[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 116 (Wednesday, July 23, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H6730-H6733]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HUMAN TRAFFICKING PRIORITIZATION ACT
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 2283) to prioritize the fight against human
trafficking within the Department of State according to congressional
intent in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 without
increasing the size of the Federal Government, and for other purposes,
as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2283
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Human Trafficking
Prioritization Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The International Labor Organization estimates that
nearly 21,000,000 people are subjected to modern slavery
around the world at any given time and that the majority of
the enslaved are women and girls.
(2) Congress authorized the creation of a Department of
State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons in
the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (division A of
Public Law 106-386) in order to directly assist the Secretary
of State in his or her effort to coordinate a United States
Government interagency response to domestic and international
trafficking in persons.
(3) The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
monitors trafficking worldwide and produces the online and
printed versions of the annual Trafficking in Persons Report,
which is Congress' primary resource for human trafficking
reporting, analysis, and recommendations on the United States
and 186 countries around the world.
(4) The annual Trafficking in Persons Report contains tier
rankings of each country on which it reports, and these tier
rankings have become an essential diplomatic tool for
promoting protection for victims, prevention of trafficking,
and prosecution of perpetrators.
(5) Some countries have openly stated, and many others have
confided, that dramatic improvements in the country's human
trafficking record were directly related to avoidance of a
low tier ranking in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report.
(6) Ambassador Mark Lagon, former Ambassador-at-Large to
Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (2007-2009),
testified before the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health,
Global Human Rights, and International Organizations of the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives
on April 18, 2013, that ``[T]he State Department does a
tremendous job in producing a report which tells it like it
is, offering objective rankings. Yet at times it pulls
punches, typically due to the urging of regional specialists
rather than the TIP Office's dedicated experts on
trafficking.''.
(7) Ambassador John Miller, former Ambassador-at-Large to
Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (2002-2006),
recently stated that, ``Upgrading the status of the Office to
a Bureau will not create additional bureaucracy--it will
simply give JTIP and the Ambassador-at-large who heads it
equal standing with regional and functional bureaus at the
State Department. That standing is absolutely essential for
the issue to remain a priority, especially when multiple U.S.
interests are engaged.''.
(8) The tier ranking process authorized by Congress in the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 has been in some
instances compromised by the Office to Monitor and Combat
Trafficking subordinate stature within the Department of
State.
(9) It is essential for Congress and the Secretary of State
to be accurately informed regarding United States and foreign
country successes and failures in the fight against human
trafficking.
(10) The diplomatic power and credibility of the
Trafficking in Persons Report is based on rigorous
scholarship and scrupulous application of the minimum
standards for the elimination of human trafficking and is
undermined by political, rather than factual, tier rankings.
(11) Strong and effective anti-slavery policy requires that
officials from the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking
have equal hierarchical standing with State Department
regional bureaus and direct access to the Secretary of State.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking of the
Department of State will be more effective in carrying out
duties mandated by Congress in the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 if the Office status is changed to
that of a Bureau within the Department hierarchy;
(2) the change in status from Office to Monitor and Combat
Trafficking to a Bureau can be accomplished without
increasing the number of personnel or the budget of the
current Office;
(3) a Bureau to Monitor and Combat Trafficking would be
more effective in carrying out duties mandated by Congress in
the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 if the Bureau
were headed by an Assistant Secretary with direct access to
the Secretary of State, rather than an Ambassador-at-Large;
and
(4) the Secretary of State should review the current use of
the 24 Assistant Secretary positions authorized by section
1(c)(1) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956
(22 U.S.C. 2651a(c)(1)) and make appropriate revisions,
consolidations, and eliminations, to ensure that those
positions reflect the highest Departmental needs and foreign
policy priorities of the United States, including efforts to
combat trafficking in persons.
SEC. 4. BUREAU TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS.
(a) In General.--Section 105(e) of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7103(e)) is amended--
(1) in the heading, by striking ``Office to Monitor and
Combat Trafficking'' and inserting ``Bureau to Combat
Trafficking in Persons'';
(2) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in the first sentence, by striking ``Office to Monitor
and Combat Trafficking'' and inserting ``Bureau to Combat
Trafficking in Persons'';
(B) in the second sentence, by striking ``Office'' and
inserting ``Bureau''; and
(C) in the sixth sentence, by striking ``Office'' and
inserting ``Bureau''; and
(3) in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2), by striking
``Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking'' and inserting
``Bureau to Combat Trafficking in Persons''.
(b) Reference.--Any reference in the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 or in any other Act to the Office to
Monitor and Combat Trafficking shall be deemed to be a
reference to the Bureau to Combat Trafficking in Persons.
SEC. 5. REPORT REGARDING DESIGNATION OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY
OF STATE TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS.
Not later than 90 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
detailing--
(1) for each current Assistant Secretary of State
position--
(A) the title of that Assistant Secretary of State;
(B) how long that particular Assistant Secretary
designation has been in existence; and
(C) whether that particular Assistant Secretary designation
was legislatively mandated or authorized and, if so, the
relevant statutory citation for such mandate or
authorization; and
(2) whether the Secretary intends to designate one of the
Assistant Secretary of State positions authorized by section
1(c)(1) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956
(22 U.S.C. 2651a(c)(1)) as the Assistant Secretary of State
to Combat Trafficking in Persons, and the reasons for that
decision.
SEC. 6. COUNTRIES ON SPECIAL WATCH LIST FOR 4 CONSECUTIVE
YEARS THAT ARE DOWNGRADED AND REINSTATED ON
SPECIAL WATCH LIST.
Section 110(b)(2) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act
of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107(b)(2)) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(F) Countries on special watch list for 4 consecutive
years that are downgraded and reinstated on special watch
list.--Notwithstanding subparagraphs (D) and (E), a country
that--
``(i) was included on the special watch list described in
subparagraph (A) for 4 consecutive years after the date of
the enactment of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims
Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, and
``(ii) was subsequently included on the list of countries
described in paragraph (1)(C),
may not thereafter be included on the special watch list
described in subparagraph (A) for more than 1 consecutive
year.''.
SEC. 7. COST LIMITATION.
No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated for
``Diplomatic and Consular Programs'' to carry out the
provisions of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Sean Patrick
Maloney) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
[[Page H6731]]
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, today is an historic day for the House of
Representatives, so I would like to begin by offering my profound
appreciation for the extraordinary leadership of Majority Leader Eric
Cantor for encouraging and moving through this House this very
comprehensive package of antitrafficking legislation. I have been in
Congress now 34 years, and I have never seen so many bills that are
mutually reinforcing, that send a clear, unambiguous message to the
world, as well as to our fellow Americans, that we care and we care
deeply about the victims, and we want to put the perpetrators behind
bars for a very, very long time. Again, I want to thank Eric Cantor for
his leadership.
I am very proud to say that the United States continues to lead the
world in our trafficking responses at home and abroad. The bills we
debate today not only bring relief to trafficking victims, but light
the way for the rest of the world to do likewise.
One of the greatest and most successful efforts to transmit our best
practices to the rest of the world and to ensure accountability for
minimum standards that we created in the Trafficking Victims Protection
Act is the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons housed
in the U.S. Department of State, created by the legislation I authored
known as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.
Over the last 15 years, this office has been led by several
incredibly talented and dedicated ambassadors who, through their
persistence and grit, have turned out the annual Trafficking in Persons
Report, laying bare the record of each country for the world to see,
and summarizing the country's progress in an annual tier ranking.
Tier 1 countries, for the record, are countries that fully meet the
minimum standards prescribed by the act. Tier 2 countries do not meet
the minimum standards but are making significant efforts to do so. Tier
3 countries do not meet the standards and are not making significant
efforts to do so, and those countries can be held liable through a
series of sanctions that are imposed by our government.
Along with Tier 1, 2 and 3, we also have what we call a watch list.
Since the TIP report's inception, Mr. Speaker, more than 100 countries
have enacted antitrafficking laws, and many countries have taken other
steps required to significantly raise their tier rankings, many citing
the TIP Report as a key factor in their increased antitrafficking
response.
The importance of accurate tier rankings cannot be overstated. Over
the years, we have seen countries begin in earnest the hard work of
reaching the minimum standards after the TIP Report accurately
exposed--with a Tier 3 ranking--each country's failure to take
significant action against human trafficking. Whether that country be a
close ally or foe, the TIP Report is designed to speak truth to power.
And even some of our greatest friends and allies, like South Korea and
Israel, have found themselves on Tier 3, only to engage in Herculean
efforts to get off Tier 3 and to protect victims and to prosecute the
traffickers.
The tier rankings were meant to be and in large part have become a
very powerful tool in the fight against trafficking. We have found a
system that works. But tragically, it is sometimes muffled, misguided,
and marginalized by unrelated bilateral concerns and by the internal
structure of the State Department itself.
In the words of Ambassador Mark Lagon, who from 2007 to 2009 was our
Ambassador-at-Large to combat human trafficking:
The State Department does a tremendous job in producing a
report which tells it like it is, offering objective
rankings. Yet at times it pulls punches, typically due to the
urging of regional specialists rather than the TIP Office's
dedicated experts on trafficking.
This problem is what my bill, the Human Trafficking Prioritization
Act, H.R. 2283, seeks to remedy. The Human Trafficking Prioritization
Act will keep the fight against human trafficking from being lost in
the politics of other U.S. interests by raising the status of the J/TIP
``office'' to that of a ``bureau'' within the U.S. Department of State.
In the words of Ambassador John Miller, who served from 2002 to 2006
as Ambassador-at-Large:
Upgrading the status of the office to a bureau will not
create additional bureaucracy, it will simply give J/TIP and
the Ambassador-at-Large who heads it equal standing with
regional and functional bureaus at the Department of State.
That standing is absolutely essential for the issue to remain
a priority, especially when multiple U.S. interests are
engaged.
H.R. 2283 encourages the Secretary of State to upgrade the
``ambassador-at-large'' position to that of ``Assistant Secretary,'' to
lead the bureau without adding to the number of Assistant Secretaries
the State Department is permitted by law.
In addition, H.R. 2283 will make it more difficult for countries and
some State Department bureaus to game the tier-ranking system by
limiting the time period countries can use promises of action to avoid
tier downgrading. Currently, a country can sit on the Tier 2 watch list
for up to 4 years with Presidential waivers, effectively stringing the
U.S. along with promises to take action without ever actually taking
action. After 4 years, by law, the country must be automatically
downgraded to Tier 3 and, therefore, subject to sanctions.
The law worked very well upon its first implementation in the 2013
reporting cycle. But we discovered a problem this year when China was
wrongly and foolishly upgraded from Tier 3 to Tier 2 Watch List. As the
law is currently written, China and its enablers at the U.S. Department
of State can again game the system for 4 more years. H.R. 2283 will
hold countries like China accountable by limiting to 1 year the amount
of time a country can stay on the Tier 2 Watch List after the country
was previously ordered downgraded to Tier 3.
H.R. 2283 builds on the success of the TIP Office for the sake of the
21 million people still living in modern day slavery, and does so
without increasing the cost of government. H.R. 2283 will give the TIP
Office the integration and voice it deserves within the State
Department and ensure accurate accountability for countries failing to
meet the minimum standards for the eliminate of human trafficking.
I respectfully ask my colleagues to support the bill. I would also
like to offer special thanks to Gary Haugen, Holly Burkhalter, Tim
Gehring, and the grassroots efforts of the International Justice
Mission, which has worked so tirelessly to educate Members of Congress
on the importance of this bill. I would note parenthetically that at
least two of those people, Holly and Gary, especially Gary when we were
first writing the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, was a frequent
contributor to hearings as we crafted the bill, and then when we did
the oversight as to how well or poorly the U.S. Department of State was
implementing the law. You could always count on Gary Haugen to be there
to give a very incisive look at the work that was being done or not
being done. So a very special thanks to them for their work on this
legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time, and I yield the
balance of my time to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Meadows)
and ask unanimous consent that he may control that time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself
such time as I may consume, and rise in strong support of H.R. 2283,
the Human Trafficking Prioritization Act.
First, let me thank my friend and colleague, Representative Chris
Smith, for introducing this important piece of legislation which
elevates the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking to the status of
a bureau within the State Department.
Put simply, as we have heard this evening, human trafficking is
modern day slavery. It represents a brutal violation of individual
freedom and human dignity. Unfortunately, this practice is all too
common around the world and in our own neighborhoods. But, fortunately,
the United States is committed to responding to this crime here at home
and around the world. Since this Congress passed the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act in 2000, leaders on both sides of the aisle have
[[Page H6732]]
rallied around this issue. Indeed, three administrations have made this
effort a priority. Our coordination across government through the
President's Interagency Task Force on Human Trafficking has never been
stronger.
Mr. Speaker, today we can take another step forward by making the
Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons a full bureau
within the State Department. This office is already doing critical
work. Its annual Trafficking in Persons Report has become the global
gold standard in assessing how well governments around the world are
meeting this important challenge.
Elevating the trafficking office to a State Department bureau would
send a strong message to the world that combating modern day slavery
remains a top priority to the United States. Mr. Speaker, I urge my
colleagues to support this important legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
General Leave
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous materials on H.R. 2283, as amended.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from North Carolina?
There was no objection.
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I want to rise in support of this particular legislation and follow-
up on what the gentleman from New Jersey shared regarding the
importance of not only the TIP Report but to remain vigilant with a
number of the countries abroad where trafficking has become very
commonplace.
Just in the last week, we had an ambassador from one of those
countries come to us and share the fact that they are a Tier 3 country.
They were very concerned and wanted to outline the things that they
were doing to try to combat human trafficking.
It was very obvious to me that with the emphasis we have placed on
that, not only here in Congress but with the State Department, that
making human trafficking a priority for them to correct and combat was
certainly something that has drawn great attention. To strengthen the
efforts there, to continue to strengthen the State Department, to raise
and elevate this position to bureau status, certainly will send a
message not only to our country, not only to countries abroad, but
hopefully will give hope to the young girls and young men that are
being trafficked in so many of these foreign countries that the United
States is serious about this, and that it is not just a few words that
perhaps are shared by myself and the gentleman from New York here on
the House floor today but that it goes to the very core of who we are,
that we must stand up and be a voice for those who have no voice.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 2000
Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I would like to
thank the gentleman from North Carolina. I listened with great interest
to his words earlier. I would like to thank him and acknowledge him for
his leadership on this issue. It is so great to see him reaching across
the aisle to do so, and I want to acknowledge his leadership on this
issue.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my colleague from New Mexico (Mr.
Ben Ray Lujan).
Mr. BEN RAY LUJAN of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support
of this legislation and many other bills we are considering that deal
with human and sex trafficking--an important issue, a critical issue,
that especially relates to protecting children who are too often
victims of abuse and violence. I commend the Speaker for bringing these
bills up for a vote.
Mr. Speaker, as I was watching the debate this evening, I couldn't
help but come back to the floor. I hope all of my colleagues that are
speaking tonight on the importance of passing these human trafficking
bills will join us next week to talk about the importance of protecting
children.
It was with alarm, Mr. Speaker, that I read a letter that Speaker
Boehner penned to President Barack Obama that appears that my
Republican colleagues, when they left a meeting earlier this afternoon,
are asking to take away the very protections from children during a law
that was passed in 2008 that we are asking to protect these children
tonight.
So I come today to ask my colleagues to read the transcripts, to hear
the debate this evening, and to think about it, to go home this weekend
and, whatever faith that we may be, that we pray about it and we talk
to our pastors and our religious leaders about it because these kids
that we are going to be talking about next week are the very children
that need protections as well.
The motivation to pass these bills today is the same motivation that
moved this body to pass legislation that became law in 2008, to protect
children. This law has since become the subject of much condemnation
for many of my Republican colleagues as we discuss the humanitarian
crisis on the border.
We are here on this floor debating legislation to protect children,
yet many of my colleagues want to take away due process from children
who are trying to escape unimaginable violence in Central America. In
Honduras, the murder capital of the world, the violence was captured in
a story recently--and I apologize for the graphic nature of this story.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cotton). The time of the gentleman has
expired.
Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York. I yield an additional 2 minutes
to the gentleman from New Mexico.
Mr. BEN RAY LUJAN of New Mexico. This is a story from The New York
Times:
During a recent late-night visit to the San Pedro Sula
morgue, more than 60 bodies, all victims of violence, were
seen piled in a heap, each wrapped in a brown plastic bag.
While picking bullets out of a 15-year-old boy shot 15 times,
technicians discussed how they regularly received corpses of
children under 10 and sometimes as young as 2. Last week, in
nearby Santa Barbara, an 11-year-old had his throat slit by
other children because he did not pay a 50-cent extortion
fee.
The doctor at the morgue said: before, we saw children being killed
because they were at the scene when gangs were coming to prey on
families and they just happened to be there; now, we are seeing kids
kill kids.
There are hundreds of other stories like this.
Mr. Speaker, I beg and I plead of my colleagues, each and every one
of us that may or may not have been here when the law passed, but those
of us that are here now, these are kids. I know that you and I, Mr.
Speaker, that we love children, and we want to make sure that they are
not victims of these horrific crimes.
Please, please, take this weekend and ask the Speaker to remove the
provisions that will take away the due process from these children. As
we pass these bills together, let us not forget what brought this
Congress together in 2008, to protect these children.
Let us show the same compassion that is a driving force of these
bills tonight.
Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I would like to
thank the gentleman from New Mexico for his eloquent and passionate
remarks, a concern so many of us share.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, we have no more speakers, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Human
Trafficking Prioritization Act, H.R. 2283, and commend my friend and
colleague Rep. Chris Smith for introducing it. Congressman Smith is a
leader in the global fight against sex slavery and I thank him for all
he has done and the leadership he continues to provide.
The State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in
Persons (J/TIP) does a fantastic job of maintaining U.S. leadership and
accountability in the worldwide effort to combat human trafficking.
Today, human trafficking represents a modern form of slavery. It is a
crisis that victimizes 21 million people worldwide.
In my home state of Illinois, the National Human Trafficking Resource
Center estimates 25,000 women and girls are exploited each year by sex
traffickers.
More than 130 countries have created or strengthened their anti-
trafficking laws largely due to the work carried out by the J/TIP. It's
important, therefore, to provide the J/TIP with the standing it needs
to maintain the momentum that has resulted in increased prosecution of
traffickers, protection of victims, and prevention of human
trafficking.
[[Page H6733]]
The Human Trafficking Prioritization Act does just that. By raising
the status of the J/TIP ``office'' to that of a ``bureau'' and
encouraging the Secretary of State to upgrade the ``ambassador-at-
large'' position to that of an ``assistant secretary,'' H.R 2283 builds
upon the acknowledged accomplishments of the J/TIP.
It will give the J/TIP and the Ambassador-at-Large who leads it level
standing with regional and functional bureaus within the State
Department and prevent countries and other bureaus at the agency from
gaming the tier ranking system. It achieves this without creating
additional bureaucracy or additional cost to the government.
As a member of the Congressional Human Trafficking Task Force working
with the congressional leadership, J/TIP, and international anti-
trafficking groups to end sex slavery, I know it is critical to keep
the fight against human trafficking from being consumed in a
bureaucratic shuffle. I am convinced that the Human Trafficking
Prioritization Act will only serve to enhance the vital work undertaken
by the J/TIP.
Human trafficking targets the most vulnerable in a society. The Human
Trafficking Prioritization Act will give the J/TIP the integration and
voice it deserves within the Department of State to ensure nations are
diligent in their efforts to protect the victims and punish the
perpetrators of human trafficking.
Again, I thank Mr. Smith for introducing this bill and I urge my
colleagues to support its passage.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Judiciary and
Homeland Security Committees, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2283,
``Human Trafficking Prioritization Act of 2014.''
I support this bipartisan legislation which modifies the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act of 2000 to elevate the status of the Office to
Monitor and Combat Trafficking to that of the Bureau to Combat
Trafficking in Persons, which shall be headed by an Assistant Secretary
of State.
The office produces the annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP
Report), which is Congress' primary resource for human trafficking
reporting, analysis and recommendations for the United States and 186
countries around the world. The TIP Report also contains tier rankings
of each country on which it reports, which are used to help protect
victims, prevent trafficking and prosecute traffickers.
Mr. Speaker, I agree with many thoughtful observers that the Office
to Monitor and Combat Trafficking would be even more effective in
carrying out the duties mandated by Congress in the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 if its status was elevated from that of
``Office'' to a ``Bureau'' within the department hierarchy and the
title of its chief administrator elevated from ``director'' to
Assistant Secretary of State.''
Human trafficking is a problem for the United States because the U.S.
State Department estimates that approximately 17,500 foreign nationals
are trafficked into the United States, the largest number of people
trafficked into the United States come from East Asia and the Pacific
and the next highest numbers coming from Latin America and Europe.
It is estimated 2.8 million children living on the streets of this
nation are at risk for trafficking into the sex industry. Children who
are abused or victims of molestation are most vulnerable.
If they are lured into human trafficking they are isolated from the
rest of the world and start living lives controlled by pimps, escort
and massage services, private dancing clubs, pornographic clubs and
much worse.
Mr. Speaker, this bill requires the Secretary of State to report to
Congress within 90 days of enactment on how long each assistant
secretary designation has been in existence, and whether the
designation was legislatively mandated or authorized.
According to a Northwestern Journal of International Human Rights
Report Mexican authorities are working to address the problem of trans-
border human trafficking, but the country's ``legal framework remains
largely untouched and hence limited in its crime-fighting scope and
effectiveness.''
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Houston, Texas is one of
the nation's largest hubs for human trafficking, with over 200 active
brothels in Houston and two new ones opening each month.
Houston has also surpassed Las Vegas for the dubious distinction of
having the most strip clubs and illicit spas serving as fronts for sex
trafficking.
Human trafficking in Texas is not limited to Houston. During the 2011
Dallas Super Bowl, 133 underage arrests for prostitution were made and
during this year's massive effort ``Operation Cross Country'' led by
the FBI, several pimps were arrested.
In 2006, the Department of Justice National Conference on Human
Trafficking identified the I-10 corridor as one of the main routes for
traffickers. Interstate I-10 links the major Texas urban areas Houston,
San Antonio and El Paso and dozens of mid- and small sized towns in
between.
Mr. Speaker, one of the most important things that can and must
continue to be done is to raise public awareness of the continuing
prevalence of modern day slavery and human trafficking.
Raising the visibility and status of the governmental entity charged
with the responsibility of documenting the problems, successes, and
remaining challenges confronting the United States and the
international community in eradicating the scourge of human trafficking
is a positive step forward in achieving this goal.
I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting passage of H.R.
2283.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Meadows) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2283, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________