[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 12 (Monday, January 26, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H539-H542]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HUMAN TRAFFICKING PRIORITIZATION ACT

  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 514) 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.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 514

       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

[[Page H540]]

     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 
California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. 
Cicilline) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include any extraneous materials into the Record that they may wish to 
include.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as our House of Representatives continues its fight 
against human trafficking, I rise in support of this legislation, which 
is called the Human Trafficking Prioritization Act. This legislation 
will elevate consideration of trafficking issues within the Department 
of State to ensure that they receive the same attention as other 
diplomatic concerns. This is a struggle we have had for some time, 
trying to elevate these issues so that they are on par and given the 
seriousness that we have tried to drive here in Congress.
  Congress created the Department of State's Office to Monitor and 
Combat Trafficking in Persons. We created that institution a decade and 
a half ago. We did it in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 
2000. The purpose of this Office was to better communicate and 
coordinate U.S. Government efforts to combat both domestic and 
international trafficking.
  In line with this mandate, the Office prepares the annual Trafficking 
in Persons Report, which details anti-trafficking efforts of other 
countries and classifies countries as falling into one of three tiers 
based on their efforts to combat human trafficking.

[[Page H541]]

  These TIP Reports and their tier rankings have proven, as you know, 
extremely useful in helping our diplomats fight human trafficking. It 
allows us to transform this issue into a global policy priority. We 
know that foreign governments have made real improvements in their work 
to combat trafficking as a result of these TIP Reports; and the reason 
this is so, of course, is because, as you talk to foreign governments, 
they are very concerned about the threat of a low tier ranking. That 
gets international attention today. That is sort of the leverage that 
we have on these governments to pass laws that are serious about going 
after trafficking.
  But we also understand that this annual exercise is periodically 
constrained by the Department's regional diplomats who fear we may 
agitate foreign governments when hard truths surface. A former 
Ambassador at Large on trafficking issues testified before Congress 
that the Department sometimes ``pulls punches'' and defers to regional 
specialists on the TIP Report's tier rankings rather than the TIP 
Office's trafficking experts.
  This is what we want to counter because what we want is the maximum 
pressure for foreign governments to follow through on their 
international commitments to try to abolish human trafficking. By 
elevating the Trafficking Office to a bureau, this measure will give 
these experts the bureaucratic standing they need to ensure their 
concerns are fully heard, effectively leveling the playing field for 
this annual process.
  I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the 
chairman of our Human Rights Subcommittee, for his years of leadership 
in this fight against human trafficking and for reintroducing this 
bill, which passed this House last July.
  I also thank the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline) 
specifically for his efforts, as we have traveled in Asia, to pressure 
these governments to end human trafficking.
  I urge the Members to support this important measure.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in strong support of H.R. 514, the Human Trafficking 
Prioritization Act.
  First, let me thank the gentleman from California, Chairman Royce, 
and the gentleman from New York, Ranking Member Engel, for their 
leadership on this issue. I particularly want to thank my outstanding 
colleague from New Jersey, Congressman Chris Smith, for introducing 
this important piece of legislation and for the work he has done for so 
many years on this issue. This bill will elevate the Office to Monitor 
and Combat Trafficking to the status of a bureau within the State 
Department.
  Put simply, human trafficking is slavery. Victims of human 
trafficking are deprived of their individual freedoms and suffer 
unimaginably harsh, coercive, and heartbreaking conditions.
  Reports indicate that there is no place in the world where children, 
women, and men are safe from human trafficking. That means that every 
government in the world has a responsibility to combat this problem.
  The United States has made significant progress toward responding to 
these crimes within our borders and abroad since Congress passed the 
Trafficking Victims Protection Act in 2000. Mr. Speaker, today we can 
take the next step forward by elevating the State Department's Office 
to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons to a bureau.
  This Office is already doing incredible work. The annual Trafficking 
in Persons Report has become the global gold standard in assessing how 
well governments around the world are meeting this challenge and how 
serious they take their responsibility to eradicate this horrific 
practice. Their work is forging partnerships and driving innovation on 
how best to approach this problem, and the Office plays a key role in 
coordinating our whole-of-government approach to this problem. 
Elevating the Trafficking Office to a bureau sends a strong message to 
the world that the United States remains committed to combating modern-
day slavery.
  Passing this legislation alone will not end this despicable practice, 
and it is not a problem that we will solve quickly or easily. However, 
every step we take enhances our ability to prevent these crimes, 
protect victims, and punish those responsible.
  Mr. Speaker, we passed the same bill last Congress. I urge my 
colleagues to support and pass this important legislation.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Smith), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on 
Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International 
Organizations, the author of this bill, but also, frankly, the 
architect of a long-running strategy in this institution, in this 
Congress, to abolish this form of human slavery. When I think of 
William Wilberforce, the one Member I know who exemplifies that spirit 
today is the gentleman from New Jersey, Chris Smith, who has worked on 
this mightily since the late nineties, and we are pleased that his bill 
is up before us today.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
California, Chairman Royce, for his very kind words and for working to 
expedite the consideration of these important bills. This is an 
historic week in the House as we seek to pass 12 bills to fight human 
trafficking.
  As the prime author of the landmark Trafficking Victims Protection 
Act of 2000, as well as reauthorizations in '03 and '05, I believe the 
bills under consideration by the House today will further prevent the 
horrific crimes of human trafficking, protect and assist the victims, 
and aid the prosecution of those who exploit and abuse.
  I would also like to offer my profound appreciation to Majority 
Leader Kevin McCarthy for ensuring that all of the hard work done in a 
bipartisan way in the House in the 113th session is not lost nor will 
it be delayed but, rather, immediately sent back to the Senate for 
action.
  Leader McCarthy has explored numerous ways, in meeting after meeting 
with Members, again, on both sides of the aisle, to find ways to 
prevent, to prosecute traffickers, and to protect victims. His deep 
personal commitment to ending modern-day slavery has and will continue 
to make a major difference.
  Mr. Speaker, I offer this bill on behalf of myself and the 
gentlewoman from California, Ranking Member Karen Bass, who is the 
chief cosponsor.
  I am proud to say the United States continues to lead the world in 
our trafficking responses at home and abroad, charting the course of 
best practices for other countries to follow. One of the most 
successful ways the U.S. transmits our best practices and ensures 
accountability for the minimum standards to eliminate human trafficking 
is the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons in the U.S. 
Department of State.
  Over the last 15 years, this Office has been led by talented and 
dedicated Ambassadors--including the most recent one, Luis CdeBaca, 
with whom we work very closely--who have produced the annual 
Trafficking in Persons Reports, laying bare the record of almost every 
country for the world to see and summarizing the country's progress in 
what we call the annual tier rankings.

                              {time}  1545

  For the record, the TVPA established Tier 1 countries. They are the 
ones that fully meet the minimum standards prescribed in the law. Tier 
2 countries do not meet the minimum standards but are making a 
significant effort to do so. Tier 2 Watch List countries are in a grace 
period and in real danger of becoming Tier 3 without real action, not 
just promises of action.
  Tier 3 countries do not meet the standards and are not making 
significant effort to do so. Along with the embarrassment of being 
listed on Tier 3, Tier 3 countries are susceptible to sanctions by the 
U.S. Government.
  Since the TIP Report's inception, Mr. Speaker, more than 100 
countries have enacted anti-trafficking laws, and many countries have 
taken other steps required to significantly raise their tier rankings--
citing the TIP Report as a key factor in their new anti-trafficking 
efforts. It is a very robust effort in our Embassies, and every country 
of the world is a part of it.

[[Page H542]]

  We have found a system that works; but, tragically, it is sometimes 
misguided, muffled, and marginalized by unrelated bilateral concerns 
and by the internal structure of the U.S. Department of State.
  As my dear friend, the chairman of the committee, said a moment ago, 
it was Ambassador Mark Lagon who talked about how they produce a great 
report, but then, typically, due to the urging of regional specialists 
rather than the TIP Office's dedicated experts, the ranking and the 
process goes awry.
  The Human Trafficking Prioritization Act, or H.R. 514, will remedy 
this problem by keeping the fight against human trafficking from being 
lost in the politics of other U.S. interests.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. ROYCE. I yield the gentleman an additional 2 minutes.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank my friend for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 514 will raise the status of the J/TIP Office to 
that of a bureau, ensuring that the leadership of J/TIP is present and 
has an equal voice at meetings with the other bureaus and the Secretary 
of State.
  Former colleague, John Miller, an Ambassador at Large from 2002 to 
2006 said:

       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 State Department. That 
     standing is absolutely essential for the issue to remain a 
     priority, especially when multiple U.S. interests are 
     engaged.

  We are not authorizing the J/TIP Office to be larger, but for the 
excellent work of the Office to be consistently heard at a higher 
level.
  In addition, the bill stops countries and other State Department 
bureaus from gaming the tier ranking system by limiting the time 
problem countries can use promises of action to avoid a tier downgrade.
  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, but never actually taking action. After 4 
years, by law, the country must be automatically downgraded to Tier 3.
  The law worked very well in its first implementation in the 2013 
reporting cycle, but we discovered a problem in 2013, when China was 
prematurely upgraded from Tier 3 to the Tier 2 Watch List. As the law 
is currently written, Mr. Speaker, China can, again, game the system 
with promises and no action for 4 years.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has again expired.
  Mr. ROYCE. I yield the gentleman as much time as he might consume.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, the Human Trafficking 
Prioritization Act 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 auto-downgraded to Tier 3.
  The Human Trafficking Prioritization Act builds on the successes of 
J/TIP and the tier ranking system for the sake of approximately 21 
million people still living in modern-day slavery and, again, does so 
without increasing the cost of government.
  The Human Trafficking Prioritization Act will give J/TIP the 
integration, it will give it the voice it deserves within the State 
Department, and it will ensure accurate accountability for countries 
failing to meet minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and, again, I 
thank my friend.
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, seeing that I have no further requests 
for time, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I have already mentioned the impact that these TIP 
Reports have. I want to point out that it is not every day that we can 
claim this kind of impact for a U.S. Government report.
  Mr. Speaker, those of us who have traveled and tried to enforce these 
laws know how effective this is. This legislation here would make the 
TIP Report an even more influential diplomatic tool.
  I, again, want to thank Subcommittee Chairman Smith for his authoring 
the legislation and moving it through committee.
  I urge Members to support it, and I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 514.
  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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