislation.
Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, as we vote on H.R. 3887, I would like to
express my thanks to those Members, like Chris Smith and Frank Wolf,
who continue to provide leadership on human trafficking issues. I
strongly believe we must work to ensure that we fix any loopholes in
our laws or regulations that the brutal human traffickers might use to
exploit their victims.
[[Page H14121]]
In light of Congress's desire to ensure that we do all in our power
to support trafficking victims and prosecute traffickers, I would like
to associate myself with the concerns expressed about the bill by the
Departments of Justice, State, Homeland Security, and USAID. It is
important that Congress works with the administration in order to amend
the legislation to appropriately address their concerns. I look forward
to working with my colleagues in the Senate on these concerns and on
human trafficking issues in general.
Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that
today the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3887, the Trafficking
Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2007.
This is an issue that impacts countries around the world, whether
they are a source or destination for trafficked persons. Official
estimates are that between 2 to 4 million persons are trafficked each
year, including approximately 17,500 individuals who are trafficked
into the United States.
One country that is a major source of trafficking victims is Vietnam.
The congressional district that I represent in Orange County,
California, is home to one of the largest Vietnamese constituencies
outside of Vietnam. Hence, I have met with many people who have been
trafficked from Vietnam, as well as advocates who work to help these
victims.
I have personally visited Vietnam 3 times, and it has been apparent
from my trips that human trafficking is a major problem facing women,
children, and men in Vietnam. Vietnamese women are trafficked to other
countries in Asia and elsewhere, where they are subsequently forced
into marriage, labor, and prostitution.
Often, Vietnamese women are promised employment, and given fake
working papers, but then they are instead sold into marriage, the
commercial sex industry, or labor. These women often find themselves in
a foreign country, with no legal status, and no ability to speak the
language.
Given the large numbers of trafficked persons from Vietnam, and
around the world, I am glad that the Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act adds technical assistance and support to assist
foreign governments with the prevention and prosecution of human
trafficking cases.
It is critical that the United States share its resources to combat
trafficking with the rest of the world. All of the members of our world
community must work together to fight human trafficking.
The United States must also work to improve its efforts to combat
trafficking within our own borders. This bill will assist with
enhancing the rights of victims, who are trafficked into the United
States, and will provide special protections to child victims.
H.R. 3887 is an important step in the worldwide fight against human
trafficking. At the same time, we must continue to work on this issue
in our local communities. In my district, a number of agencies,
including law enforcement, service providers, and community
organizations have joined together to form the Orange County Human
Trafficking, Task Force (OCHTTF).
This task force operated for several years without any funding. I am
proud that I was able to help them secure funding to continue their
collaborative efforts to fight human trafficking. I commend the OCHTTF
for its efforts, and hope that more local communities will stand
together to protect the rights of all persons to live free from forced
marriage, prostitution, and labor.
Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3887, the
William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2007. This
bill makes great strides in both the areas of prevention and in victim
assistance and will strengthen our national commitment to ending this
horrific practice.
Since its founding, our Nation has been committed to the promotion of
human rights and personal dignity. Human trafficking contradicts every
core principle upon which our Nation and our international partnerships
are based.
In recent years, we have seen appalling examples of trafficking--from
women sold into sexual slavery . . . to men being pressed into
indentured servitude . . . to children forced to become soldiers.
Trafficking frequently is tied to other illicit crimes--prostitution,
drug running, sweatshops, and armed rebellions. Sadly, the victims have
few champions and even fewer resources. And, all too often, national
leaders have turned a blind eye to this growing epidemic.
Today our strategy is twofold. First, we are extending care and
assistance to the victims while protecting them from their traffickers.
Second, we are bolstering our efforts to work with international and
domestic law enforcement to prevent trafficking at the source. It is
essential that we remain dedicated and committed to each track.
Additionally, while it is not included in this bill, it is my hope
that the administrators of the programs will consider the special needs
of the victims and will look into the ``reflection periods'' in place
in several countries. This allows additional time for former victims to
become comfortable in their new situations before taking further action
against their traffickers.
As a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, I am proud to support
this legislation and to urge my colleagues to support its passage.
Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in support of the Trafficking
Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2007.
Every year, over half a million people are sold into slavery and
transported across international borders worldwide. Of those, more than
15,000 are brought into the United States. These individuals are sold
into horrible living conditions which most often include forced labor
and sexual slavery for many young girls and women.
The inhumane practice of involuntary servitude and sexual slavery
must be stopped in the United States and victims should have proper
protection from their captors. This deplorable treatment of human
beings is intolerable. The idea of forced slavery is one which most
Americans would find repugnant but unfortunately, it is all too often a
reality.
Congressional action on this matter is woefully deficient. We must
recognize the importance of stopping, monitoring, and capturing
individuals as they illegally enter the United States. Fighting human
trafficking at the borders would limit the trade of sex slaves in
America as well as combat terror, crime and drugs to preserve American
safety and quality of life.
Recent news reports have stated that Al Qaeda has been using our vast
and poorly defended Southwestern borders to smuggle enemy combatants
into the U.S.
Congress must find a way to stop smuggling of human beings across our
borders. We must find a way to stop involuntary servitude and sexual
slavery worldwide and we must find a way to help all people understand
that America is the beacon of light and freedom that we all know it to
be. The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2007
(H.R. 3887) will help us stop this terrible trade, give victims the
ability to be free and face their accusers, and help America shine our
light around the world.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, as Chairman of the Commission
on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which has exercised
unprecedented leadership in the global fight to combat trafficking in
human beings, I rise in support of H.R. 3887, the Wilberforce
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2007.
From our earliest awareness of this cruel phenomenon which enslaves
an estimated 27 million victims, the Commission has led in the effort
to mobilize nations to implement effective measures to combat human
trafficking. My fellow Commissioner and former Chairman of the
Commission, Representative Chris Smith is among those who has led the
effort to bring an end to this modern day form of slavery, authoring
the trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and its subsequent
reauthorizations.
Today, the Commission continues its work to support efforts to combat
this global crime within the framework of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe. Most recently, the Commission conducted an
oversight hearing last October 11, to explore the progress made in
combating human trafficking and the adequacy of resources dedicated to
identifying victims of trafficking for forced labor, an area that we
believe would benefit from additional resources and attention.
The reauthorization bill that we are taking action on today marks
another important milestone in preventing the inhumane practice of
human trafficking, protecting trafficking victims, and prosecuting the
criminals that perpetrate these crimes.
In addition to bolstering the resources needed to continue various
anti-trafficking programs, H.R. 3887, which I cosponsored, would
strengthen mechanisms for fighting human trafficking overseas, through
the provision of capacity building support to foreign governments to
bolster investigative mechanisms and legal protective frameworks for
immigrant populations and migrant workers. Importantly, the measure
would also address the transnational nature of human trafficking by
providing increased support and protection for refugees and internally
displaced populations. This legislation also seeks to improve
transparency and evaluation of trafficking programs, and would
designate governments that remain on the special watch list for 2
consecutive years among those whose efforts to combat trafficking are
inadequate.
This reauthorization bill will improve mechanisms to better identify
and protect trafficking victims, while increasing accountability on the
part of governments in their anti-trafficking efforts. It takes a
comprehensive approach to a gross criminal exploitation, and I urge my
colleagues to support the legislation.
[[Page H14122]]
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the deplorable crime of human
trafficking exploits the innocent while it promotes illegal
immigration.
The legislation we are considering today builds upon the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act of 2000. That historic legislation combated the
trafficking of persons into the sex trade and slavery in the United
States and countries around the world through the prosecution of
traffickers and through protection and assistance to victims of
trafficking.
As Chairman of the Judiciary Committee's Immigration and Claims
Subcommittee in 2000, I worked closely with the sponsors of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act to ensure that it protected victims
of trafficking without encouraging the smuggling of illegal immigrants.
The legislation created a new nonimmigrant T visa for victims of
severe forms of trafficking who have cooperated with U.S. law
enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of traffickers.
The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act judiciously expands on the immigration provisions
of the 2000 Act and also adds reasonable protections for unaccompanied
alien minors apprehended by our immigration officers.
When I reviewed the original bill, my goal was to modify certain
provisions that I was concerned would encourage illegal immigration and
immigration fraud and leave us vulnerable to dangerous juveniles.
I want to thank Chairman Conyers and Chairwoman Lofgren for
addressing those concerns.
I also want to thank Chairman Conyers for addressing my concerns with
the criminal provisions of the original bill.
The bill now lessens the burden on prosecutors to prove that
criminals forced victims to work in sweatshops or as prostitutes.
I do remain concerned about increasing the Federal role in
prosecuting cases involving pimping and pandering. These crimes are
traditionally prosecuted at the State and local level and I believe
that Federal jurisdiction is unnecessary. However, I will not oppose
this bill on that basis.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3887, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and
nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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