[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 159 (Wednesday, October 1, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10388-S10390]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2007

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 903, S. 1703.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1703) to prevent and reduce trafficking in 
     persons.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
bill, which

[[Page S10389]]

had been reported from the Committee on the Judiciary, with an 
amendment to strike all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Trafficking in Persons 
     Accountability Act of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. 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, section 1583, 
     section 1584, section 1589, section 1590, or section 1591 of 
     this title 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) Technical and Conforming 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:

``1596. Additional jurisdiction in certain trafficking offenses.''.

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, few issues in the world today raise as 
many human rights implications as the insidious practice of human 
trafficking. According to International Labor Organization estimates, 
there are over 12 million people in forced or bonded labor, forced 
child labor, or sexual servitude at any given time around the globe. 
Human trafficking truly represents commerce in human misery.
  The U.S. Government has been increasingly vigilant in addressing this 
global scourge. In 2000, Congress passed the Trafficking Victims 
Protection Act, which gave our government important new tools to better 
protect trafficking victims, prosecute traffickers, and prevent future 
trafficking crimes in this country and abroad. In 2003 and again in 
2005, Congress reauthorized the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, and 
I am proud to cosponsor the latest reauthorization bill--the William 
Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 
2008--which Senators Biden and Brownback introduced in May.
  I chair the Senate Judiciary Committee's new Subcommittee on Human 
Rights and the Law, created at the beginning of the 110th Congress. Our 
subcommittee's second hearing, in March 2007, considered legal options 
to stop human trafficking.
  The hearing shed light on a legal loophole in current law. The U.S. 
government is allowed to prosecute human traffickers who commit crimes 
in the United States, but it is not permitted to prosecute traffickers 
who commit crimes abroad and then come to our shores.
  In June 2007, Senator Coburn and I introduced a bill to close this 
loophole. The Trafficking in Persons Accountability Act would permit 
the U.S. Government to go after human traffickers who are present in 
the United States, regardless of whether their heinous acts took place 
in this country or elsewhere. Our bill says to the traffickers: You 
cannot come to the United States and use us as a zone of impunity and 
as a safe haven for your ill-gotten gains. Closing this loophole would 
serve as another tool in the global fight against human trafficking.
  The Trafficking in Persons Accountability Act follows on other human 
rights legislation I have introduced with Senator Coburn, the ranking 
member of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law. We introduced 
similar legislation to allow the U.S. Government to prosecute 
individuals found in the United States who have recruited children for 
combat or deployed child soldiers in another country. Congress recently 
approved this bill, and it awaits the President's signature.
  And last year, Congress approved a bill to permit the U.S. Government 
to prosecute those present in the United States who have committed the 
human rights atrocity of genocide anywhere in the world.
  The Trafficking in Persons Accountability Act is supported by the 
International Justice Mission, the Chicago-based National Immigrant 
Justice Center, the Break the Chain Campaign, the Urban Justice Center, 
Mosaic Family Services, Global Rights, the Florida Immigrant Advocacy 
Center, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, and the Rape, Abuse & 
Incest National Network.
  We cannot discuss the issue of human trafficking without 
acknowledging the visionary leadership of the late Senator Paul 
Wellstone, who called the trafficking of human beings ``one of the most 
horrendous human rights violations of our time.''
  On the day Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act on 
October 11, 2000, Senator Wellstone went to the Senate floor and said 
the following: ``I believe with passage of this legislation . . . we 
are lighting a candle. We are lighting a candle for these women and 
girls and sometimes men forced into forced labor. . . . This is the 
beginning of an international effort to go after this trafficking, to 
go after this major, god-awful human rights abuse.''
  Senator Wellstone's commitment to combating human trafficking and 
other human rights abuses stands as one of his most enduring legacies. 
The candle Senator Wellstone lit nearly 8 years ago is burning bright, 
and we will rekindle it today with the passage of this legislation.
  I urge my Senate colleagues to pass the Trafficking in Persons 
Accountability Act, and I hope the House of Representatives will soon 
follow suit, so this important bill can be sent to the President and 
signed into law.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased that today the Senate has 
passed the Trafficking in Persons Accountability Act of 2007, which 
would improve our efforts to stop the abominable practice of human 
trafficking in the United States and around the world. This modern-day 
form of slavery forces, defrauds, or coerces victims into sexual or 
labor exploitation. It is the world's fastest growing criminal 
enterprise and generates $9.5 billion annually, $4 billion of which 
goes to the prostitution industry. Nearly 1 million people, mostly 
women and children, are trafficked worldwide, including nearly 18,000 
persons in the United States.
  This legislation would expand the Federal court's jurisdiction over 
human trafficking cases to include offenses committed abroad by 
noncitizens that enter our borders. Currently, the Department of 
Justice can only prosecute human trafficking crimes if they occur 
within the United States or are committed by a U.S. citizen abroad. 
This legislation would permit the Department of Justice to prosecute 
offenders of trafficking crimes abroad if they are present in the 
United States and punish human traffickers who attempt to seek refuge 
in this country.
  Nowhere on Earth should it be acceptable to deceive, abuse, and force 
a person into a life of enslavement. We should not tolerate human 
trafficking across our borders, nor should we allow trafficking 
offenders to seek a safe haven in our country. I commend subcommittee 
chairman Senator Durbin for introducing this legislation and for his 
hard work to combat human rights abuses worldwide. This is an area in 
which I have worked for many years as the chairman and ranking member 
of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee.
  I was proud to work with Senator Durbin to create the Human Rights 
and the Law Subcommittee, the first congressional committee to 
specifically address human rights issues. This subcommittee has held 
hearings on many important issues, and two important pieces of 
legislation considered by the subcommittee will become law this 
Congress. The Genocide Accountability Act closed a loophole that until 
now allowed those who commit or incite genocide to seek refuge in our 
country without fear of prosecution for their actions. Soon, the 
President will sign into law the Child Soldiers Accountability Act, 
making it a crime to recruit or use child soldiers. I look forward to 
continuing to work with Senator Durbin to make progress towards

[[Page S10390]]

eradicating these and other human rights abuses.
  This bill is a step forward towards the prevention of human 
trafficking, protection of victims, and prosecution of traffickers. I 
hope the House of Representatives acts quickly on this legislation so 
it can be enacted before Congress adjourns.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Durbin 
amendment, which is at the desk, be agreed to, the committee 
substitute, as amended be agreed to, the bill, as amended be read a 
third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the 
table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related 
to the bill be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 5688) was agreed to, as follows:

              (Purpose: To provide a complete substitute)

       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Trafficking in Persons 
     Accountability Act of 2008''.

     SEC. 2. 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, section 1583, 
     section 1584, section 1589, section 1590, or section 1591 of 
     this title if--
       ``(1) an alleged offender 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:

``1596. Additional jurisdiction in certain trafficking offenses.''.

  The committee substitute amendment, as amended, was agreed to.
  The bill (S. 1703), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a 
third reading, was read the third time, and passed.

                          ____________________