[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 10, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1349-S1366]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING ACT OF 2015
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will
proceed to the consideration of S. 178, which the clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 178) to provide justice for the victims of
trafficking.
Thereupon, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, which 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:
S. 178
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Justice
for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act
is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I--JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING
Sec. 101. Domestic Trafficking Victims' Fund.
Sec. 102. Clarifying the benefits and protections offered to domestic
victims of human trafficking.
Sec. 103. Victim-centered child human trafficking deterrence block
grant program.
Sec. 104. Direct services for victims of child pornography.
Sec. 105. Increasing compensation and restitution for trafficking
victims.
Sec. 106. Streamlining human trafficking investigations.
Sec. 107. Enhancing human trafficking reporting.
Sec. 108. Reducing demand for sex trafficking.
Sec. 109. Sense of Congress.
Sec. 110. Using existing task forces and components to target offenders
who exploit children.
Sec. 111. Targeting child predators.
Sec. 112. Monitoring all human traffickers as violent criminals.
Sec. 113. Crime victims' rights.
Sec. 114. Combat Human Trafficking Act.
Sec. 115. Survivors of Human Trafficking Empowerment Act.
Sec. 116. Bringing Missing Children Home Act.
Sec. 117. Grant accountability.
TITLE II--COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Subtitle A--Enhancing Services for Runaway and Homeless Victims of
Youth Trafficking
Sec. 201. Amendments to the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act.
Subtitle B--Improving the Response to Victims of Child Sex Trafficking
Sec. 211. Response to victims of child sex trafficking.
Subtitle C--Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking
Sec. 221. Victim of trafficking defined.
Sec. 222. Interagency task force report on child trafficking primary
prevention.
Sec. 223. GAO Report on intervention.
Sec. 224. Provision of housing permitted to protect and assist in the
recovery of victims of trafficking.
TITLE III--HERO ACT
Sec. 301. Short title.
Sec. 302. HERO Act.
TITLE I--JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING
SEC. 101. DOMESTIC TRAFFICKING VICTIMS' FUND.
(a) In General.--Chapter 201 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 3014. Additional special assessment
``(a) In General.--Beginning on the date of enactment of
the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 and ending
on September, 30 2019, in addition to the assessment imposed
under section 3013, the court shall assess an amount of
$5,000 on any non-indigent person or entity convicted of an
offense under--
``(1) chapter 77 (relating to peonage, slavery, and
trafficking in persons);
``(2) chapter 109A (relating to sexual abuse);
``(3) chapter 110 (relating to sexual exploitation and
other abuse of children);
``(4) chapter 117 (relating to transportation for illegal
sexual activity and related crimes); or
``(5) section 274 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1324) (relating to human smuggling), unless the person
induced, assisted, abetted, or aided only an individual who
at the time of such action was the alien's spouse, parent,
son, or daughter (and no other individual) to enter the
United States in violation of law.
``(b) Satisfaction of Other Court-Ordered Obligations.--An
assessment under subsection (a) shall not be payable until
the person subject to the assessment has satisfied all
outstanding court-ordered fines and orders of restitution
arising from the criminal convictions on which the special
assessment is based.
``(c) Establishment of Domestic Trafficking Victims'
Fund.--There is established in
[[Page S1350]]
the Treasury of the United States a fund, to be known as the
`Domestic Trafficking Victims' Fund' (referred to in this
section as the `Fund'), to be administered by the Attorney
General, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland
Security and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
``(d) Deposits.--Notwithstanding section 3302 of title 31,
or any other law regarding the crediting of money received
for the Government, there shall be deposited in the Fund an
amount equal to the amount of the assessments collected under
this section, which shall remain available until expended.
``(e) Use of Funds.--
``(1) In general.--From amounts in the Fund, in addition to
any other amounts available, and without further
appropriation, the Attorney General, in coordination with the
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall, for each of
fiscal years 2016 through 2020, use amounts available in the
Fund to award grants or enhance victims' programming under--
``(A) sections 202, 203, and 204 of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 14044a,
14044b, and 14044c);
``(B) subsections (b)(2) and (f) of section 107 of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7105);
and
``(C) section 214(b) of the Victims of Child Abuse Act of
1990 (42 U.S.C. 13002(b)).
``(2) Grants.--Of the amounts in the Fund used under
paragraph (1), not less than $2,000,000, if such amounts are
available in the Fund during the relevant fiscal year, shall
be used for grants to provide services for child pornography
victims under section 214(b) of the Victims of Child Abuse
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 13002(b)).
``(3) Limitations.--Amounts in the Fund, or otherwise
transferred from the Fund, shall be subject to the
limitations on the use or expending of amounts described in
sections 506 and 507 of division H of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2014 (Public Law 113-76; 128 Stat. 409)
to the same extent as if amounts in the Fund were funds
appropriated under division H of such Act.
``(f) Transfers.--
``(1) In general.--Effective on the day after the date of
enactment of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of
2015, on September 30 of each fiscal year, all unobligated
balances in the Fund shall be transferred to the Crime
Victims Fund established under section 1402 of the Victims of
Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601).
``(2) Availability.--Amounts transferred under paragraph
(1)--
``(A) shall be available for any authorized purpose of the
Crime Victims Fund; and
``(B) shall remain available until expended.
``(g) Collection Method.--The amount assessed under
subsection (a) shall, subject to subsection (b), be collected
in the manner that fines are collected in criminal cases.
``(h) Duration of Obligation.--Subject to section 3613(b),
the obligation to pay an assessment imposed on or after the
date of enactment of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking
Act of 2015 shall not cease until the assessment is paid in
full.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of
sections for chapter 201 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 3013
the following:
``3014. Additional special assessment.''.
SEC. 102. CLARIFYING THE BENEFITS AND PROTECTIONS OFFERED TO
DOMESTIC VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
Section 107(b)(1) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act
of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7105(b)(1)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) and (G) as
subparagraphs (G) and (H), respectively;
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the following:
``(F) No requirement of official certification for united
states citizens and lawful permanent residents.--Nothing in
this section may be construed to require United States
citizens or lawful permanent residents who are victims of
severe forms of trafficking to obtain an official
certification from the Secretary of Health and Human Services
in order to access any of the specialized services described
in this subsection or any other Federal benefits and
protections to which they are otherwise entitled.''; and
(3) in subparagraph (H), as redesignated, by striking
``subparagraph (F)'' and inserting ``subparagraph (G)''.
SEC. 103. VICTIM-CENTERED CHILD HUMAN TRAFFICKING DETERRENCE
BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Section 203 of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 14044b) is
amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 203. VICTIM-CENTERED CHILD HUMAN TRAFFICKING
DETERRENCE BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM.
``(a) Grants Authorized.--The Attorney General may award
block grants to an eligible entity to develop, improve, or
expand domestic child human trafficking deterrence programs
that assist law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judicial
officials, and qualified victims' services organizations in
collaborating to rescue and restore the lives of victims,
while investigating and prosecuting offenses involving child
human trafficking.
``(b) Authorized Activities.--Grants awarded under
subsection (a) may be used for--
``(1) the establishment or enhancement of specialized
training programs for law enforcement officers, first
responders, health care officials, child welfare officials,
juvenile justice personnel, prosecutors, and judicial
personnel to--
``(A) identify victims and acts of child human trafficking;
``(B) address the unique needs of child victims of human
trafficking;
``(C) facilitate the rescue of child victims of human
trafficking;
``(D) investigate and prosecute acts of human trafficking,
including the soliciting, patronizing, or purchasing of
commercial sex acts from children, as well as training to
build cases against complex criminal networks involved in
child human trafficking; and
``(E) utilize, implement, and provide education on safe
harbor laws enacted by States, aimed at preventing the
criminalization and prosecution of child sex trafficking
victims for prostitution offenses, and other laws aimed at
the investigation and prosecution of child human trafficking;
``(2) the establishment or enhancement of dedicated anti-
trafficking law enforcement units and task forces to
investigate child human trafficking offenses and to rescue
victims, including--
``(A) funding salaries, in whole or in part, for law
enforcement officers, including patrol officers, detectives,
and investigators, except that the percentage of the salary
of the law enforcement officer paid for by funds from a grant
awarded under this section shall not be more than the
percentage of the officer's time on duty that is dedicated to
working on cases involving child human trafficking;
``(B) investigation expenses for cases involving child
human trafficking, including--
``(i) wire taps;
``(ii) consultants with expertise specific to cases
involving child human trafficking;
``(iii) travel; and
``(iv) other technical assistance expenditures;
``(C) dedicated anti-trafficking prosecution units,
including the funding of salaries for State and local
prosecutors, including assisting in paying trial expenses for
prosecution of child human trafficking offenders, except that
the percentage of the total salary of a State or local
prosecutor that is paid using an award under this section
shall be not more than the percentage of the total number of
hours worked by the prosecutor that is spent working on cases
involving child human trafficking;
``(D) the establishment of child human trafficking victim
witness safety, assistance, and relocation programs that
encourage cooperation with law enforcement investigations of
crimes of child human trafficking by leveraging existing
resources and delivering child human trafficking victims'
services through coordination with--
``(i) child advocacy centers;
``(ii) social service agencies;
``(iii) State governmental health service agencies;
``(iv) housing agencies;
``(v) legal services agencies; and
``(vi) nongovernmental organizations and shelter service
providers with substantial experience in delivering wrap-
around services to victims of child human trafficking; and
``(E) the establishment or enhancement of other necessary
victim assistance programs or personnel, such as victim or
child advocates, child-protective services, child forensic
interviews, or other necessary service providers; and
``(3) the establishment or enhancement of problem solving
court programs for trafficking victims that include--
``(A) mandatory and regular training requirements for
judicial officials involved in the administration or
operation of the court program described under this
paragraph;
``(B) continuing judicial supervision of victims of child
human trafficking, including case worker or child welfare
supervision in collaboration with judicial officers, who have
been identified by a law enforcement or judicial officer as a
potential victim of child human trafficking, regardless of
whether the victim has been charged with a crime related to
human trafficking;
``(C) the development of a specialized and individualized,
court-ordered treatment program for identified victims of
child human trafficking, including--
``(i) State-administered outpatient treatment;
``(ii) life skills training;
``(iii) housing placement;
``(iv) vocational training;
``(v) education;
``(vi) family support services; and
``(vii) job placement;
``(D) centralized case management involving the
consolidation of all of each child human trafficking victim's
cases and offenses, and the coordination of all trafficking
victim treatment programs and social services;
``(E) regular and mandatory court appearances by the victim
during the duration of the treatment program for purposes of
ensuring compliance and effectiveness;
``(F) the ultimate dismissal of relevant non-violent
criminal charges against the victim, where such victim
successfully complies with the terms of the court-ordered
treatment program; and
``(G) collaborative efforts with child advocacy centers,
child welfare agencies, shelters, and nongovernmental
organizations with substantial experience in delivering wrap-
around services to victims of child human trafficking to
provide services to victims and encourage cooperation with
law enforcement.
``(c) Application.--
``(1) In general.--An eligible entity shall submit an
application to the Attorney General for a grant under this
section in such form and manner as the Attorney General may
require.
``(2) Required information.--An application submitted under
this subsection shall--
``(A) describe the activities for which assistance under
this section is sought;
``(B) include a detailed plan for the use of funds awarded
under the grant;
``(C) provide such additional information and assurances as
the Attorney General determines
[[Page S1351]]
to be necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of
this section; and
``(D) disclose--
``(i) any other grant funding from the Department of
Justice or from any other Federal department or agency for
purposes similar to those described in subsection (b) for
which the eligible entity has applied, and which application
is pending on the date of the submission of an application
under this section; and
``(ii) any other such grant funding that the eligible
entity has received during the 5-year period ending on the
date of the submission of an application under this section.
``(3) Preference.--In reviewing applications submitted in
accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2), the Attorney General
shall give preference to grant applications if--
``(A) the application includes a plan to use awarded funds
to engage in all activities described under paragraphs (1)
through (3) of subsection (b); or
``(B) the application includes a plan by the State or unit
of local government to continue funding of all activities
funded by the award after the expiration of the award.
``(d) Duration and Renewal of Award.--
``(1) In general.--A grant under this section shall expire
3 years after the date of award of the grant.
``(2) Renewal.--A grant under this section shall be
renewable not more than 2 times and for a period of not
greater than 2 years.
``(e) Evaluation.--The Attorney General shall--
``(1) enter into a contract with a nongovernmental
organization, including an academic or nonprofit
organization, that has experience with issues related to
child human trafficking and evaluation of grant programs to
conduct periodic evaluations of grants made under this
section to determine the impact and effectiveness of programs
funded with grants awarded under this section;
``(2) instruct the Inspector General of the Department of
Justice to review evaluations issued under paragraph (1) to
determine the methodological and statistical validity of the
evaluations; and
``(3) submit the results of any evaluation conducted
pursuant to paragraph (1) to--
``(A) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; and
``(B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives.
``(f) Mandatory Exclusion.--An eligible entity awarded
funds under this section that is found to have used grant
funds for any unauthorized expenditure or otherwise
unallowable cost shall not be eligible for any grant funds
awarded under the block grant for 2 fiscal years following
the year in which the unauthorized expenditure or unallowable
cost is reported.
``(g) Compliance Requirement.--An eligible entity shall not
be eligible to receive a grant under this section if within
the 5 fiscal years before submitting an application for a
grant under this section, the grantee has been found to have
violated the terms or conditions of a Government grant
program by utilizing grant funds for unauthorized
expenditures or otherwise unallowable costs.
``(h) Administrative Cap.--The cost of administering the
grants authorized by this section shall not exceed 5 percent
of the total amount expended to carry out this section.
``(i) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of a
program funded by a grant awarded under this section shall
be--
``(1) 70 percent in the first year;
``(2) 60 percent in the second year; and
``(3) 50 percent in the third year, and in all subsequent
years.
``(j) Authorization of Funding; Fully Offset.--For purposes
of carrying out this section, the Attorney General, in
consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
is authorized to award not more than $7,000,000 of the funds
available in the Domestic Trafficking Victims' Fund,
established under section 3014 of title 18, United States
Code, for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020.
``(k) Definitions.--In this section--
``(1) the term `child' means a person under the age of 18;
``(2) the term `child advocacy center' means a center
created under subtitle A of the Victims of Child Abuse Act of
1990 (42 U.S.C. 13001 et seq.);
``(3) the term `child human trafficking' means 1 or more
severe forms of trafficking in persons (as defined in section
103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22
U.S.C. 7102)) involving a victim who is a child; and
``(4) the term `eligible entity' means a State or unit of
local government that--
``(A) has significant criminal activity involving child
human trafficking;
``(B) has demonstrated cooperation between Federal, State,
local, and, where applicable, tribal law enforcement
agencies, prosecutors, and social service providers in
addressing child human trafficking;
``(C) has developed a workable, multi-disciplinary plan to
combat child human trafficking, including--
``(i) the establishment of a shelter for victims of child
human trafficking, through existing or new facilities;
``(ii) the provision of trauma-informed, gender-responsive
rehabilitative care to victims of child human trafficking;
``(iii) the provision of specialized training for law
enforcement officers and social service providers for all
forms of human trafficking, with a focus on domestic child
human trafficking;
``(iv) prevention, deterrence, and prosecution of offenses
involving child human trafficking, including soliciting,
patronizing, or purchasing human acts with children;
``(v) cooperation or referral agreements with organizations
providing outreach or other related services to runaway and
homeless youth;
``(vi) law enforcement protocols or procedures to screen
all individuals arrested for prostitution, whether adult or
child, for victimization by sex trafficking and by other
crimes, such as sexual assault and domestic violence; and
``(vii) cooperation or referral agreements with State child
welfare agencies and child advocacy centers; and
``(D) provides an assurance that, under the plan under
subparagraph (C), a victim of child human trafficking shall
not be required to collaborate with law enforcement officers
to have access to any shelter or services provided with a
grant under this section.
``(l) Grant Accountability; Specialized Victims' Service
Requirement.--No grant funds under this section may be
awarded or transferred to any entity unless such entity has
demonstrated substantial experience providing services to
victims of human trafficking or related populations (such as
runaway and homeless youth), or employs staff specialized in
the treatment of human trafficking victims.''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in section
1(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization
Act of 2005 (22 U.S.C. 7101 note) is amended by striking the
item relating to section 203 and inserting the following:
``Sec. 203. Victim-centered child human trafficking deterrence block
grant program.''.
SEC. 104. DIRECT SERVICES FOR VICTIMS OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY.
The Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 13001 et
seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 212(5) (42 U.S.C. 13001a(5)), by inserting
``, including human trafficking and the production of child
pornography'' before the semicolon at the end; and
(2) in section 214 (42 U.S.C. 13002)--
(A) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), and (d) as
subsections (c), (d), and (e), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
``(b) Direct Services for Victims of Child Pornography.--
The Administrator, in coordination with the Director and with
the Director of the Office of Victims of Crime, may make
grants to develop and implement specialized programs to
identify and provide direct services to victims of child
pornography.''.
SEC. 105. INCREASING COMPENSATION AND RESTITUTION FOR
TRAFFICKING VICTIMS.
(a) Amendments to Title 18.--Section 1594 of title 18,
United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (d)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``that was used or'' and inserting ``that
was involved in, used, or''; and
(ii) by inserting ``, and any property traceable to such
property'' after ``such violation''; and
(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``, or any property
traceable to such property'' after ``such violation'';
(2) in subsection (e)(1)(A)--
(A) by striking ``used or'' and inserting ``involved in,
used, or''; and
(B) by inserting ``, and any property traceable to such
property'' after ``any violation of this chapter'';
(3) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g); and
(4) by inserting after subsection (e) the following:
``(f) Transfer of Forfeited Assets.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, the Attorney General shall transfer assets forfeited
pursuant to this section, or the proceeds derived from the
sale thereof, to satisfy victim restitution orders arising
from violations of this chapter.
``(2) Priority.--Transfers pursuant to paragraph (1) shall
have priority over any other claims to the assets or their
proceeds.
``(3) Use of nonforfeited assets.--Transfers pursuant to
paragraph (1) shall not reduce or otherwise mitigate the
obligation of a person convicted of a violation of this
chapter to satisfy the full amount of a restitution order
through the use of non-forfeited assets or to reimburse the
Attorney General for the value of assets or proceeds
transferred under this subsection through the use of
nonforfeited assets.''.
(b) Amendment to Title 28.--Section 524(c)(1)(B) of title
28, United States Code, is amended by inserting ``chapter 77
of title 18,'' after ``criminal drug laws of the United
States or of''.
(c) Amendments to Title 31.--
(1) In general.--Chapter 97 of title 31, United States
Code, is amended--
(A) by redesignating section 9703 (as added by section
638(b)(1) of the Treasury, Postal Service, and General
Government Appropriations Act, 1993 (Public Law 102-393; 106
Stat. 1779)) as section 9705; and
(B) in section 9705(a), as redesignated--
(i) in paragraph (1)--
(I) in subparagraph (I)--
(aa) by striking ``payment'' and inserting ``Payment''; and
(bb) by striking the semicolon at the end and inserting a
period; and
(II) in subparagraph (J), by striking ``payment'' and
inserting ``Payment''; and
(ii) in paragraph (2)--
(I) in subparagraph (B)--
(aa) in clause (iii)--
(AA) in subclause (I), by striking ``or'' and inserting
``of''; and
(BB) in subclause (III), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(bb) in clause (iv), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(cc) by inserting after clause (iv) the following:
``(v) United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement
with respect to a violation of chapter 77 of title 18
(relating to human trafficking);'';
[[Page S1352]]
(II) in subparagraph (G), by adding ``and'' at the end; and
(III) in subparagraph (H), by striking ``; and'' and
inserting a period.
(2) Technical and conforming amendments.--
(A) Cross references.--
(i) Title 28.--Section 524(c) of title 28, United States
Code, is amended--
(I) in paragraph (4)(C), by striking ``section
9703(g)(4)(A)(ii)'' and inserting ``section 9705(g)(4)(A)'';
(II) in paragraph (10), by striking ``section 9703(p)'' and
inserting ``section 9705(o)''; and
(III) in paragraph (11), by striking ``section 9703'' and
inserting ``section 9705''.
(ii) Title 31.--Title 31, United States Code, is amended--
(I) in section 312(d), by striking ``section 9703'' and
inserting ``section 9705''; and
(II) in section 5340(1), by striking ``section 9703(p)(1)''
and inserting ``section 9705(o)''.
(iii) Title 39.--Section 2003(e)(1) of title 39, United
States Code, is amended by striking ``section 9703(p)'' and
inserting ``section 9705(o)''.
(B) Table of sections.--The table of sections for chapter
97 of title 31, United States Code, is amended to read as
follows:
``9701. Fees and charges for Government services and things of value.
``9702. Investment of trust funds.
``9703. Managerial accountability and flexibility.
``9704. Pilot projects for managerial accountability and flexibility.
``9705. Department of the Treasury Forfeiture Fund.''.
SEC. 106. STREAMLINING HUMAN TRAFFICKING INVESTIGATIONS.
Section 2516 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in subparagraph (a), by inserting a comma after
``weapons)'';
(B) in subparagraph (c)--
(i) by inserting ``section 1581 (peonage), section 1584
(involuntary servitude), section 1589 (forced labor), section
1590 (trafficking with respect to peonage, slavery,
involuntary servitude, or forced labor),'' before ``section
1591'';
(ii) by inserting ``section 1592 (unlawful conduct with
respect to documents in furtherance of trafficking, peonage,
slavery, involuntary servitude, or forced labor),'' before
``section 1751'';
(iii) by inserting a comma after ``virus)'';
(iv) by striking ``,, section'' and inserting a comma;
(v) by striking ``or'' after ``misuse of passports),''; and
(vi) by inserting ``or'' before ``section 555'';
(C) in subparagraph (j), by striking ``pipeline,)'' and
inserting ``pipeline),''; and
(D) in subparagraph (p), by striking ``documents, section
1028A (relating to aggravated identity theft))'' and
inserting ``documents), section 1028A (relating to aggravated
identity theft)''; and
(2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``human trafficking,
child sexual exploitation, child pornography production,''
after ``kidnapping''.
SEC. 107. ENHANCING HUMAN TRAFFICKING REPORTING.
Section 505 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3755) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(i) Part 1 Violent Crimes To Include Human Trafficking.--
For purposes of this section, the term `part 1 violent
crimes' shall include severe forms of trafficking in persons
(as defined in section 103 of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102)).''.
SEC. 108. REDUCING DEMAND FOR SEX TRAFFICKING.
(a) In General.--Section 1591 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``or maintains'' and
inserting ``maintains, patronizes, or solicits'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``or obtained'' and
inserting ``obtained, patronized, or solicited''; and
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``or obtained'' and
inserting ``obtained, patronized, or solicited''; and
(3) in subsection (c)--
(A) by striking ``or maintained'' and inserting ``,
maintained, patronized, or solicited''; and
(B) by striking ``knew that the person'' and inserting
``knew, or recklessly disregarded the fact, that the
person''.
(b) Definition Amended.--Section 103(10) of the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102(10)) is
amended by striking ``or obtaining'' and inserting
``obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting''.
(c) Purpose.--The purpose of the amendments made by this
section is to clarify the range of conduct punished as sex
trafficking.
SEC. 109. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) section 1591 of title 18, United States Code, defines a
sex trafficker as a person who ``knowingly. . .recruits,
entices, harbors, transports, provides, obtains, or maintains
by any means a person. . .knowing, or in reckless disregard
of the fact, that means of force, threats of force, fraud,
coercion. . .or any combination of such means will be used to
cause the person to engage in a commercial sex act, or that
the person has not attained the age of 18 years and will be
caused to engage in a commercial sex act'';
(2) while use of the word ``obtains'' in section 1591,
United States Code, has been interpreted, prior to the date
of enactment of this Act, to encompass those who purchase
illicit sexual acts from trafficking victims, some confusion
persists;
(3) in United States vs. Jungers, 702 F.3d 1066 (8th Cir.
2013), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth
Circuit ruled that section 1591 of title 18, United States
Code, applied to persons who purchase illicit sexual acts
with trafficking victims after the United States District
Court for the District of South Dakota erroneously granted
motions to acquit these buyers in two separate cases; and
(4) section 108 of this title amends section 1591 of title
18, United States Code, to add the words ``solicits or
patronizes'' to the sex trafficking statute making absolutely
clear for judges, juries, prosecutors, and law enforcement
officials that criminals who purchase sexual acts from human
trafficking victims may be arrested, prosecuted, and
convicted as sex trafficking offenders when this is merited
by the facts of a particular case.
SEC. 110. USING EXISTING TASK FORCES AND COMPONENTS TO TARGET
OFFENDERS WHO EXPLOIT CHILDREN.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Attorney General shall ensure that--
(1) all task forces and working groups within the Innocence
Lost National Initiative engage in activities, programs, or
operations to increase the investigative capabilities of
State and local law enforcement officers in the detection,
investigation, and prosecution of persons who patronize, or
solicit children for sex; and
(2) all components and task forces with jurisdiction to
detect, investigate, and prosecute cases of child labor
trafficking engage in activities, programs, or operations to
increase the capacity of such components to deter and punish
child labor trafficking.
SEC. 111. TARGETING CHILD PREDATORS.
(a) Clarifying That Child Pornography Producers Are Human
Traffickers.--Section 2423(f) of title 18, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``means (1) a'' and inserting the
following: ``means--
``(1) a'';
(2) by striking ``United States; or (2) any'' and inserting
the following: ``United States;
``(2) any''; and
(3) by striking the period at the end and inserting the
following: ``; or
``(3) production of child pornography (as defined in
section 2256(8)).''.
(b) Holding Sex Traffickers Accountable.--Section 2423(g)
of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking ``a
preponderance of the evidence'' and inserting ``clear and
convincing evidence''.
SEC. 112. MONITORING ALL HUMAN TRAFFICKERS AS VIOLENT
CRIMINALS.
Section 3156(a)(4)(C) of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by inserting ``77,'' after ``chapter''.
SEC. 113. CRIME VICTIMS' RIGHTS.
(a) In General.--Section 3771 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following:
``(9) The right to be informed in a timely manner of any
plea bargain or deferred prosecution agreement.
``(10) The right to be informed of the rights under this
section and the services described in section 503(c) of the
Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.
10607(c)) and provided contact information for the Office of
the Victims' Rights Ombudsman of the Department of
Justice.'';
(2) in subsection (d)(3), in the fifth sentence, by
inserting ``, unless the litigants, with the approval of the
court, have stipulated to a different time period for
consideration'' before the period; and
(3) in subsection (e)--
(A) by striking ``this chapter, the term'' and inserting
the following: ``this chapter:
``(1) Court of appeals.--The term `court of appeals'
means--
``(A) the United States court of appeals for the judicial
district in which a defendant is being prosecuted; or
``(B) for a prosecution in the Superior Court of the
District of Columbia, the District of Columbia Court of
Appeals.
``(2) Crime victim.--
``(A) In general.--The term'';
(B) by striking ``In the case'' and inserting the
following:
``(B) Minors and certain other victims.--In the case''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) District court; court.--The terms `district court'
and `court' include the Superior Court of the District of
Columbia.''.
(b) Crime Victims Fund.--Section 1402(d)(3)(A)(i) of the
Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601(d)(3)(A)(i)) is
amended by inserting ``section'' before ``3771''.
(c) Appellate Review of Petitions Relating to Crime
Victims' Rights.--
(1) In general.--Section 3771(d)(3) of title 18, United
States Code, as amended by subsection (a)(2) of this section,
is amended by inserting after the fifth sentence the
following: ``In deciding such application, the court of
appeals shall apply ordinary standards of appellate
review.''.
(2) Application.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall
apply with respect to any petition for a writ of mandamus
filed under section 3771(d)(3) of title 18, United States
Code, that is pending on the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 114. COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING ACT.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Combat
Human Trafficking Act of 2015''.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Commercial sex act; severe forms of trafficking in
persons; state; task force.--The terms ``commercial sex
act'', ``severe forms of trafficking in persons'', ``State'',
and ``Task Force'' have the meanings given those terms in
[[Page S1353]]
section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000
(22 U.S.C. 7102).
(2) Covered offender.--The term ``covered offender'' means
an individual who obtains, patronizes, or solicits a
commercial sex act involving a person subject to severe forms
of trafficking in persons.
(3) Covered offense.--The term ``covered offense'' means
the provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a
commercial sex act involving a person subject to severe forms
of trafficking in persons.
(4) Federal law enforcement officer.--The term ``Federal
law enforcement officer'' has the meaning given the term in
section 115 of title 18, United States Code.
(5) Local law enforcement officer.--The term ``local law
enforcement officer'' means any officer, agent, or employee
of a unit of local government authorized by law or by a local
government agency to engage in or supervise the prevention,
detection, investigation, or prosecution of any violation of
criminal law.
(6) State law enforcement officer.--The term ``State law
enforcement officer'' means any officer, agent, or employee
of a State authorized by law or by a State government agency
to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection,
investigation, or prosecution of any violation of criminal
law.
(c) Department of Justice Training and Policy for Law
Enforcement Officers, Prosecutors, and Judges.--
(1) Training.--
(A) Law enforcement officers.--The Attorney General shall
ensure that each anti-human trafficking program operated by
the Department of Justice, including each anti-human
trafficking training program for Federal, State, or local law
enforcement officers, includes technical training on--
(i) effective methods for investigating and prosecuting
covered offenders; and
(ii) facilitating the provision of physical and mental
health services by health care providers to persons subject
to severe forms of trafficking in persons.
(B) Federal prosecutors.--The Attorney General shall ensure
that each anti-human trafficking program operated by the
Department of Justice for United States attorneys or other
Federal prosecutors includes training on seeking restitution
for offenses under chapter 77 of title 18, United States
Code, to ensure that each United States attorney or other
Federal prosecutor, upon obtaining a conviction for such an
offense, requests a specific amount of restitution for each
victim of the offense without regard to whether the victim
requests restitution.
(C) Judges.--The Federal Judicial Center shall provide
training to judges relating to the application of section
1593 of title 18, United States Code, with respect to
ordering restitution for victims of offenses under chapter 77
of such title.
(2) Policy for federal law enforcement officers.--The
Attorney General shall ensure that Federal law enforcement
officers are engaged in activities, programs, or operations
involving the detection, investigation, and prosecution of
covered offenders.
(d) Minimum Period of Supervised Release for Conspiracy To
Commit Commercial Child Sex Trafficking.--Section 3583(k) of
title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting
``1594(c),'' after ``1591,''.
(e) Bureau of Justice Statistics Report on State
Enforcement of Human Trafficking Prohibitions.--The Director
of the Bureau of Justice Statistics shall--
(1) prepare an annual report on--
(A) the rates of--
(i) arrest of individuals by State law enforcement officers
for a covered offense;
(ii) prosecution (including specific charges) of
individuals in State court systems for a covered offense; and
(iii) conviction of individuals in State court systems for
a covered offense; and
(B) sentences imposed on individuals convicted in State
court systems for a covered offense; and
(2) submit the annual report prepared under paragraph (1)
to--
(A) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives;
(B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
(C) the Task Force;
(D) the Senior Policy Operating Group established under
section 105(g) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of
2000 (22 U.S.C. 7103(g)); and
(E) the Attorney General.
SEC. 115. SURVIVORS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING EMPOWERMENT ACT.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the
``Survivors of Human Trafficking Empowerment Act''.
(b) Establishment.--There is established the United States
Advisory Council on Human Trafficking (referred to in this
section as the ``Council''), which shall provide advice and
recommendations to the Senior Policy Operating Group
established under section 105(g) of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7103(g)) (referred to in
this section as the ``Group'') and the President's
Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking
established under section 105(a) of such Act (referred to in
this section as the ``Task Force'').
(c) Membership.--
(1) Composition.--The Council shall be composed of not less
than 8 and not more than 14 individuals who are survivors of
human trafficking.
(2) Representation of survivors.--To the extent
practicable, members of the Council shall be survivors of
trafficking, who shall accurately reflect the diverse
backgrounds of survivors of trafficking, including--
(A) survivors of sex trafficking and survivors of labor
trafficking; and
(B) survivors who are United States citizens and survivors
who are aliens lawfully present in the United States.
(3) Appointment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the President shall appoint the
members of the Council.
(4) Term; reappointment.--Each member of the Council shall
serve for a term of 2 years and may be reappointed by the
President to serve 1 additional 2-year term.
(d) Functions.--The Council shall--
(1) be a nongovernmental advisory body to the Group;
(2) meet, at its own discretion or at the request of the
Group, not less frequently than annually to review Federal
Government policy and programs intended to combat human
trafficking, including programs relating to the provision of
services for victims and serve as a point of contact for
Federal agencies reaching out to human trafficking survivors
for input on programming and policies relating to human
trafficking in the United States;
(3) formulate assessments and recommendations to ensure
that policy and programming efforts of the Federal Government
conform, to the extent practicable, to the best practices in
the field of human trafficking prevention; and
(4) meet with the Group not less frequently than annually,
and not later than 45 days before a meeting with the Task
Force, to formally present the findings and recommendations
of the Council.
(e) Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act and each year thereafter until the date
described in subsection (h), the Council shall submit a
report that contains the findings derived from the reviews
conducted pursuant to subsection (d)(2) to--
(1) the chair of the Task Force;
(2) the members of the Group;
(3) the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Homeland Security,
Appropriations, and the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives; and
(4) the Committees on Foreign Relations, Appropriations,
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the Judiciary
of the Senate.
(f) Employee Status.--Members of the Council--
(1) shall not be considered employees of the Federal
Government for any purpose; and
(2) shall not receive compensation other than reimbursement
of travel expenses and per diem allowance in accordance with
section 5703 of title 5, United States Code.
(g) Nonapplicability of FACA.--The Council shall not be
subject to the requirements under the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).
(h) Sunset.--The Council shall terminate on September 30,
2020.
SEC. 116. BRINGING MISSING CHILDREN HOME ACT.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the
``Bringing Missing Children Home Act''.
(b) Crime Control Act Amendments.--Section 3702 of the
Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 5780) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (3)--
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as
subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following:
``(B) a recent photograph of the child, if available;'';
and
(3) in paragraph (4)--
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking
``paragraph (2)'' and inserting ``paragraph (3)'';
(B) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) by striking ``60 days'' and inserting ``30 days''; and
(ii) by inserting ``and a photograph taken during the
previous 180 days'' after ``dental records'';
(C) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(D) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (D);
(E) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:
``(C) notify the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children of each report received relating to a child reported
missing from a foster care family home or childcare
institution;'';
(F) in subparagraph (D), as redesignated--
(i) by inserting ``State and local child welfare systems
and'' before ``the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children''; and
(ii) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``;
and''; and
(G) by adding at the end the following:
``(E) grant permission to the National Crime Information
Center Terminal Contractor for the State to update the
missing person record in the National Crime Information
Center computer networks with additional information learned
during the investigation relating to the missing person.''.
SEC. 117. GRANT ACCOUNTABILITY.
(a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``covered
grant'' means a grant awarded by the Attorney General under
section 203 of the Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 14044b), as amended by
section 103.
(b) Accountability.--All covered grants shall be subject to
the following accountability provisions:
(1) Audit requirement.--
(A) In general.--Beginning in the first fiscal year
beginning after the date of enactment of this Act, and in
each fiscal year thereafter, the Inspector General of the
Department of Justice shall conduct audits of recipients of a
covered grant to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of funds by
grantees. The Inspector General shall determine the
appropriate number of grantees to be audited each year.
[[Page S1354]]
(B) Definition.--In this paragraph, the term ``unresolved
audit finding'' means a finding in the final audit report of
the Inspector General that the audited grantee has utilized
grant funds for an unauthorized expenditure or otherwise
unallowable cost that is not closed or resolved within 12
months from the date when the final audit report is issued.
(C) Mandatory exclusion.--A recipient of a covered grant
that is found to have an unresolved audit finding shall not
be eligible to receive a covered grant during the following 2
fiscal years.
(D) Priority.--In awarding covered grants the Attorney
General shall give priority to eligible entities that did not
have an unresolved audit finding during the 3 fiscal years
prior to submitting an application for a covered grant.
(E) Reimbursement.--If an entity is awarded a covered grant
during the 2-fiscal-year period in which the entity is barred
from receiving grants under subparagraph (C), the Attorney
General shall--
(i) deposit an amount equal to the grant funds that were
improperly awarded to the grantee into the General Fund of
the Treasury; and
(ii) seek to recoup the costs of the repayment to the fund
from the grant recipient that was erroneously awarded grant
funds.
(2) Nonprofit organization requirements.--
(A) Definition.--For purposes of this paragraph and covered
grants, the term ``nonprofit organization'' means an
organization that is described in section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation
under section 501(a) of such Code.
(B) Prohibition.--The Attorney General may not award a
covered grant to a nonprofit organization that holds money in
offshore accounts for the purpose of avoiding paying the tax
described in section 511(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986.
(C) Disclosure.--Each nonprofit organization that is
awarded a covered grant and uses the procedures prescribed in
regulations to create a rebuttable presumption of
reasonableness for the compensation of its officers,
directors, trustees and key employees, shall disclose to the
Attorney General, in the application for the grant, the
process for determining such compensation, including the
independent persons involved in reviewing and approving such
compensation, the comparability data used, and
contemporaneous substantiation of the deliberation and
decision. Upon request, the Attorney General shall make the
information disclosed under this subsection available for
public inspection.
(3) Conference expenditures.--
(A) Limitation.--No amounts transferred to the Department
of Justice under this title, or the amendments made by this
title, may be used by the Attorney General, or by any
individual or organization awarded discretionary funds
through a cooperative agreement under this title, or the
amendments made by this title, to host or support any
expenditure for conferences that uses more than $20,000 in
Department funds, unless the Deputy Attorney General or such
Assistant Attorney Generals, Directors, or principal deputies
as the Deputy Attorney General may designate, provides prior
written authorization that the funds may be expended to host
a conference.
(B) Written approval.--Written approval under subparagraph
(A) shall include a written estimate of all costs associated
with the conference, including the cost of all food and
beverages, audiovisual equipment, honoraria for speakers, and
any entertainment.
(C) Report.--The Deputy Attorney General shall submit an
annual report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate
and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives on all approved conference expenditures
referenced in this paragraph.
(D) Annual certification.--Beginning in the first fiscal
year beginning after the date of enactment of this title, the
Attorney General shall submit, to the Committee on the
Judiciary and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate
and the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives, an annual
certification that--
(i) all audits issued by the Office of the Inspector
General under paragraph (1) have been completed and reviewed
by the appropriate Assistant Attorney General or Director;
(ii) all mandatory exclusions required under paragraph
(1)(C) have been issued;
(iii) all reimbursements required under paragraph (1)(E)
have been made; and
(iv) includes a list of any grant recipients excluded under
paragraph (1) from the previous year.
(4) Prohibition on lobbying activity.--
(A) In general.--Amounts awarded under this title, or any
amendments made by this title, may not be utilized by any
grant recipient to--
(i) lobby any representative of the Department of Justice
regarding the award of grant funding; or
(ii) lobby any representative of a Federal, State, local,
or tribal government regarding the award of grant funding.
(B) Penalty.--If the Attorney General determines that any
recipient of a covered grant has violated subparagraph (A),
the Attorney General shall--
(i) require the grant recipient to repay the grant in full;
and
(ii) prohibit the grant recipient from receiving another
covered grant for not less than 5 years.
TITLE II--COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Subtitle A--Enhancing Services for Runaway and Homeless Victims of
Youth Trafficking
SEC. 201. AMENDMENTS TO THE RUNAWAY AND HOMELESS YOUTH ACT.
The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.)
is amended--
(1) in section 343(b)(5) (42 U.S.C. 5714-23(b)(5))--
(A) in subparagraph (A) by inserting ``, severe forms of
trafficking in persons (as defined in section 103(9) of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C.
7102(9))), and sex trafficking (as defined in section 103(10)
of such Act (22 U.S.C. 7102(10)))'' before the semicolon at
the end;
(B) in subparagraph (B) by inserting ``, severe forms of
trafficking in persons (as defined in section 103(9) of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C.
7102(9))), or sex trafficking (as defined in section 103(10)
of such Act (22 U.S.C. 7102(10)))'' after ``assault''; and
(C) in subparagraph (C) by inserting ``, including such
youth who are victims of trafficking (as defined in section
103(15) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22
U.S.C. 7102(15)))'' before the semicolon at the end; and
(2) in section 351(a) (42 U.S.C. 5714-41(a)) by striking
``or sexual exploitation'' and inserting ``sexual
exploitation, severe forms of trafficking in persons (as
defined in section 103(9) of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102(9))), or sex
trafficking (as defined in section 103(10) of such Act (22
U.S.C. 7102(10)))''.
Subtitle B--Improving the Response to Victims of Child Sex Trafficking
SEC. 211. RESPONSE TO VICTIMS OF CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING.
Section 404(b)(1)(P)(iii) of the Missing Children's
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5773(b)(1)(P)(iii)) is amended by
striking ``child prostitution'' and inserting ``child sex
trafficking, including child prostitution''.
Subtitle C--Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking
SEC. 221. VICTIM OF TRAFFICKING DEFINED.
In this subtitle, the term ``victim of trafficking'' has
the meaning given such term in section 103 of the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102).
SEC. 222. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE REPORT ON CHILD TRAFFICKING
PRIMARY PREVENTION.
(a) Review.--The Interagency Task Force to Monitor and
Combat Trafficking, established under section 105 of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7103),
shall conduct a review that, with regard to trafficking in
persons in the United States--
(1) in consultation with nongovernmental organizations that
the Task Force determines appropriate, surveys and catalogs
the activities of the Federal Government and State
governments--
(A) to deter individuals from committing trafficking
offenses; and
(B) to prevent children from becoming victims of
trafficking;
(2) surveys academic literature on--
(A) deterring individuals from committing trafficking
offenses;
(B) preventing children from becoming victims of
trafficking;
(C) the commercial sexual exploitation of children; and
(D) other similar topics that the Task Force determines to
be appropriate;
(3) identifies best practices and effective strategies--
(A) to deter individuals from committing trafficking
offenses; and
(B) to prevent children from becoming victims of
trafficking; and
(4) identifies current gaps in research and data that would
be helpful in formulating effective strategies--
(A) to deter individuals from committing trafficking
offenses; and
(B) to prevent children from becoming victims of
trafficking.
(b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Interagency Task Force to Monitor
and Combat Trafficking shall provide to Congress, and make
publicly available in electronic format, a report on the
review conducted pursuant to subparagraph (a).
SEC. 223. GAO REPORT ON INTERVENTION.
On the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall submit a report to Congress that includes information
on--
(1) the efforts of Federal and select State law enforcement
agencies to combat human trafficking in the United States;
and
(2) each Federal grant program, a purpose of which is to
combat human trafficking or assist victims of trafficking, as
specified in an authorizing statute or in a guidance document
issued by the agency carrying out the grant program.
SEC. 224. PROVISION OF HOUSING PERMITTED TO PROTECT AND
ASSIST IN THE RECOVERY OF VICTIMS OF
TRAFFICKING.
Section 107(b)(2)(A) of the Trafficking Victims Protection
Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7105(b)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting
``, including programs that provide housing to victims of
trafficking'' before the period at the end.
TITLE III--HERO ACT
SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Human Exploitation Rescue
Operations Act of 2015'' or the ``HERO Act of 2015''.
SEC. 302. HERO ACT.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The illegal market for the production and distribution
of child abuse imagery is a growing threat to children in the
United States. International demand for this material creates
a powerful incentive for the rape, abuse, and torture of
children within the United States.
(2) The targeting of United States children by
international criminal networks is a threat to the homeland
security of the United States. This threat must be fought
with trained personnel and highly specialized counter-child-
exploitation strategies and technologies.
[[Page S1355]]
(3) The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement
of the Department of Homeland Security serves a critical
national security role in protecting the United States from
the growing international threat of child exploitation and
human trafficking.
(4) The Cyber Crimes Center of the United States
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a vital national
resource in the effort to combat international child
exploitation, providing advanced expertise and assistance in
investigations, computer forensics, and victim
identification.
(5) The returning military heroes of the United States
possess unique and valuable skills that can assist law
enforcement in combating global sexual and child
exploitation, and the Department of Homeland Security should
use this national resource to the maximum extent possible.
(6) Through the Human Exploitation Rescue Operative (HERO)
Child Rescue Corps program, the returning military heroes of
the United States are trained and hired to investigate crimes
of child exploitation in order to target predators and rescue
children from sexual abuse and slavery.
(b) Cyber Crimes Center, Child Exploitation Investigations
Unit, and Computer Forensics Unit.--
(1) In general.--Subtitle H of title VIII of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 451 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 890A. CYBER CRIMES CENTER, CHILD EXPLOITATION
INVESTIGATIONS UNIT, COMPUTER FORENSICS UNIT,
AND CYBER CRIMES UNIT.
``(a) Cyber Crimes Center.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall operate, within
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a Cyber
Crimes Center (referred to in this section as the `Center').
``(2) Purpose.--The purpose of the Center shall be to
provide investigative assistance, training, and equipment to
support United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement's
domestic and international investigations of cyber-related
crimes.
``(b) Child Exploitation Investigations Unit.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall operate, within the
Center, a Child Exploitation Investigations Unit (referred to
in this subsection as the `CEIU').
``(2) Functions.--The CEIU--
``(A) shall coordinate all United States Immigration and
Customs Enforcement child exploitation initiatives, including
investigations into--
``(i) child exploitation;
``(ii) child pornography;
``(iii) child victim identification;
``(iv) traveling child sex offenders; and
``(v) forced child labor, including the sexual exploitation
of minors;
``(B) shall, among other things, focus on--
``(i) child exploitation prevention;
``(ii) investigative capacity building;
``(iii) enforcement operations; and
``(iv) training for Federal, State, local, tribal, and
foreign law enforcement agency personnel, upon request;
``(C) shall provide training, technical expertise, support,
or coordination of child exploitation investigations, as
needed, to cooperating law enforcement agencies and
personnel;
``(D) shall provide psychological support and counseling
services for United States Immigration and Customs
Enforcement personnel engaged in child exploitation
prevention initiatives, including making available other
existing services to assist employees who are exposed to
child exploitation material during investigations;
``(E) is authorized to collaborate with the Department of
Defense and the National Association to Protect Children for
the purpose of the recruiting, training, equipping and hiring
of wounded, ill, and injured veterans and transitioning
service members, through the Human Exploitation Rescue
Operative (HERO) Child Rescue Corps program; and
``(F) shall collaborate with other governmental,
nongovernmental, and nonprofit entities approved by the
Secretary for the sponsorship of, and participation in,
outreach and training activities.
``(3) Data collection.--The CEIU shall collect and maintain
data concerning--
``(A) the total number of suspects identified by United
States Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
``(B) the number of arrests by United States Immigration
and Customs Enforcement, disaggregated by type, including--
``(i) the number of victims identified through
investigations carried out by United States Immigration and
Customs Enforcement; and
``(ii) the number of suspects arrested who were in
positions of trust or authority over children;
``(C) the number of cases opened for investigation by
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and
``(D) the number of cases resulting in a Federal, State,
foreign, or military prosecution.
``(4) Availability of data to congress.--In addition to
submitting the reports required under paragraph (7), the CEIU
shall make the data collected and maintained under paragraph
(3) available to the committees of Congress described in
paragraph (7).
``(5) Cooperative agreements.--The CEIU is authorized to
enter into cooperative agreements to accomplish the functions
set forth in paragraphs (2) and (3).
``(6) Acceptance of gifts.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary is authorized to accept
monies and in-kind donations from the Virtual Global
Taskforce, national laboratories, Federal agencies, not-for-
profit organizations, and educational institutions to create
and expand public awareness campaigns in support of the
functions of the CEIU.
``(B) Exemption from federal acquisition regulation.--Gifts
authorized under subparagraph (A) shall not be subject to the
Federal Acquisition Regulation for competition when the
services provided by the entities referred to in such
subparagraph are donated or of minimal cost to the
Department.
``(7) Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of the HERO Act of 2015, and annually for the
following 4 years, the CEIU shall--
``(A) submit a report containing a summary of the data
collected pursuant to paragraph (3) during the previous year
to--
``(i) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate;
``(ii) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
``(iii) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
``(iv) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives;
``(v) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives; and
``(vi) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives; and
``(B) make a copy of each report submitted under
subparagraph (A) publicly available on the website of the
Department.
``(c) Computer Forensics Unit.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall operate, within the
Center, a Computer Forensics Unit (referred to in this
subsection as the `CFU').
``(2) Functions.--The CFU--
``(A) shall provide training and technical support in
digital forensics to--
``(i) United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement
personnel; and
``(ii) Federal, State, local, tribal, military, and foreign
law enforcement agency personnel engaged in the investigation
of crimes within their respective jurisdictions, upon request
and subject to the availability of funds;
``(B) shall provide computer hardware, software, and
forensic licenses for all computer forensics personnel within
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
``(C) shall participate in research and development in the
area of digital forensics, in coordination with appropriate
components of the Department; and
``(D) is authorized to collaborate with the Department of
Defense and the National Association to Protect Children for
the purpose of recruiting, training, equipping, and hiring
wounded, ill, and injured veterans and transitioning service
members, through the Human Exploitation Rescue Operative
(HERO) Child Rescue Corps program.
``(3) Cooperative agreements.--The CFU is authorized to
enter into cooperative agreements to accomplish the functions
set forth in paragraph (2).
``(4) Acceptance of gifts.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary is authorized to accept
monies and in-kind donations from the Virtual Global Task
Force, national laboratories, Federal agencies, not-for-
profit organizations, and educational institutions to create
and expand public awareness campaigns in support of the
functions of the CFU.
``(B) Exemption from federal acquisition regulation.--Gifts
authorized under subparagraph (A) shall not be subject to the
Federal Acquisition Regulation for competition when the
services provided by the entities referred to in such
subparagraph are donated or of minimal cost to the
Department.
``(d) Cyber Crimes Unit.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall operate, within the
Center, a Cyber Crimes Unit (referred to in this subsection
as the `CCU').
``(2) Functions.--The CCU--
``(A) shall oversee the cyber security strategy and cyber-
related operations and programs for United States Immigration
and Customs Enforcement;
``(B) shall enhance United States Immigration and Customs
Enforcement's ability to combat criminal enterprises
operating on or through the Internet, with specific focus in
the areas of--
``(i) cyber economic crime;
``(ii) digital theft of intellectual property;
``(iii) illicit e-commerce (including hidden marketplaces);
``(iv) Internet-facilitated proliferation of arms and
strategic technology; and
``(v) cyber-enabled smuggling and money laundering;
``(C) shall provide training and technical support in cyber
investigations to--
``(i) United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement
personnel; and
``(ii) Federal, State, local, tribal, military, and foreign
law enforcement agency personnel engaged in the investigation
of crimes within their respective jurisdictions, upon request
and subject to the availability of funds;
``(D) shall participate in research and development in the
area of cyber investigations, in coordination with
appropriate components of the Department; and
``(E) is authorized to recruit participants of the Human
Exploitation Rescue Operative (HERO) Child Rescue Corps
program for investigative and forensic positions in support
of the functions of the CCU.
``(3) Cooperative agreements.--The CCU is authorized to
enter into cooperative agreements to accomplish the functions
set forth in paragraph (2).
``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums as
are necessary to carry out this section.''.
(2) Table of contents amendment.--The table of contents in
section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C.
101 note) is amended by adding after the item relating to
section 890 the following:
[[Page S1356]]
``Sec. 890A. Cyber crimes center, child exploitation investigations
unit, computer forensics unit, and cyber crimes unit.''.
(c) HERO Corps Hiring.--It is the sense of Congress that
Homeland Security Investigations of the United States
Immigration and Customs Enforcement should hire, recruit,
train, and equip wounded, ill, or injured military veterans
(as defined in section 101, title 38, United States Code) who
are affiliated with the HERO Child Rescue Corps program for
investigative, intelligence, analyst, and forensic positions.
(d) Investigating Child Exploitation.--Section 307(b)(3) of
the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 187(b)(3)) is
amended--
(1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) conduct research and development for the purpose of
advancing technology for the investigation of child
exploitation crimes, including child victim identification,
trafficking in persons, and child pornography, and for
advanced forensics.''.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the time until 12:30
p.m. will be equally divided.
The Senator from Iowa.
(The remarks of Mr. Grassley pertaining to the introduction of S. 686
are printed in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills
and Joint Resolutions.'')
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, on this bill before the Senate, for a
few days we will continue to debate legislation to fight crime and
restore dignity to its survivors. I thank the majority leader for
scheduling floor action on the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.
This important bill is authored by our assistant majority leader,
Senator Cornyn of Texas.
Human trafficking is a serious crime that is too often overlooked in
its various forms, which include both labor trafficking and sexual
servitude. It causes drastic harm to its victims. A form of modern-day
slavery, human trafficking includes both adults and children, as well
as noncitizens and citizens of our country. Experts tell us it is not
limited to big cities or our Nation's coasts but stretches across the
whole Nation, even to the rural parts of our country, including my
Midwest. Indeed, it happens every day, everywhere in this country.
The Judiciary Committee met 2 weeks ago to hear testimony from a
victim advocate, a law enforcement official, and a sex trafficking
survivor about the challenges we face in fighting human trafficking.
One witness, a criminal investigator from my State of Iowa who works
for our Democratic attorney general Tom Miller, told us about a 20-
year-old from my State who in December was abducted and forced into
sexual servitude.
We have made progress in curbing human trafficking since the passage
in 2000 of the Federal Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection
Act--a measure I supported at that time--but there is still much work
that remains to be done on this front. This bill before the Senate
takes a creative and comprehensive approach to what is a pervasive and
very troubling problem. The measure has been endorsed by over 200
groups, and it passed the Senate Judiciary Committee without a
dissenting vote.
The centerpiece of this bill is its creation of a new fund called the
Domestic Trafficking Victims' Fund, which will be used to support a
host of programs and services for human trafficking and child
pornography survivors. The fund will be financed not by taxpayers'
dollars but by fines collected from individuals convicted of human
trafficking and human smuggling crimes, making it deficit neutral.
If enacted, this bill will also equip law enforcement with new tools
to fight trafficking. For example, it would make it easier for State
law enforcement officials to wiretap human trafficking suspects without
Federal approval. It also would expand the categories of persons who
can be prosecuted for human trafficking. In addition, it clarifies that
child pornography is a form of human trafficking.
This bill takes an extremely thoughtful and comprehensive approach,
tackling not only the supply of human trafficking victims but also the
demand for these victims. Tackling the problem on both fronts is
something the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service tells us is
absolutely necessary if we are to successfully curb human trafficking.
If enacted, this bill will ensure that both the trafficker and the
buyer will be prosecuted for their crimes.
We had an open and productive markup of this bill. I offered an
amendment, which was accepted by voice vote, clarifying that Federal
grant resources can be used to meet the housing needs of trafficking
victims and offer training on the effects of sex trafficking to those
who serve runaway, homeless, and at-risk youth.
This amendment also updates the reauthorization language for the
CyberTipline of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
to ensure that child trafficking is specifically mentioned as a form of
Internet-related child exploitation.
Finally, this amendment would require the Interagency Task Force to
monitor and combat trafficking to identify best practices to prevent
human trafficking.
Senator Blumenthal from the State of Connecticut also offered an
amendment based on a bill he and Senator Kirk filed earlier this year,
which was accepted in committee by a voice vote. Their bill, S. 575,
known as the HERO Act, provides authorization for a program at the
Department of Homeland Security that trains wounded warriors to assist
in the effort to locate missing children.
I am proud to be a cosponsor of the bill now before if Senate. I
commend Senator Cornyn, the lead sponsor of this measure, for his
efforts to refine the bill and build such a substantial, very
bipartisan coalition supporting it. I hope we will show the same
bipartisan cooperation and support on the floor as we consider
amendments. I look forward to a vote on this bill as soon as possible.
I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record letters in
support of S. 178 from various organizations.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
February 23, 2015.
Senator Chuck Grassley,
Chair, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Dirksen Senate Office
Building, Washington, DC.
Senator Patrick Leahy,
Ranking Member, Russell Senate Office Building, Washington,
DC.
Senator Dianne Feinstein,
Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Senator John Cornyn,
Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Senator Amy Klobuchar,
Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Senators Grassley, Leahy, Feinstein, Cornyn, and
Klobuchar: We write to you, the leaders of the U.S. Senate
Judiciary Committee, and to three committee Senators who have
been particularly sensitive to our (often ignored)
perspective. We write to you as survivors of sex trafficking
and commercial sexual exploitation. We write as survivors who
know, profoundly and personally, the harm caused by this
crime. And we write to you as survivor leaders of
organizations trying to prevent sex trafficking before it
victimizes others.
We write to express our support for legislation that makes
progress in three essential areas:
1. Identify new funding streams for victim services.
Current public budgets are stressed. Victims of sex
trafficking typically suffer multiple harms, requiring a
range of services from medical and psychological assistance
to treatment for the drug and alcohol addiction that so often
accompanies trafficking (addictions that make people
vulnerable to trafficking; addictions that develop or worsen
as people try to cope with the pain of this intimate form of
abuse). We've been told by law enforcement in numerous
jurisdictions that when services don't exist (mainly because
they are expensive) there's a disincentive to enforcing anti-
trafficking laws and identifying victims.
The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (JVTA), S. 178,
is innovative for creating a new fund to finance victim--
services an essential goal. It also achieves a second
principle we stand for: Making sex buyers accountable for the
harm they cause.
2. Prevent sex trafficking by targeting the buyers who
create demand. Logically, trafficking will never end until we
shrink the demand that creates the market. People still in
the life, still being exploited, sometimes avoid this
conclusion because they see no other options but the cycle of
violence in which they are trapped. We are strong witnesses
to the necessity of making the buyers pay, to make the crime
end.
Two bills in particular strength accountability in the sex
trafficking legal regime: S. 178 and Combat Human Trafficking
Act of 2015, S. 140. By clarifying congressional intent that
sex buyers be considered parties to the trafficking crime, by
compelling the Department of Justice to incorporate training
and technical assistance on investigating and prosecuting
buyers in its anti-trafficking programming, and by making the
crime more ``costly,'' we can finally begin to shrink its
incidence.
[[Page S1357]]
3. Treat victims as victims, not criminals, and let
survivor voices inform anti-trafficking policy. Two bills in
particular recognize these realities: the Stop Exploitation
Through Trafficking Act, S. 166, which gives states
incentives to approve ``Safe Harbor'' laws as well as job
training options for victims and the Survivors of Human
Trafficking Empowerment Act, which creates a survivors-led
U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking to review federal
policy and programs.
Other proposals may also make valuable contributions, but
these are the three most important principles to incorporate
in new legislative initiatives.
Thank you for your consideration. Please let us know if you
have specific questions or would like more information on our
program activities.
Sincerely,
Windie Lazenko, 4her--North Dakota, ND; Brooke Axtell,
Allies Against Slavery, TX; Aliza Amar, Breaking the Silence
Together/Sole Sisters Project, San Diego, CA; Vednita Carter,
Breaking Free, St Paul, MN; Leah J. Albright-Byrd, Executive
Director/Founder, Bridget's Dream, Sacramento, CA; Marian
Hatcher, Human Trafficking Coordinator, Cook County Sheriff's
Office, SPACE International Member, Chicago, IL; Tina Frundt,
Courtney's House, Washington, DC; Cherie Jimenez, Founder,
Eva Center, Boston, MA; D'Lita Miller, Founder/Executive
Director, Families Against Sex Trafficking, Los Angeles, CA;
Kathi Hardy, Founder/Executive Director, Freedom From
Exploitation, San Diego, CA; Cheryl Briggs, Founder/
President, Mission at Serenity Ranch, TX; Necole Daniels,
MISSSEY, Inc., Oakland, CA; Dr. Brook Bello, More Too Life,
FL.
Nola Brantley, Nola Brantley Speaks! Oakland, CA; Rebecca
Bender, Rebecca Bender Ministries, OR; Carissa Phelps,
Runaway Girl, Inc., CA; Natasha Falle, Co-Founder, Sex Trade
101/Canada; Bridget Perrier, Co-Founder, Sex Trade 101/
Canada; Stella Marr, Survivor and a Founder, Sex Trafficking
Survivors United, USA; Amy Green, Survivors Consultation
Network, San Bernardino, CA; Rachel Thomas, Sowers Education
Group, Los Angeles, CA; Autumn Burris, Survivors for
Solutions/SPACE Int'l Member, San Diego, CA; Mark (Marq)
Daniel Taylor, The BUDDY House, Inc., GA; Tom Jones, Founder,
The H.O.P.E. Project for Male Survivors, San Diego, CA;
Kristy Childs, Veronica's Voice, Inc., Kansas City, MO;
Jeanette Westbrook, MSSW, Women Graduates--USA/SPACE Int'l
Member, KY; Beth Jacobs, Founder, Willow Way/Policy Chair,
National Survivor Network, Tuscan, AZ.
____
February 23, 2015.
Hon. Chuck Grassley,
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Patrick J. Leahy,
Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Leahy: We are a
coalition of organizations from across the United States
dedicated to improving the lives of vulnerable women and
children and write to express our support for the Justice for
Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015, S. 178 (JVTA). The JVTA
would provide much needed services and support to domestic
victims of trafficking and provide a tool for law
enforcement, courts, and the anti-trafficking task forces
throughout the country to effectively target the demand that
fuels the sex trafficking market.
The JVTA provides unprecedented support to domestic victims
of trafficking, who are too often invisible and underserved,
by creating grants for state and local governments to develop
comprehensive support programs for victims. In addition, the
Act will directly assist domestic victims of trafficking by
finally allowing them access to the same services and support
systems that have been previously available only to foreign
victims of human trafficking in the U.S. The legislation
prioritizes victim assistance by training federal prosecutors
and judges on the importance of requesting and ordering
restitution, and training law enforcement on facilitating
physical and mental health services for trafficking victims
they encounter.
Every day in this country, thousands of women and children
are bought and sold. The unfettered demand for sex, with
underage girls in particular, has caused pimps and exploiters
to resort to more extreme tactics in order to meet the
growing demand. Women and children, especially girls, are
advertised online where buyers purchase them with ease,
anonymity, and impunity. This happens in every city, in every
state.
The elimination of sex trafficking is fundamentally linked
to targeting the demand for commercial sex. Any effort to
prevent sex trafficking must focus on the sex buyers and
facilitators. Without buyers of commercial sex, sex
trafficking would not exist.
This legislation is vital. The Justice for Victims of
Trafficking Act of 2015 represents an effort to provide the
necessary support services to our domestic victims of
trafficking in the U.S. and to target the culture of impunity
for those who seek to purchase sex, especially with children.
As leaders in the anti-trafficking, anti-violence, child
welfare, civil rights, runaway and homeless youth, and human
rights movements, we urge Congress to pass this critical
piece of legislation.
Sincerely,
Rights4Girls, ECPAT-USA, NAACP, National Domestic Violence
Hotline, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
(NCJFCJ), National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA),
Minnesota Indian Women Resource Center, National Women's Law
Center (NWLC), American Psychological Association, National
Children's Alliance, Equality Now, Shared Hope International,
Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (APA), Survivors for
Solutions, Breaking Free Inc., Coalition Against Trafficking
in Women (CATW), PROTECT, National Crittenton Foundation.
First Focus Campaign for Children, Girls Inc. (National),
National Association for Children's Behavioral Health,
National Center for Youth Law, Alameda County District
Attorney's Office, Advisory Council on Child Trafficking
(ACCT), My Life My Choice, Girls for Gender Equity, PACE
Center for Girls, Inc., The Children's Campaign, Sojourners,
Men Can Stop Rape, YWCA National Capital Area, WestCoast
Children's Clinic, FAIR Girls, Sanctuary for Families,
Alliance for Girls, Girls Inc. of Alameda County.
DC Rape Crisis Center, Stop Modern Slavery, Women's
Foundation of Minnesota, Healthy Teen Network, United
Methodist Women, Foster Family-based Treatment Association,
Pacific Alliance to Stop Slavery, Children's Home Society of
Washington, American Association of University Women SF,
Exodus Cry, Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center, Hope Academy
of the Denver Street School, Directions For Youth & Families,
Violence Prevention Coalition, Children Now, Always Free, Set
Free, End Slavery TN.
Child Advocacy Center a Division of Meridian Health
Services, Program for the Empowerment of Girls (Albuquerque
specialized court for girls), Changing Destinies, Second Life
of Chattanooga, Students Ending Slavery at the University of
Maryland, Hope Run Kenosha, Tex Pride Disaster & Recovery
First Responders, West Florida Center for Trafficking
Advocacy, Empowered You, LLC, Traffick Free, Chapelwood
United Methodist Church, Hephzibah Children's Home, Side-By-
Side Church International, Lives Worth Saving, Pleasant Grove
United Methodist Women, Sisters of Providence, A2 Trafficking
Task Force, Michigan Abolitionist Project.
Set Free Movement, Refuge of Light, Ash Creek Baptist
Church, Companions of Wisdom, Zonta Club of Pinellas County,
Oasis of Hope, Benton County Republican Women, Ho'ola Na
Pua (Hawaii-based child sex trafficking service provider),
Butterfly House, International Christian Center, New Life
Refuge Ministries, The Red Web Foundation, Coastal Bend
Grace House, Freedom13, The RavenHeart Center, Scott
County Sheriff's Office, Flathead Abolitionist Movement,
The Porch Light.
Honermann Homeschool, Heartly House, Milton Hershey School,
River's Voice Music, San Antonio Against Slavery, Smoky Hill
Vineyard Church, Sauk Prairie Church, MQA Charity in Action,
St Mary of the Lake Human Trafficking Working Group, Eden's
Glory, Project Resource Company, Shelter In The Storm,
Daughters of Charity, Denver Street School--Hope Academy,
Stockton Covenant Church, National Association of Social
Workers, I'm Aware, Christian Inn Ministries, Inc.
Living in Liberty, Precious Ones, Thomas Spann Clinic,
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, CharlotteLaw Advocates
Against Trafficking of Humans, Saint Hilary Parish, RJ
Huffman & Associates, Sufficient Grace Outreach, Anti-
Trafficking Task Force, First Congregational Church of
Boulder, The MENTOR Network, Freedom From Exploitation, Hope
Hollow Exploitation Victim Assistance and Consultation
Services, Virginia Beach Justice Initiative, Religious
Sisters of Charity, To Love Children Educational Foundation
International Inc., Children's Advocacy Center of Suffolk
County, Make Way Partners, Restore NYC.
Ozone House, Inc., ENC Stop Human Trafficking Now,
YouthSpark, Changing Destinies, Visitors from the Past,
Perhaps Kids Meeting Kids Can Make A Difference, Living Water
for Girls, The Ray E. Helfer Society, Edmund Rice
International, Bay Area Girls Unite, Exodus Cry, Horizon
Farms, The Tobert and Polly Dunn Foundation, Lotus Medicine,
Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), Home Instead
Senior Care, From Words 2 Action Outreach Ministries,
Butterfly Dreams Abuse Recovery.
O L Pathy Foundation, Dignity Health, Forsythe County Child
Advocacy Center, Civil Society (Minnesota based anti-
trafficking organization), 300m4freedom, Bluff Country Family
Resources, Sexual Assault Services, Inc., Asian Women United
of MN, Tubman Family Crisis & Support Services, Rochester
Franciscan, Human Trafficking Task Force, Trinity
Presbyterian Church, Anoka Ramsey Community College, New York
Asian Women's Center, St. Mary's Social Justice Ministry, St
Mary of the Lake Human Trafficking Working Group, Franciscan
Peace Center Anti-Trafficking Committee, Kids At Risk Action,
Nomi Network.
Soroptimist International of Stuart, Someplace Safe,
Calvary Temple, Genesee County Youth Corporation, Youth
Attention Center, The Advocates for Human Rights, Livingston
Family Center, Central New Mexico Counseling Service, Downey
McGrath Group, Women Graduates-USA, Lutheran Services in
America, Life for the Innocent, Too Young to Wed, WRAP Court
(specialized ``CSEC'' court, Philadelphia), Real Life Giving,
Christian Inn Ministries, Inc., Angels Ministry, California
Alliance of Child and Family Services, Crittenton Center,
Children's Court
[[Page S1358]]
Division (2nd Judicial District Court, Albuquerque), Oak
Chapel UMC, Greif Fellowship in Juvenile Human Trafficking at
The Ohio State University.
____
February 24, 2015.
Hon. Chuck Grassley,
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Hon. Patrick J. Leahy,
Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Leahy: As
organizations representing law enforcement leaders, officers,
and state and local prosecutors from across the United
States, we write to express our support for S. 178, the
Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 (JVTA). The
JVTA would provide much needed services and support to
domestic victims of trafficking. More importantly, this bill
provides necessary tools for law enforcement, courts, and the
anti-trafficking task forces throughout the country to
effectively target the demand that fuels the sex trafficking
market.
The JVTA provides unprecedented resources to address the
issue of domestic victims of trafficking, who are too often
invisible and underserved, by creating grants for state and
local governments to develop comprehensive systems to address
these crimes and provide services for victims. In addition,
the legislation allows wire-taps obtained through state
courts to be used for child sex trafficking, trains federal
prosecutors and judges on the importance of requesting and
ordering restitution, and trains law enforcement on
facilitating physical and mental health services for
trafficking victims they encounter.
According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited
Children (NCMEC), at least 100,000 American children each
year are the victims of commercial child prostitution and
child trafficking. Women and children, especially girls, are
also advertised online where buyers purchase them with ease,
anonymity, and impunity. This happens in every city, in every
state.
The elimination of sex trafficking is fundamentally linked
to targeting the demand for commercial sex. Without buyers of
commercial sex, sex trafficking would not exist. It is for
this reason and others stated above that we, as
representatives of law enforcement and the courts, support
this bill.
The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015
addresses a critical need by providing the necessary tools
and support services for domestic victims of trafficking in
the U.S. We urge Congress to pass this critical piece of
legislation.
Sincerely,
National District Attorneys Association, Association of
State Criminal Investigative Agencies, National Association
of Police Organizations, Federal Law Enforcement Officers
Association, National Fusion Center Association, National
Black Prosecutors Association.
National Troopers Coalition, Major Cities Chiefs
Association, Major County Sheriffs' Association, National
Sheriffs' Association, Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.
Mr. GRASSLEY. I also take this opportunity to thank the organizations
Rights4Girls, Shared Hope International, the Polaris Project, and the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, among many other
supporters of the bill, for their effort in assisting in our refinement
of this legislation so it could move forward in this manner.
I yield the floor.
Mr. LEAHY. If the Senator will yield for a question, there is so much
of this bill I strongly support. In fact, a lot of it reflects
legislation I have written and actually passed through the committee
before. I have a couple of concerns, but one that comes to mind is that
we don't want to hold out false promises to victims, and I know the
Senator doesn't want to either.
I certainly support having any money that the traffickers are fined
go to supporting this, but my experience earlier as a prosecutor and my
experience now in talking to prosecutors around the country is that
most of these people, when they get prosecuted, are basically judgment-
proof--they don't have any money or they have a very small amount of
money. They will go to prison. Who pays for that? Of course taxpayers
pay for the prison, whether it is Federal or State. They will pay for
the prisons, but there is no money for the victims.
What happens if the fine money does not materialize? We have talked
about up to $30 million, I think, in fines, but let's suppose we only
come up with a few thousand dollars in fines. Are we making a promise
to these victims that can't be met? Is there an alternative for them in
case the fines don't pay for it?
Mr. GRASSLEY. I guess, based upon the experience of the supporters of
the legislation and the expert advice they got in coming to the
conclusion of how to fund this fund, they feel the money is going to be
available to do that.
You ask a legitimate question. I suppose I ought to have an answer
for it, and I don't have from this standpoint. I think that I have
great faith in the figures they have presented us and that we will have
to deal with the issue you bring up at some future time because I think
we will want everybody to be made whole if what you say happens.
Mr. LEAHY. The reason I ask, Mr. President, is because I know in the
House of Representatives they have been concerned that the money might
not be there.
I think we all want to accomplish these things for the victims. I
just want to make sure we are not holding out a promise that we can't
complete. Do I agree with all the fines going into this fund?
Absolutely. But the experience of a lot of prosecutors I have talked
with is that the court may say: I fine you $20,000 or $30,000, but this
is never paid. They go to prison. They have no assets. We are spending
$25,000 to $35,000 a year as taxpayers keeping them in prison, and I
want them to be in prison, but there is no money for victims.
Mr. GRASSLEY. I can say to the Senator that he raises a legitimate
point because I know in other areas we have set up such funds and
sometimes they come up short. But we have to remember that sometimes
something is not paid out because a lot of times excess money is used
for something else in the Federal budget and not paid out entirely the
way it was intended originally.
But I would urge my colleague to take the word of the people who have
done the research on this legislation to bring it together and the
consensus it has from 200 or more organizations and feel that it will
be successful. If it isn't, then I pledge to help you deal with that at
that particular time.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the issues raised in this are serious
matters, and the Senator from Iowa, Senator Klobuchar, Senator Cornyn,
and others should be concerned about this.
I think of a victim I have talked with, Holly Austin Smith. She was
14 years old when she ran away from home and quickly became a victim of
human trafficking. She met a man in a shopping mall who told her she
was pretty, and promised he would give her a glamorous life in
California. Remember, she was 14 years old. Then he sold her for sex.
The first man she was sold to commented that she reminded him of his
own granddaughter--but then he paid $200 to rape her.
Thankfully, Holly escaped and has rebuilt her life. She is now a
fierce advocate of ending all forms of human trafficking because she
knows what happens to those who are trafficked. But many are not so
lucky. The physical and psychological scars of being bought and sold,
of being raped multiple times a night by different men, are
devastating. This terrible crime destroys lives.
As we consider legislation to combat human trafficking, we must
remember Holly and the thousands of other vulnerable and victimized
children she represents, and we must do everything we can to keep it
from happening in the first place.
Last Congress, in 2013, I led the effort to reauthorize the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act. That historic bipartisan
legislation and the funds it authorized signaled our country's
commitment to ending all forms of human trafficking, both here at home
and around the world. So I am glad, after the attention we gave to my
bill last Congress, to see the Senate return its attention to this
issue. Stories such as Holly's make clear we have more work to do.
I support the bill we take up today, the Justice for Victims of
Trafficking Act, but I believe we must do more to prevent trafficking
in the first place. We have to act to protect our young people before
they become victims. It is one thing to say now that you have become a
victim, we are here to help you. It does even more if we can stop them
from being victims in the first place.
The legislation that Senator Collins of Maine and I have introduced
seeks to do just that. Homeless and runaway kids are exceptionally
vulnerable to human traffickers. A recent survey
[[Page S1359]]
found that one in four homeless teens was a victim of sex trafficking
or had been forced to provide sex for survival needs.
These vulnerable children, alone and on the street, are walking prey.
Human traffickers lurk around bus stops and parks where homeless
children congregate. They offer promises of something to eat and a
night off the streets. They exploit the very sad reality that most of
these children have no place to go. The weather may be cold. Far too
many of our cities have no shelter for kids, and those who do face a
chronic shortage of beds. Then somebody comes up and says: I will offer
you food, I will offer you a warm place to sleep for the night.
As Representative Poe recently said at an event on ending human
trafficking: We have more animal shelters in this country than places
for young people to find a safe place to sleep. What does that say
about our priorities? I have nothing against having the animal
shelters, but shouldn't we have more for our children than we do for
the animals?
If we are serious about preventing human trafficking, we must protect
these kids. We have to provide better outreach to them, more beds for
them to sleep in, and more counseling to get them on the path to a
stable life. This kind of prevention costs money, but it saves lives
and prevents the far more costly effects of human trafficking--not just
the effects of human trafficking on the victims' part, but the cost to
all of us. This is smart money we ought to be proud to invest in our
children. We must include the Runaway and Homeless Youth and
Trafficking Prevention Act in our efforts here to prevent more of our
kids from becoming victims. I look forward, at the appropriate place,
to offering our bipartisan legislation as an amendment.
I know other Senators have amendments they wish to see considered.
Senator Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has
an important piece of legislation to combat sex and labor trafficking
in countries around the world. I thank him for working with me to make
some improvements to its funding provisions and I hope this bipartisan
legislation will be considered as an amendment by the full Senate.
I mentioned earlier Senator Klobuchar has been working for years to
see the safe harbor bill get passed, to make sure victims are treated
as victims and not as criminals. I am proud to cosponsor her bill.
After all, as I said about the Violence Against Women Act, a victim is
a victim is a victim. They are not criminals. They are victims.
Senator McConnell has long promised a full amendment process. I take
him at his word and I expect we will have the opportunity to strengthen
the underlying bill with a variety of ideas from Senators. We owe it to
survivors such as Holly to pass the strongest possible bill.
We have to provide the resources desperately needed by those on the
front lines protecting young people every day, such as those in my home
State of Vermont at Spectrum Services and the Vermont Coalition of
Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs service providers. We owe it to all
the survivors who bravely come forward and tell their stories, hoping
to prevent just one more child from falling prey to this terrible
crime.
The Senate has to pass a strong, comprehensive bill that includes
prevention and prosecution, but also services for victims. We haven't
accomplished as much as we should if we are only able to prosecute the
perpetrator after the fact and forget about helping the victim. We have
to stop trafficking from happening in the first place; but if it does
happen, we have to help the victims.
An editorial in the New York Times last week noted that:
. . . a consensus is emerging on new initiatives to confront
this human-rights problem and help its victims, often
runaways or homeless youngsters who have been forced or
coerced into prostitution.
I agree with that editorial, and I look forward to working with every
Senator here to ensure we get this done for the American people.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the New York Times
editorial be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From the New York Times, March 5, 2015]
Steps Against Juvenile Sex Trafficking
(By the Editorial Board)
The impression that America's sex-trafficking problem
mostly involves young people smuggled from overseas has given
way to broad recognition of a cruel homegrown reality: the
tens of thousands of juveniles who are exploited each year by
traffickers in this country.
On Capitol Hill, a consensus is emerging on new initiatives
to confront this human-rights problem and help its victims,
often runaways or homeless youngsters who have been forced or
coerced into prostitution.
The Senate Judiciary Committee last week unanimously
approved a pair of anti-trafficking bills with wide backing
from victim advocates and other experts, and the full Senate
is expected to take up the package soon.
A bill championed by Senator John Cornyn, Republican of
Texas, would create a new pool of financing--through
additional fines on people convicted of sex and labor
trafficking, child pornography and other crimes--for
restitution, victim services and law enforcement. The idea of
aiding victims without committing more tax dollars has drawn
support from Republicans, and any new money for this badly
underfinanced cause would help.
The Cornyn bill would also encourage prosecution of the
``johns,'' or buyers of juvenile sex, who typically escape
criminal charges even though they are paying for what amounts
to the statutory rape of children and teenagers. Their demand
is what's fueling the highly lucrative human slavery
business.
The second bill, put forward by Senator Amy Klobuchar,
Democrat of Minnesota, would give a preference for Department
of Justice law enforcement grants to states that adopt ``safe
harbor'' laws.
These laws help ensure that young people sold for sex are
treated as victims and offered support services instead of
being prosecuted. The House has approved similar bills, so it
should not be hard to hammer out a strong final package.
A preventive measure that would help ensure housing and
services for homeless juveniles, who are often prey to
traffickers, unfortunately stalled in the Senate Judiciary
Committee. One obstacle was the resistance of some
Republicans to its nondiscrimination provision guaranteeing
fair treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
youths.
No young person should ``have to choose between selling
their bodies and a safe place to sleep,'' said Senator Susan
Collins, Republican of Maine, who introduced the bill with
Patrick Leahy, Democrat of Vermont. Undeterred, they plan to
seek consideration from the full Senate.
Trafficking abroad remains a tremendous problem, so it is
fitting that a promising approach comes from the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, which last week unanimously
approved a measure to create an international public-private
fund dedicated to the issue, similar to the Global Fund to
Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. More resources could do
a lot to help trafficking's victims at home, too.
Mr. LEAHY. We talk about the Runaway and Homeless Youth Trafficking
and Prevention Act. This is a partial list of the local, State, and
national groups which have urged its passage. There are too many to
read--this has to be in small type; otherwise, we would have a dozen
posters if we put it in larger type.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record
the complete list.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
national organizations
AccuWord, LLC; Alliance to End Slavery & Trafficking
(ATEST); American Psychological Association; Campaign for
Youth Justice; Center for Children's Law and Policy;
CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Center; Children's Advocacy
Institute; Child Welfare League of America; Coalition for
Juvenile Justice; Covenant House International; ECPAT-USA;
Entertainment Industries Council, Inc.; Family Equality
Council; Family Promise; First Focus Campaign for Children;
Free the Slaves; Foster Family-based Treatment Association;
FosterClub; Freedom Network USA; Funders Together to End
Homelessness; Futures Without Violence; Girls Inc.; Healthy
Teen Network; HEAR US, Inc.; Hetrick-Martin Institute; Human
Rights Campaign; Human Rights Project for Girls; Indian Oaks
Academy; International Human Trafficking Institute;
International Organization for Adolescents (IOFA).
Jewish Women International; Lambda Legal; MANY; Marriage
Equality USA; National Association of Counsel for Children;
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children
and Youth; National Center for Housing and Child Welfare;
National Center for Lesbian Rights; National Children's
Alliance; National Coalition for the Homeless; National
Council on Jewish Women; National Council of Juvenile and
[[Page S1360]]
Family Court Judges; National Law Center on Homelessness &
Poverty; National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund; National
Network for Youth; National PTA; National Safe Place Network;
National Youth Advocate Program; Peace Alliance; Polaris;
Reclaiming Lost Voices; SAFE Coalition for Human Rights;
School Social Work Association of America; Sexuality
Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS);
Shared Hope International; Southwest Key Programs; StandUp
For Kids; Student Peace Alliance; The Equity Project; The
Forum for Youth Investment; The General Board of Church and
Society, United Methodist Church; The National Crittenton
Foundation; The Peace Alliance; The Trevor Project; True
Colors Fund; U.S. Fund for UNICEF; U.S. Committee for
Refugees and Immigrants; W. Haywood Burns Institute.
regional
Art Expression Inc., Pittsburgh, PA; BeaSister2aSister,
Brooklyn, NY; CAP Services, Inc., Stevens Point, WI; Caring
for Children, Inc., Asheville, NC; Catholic Charities of the
Diocese of Albany, NY; Center for Health Justice, Inc.;
Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA; Community
Youth Services, Olympia, WA; Compass Family & Community
Services, Youngstown, OH; Congregation of St. Joseph, OH;
Covenant House New Orleans, LA; Free2Be Safe Anti-Violence
Project, Huntsville, AL; Hope Hollow Exploitation Victim
Assistance and Consultation, PA; Janus Youth Programs,
Portland, OR; Latin American Youth Center, Washington, DC;
Long Island Crisis Center/Pride for Youth, NY; Loving Arms,
Inc., MD.
LUK, Inc., Fitchburg & Worcester, MA; Lutheran Social
Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan; Rainbow House,
MO; Runaway and Homeless Youth Services--Boys & Girls
Clubs of America; Ryan's House for Youth, Freeland, WA;
Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness, CA;
Safe Harbor Children's Center, Brunswick, GA; San Diego
Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenting Program; Staircase
Youth Services, Inc., Ludington, MI; South Bay Community
Services, Chula Vista, CA; United Way of Tucson and
Southern Arizona, Tucson, AZ; Victoria Area Homeless
Coalition, Victoria, TX; Volunteers of America of America
Northern New England, Brunswick, ME; Youth and Shelter
Services, Inc., Ames, IA; Youth Continuum, New Haven, CT;
YouthLink, Minneapolis, MN; Youth OUTright WNC, Inc.,
Asheville & Western NC.
STATE ORGANIZATIONS
AO: Advocating Opportunity, OH; AMP Iowa; Arizona Legal
Women and Youth Services (ALWAYS), Phoenix, AZ; Avenues for
Homeless Youth, MN; California Coalition for Youth; Chicago
Coalition for the Homeless; Children and Family Services of
NH; Children's Home + Aid, IL; Coalition for Homeless Youth;
Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking; Cocoon House,
Everett, WA; Covenant House Pennsylvania; Covenant House
Florida; Texans Care for Children, TX; The DC Center for the
LGBT Community.
Empire State Pride Agenda, NY; The Bridge for Youth,
Minneapolis, MN; The Florida Network of Youth and Family
Services; Family Resources, Inc., FL; Families On The Move,
Inc., MI; Focus on Awareness and Information Resources of New
York, Syracuse, NY; Georgia Alliance to End Homelessness, GA;
Healing Place Serve, LA; Human Rights Advocacy Center, Inc.,
FL; Illinois Collaboration on Youth; Indiana Youth Services
Association, Indianapolis, IN; Lutheran Social Services of
MN; Lutheran Social Services, WI; Massachusetts Coalition for
the Homeless; North Little Rock School District, AR.
Outreach Resource Centers, UT; Preble Street, Portland, ME;
Reed City Housing Commission, Reed City, MI; Sparrow's Next
NW MT; Student Advocacy Center of Michigan; The Mockingbird
Society, WA; The Women's Law Center of Maryland, Inc.;
Training and Resources United to Stop Trafficking, AZ;
Vermont Coalition of Runaway & Homeless Youth Programs; Youth
Bridge, Fayetteville, AR; Youth Pride, Inc., RI; Youthworks,
Bismarck and Fargo, ND; WI Association for Homeless and
Runaway Services.
LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS
Adventure Church, Kalispell, MT; Alameda Family Services,
Alameda, CA; Alternative House, Fairfax, VA; Attention Homes,
Boulder, CO; Avenues for Homeless Youth, Minneapolis, MN;
Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center, Allentown, PA; Bill
Wilson Center, San Jose, CA; Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox
Valley, Appleton, WI; Briarpatch Youth Services, Madison, WI;
Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Boston, MA; Broward Human
Trafficking Coalition, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Cardinal McCloskey
Community Services, Bronx, NY; Catholic Charities of Herkimer
County, NY; Catholic Charities, Lubbock, TX; Center for
Family Services, Camden, NJ; Center on Halsted, Chicago, IL;
Central Texas Youth Services Bureau, Belton, TX; Children's
Home Society of FL--WaveCREST Shelter, Fort Pierce, FL;
Community Resources in Service to People, Winterset, IA;
Compatior, Inc., South Gate, CA; Compass House, Buffalo, NY.
CORY Place, Inc., Bay City, MI; Covenant House NY, New
York, NY; Crisis Center Inc., a Youth Service Bureau, Gary,
IN; Crosswinds Youth Services, Cocoa, FL; Davis Chapel United
Methodist Church, Piedmont, AL; Daybreak, Dayton, OH;
Educational and Treatment Council, Inc., Lake Charles, LA;
Evergreen Youth & Family Services, Bemidji, MN; Face to Face
Health and Counseling Service, Inc., St. Paul, MN; Fairfield-
Suisun Unified School District, Fairfield-Suisun, CA; Family
Assistance Program, Victorville, CA; Friends of Youth,
Kirkland, WA; Gay & Lesbian Community Services of SE MN,
Rochester, MN; Girls Educational and Mentoring Services,
New York, NY; Give Them Wings, Inc., dba WINGS, Hood
River, OR; Good Shepherd Services, New York, NY; Grand
Rapids Public Schools, Grand Rapids, MI; HDC Project Reach
Out, Superior, WA; Health care for the Homeless,
Pittsburgh, PA; Hillcrest Youth Program, Kansas City, KS;
Home Start, Inc., San Diego, CA.
Hudson Pride Connections Center, Jersey City, NJ; Human
Development Center/ Project Reach Out, Duluth, MN; In Our Own
Voice, Inc., Albany, NY; Interfaith Emergency Services,
Ocala, FL; Introspect Youth Services, Inc., Chicago, IL 1 in
10, Inc., Phoenix, AZ; Jackson Street Youth Shelter, Inc.,
Corvallis, OR; Jefferson County Public Schools, Louisville,
KY; Juneau Youth Services, Juneau, AK; Kalamazoo Gay Lesbian
Resource Center, Kalamazoo, MI; Karis, Inc., Grand Junction,
CO; Kenosha Human Development Services, Kenosha, WI; Kids in
Crisis, Greenwich, CT; Kids in Need Youth Program,
Rhinelander, WI; Krista THP+, Redding, CA; Larkin Street
Youth Services, San Francisco, CA; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual &
Transgender Community Center, New York, NY; LGBT Center of
Raleigh, Raleigh, NC; LIFE Skills Foundation, Durham, NC;
Lighthouse Youth Services, Inc., Cincinnati, OH.
Lutheran Social Services SW RAYS, Baraboo, WI; Lutheran
Social Services Youth Services, Brainerd, MN; Matrix Human
Services, Detroit, MI; MCCNY Charities, Inc., New York, NY;
Miami Coalition for the Homeless, Miami, FL; Montgomery
County Youth Services, Conroe, TX; Morgan County System of
Services, Inc., Decatur, AL; New Morning Youth & Family
Services, Placerville, CA; Northwest Family Services, Inc.,
Alva, OK; Oasis Center, Nashville, TN; Open Arms, Inc.,
Albany, GA; Open Door Youth Services, Green Bay, WI; Ozone
House Youth and Family Services, Ann Arbor, MI; Pathfinders
Milwaukee, Inc., Milwaukee, WI; PathWays PA, Holmes, PA;
Positive Alternatives, Inc., Menomonie, WI; Pride Center of
Staten Island, Inc., Staten Island, NY; Pridelines Youth
Services, South FL; Project Oz, McLean County, IL; Project
16:49, Janesville, WI; Project Reach, New York, NY; Project
YES, Ceres, CA.
Proud Haven, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA; Redwood Community Action
Agency--Youth Service Bureau, Eureka, CA; Richmond Gay
Community Foundation, Richmond, VA; Roanoke Diversity Center,
Roanoke, VA; Safe Haven of Racine, Inc., Racine, WI;
Sanctuary of Hope, Los Angeles, CA; Sasha Bruce Youthwork,
Inc., Washington, DC; School District 27J, Brighton, CO; Shaw
House, Bangor, ME; Social Advocates for Youth, Santa Rosa,
CA; Somerville Homeless Coalition, Somerville, MA; StandUp
for Kids, Chicago, IL; StandUp for Kids, Washington, DC;
SunServe, Wilton Manors, FL; Tahoe Youth & Family Services,
South Lake Tahoe, CA; Tamar Counseling Services, Upland, CA;
Teens Alone, Hopkins, MN.
The Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport, Bridgeport,
CT; The Gay and Lesbian Center of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas,
NV; The HEAT Program, Brooklyn, NY; The Night Ministry,
Chicago, IL; The Youth and Family Project, Inc., West Bend,
WI; Urban Peak Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO;
Walker's Point Youth & Family Center, Milwaukee, WI;
Livingston Family Center--The Connection Youth Services,
Howell, MI; School District 27J, Brighton, CO; YMCA of San
Diego County, San Diego, CA; YMCA Safe Place Services,
Louisville, KY; Young Adult Guidance Center, Inc., Atlanta,
GA; YouthCare, Seattle, WA; Youth Emergency Services, Omaha,
NE; Youth In Need, St. Louis, MO; Youth Outreach Services,
Inc., Chicago, IL; YouthLink, Minneapolis, MN; Youth Service
Bureau of St. Joseph County, Inc., South Bend, IN; Youth
Services Bureau of Monroe County, Bloomington, IL; Youth
Services for Stephens County, Inc., Duncan, OK; Youth
Services of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I see the distinguished senior Senator from
Texas on the floor seeking recognition. I wonder if we could suggest
the absence of a quorum for just 1 minute.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I know the Senator from West Virginia will
be giving her first speech in the Senate here shortly and I look
forward to listening to that, but I wanted to say a few words about the
legislation we will be debating and hopefully passing this week, and
that is the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.
This is without a doubt one of the most shocking and troubling issues
facing our country today. It is no exaggeration to say modern-day human
slavery, at a time when we believed as a country that slavery was a
part of
[[Page S1361]]
our past and something we only read about in our history books.
Many people are under the impression that human trafficking is a
problem somewhere else or at some other time in history, but the fact
is human trafficking is a problem right now in all 50 States, right
here in the United States of America, the most affluent country in the
world. It is not just a problem in Texas, it is not just a problem in
Arizona, it is not just a problem in West Virginia, it is a problem in
all 50 States.
Thousands of young girls, many of them middle school age, are trapped
into a life of bondage where they are abused and sold for sex every
day. It is not easy to say, but it is true, and we must say it and we
must acknowledge it.
This is of course unconscionable. As the father of two daughters
myself, it is simply heartbreaking to hear the stories of young women
who have been trapped in this system. Of course, we can imagine it is
every parent's worst nightmare.
One woman I have had the privilege of meeting and who shared her very
personal story about this is Melissa Woodward from the Dallas-Fort
Worth area in Texas. When she was 12 years old--12 years old--she was
sold into the sex trade by a family member, somebody whom she had every
right to assume cared for her, loved her, wanted her to grow up being a
loved and productive person. But she was sold into the sex trade by a
family member. Eventually she was pulled out of school and trafficked
full time when she was in sixth grade. Her life became a prison.
She was chained to a bed in a warehouse. She endured regular beatings
and, of course, she was sexually assaulted with regularity. She was
even set on fire by one of her captors. All the while, she was forced
to serve between 5 and 30 men every day.
Melissa has said that she wished she were dead. Her story of her time
in captivity is gut-wrenching and heartbreaking, but just as sad is the
way she was treated once she escaped from her captors. As is the case
with so many victims, Melissa struggled for years to distance herself
from her past. But instead of being treated as the victim she was, the
criminal justice system actually treated her as the criminal. That is
an all too common outcome for victims of trafficking, who are labeled
as prostitutes and are left with few options but to return to the
nightmare that so sadly exists in our country.
That needs to change. That is why I am glad the Senate is taking up
the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, because this begins the
process of making that important change. The bill helps law enforcement
crack down on criminal trafficking rings and perpetrators of these
crimes.
Instead of a slap on the wrist and a fine, the so-called johns--the
demand side for this terrible trade--will be treated as the child
rapists and the criminals they are. No longer are we just going to deal
with the supply side. We are going to pay attention to the demand side
too.
Critically, this bill takes fines from the perpetrators of these
awful crimes and redirects them into a crime victims fund which will
help people such as Melissa and others get a fresh lease on life, to
begin to heal and to get the help they so badly need in order to get on
with their lives.
This week we have a wonderful opportunity in the Senate, in a town
that is too often divided by ideology and partisanship, to do something
together on a bipartisan basis that can help people such as Melissa and
the thousands of young girls like her waiting to be saved. All of us,
Republicans and Democrats alike, are committed to working together to
do everything we can to help these victims and to put an end to this
abhorrent practice.
This particular legislation we are taking up today passed unanimously
out of the Judiciary Committee a few weeks ago. That doesn't happen
very often, but it did for this legislation. More than 200 groups
around the country--such as the NAACP, the National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children, Rights4Girls, the Fraternal Order of Police,
and the National Conference of State Legislatures--have all endorsed
our work on this issue.
I want to particularly thank some of my colleagues on the other side
of the aisle who joined me on this effort: the senior Senator from
Minnesota, Ms. Klobuchar, and the senior Senator from Oregon, Mr.
Wyden. They have been great partners in this fight--not just this year
but for many years. And there are many others. Another great partner
has been the junior Senator from Illinois, Mr. Kirk, who has worked for
years to get antitrafficking legislation to the floor. He introduced a
bill called the HERO Act which authorizes a program to recruit wounded,
injured, and returning veterans and provides them with training in
high-tech computer forensics and law enforcement skills to help fight
child exploitation.
I also want to acknowledge the great contribution of the junior
Senator from Ohio, Mr. Portman, who has a bill called the Bringing
Missing Children Home Act, which improves the way cases of missing
children are handled, strengthening law enforcement reporting and
response procedures.
Both the HERO Act and the Bringing Missing Children Home Act have
been incorporated into the underlying bill, and I want to thank both of
them for their efforts and willingness to work with us to make the
Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act even stronger.
I know there are Members who are interested in offering amendments to
this legislation. Thanks to the majority leader, we are going to have
an open process where anybody with a better idea who wants to add to
this base of work that is contained in this bill will have the
opportunity to do so, both offering amendments and seeking votes on
those.
This is a fight that sadly must be fought, but it is a fight we will
win. When we do, we will finally have done our part to help deliver our
Nation's promise of freedom to those who are enslaved.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
making washington work for west virginia
Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I rise today to deliver my maiden speech
as a Senator from West Virginia. I am deeply humbled by the confidence
placed in me by fellow West Virginians. To serve as West Virginia's
first female Senator is a true honor and one that comes with great
responsibility. I hope to serve as an example for that next generation
of West Virginians, including my own grandchildren Celia and Charlie,
and hopefully for many others. I find myself in a unique place in
history, and I am grateful to and inspired by my own loving family, my
husband Charlie and our three children, Charles, Moore, and Shelley,
and their spouses.
For 14 years I have proudly served the people of West Virginia's
Second Congressional District in the House of Representatives. I bring
that experience to the Senate combined with a strong desire to make
Washington work for West Virginia.
West Virginia has a time-honored history of exceptional Senators,
including my predecessors, Senators Jay Rockefeller and Robert C. Byrd.
I am appreciative of their efforts to better West Virginia during their
more than 80 years of combined public service in this great body.
I am proud of our State's rich history, culture, and natural beauty.
But it is our people that I hold dearest in my heart. West Virginians
are strong and resilient. We are the embodiment of our State's history.
Born of the Civil War, West Virginians fought for freedom in the face
of great turmoil. As a result, President Abraham Lincoln signed the
proclamation making West Virginia the 35th State admitted to the Union.
Today, our State's forceful motto, ``Mountaineers are always free,''
remains emblazoned in Latin on our State flag. We will never forget the
principles on which our great State was founded. The Mountain State is
home to unmatched scenery and natural resources that can power our
Nation's economy. A State filled with small towns, Main Streets and
tight knit communities, West Virginians come together to solve problems
and help neighbors in need. I have often said that West Virginia is one
big small town.
West Virginians expect the Senate to find pragmatic solutions to the
momentous problems confronting our
[[Page S1362]]
country. That is particularly true now during this period of divided
government. There are clear differences among the American people, and
these differences are certainly reflected in the Senate.
West Virginia is represented by both parties in the Senate, and I
look forward to continuing to work with my friend Senator Joe Manchin
in the months ahead, and I thank him for being here with me as a source
of support today. Together, I hope we can reinstate respect for the
institution, a place where deliberation and debate are valued and all
voices are heard. We owe it to the American people to do better.
Throughout my time in Congress I have heard a clear and consistent
message from West Virginians: Improve the economic opportunities for
our State, stop the bickering, and fight for our jobs. As Leader
McConnell has stated, to do this the Senate must work more, have an
open amendment process--which we are going to be having here in the
next several days--and take the tough votes. After all, that is why we
are here.
Today I will outline how I plan to produce bipartisan, commonsense
solutions in the Senate to make West Virginia communities stronger.
This plan will create economic opportunities by bridging the gap and
tackling America's infrastructure crisis, better connecting West
Virginia and rural communities through increased broadband access,
caring for our Nation's veterans, and ensuring a bright future for
young West Virginians, and implementing a commonsense energy policy
that utilizes our vast natural resources to provide affordable and
reliable energy.
First, addressing our country's crumbling infrastructure is an area
that can bridge the partisan divide and further economic growth.
American communities need a strong Federal highway program and a full
6-year bill to meet the needs of our growing population, to ensure
safety for travelers, and to offer opportunity for growth in areas that
struggle economically.
West Virginians, like many across the Nation, rely heavily on roads,
bridges, and highway transit to fuel our economy, to access hard to
reach areas in our State, to get to and from work, and to transport
necessary goods and services.
U.S. Route 35 will drastically improve safety for residents in Putnam
and Mason Counties. Corridor H will unleash the economic potential of
our State's eastern highlands. U.S. Route 340 will help address
congestion in our eastern panhandle, and the Coalfields Expressway and
the King Coal Highway can help isolated communities attract businesses
and provide jobs. Point Pleasant's Charles Lanham, a well-respected
gentleman, had a vision. With his friend Jack Fruth, they began a
crusade for their community.
For many years Charles has worked to build the case for a 4-lane U.S.
Route 35, a project that will provide a secure route to school for our
children and serve as a regional transportation artery between
Interstate 64 and the Great Lakes region. Charles understands the
economic and safety benefits the road provides and has fought for them.
Working with Charles we have made significant progress on Route 35,
but all of our States need certainty to invest in our transportation
infrastructure. That certainty comes with a long-term surface
transportation reauthorization bill, which brings these projects to
reality across the country. Working together we can and we must achieve
this goal. Now is the time to move our transportation system forward.
Second, I am committed to expanding access to broadband in
communities across West Virginia, and I will be a champion for
connecting our State. High-speed Internet access is a pillar of our
21st century infrastructure and a gateway to growth in rural America.
High-tech businesses can power our small communities. The world
literally can be at your desktop. Unfortunately, for all the potential
opportunities that broadband can offer to rural America, not having
this important service can place an almost insurmountable barrier to
economic development, and there are many areas in my State and the
leader's State that still do not have adequate access. These areas are
at risk of being left behind. In Capon Bridge, WV, a lack of broadband
access is an obstacle to attracting jobs and economic development.
Sadly, Capon Bridge is not unique in this regard.
Small communities across West Virginia and elsewhere in rural America
lack fundamental infrastructure and lack access to vital opportunities
as a result.
The answer for Capon Bridge is not a regulated Internet. Too much
government control would be counterproductive, choking off private
sector expansion projects and hindering new technologies. But we have
to recognize that there is a role for government in helping broadband
reach those hard-to-serve communities. We should leverage resources at
all levels of government and encourage public-private partnerships to
expand access to rural Americans. This is a necessary and achievable
goal. It may sound like a small desire, but connectivity is essential
to compete and thrive.
Health care access is critically important to West Virginians. We
must continue to provide access to our veterans and to our children.
West Virginians have a strong history of service to our Nation. These
brave men and women have put themselves in harm's way to defend our
freedoms. It is our solemn responsibility to care for them when they
return home.
These American heroes deserve the best possible treatment and top-
notch mental health services.
Access to care can be especially challenging for our veterans who
live in rural communities. Many West Virginia veterans must travel
significant distances to get to a VA hospital. In many cases, allowing
veterans to receive treatment closer to home is more convenient for the
patient and more efficient for the VA. While we have made strides to
improve access for our veterans, the current program is not working as
well as it should. More must be done.
Expanded access to private medical providers will help improve the
quality of care we offer to our veterans. Our children in the Mountain
State also deserve quality health care. If our children, the next
generation of leaders, are going to realize their potential, they must
have a healthy foundation. A solid education and good health are
pillars for success of future generations. As a parent and grandparent,
this is personal. We must work together to continue funding the State
Children's Health Insurance Program.
I started my legislative career in the West Virginia House of
Delegates where I served on the committee that first implemented the
SCHIP program in our State. Today this program provides access to
health care for tens of thousands of West Virginia's children.
Maintaining this program is a priority I share with my predecessor,
Senator Rockefeller, who was a tireless advocate for children's health
insurance during his three decades of service in this body. I am
encouraged that Senators in both parties have recognized the importance
of providing continued funding for the bipartisan SCHIP program.
Finally, and of critical importance to the State of West Virginia and
the country, we need to work together to implement a commonsense energy
policy. We need an affordable and reliable energy policy that utilizes
our State's vast natural resources. We need a policy that grows the
economy and creates new job opportunities. We need a policy that
supports a strong middle class. We need a policy that ensures we
continue to improve safety and our environment even as we expand energy
production.
The administration's overreach has contributed to thousands of coal
miners losing their jobs in West Virginia and our neighboring States,
devastating--I can't overstate this enough--local communities and
families.
Last year I met a recently laid off coal miner from Raleigh County.
After losing his job, his church came together to prepare meals for
other coal miners and their families while they searched for work.
Neighbors helping neighbors--the West Virginia way. This is a stark
reminder of the impact misguided Federal policies can have on the lives
of real people.
Anti-coal policies impact more than miners and their families. In
West Virginia the attack on coal mines reduces
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revenues for education programs, roads, and other public services.
Higher utility prices caused by overregulation means fewer jobs in
energy-intensive manufacturing. And sadly, lower income families and
senior citizens who live on fixed incomes are disproportionately
impacted by higher energy costs. As chairman of the Subcommittee on
Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, I will lead the fight against excessive
government regulation that has been devastating my State.
There are many areas of energy policy where we can find common
ground. While the EPA's proposed greenhouse gas standards are
misguided, we should continue to make the use of fossil fuel cleaner
and more efficient. We must continue to support important research at
Morgantown's National Energy Technology Lab and other labs that allows
us to make environmental progress even as we continue to use our
natural resources.
Natural gas is a large and growing part of West Virginia's economy.
As a child of Marshall County, which is the heart of the Marcellus
Shale development in West Virginia, I am delighted to see these
communities come alive with opportunity. It is proof positive that an
energy economy is a jobs economy. We need improved infrastructure in
order to make full use of these gas reserves. We need new natural gas
and oil pipelines that safely connect producing regions with
manufacturers. We need new markets that can make use of these vital
resources. We need a pro-exports policy that will benefit our country
in multiple ways. The Nation will see more jobs and investment, more
security, and a more independent future, and at the same time we can
strengthen our relationships with important allies overseas by
providing them with the energy they need.
These are just a few of the ideas I hope to refine and accomplish
during my first term in the Senate. Notably, there are many other very
important issues--such as national security, fiscal responsibility, a
balanced budget, and replacement of the Affordable Care Act--on which I
will be focusing. Our plate is full, and expectations are high, as they
should be. We need to roll up our sleeves and deliver. I am optimistic
that we can find solutions that move our country forward. There will be
differences of opinion and philosophy along the way, but Americans
expect us to bridge those gaps.
Senator Byrd, the longest serving Senator, said it best:
I love this Senate. I love it dearly. I love the Senate for
its rules. I love the Senate for its precedence. I love the
Senate for the difference that it can make in people's lives.
Fighting for West Virginians always has been and always will be my
top priority. I am honored--I can't overstate that--to represent the
great people of the Mountain State as we strive to create a strong and
prosperous future. Now is the time for Washington to work for West
Virginia, and I stand ready to do my part.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
Congratulating The Senator From West Virginia
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I wish to say to our new Senator from
West Virginia what an outstanding speech not only for her State but the
way forward for our country, and I congratulate her for an outstanding
set of comments.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from West Virginia.
Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, I also wish to congratulate my colleague
from West Virginia. We spoke earlier about how she and I can show the
way to have a better relationship-building effort here in the Senate by
working together in order to better serve the people of West Virginia
and also the country. I congratulate my colleague on her great speech
and look forward to working with her. I think she has done a great job
for the people of West Virginia, and I again thank the Senator.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.
Tackling National Security Questions
Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I rise to address a question to myself and
every Member of this body, and the question is a serious one: Is the
Senate capable of tackling challenging national security questions in a
mature and responsible way?
We have many hard national security challenges before us now. Three
of those challenges are urgent: the discussions about a potential
nuclear deal with Iran, the discussions in this body about military
action by the United States against ISIL, and the deliberations that
will take place this month about the American budget, which will
determine whether we have the resources we need to meet our security
challenges. We have to show the American public--and I would argue the
world--that we can give these issues the careful consideration they
deserve, but I am forced to admit that recent events have caused me to
have some significant doubts about our institutional capacity to tackle
these issues in a responsible way.
We recently--at the end of February--ran up to the very brink of
shutting down the Department of Homeland Security at a time when
terrorist threats and other threats to our homeland security are so
obvious on our borders and throughout the world. Thank goodness, after
a week's extension of funding for Homeland Security, we pulled back
from the brink. But that did not lead to an increase in confidence in
this body, that Congress would contemplate not funding the Department
of Homeland Security.
Last week there was a joint address to Congress by Prime Minister
Netanyahu. I spent many hours conversing with Prime Minister Netanyahu
in his office about Iran and other topics, but I am sad to look at that
joint address and basically say it was history-making in some
unfortunate ways.
Congress has heard from the Prime Minister or President of Israel
seven times in the last 50 years--eight times if you count last week.
Last week's address was unusual because it was designed in a partisan
way. It was an invitation by the leadership of one party with an
intentional decision not to let the White House know, not to let the
minority party in Congress know, and to schedule the speech days before
a contested foreign election, leading many to conclude that it was an
effort by Congress to affect a foreign election, which we should never
do.
Following that speech, a carefully worked bipartisan bill that has
been introduced in Congress to give Congress an appropriate review role
over any potential Iranian nuclear deal was basically hijacked. Instead
of allowing the bill to go through Congress, there was a decision to
force the bill to the floor for an immediate vote, which was seen by
all as a partisan move. It was described by one of the Republican
sponsors of the bill as an effort to embarrass Democrats. Thank
goodness that at the end of the day that effort to accelerate
consideration of what was a bipartisan bill was pulled back, and we
will not be doing that this week. We will be allowing a normal
committee process. But the fact that the effort was made did damage to
reasonable bipartisan consideration of this important issue.
Then yesterday we all awoke to the news that there had been a
partisan letter signed by 47 Senators--47 of my colleagues, many of
whom I work with very closely--not to the President saying ``We have
concerns about a deal, and we are going to weigh in'' but instead to
the leader of a nation that we characterize as a terrorist state. This
letter presumed to instruct the nation about what Congress might or
might not do. The letter was widely viewed as an effort to undercut or
dilute diplomatic negotiations that are in the best tradition of our
country, the notion of diplomacy.
I just came from hearings this morning in the Armed Services
Committee where we heard what we have heard for 2\1/2\ years: advice
from our military leadership to the Senate that sequester is hurting
our national defense. Will you finally listen to us? Will you do
something about it?
All of these events over the last few weeks when taken together
suggest the sad possibility of a Senate that will elevate partisan
political division over careful and constructive deliberation, even on
the most critical security issues that affect the security of our
country and the world. I deeply believe that this body--the Senate and
Congress generally--has to pull back from the brink of irresponsible
and partisan action with respect to these critical security questions
because the stakes are simply too high.
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With respect to the Iranian nuclear negotiation, I share many of the
concerns of my 47 colleagues who wrote the letter. I share many of the
concerns of the Prime Minister that were shared in his speech last
week. But I deeply believe we should not try to tank a deal, critique a
deal, or undercut a deal before there is a deal because to the extent
there are efforts to stand and say this is a bad deal before there is a
deal, the message that is communicated to the American public and to
the world is: We will never accept any deal. We are not interested in
diplomacy. We are not interested in negotiation.
That attitude plays directly into the hands of the nation of Iran,
which is currently engaging in terrorist activity. They want to be able
to blame the absence of any deal on an intransigent United States that
is unwilling to negotiate in good faith.
We should not tank a deal before there is a deal. Instead, why don't
we do what we are supposed to do as the greatest deliberative body in
the world? Why don't we allow negotiators who have been working in the
best traditions of American diplomacy to see if they can find a deal
and then put it on the table for the review of Congress, as has always
been contemplated?
I am a proud original cosponsor and worked on the draftsmanship of a
bipartisan bill that was introduced under the key sponsorship of
Foreign Relations chair Senator Corker and ranking member Senator
Menendez to guarantee to Congress an appropriate review of any final
deal with Iran over their nuclear program if such a deal was reached.
This is a bill which is rigorously bipartisan--not partisan, not
political, not rushed, not accelerated, but rigorously bipartisan. It
respects the ongoing process by allowing the negotiators to do their
work and see if they can find an outcome. It guarantees Congress a
debate and vote if a deal includes relief under the congressional
sanctions Congress has enacted over the years. It is appropriately
deferential to the Executive, allowing the Executive the flexibility to
do sanctions relief under Executive or international sanctions that
have not been part of any congressional statute.
This is a bipartisan bill which provides some assurance to allies.
Our allies in the region--allies that are most affected by the Iranian
nuclear ambitions are not part of the P5+1, whether you are talking
about Israel or Gulf State nations or Jordan. The nations most affected
by Iranian nuclear ambitions are not part of the P5+1, and the Corker-
Menendez bill would give them some comfort that a deal, if announced,
would receive some careful scrutiny in this body.
Finally, I believe the Corker-Menendez bipartisan approach even
provides some important assurances to Iran in the negotiation. We want
Iran to make not small concessions, we want them to make big and bold
concessions and give up any intent to develop nuclear weapons. But what
is the likelihood that Iran will make those concessions if they have no
knowledge about what Congress's intent is vis-a-vis the congressional
statutory provisions?
There is a right way and a wrong way to approach these matters. To
rush it, to label a deal as a bad deal before there is a deal, to make
it entirely partisan rather than bipartisan, reflecting the will of the
body, is an effort to undercut negotiations that weakens our President,
weakens our country, and weakens our credibility; whereas if we proceed
in a bipartisan way, we can make the deal stronger.
Similarly--and then I wish to cede the moment to my colleague, the
Senator from Maine--we are about to start work on another critically
important issue--whether Congress should finally, after 7-plus months,
have a debate to authorize an ongoing war against the Islamic State in
the Levant that was begun on August 8 by the President. We are now in
the eighth month of a unilateral war, and aside from a Foreign
Relations Committee vote in committee in December, Congress has not had
a meaningful vote or debate on this fundamental responsibility. We owe
it to ourselves and to this institution, we owe it to the important
national security interests at stake, and especially we owe it to the
people who are risking their lives in this war--and we have already had
deaths of American servicemembers as part of Operation Inherent
Resolve--we owe it to them to show we can have a meaningful debate that
is not partisan, that is not rushed, but that is careful and
deliberate. They have been waiting for 7-plus months to see whether
Congress even cares.
We are at war by a Presidential act. Does Congress even care enough
to have the debate on the floor of the Senate and in the House of
Representatives? Is it just partisanship now? Is it just delay now?
Does the fact our service men and women are risking their lives even
matter to us now?
This is the debate we will be entering into within the next few days,
starting with the hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
tomorrow. We can't afford, on important issues of national security
such as Iran or such as the war against ISIL, to send the impression to
our troops, to our citizens, to our global citizens around the world,
that on these important matters Congress is now just a partisan sort of
sideshow rather than the deliberative body we were set up to be. We
have to find a bipartisan path forward on these important security
issues or we weaken confidence in this institution and in the
leadership of this country.
In conclusion, the national security interests that are at stake
right now before us are fundamental, whether it is about Iran, whether
it is about the battle against ISIL, or whether it is about the
budgetary deliberations we will be undertaking this month--a budgetary
deliberation that will determine whether we can meet our commitments in
these national security challenges. We have to get these debates right
for the good of our country and the world, and we have to get them
right to demonstrate to all that this institution does have the
maturity to tackle these issues in a reasonable way.
With that, I yield the last minute or so of my time to my colleague
from Maine, Senator King.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cruz). The Senator from Maine.
Mr. KING. Mr. President, there is little I can add to the remarks of
the Senator from Virginia on this issue.
I think this institution is being tested this week, this month, and
over the next several months in a way that is really somewhat new. The
test, the question, is: Can we deal with the most serious of issues
facing this country and the world in a responsible, reasonable, and,
yes, bipartisan, nonpartisan way?
I also worked with Bob Corker, Senator Kaine, and the whole group
that worked on putting together--Senator Menendez--a bipartisan bill to
provide Congress a role in the approval of whatever deal is struck with
Iran. I believe Congress should have that role. But in those
discussions, my concern was that some of our Members will not be able
to resist the temptation to politicize and make a partisan issue--even
this grave issue of war and peace, this grave issue that faces this
country and the entire world--of the possibility of a regime such as
that in Iran achieving nuclear weapons.
This is not an ideological debate. This is a serious debate about the
future of this country. This is one of the most serious negotiations of
our adult lives. I want Congress to have a role, but I want it to play
that role weighing the merits, pro or con, the actual materials that
are in the treaty--in the agreement. I want us to have that role, but I
want to be sure we can respond to that in a responsible way. Frankly,
the actions of the last few days have shaken that confidence, because
we have seen what appears to be an effort to gain political and
partisan advantage from this gravest of national issues.
I understand there are differences about what the deal should look
like and what the terms should be. That is OK. That is what we should
be discussing. But to turn this into a partisan issue I think does a
grave disservice to this entire country, and to undercut the President
in the last stages of the negotiation to me is unprecedented and
unthinkable.
I was a young man at the time of the Cuban missile crisis. I cannot
imagine the Congress of the United States writing a letter to Kruschev
in the midst of those discussions and saying, Don't worry about this
guy Kennedy, he doesn't speak for the country. Yet that essentially is
what took place yesterday. I don't understand the need or the
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helpfulness of such a statement at a time when we were already moving
toward a bipartisan--I believe probably veto-proof--bill to provide
this institution with a check on the quality of the deal that is being
struck.
It is not productive or helpful to turn issues of this kind into
partisan issues. I hope we can step back from this partisan posture and
meet this solemn responsibility to assess what the President and the
administration and the other five countries--the agreement they come to
with Iran--to determine whether, indeed, it is in the best interests of
the region and the world. That is our responsibility. I hope we can
muster the ability to meet that responsibility in a serious way and
not, for once, turn it into a partisan issue.
Thank you, Mr. President.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
Tribute to Federal Employees
Dr. Francis Collins, Dr. Nancy Sullivan, And Dr. William Gahl
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I wish to take a few moments today to
speak about Federal workers in general and some of the people at the
National Institutes of Health in particular.
Government workers guard our borders, protect us from terrorists,
treat our wounded veterans, dispense Social Security checks to our
retirees, find cures for diseases, guide the Nation's air traffic,
explore the tiniest particles and the vast expanse of outer space,
ensure our air is safe to breathe, our water is safe to drink, our food
is safe to eat, support our service men and women in harm's way, and
promote our interests and ideals abroad. For whom does the government
work? Government works for America.
The Washington Post recently reported that since reliable data first
became available shortly before World War II, the percentage of all
employed people working for the Federal Government hit an all-time low
in December. Fewer than 2 percent of the total U.S. workforce is
employed by the Federal Government. Over nearly the past half century,
from 1966 to 2012--the most recent year for which comparable data is
available--the number of Federal workers in the executive branch
dropped by 83,000. During that time, the U.S. population increased from
under 200 million to over 300 million people and the gross domestic
product nearly quadrupled.
We can argue over whether we want bigger government or smaller
government, but we should all agree we want better government. We can't
have better government when Federal workers are constantly under
assault. We need to stop treating the Federal workforce like a rented
mule. We need to treat the Federal workforce like the critical asset it
is.
A 2011 report by the National Academy of Public Administration and
the Kettering Foundation concluded that programs operated by civil
servants receive ``significantly higher'' scores for management and
effectiveness than those run by ``grant- and contract-based third
parties.''
I think part of the problem is that Americans have come to accept
that Federal workers are nameless, faceless bureaucrats. They aren't.
They are people who are patriotic Americans and dedicated to public
service. They have families and support their communities. They have
been asked to do more and more with less and less while being subjected
to pay freezes, sequestration-related furloughs, government shutdowns,
and threats to their benefits. They have contributed $150 billion to
deficit reduction while still working hard on behalf of all Americans.
Today, as I mentioned, I wish to focus on the Federal workers at the
National Institutes of Health. I wish to introduce my colleagues and
all Americans to a few of the Federal workers who are making life
better for all of us. But first a description of the NIH so people can
understand its mission.
I can sum up its mission in two words: saving lives. The NIH is the
world's premier biomedical and health-related research facility. Its
job is to perform and fund the research that helps improve the Nation's
health--a job it has carried out for over a century.
I am proud the NIH is headquartered in Maryland, but it is important
to understand that NIH support of medical research at other research
institutions has created jobs and fostered economic growth in each and
every State, while establishing and maintaining the United States as
the global leader in the life sciences. NIH-supported research added
$69 billion to our GDP and supported 7 million jobs in 2011 alone.
In the weeks and months ahead, Congress and the administration will
have to decide whether they have to replace sequestration with a more
logical, coherent, strategic, and responsible form of budgeting.
While we will have disagreements over the details, if anyone needs to
be convinced about the value of replacing sequestration, look no
further than the situation at NIH. Funding constraints there not only
cost people their jobs, they are costing people their lives.
NIH funding has multiple drivers, but comparing the fiscal year 2013
figures with the fiscal year 2012 figures, largely because of
sequestration, approximately 640 fewer competitive research project
grants were issued and approximately 750 fewer new patients were
admitted to the NIH Clinical Center. Each these affects a person's
life. Each of these has consequences when we do not move forward as we
should.
A recent survey determined that nearly 20 percent of the biomedical
scientists have considered leaving the United States due to
sequestration. We are losing our best. Nearly one-half of the
scientists surveyed said they have laid off staff in their laboratories
or are considering laying off staff due to losing NIH grants. More than
50 percent of the researchers say they have colleagues who have lost
his or her job.
What is the impact? Delays in lifesaving medical progress. Medical
breakthroughs do not happen overnight. In almost all instances,
breakthrough discoveries result from years of incremental research to
understand how diseases start and progress. Cuts to research are
delaying progress in medical breakthroughs, including developing better
cancer drugs that zero in on a tumor with fewer side effects; research
on a universal flu vaccine that could fight every strain of influenza
without needing a yearly shot; preventing debilitating chronic
conditions that are costly to society and delay development of more
effective treatments for common and rare diseases affecting millions of
Americans.
NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins recently wrote the column
``Exceptional Opportunities in Medical Science'' in which he describes
the excitement over ``personalized medicine,'' the BRAIN initiative,
and development of the Ebola vaccine. He has also shared his concern
about the budget challenges NIH faces.
Let me quote from Dr. Collins:
Although all of these ambitious scientific endeavors offer
exceptional promise for advancing human health, the effect
that unprecedented budget pressures are having on biomedical
research cannot be ignored. Due to inflation, the NIH budget
has lost almost 25 percent of its purchasing power over the
last decade. The decline has had important consequences. The
NIH once funded one in three research proposals, but now only
has enough resources to support one in six. As a result, a
great deal of excellent science is being left unfunded.
Last October Dr. Collins stated that cuts in Federal funding slowed
the development of vaccines and therapies for the deadly Ebola virus,
saying: ``Frankly, if we had not gone through our 10-year slide in
research support, we probably would have had a vaccine in time for this
that would have gone through clinical trials and would have been
ready.''
Think about the lives that could have been saved.
To Americans who wonder what their tax dollars do--well, some go to
NIH to find treatments and cures for cancer, depression, arthritis,
substance abuse, addiction, diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease. To date,
145 NIH-supported researchers have received or shared 85 Nobel Prizes.
Not everyone wins a Nobel Prize, so let me talk about people who
aren't in the spotlight--people some of our colleagues might refer to
as ``nameless, faceless bureaucrats.'' I will highlight the work of two
of them today who are making a tremendous contribution as public
servants.
Dr. Nancy Sullivan, Chief of the Vaccine Research Center, has been
working on an Ebola vaccine for nearly two decades, dating back to when
she was an investigator at the University of Michigan with the then-NIH
grantee
[[Page S1366]]
and now former Director, Dr. Gary Nabel. Most vaccines spur production
of a person's immune system's antibodies that block a virus from
entering the cells, but that approach doesn't work for Ebola.
Gene-based vaccines can induce additional virus fighters called T-
cells, so that is what Dr. Sullivan created, using pieces of Ebola
genetic material. It is the most promising approach yet, and it is
being tested in the parts of West Africa that have been hit the hardest
with Ebola, where more than 9,000 people have died.
The concept for Dr. Sullivan's vaccine has been 16 years in the
making, beginning back when few people outside the global infectious
disease community had even heard of the deadly disease. Over the years,
Dr. Sullivan and her team continued to tweak her ideas, constantly
improving on them. Eventually she followed Dr. Nabel to NIH.
Many experts in the vaccine research community had begun to believe
Ebola was insurmountable. They thought it was too aggressive for a
vaccine to ever protect against it. But Dr. Sullivan never lost heart
that her work would one day prove successful.
The Ebola virus infection is a highly lethal disease for which there
are no effective therapeutic or preventive treatments. Consequently,
work with these viruses requires highly specialized BSL-4 containment
labs--the highest biosafety labs. Dr. Sullivan is a leader in the field
and has personally conducted many of the most critical experiments. Her
work on immunology and vaccine development is widely considered as some
of the very best in the field. In spite of the difficulties associated
with access to BSL-4 labs, her work has consistently been the source of
novel observations.
Dr. Sullivan received her Ph.D. in cell biology from Harvard
University in 1997. She received her master of science in environmental
engineering in 1989, also from Harvard University.
I brought a poster to the floor where we see President Obama visited
NIH to personally congratulate Dr. Sullivan for her incredible work on
behalf of world health.
Some people may be familiar with the TV show ``House.'' The main
character, Dr. Gregory House, is brilliant at diagnosing conditions and
illnesses that baffle everyone else. The real-life Dr. House is Dr.
William Gahl, the founding Director of the Undiagnosed Diseases Program
at NIH. He is America's leading medical detective, a physician
dedicated to finding answers for long-suffering patients with
mysterious illnesses that long eluded diagnosis. Dr. Gahl has brought
together a unique combination of elite medical specialists,
researchers, and Federal resources to solve baffling illnesses and
provide desperate patients and their families with information and
possible solutions and treatments for their often life-threatening
ailments.
Results include diagnosis and treatment of diseases so rare they
don't even have names, plus new genetic discoveries, improved disease
management, and the advancement of medical knowledge. NIH Director Dr.
Collins said the Undiagnosed Diseases Program, which Dr. Gahl conceived
and started, serves as a kind of court of last resort for patients
without a diagnosis. Dr. Gahl has convinced some of the best,
brightest, and busiest physicians to participate, and has devoted
tremendous energy to examining patient records, selecting cases for in-
depth analysis, and helping people who are seriously ill.
Under Dr. Gahl's stewardship, the program regularly involves a
collective effort by more than 25 attending physicians of different
specialties. The cooperation by a diverse group of experts has helped
create a coherent view of each patient instead of the organ-by-organ
orientation taken by most specialists. Patients are brought to the NIH
campus in Bethesda for an intensive week. They meet with a parade of
specialists who study their medical histories, perform thorough exams,
and take numerous tests.
The doctors then meet to discuss what they have seen, discovered, or
may have missed. They also debate various theories, trying to connect
the dots, and come up with a possible diagnosis and treatment.
Scientists working with Dr. Gahl discovered the genetic cause of a
vascular disorder not previously identified in the medical literature.
The rare condition, identified in nine individuals, arises in adulthood
and causes arterial calcification in the hands and feet, but does not
affect arteries in the heart. The symptoms include acute pain after
walking more than a short distance. The disorder previously baffled the
medical field and evaded diagnosis when conventional methods were used.
In another instance, physicians working with Dr. Gahl identified the
reason why a woman's muscles had grown painfully large and hard
underneath her skin, making it increasingly difficult for her to
perform daily activities. This turned out to be an extremely rare,
generally fatal complication of multiple myeloma, and the diagnosis by
the NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program resulted in a stem cell bone
marrow transplant that allows her to lead a normal life. These are
people who had no hope, no hope at all. They came to NIH, and they have
gotten government-supported help to give them hope and to give them
life.
Dr. Gahl earned his B.S. in biology from the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology in 1972 and his M.D. from the University of Wisconsin in
1976. He obtained a Ph.D. degree in oncology research from Wisconsin's
McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research in 1981. He has published more
than 350 peer-reviewed papers and trained 36 biochemical geneticists.
Dr. Gahl has made a number of seminal discoveries regarding rare
diseases during his career. He said deciding who to admit into the
Undiagnosed Diseases Program is always very difficult and much like
triage on the battlefield. You have to make decisions about where you
think you can do some good.
The Undiagnosed Diseases Program serves people who feel helpless,
have suffered greatly, have waited many years for answers, and must be
treated with respect and attention. According to Dr. Gahl, the NIH
caregivers understand the desperation the patients and their families
feel and try to balance the difficulty finding solutions with a
realistic measure of hope.
Dr. John Gallin, Director of the NIH Clinical Center, said Dr. Gahl
takes cases after everyone else has given up. He said that in a short
time the program has developed new approaches for investigating,
understanding, and diagnosing rare disorders, and has added to the body
of medical knowledge. As Dr. Gallin put it, as a result of the NIH
Undiagnosed Diseases Program, the language of medicine is changing. The
different specialists working together now are beginning to find common
ways.
Nancy Sullivan and Bill Gahl are just two of the dedicated people who
work in the Federal Government. They are not nameless, faceless
bureaucrats. They are dedicated, hard-working Americans trying to make
life better for all of us under difficult circumstances. At a minimum,
they deserve our gratitude and respect. They also deserve a predictable
and reasonable budget to support their critical work.
In the weeks ahead I will be discussing the accomplishments of other
outstanding Federal workers so that Americans can understand government
works for America.
I yield the floor.
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