[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 116 (Wednesday, July 23, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H6733-H6735]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HUMAN TRAFFICKING PREVENTION ACT
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 4449) to amend the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of
2000 to expand the training for Federal Government personnel related to
trafficking in persons, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4449
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 Prevention
Act''.
SEC. 2. EXPANDED TRAINING RELATING TO TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS.
Section 105(c)(4) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act
of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7105(c)(4)) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``, including members of the Service (as
such term is defined in section 103 of the Foreign Service
Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3903))'' after ``Department of
State''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following: ``Training under
this paragraph shall include, at a minimum, the following:
``(A) A distance learning course on trafficking-in-persons
issues and the Department of State's obligations under this
Act, targeted for embassy reporting officers, regional
bureaus' trafficking-in-persons coordinators, and their
superiors.
``(B) Specific trafficking-in-persons briefings for all
ambassadors and deputy chiefs of mission before such
individuals depart for their posts.
``(C) At least annual reminders to all such personnel,
including appropriate personnel from other Federal
departments and agencies, at each diplomatic or consular post
of the Department of State located outside the United States
of key problems, threats, methods, and warning signs of
trafficking in persons specific to the country or
jurisdiction in which each such post is located, and
appropriate procedures to report information that any such
personnel may acquire about possible cases of trafficking in
persons.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
North Carolina (Mr. Meadows) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Sean
Patrick Maloney) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina.
General Leave
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous materials on this bill.
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.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the bill, H.R. 4449, to amend
the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to expand the training
for Federal Government personnel related to trafficking in persons, and
for other purposes.
I thank the gentleman from New York for his leadership in addressing
this issue.
As we look at this, this particular bill would require appropriate
personnel of the Department of State, that they would be trained in
identifying victims of severe forms of trafficking and provide for the
protection of those victims.
[[Page H6734]]
H.R. 4449 would specify three minimum training requirements in that
underlying statute: one, a distance learning course for Embassy and
bureau personnel dealing with trafficking issues; two, trafficking
briefings for all ambassadors and DCMs before they head to their
postings; and, three, annual reminders to appropriate personnel
regarding key trafficking problems and issues related to their
countries.
The State Department believes that these specified forms of training
largely track their current activities; thus, while adding these
examples to the statute will ensure that these types of training will
continue, it will not result in a substantial and additional cost.
Again, I thank the leadership, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Sean
Patrick Maloney) as the primary sponsor of this, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself
such time as I may consume.
I rise in strong support of my bill, H.R. 4449, the Human Trafficking
Prevention Act.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to also thank my colleague, Mr. Meadows,
for his leadership on this bill. I would like to thank the Democratic
whip--my friend, the gentleman from Maryland, Steny Hoyer--and his
staff for the work they dedicated to this piece of legislation and to
my own staff.
Worldwide, less than 1 percent of an estimated 27 million victims of
human trafficking have been reported, and in the past year, only about
44,000 survivors have been identified.
Millions--literally millions of children, women, and men are
trafficked each year and forced into modern-day slavery as part of the
world's most evil and fastest growing industry. It may seem like it
only happens on the other side of the world, but it is happening here
in quiet neighborhoods across our country.
Some of those survivors are from neighborhoods I represent in the
Hudson Valley of New York. In New Windsor and Newburgh, for nearly 4
years, one man would troll the streets, coercing at least 10 women to
work for him as sex workers in local motels.
Last year, law enforcement authorities uncovered an international sex
trafficking ring operating brothels in Yonkers, Poughkeepsie, and
Newburgh, where women were brutalized and forced to have sex 10, 20, 30
times a day.
It is a hard truth, but it is a truth nonetheless. This disgusting,
this horrifying practice of modern-day slavery happens here, right here
in our own neighborhoods, in our own backyards, in our own country.
Even with the assistance of law enforcement and dedicated
organizations like My Sister's Place in Westchester and Safe Homes of
Orange County, groups which help survivors rebuild their lives, New
York continues to be one of the top hubs of human trafficking where sex
trafficking, child labor, child sex trafficking, and indentured
servitude happen all too frequently.
In another community in Hudson Valley about an hour away from New
York City, a man tricked teenage girls to travel to the United States
on tourist visas from countries like Brazil, Hungary, and France. He
instructed these women to lie to both Immigration and State Department
officials in order to gain access to our country.
It is precisely this kind of situation that my legislation seeks to
stop. We must ensure that our men and women on the front lines of our
borders have the resources and training they need in order to identify
and stop human trafficking at its source before these women and
children and men become victims.
As part of our goal to end human trafficking, we can make sure that
our foreign service officers and other government personnel have the
tools and training they need to spot, to identify these victims and
stop this trafficking across international borders.
In the past, the State Department estimated that between 14,500 and
17,000 foreign nationals were trafficked into the United States every
single year. Although the Federal Government has a zero tolerance
policy on human trafficking, our foreign service officers, who often
have face-to-face contact with these victims when they are obtaining
U.S. visas, currently undergo minimal training to define, identify, and
recognize the indicators of human trafficking or smuggling.
My legislation would expand new minimum training procedures for
foreign service officers and other government personnel in order to
identify and stop human trafficking at its source and take action
before people are trafficked across international borders before it
becomes too late, when they are already in the United States and
already victimized.
Since we know criminals will do just about anything to adapt and to
avoid being caught, this legislation also requires annual updates on
key problems, threats, methods, and warning signs of trafficking.
I want to thank my colleagues across the aisle because, by working
across the aisle, we have a new opportunity to come together to combat
this absolutely monstrous practice of trafficking in children, women,
and men.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support my legislation, H.R.
4449, the Human Trafficking Prevention Act, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I want to close by saying that anything we can do, certainly, to
continue to highlight this particular issue, whether it is with the
State Department or laws within our Nation, gives us a rare opportunity
to affect lives not only here in the United States, but across the
world.
I would like to thank the committee work for those on the Foreign
Affairs Committee, their diligence and hard work here at a late hour--
certainly our own personal staffs, congressional staffs, for their work
too. So many times, they don't get mentioned.
With that, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4449, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Judiciary and
Homeland Security Committees, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4449,
the ``Human Trafficking Prevention Act.''
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel
for their stewardship in bringing this legislation to the floor and for
their commitment to expanding the training and capability of Federal
government personnel in detecting and combating human trafficking and
assisting its victims.
Throughout my tenure in Congress and a founder and Co-Chair of the
Congressional Children's Caucus, I have advocated on behalf of victims
of human trafficking, especially children, who are the most vulnerable
and innocent victims.
I am also committed to ensure that law enforcement agencies have the
tools, resources, and training necessary to identify, apprehend, and
prosecute criminals who ruthlessly traffic in people.
H.R. 4449 strengthens the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000
by amending it to require training related to trafficking in persons
for all State Department personnel. Specifically, the bill requires the
following:
1. A distance learning course on trafficking in persons issues and
the Department of State's obligations under the Act to be completed by
embassy reporting officers, regional bureaus' trafficking in persons
coordinators, and their supervisors;
2. Specific trafficking-in-persons briefings for all ambassadors and
deputy chiefs of mission before they depart for their posts; and
3. Annual reminders to all such personnel and other federal personnel
at each diplomatic or consular post of the Department of State located
outside the United States of key human trafficking problems, threats,
methods, and warning signs.
This legislation does for the State Department what the Jackson Lee
to H.R. 4660, ``Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Act for
2015,'' does for the Justice Department.
That amendment, adopted earlier this year by the House, provides
another tool in law enforcement's arsenal to tip the balance in favor
of victims by ensuring funding for the Attorney General to provide
training for State and local law enforcement agencies on immigration
law that may be useful for the investigation and prosecution of crimes
related to trafficking in persons.
Mr. Speaker, trafficking in humans, and especially child trafficking,
has no place in a civilized society and those who engage in this
illicit trade should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
To effectively combat human trafficking, we need to provide resources
and training to government personnel to assist victims and apprehend
criminals.
[[Page H6735]]
By providing the necessary training and support, we will catch more
human trafficking criminals and save lives, and prevent many other
persons, including children, from becoming human trafficking victims.
I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 4449, the Human
Trafficking Prevention Act of 2014.
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. 4449.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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