[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 119 (Monday, June 29, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3736-S3737]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2296. Mr. BLUMENTHAL submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed by him to the bill S. 4049, to authorize appropriations for
fiscal year 2021 for military activities of the Department of Defense,
for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department
of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal
year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:
At the end of subtitle F of title XII of division A, add
the following:
SEC. 1274. REPORT ON FOREIGN TRAFFICKERS.
(a) Short Titles.--This section may be cited as the
``Leveraging Information on Foreign Traffickers Act'' or the
``LIFT Act''.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the annual Trafficking In Persons Report prepared by
the Department of State pursuant to the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 (the ``TIP Report'') remains one of
the most comprehensive, timely, and important sources of
information on human trafficking in the world, and currently
includes 187 individual country narratives;
(2) in January 2019, the statute mandating the TIP Report
was amended to require that each report must cover efforts
and activities occurring within the period from April 1 of
the prior year through March 31 of the current year, which
necessarily requires the collection and transmission of
information after March 31;
(3) ensuring that the Department of State has adequate time
to receive, analyze, and incorporate trafficking-related
information into its annual Trafficking In Persons Report is
important to the quality and comprehensiveness of that
report;
(4) information regarding prevalence and patterns of human
trafficking is important for understanding the scourge of
modern slavery and making effective decisions about where and
how to combat it; and
(5) United States officials responsible for monitoring and
combating trafficking in persons around the world should
receive available information regarding where and how often
United States diplomatic and consular officials encounter
persons who are responsible for, or who knowingly benefit
from, severe forms of trafficking in persons.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Locations of united states visa denials.--The term
``location of United States visa denials'' means--
(A) the United States diplomatic or consular post at which
a denied United States visa application was adjudicated; and
(B) the city or locality of residence of the applicant
whose visa application was so denied.
(2) Relevant congressional committees.--The term ``relevant
congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives; and
(D) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives.
(d) Annual Deadline for Trafficking in Persons Report.--
Section 110(b)(1) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act
of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107(b)(1)) is amended by striking ``June
1'' and inserting ``June 30''.
(e) United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking.--
(1) Extension.--Section 115(h) of the Justice for Victims
of Trafficking Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-22; 129 Stat. 243)
is amended by striking ``September 30, 2021'' and inserting
``September 30, 2025''.
(2) Compensation.--Section 115(f) of such Act is amended--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) may each receive compensation for each day such
member is engaged in the actual performance of the duties of
the Council.''.
[[Page S3737]]
(3) Compensation report.--Not later than 120 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State
shall submit a plan to the relevant congressional committees
for implementing compensation for members of the United
States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking pursuant to
section 115(f)(3) of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking
Act of 2015, as added by paragraph (2)(C).
(f) Timely Provision of Information to the Office to
Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons of the Department
of State.--
(1) In general.--Section 106 of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7104) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(l) Information Regarding Human Trafficking-Related Visa
Denials.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary of State shall ensure that
the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons and
the Bureau of Diplomatic Security of the Department of State
receive timely and regular information regarding United
States visa denials based, in whole or in part, on grounds
related to human trafficking.
``(2) Decisions regarding allocation.--The Secretary of
State shall ensure that decisions regarding the allocation of
resources of the Department of State related to combating
human trafficking and to law enforcement presence at United
States diplomatic and consular posts appropriately take into
account--
``(A) the information described in paragraph (1); and
``(B) the information included in the most recent report
submitted in accordance with section 110(b).''.
(2) Conforming amendment.--Section 103 of such Act (22
U.S.C. 7102) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(18) Grounds related to human trafficking.--The term
`grounds related to human trafficking' means grounds related
to the criteria for inadmissibility to the United States
described in section 212(a)(2)(H) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(H)).''.
(g) Reports to Congress.--
(1) Initial report.--Not later than 90 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall
submit a report to the relevant congressional committees
that--
(A) describes the actions that have been taken and that are
planned to implement section 106(l) of the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act of 2000, as added by subsection
(f)(1); and
(B) identifies by country and by United States diplomatic
and consular post the number of visa applications denied
during the previous calendar year with respect to which the
basis for such denial, included grounds related to human
trafficking (as defined in section 103 of the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act of 2000, as amended by subsection
(f)(2)).
(2) Annual report.--Beginning with the first annual anti-
trafficking report required under section 110(b)(1) of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C.
7107(b)(1)) that is submitted after the date of the enactment
of this Act, and concurrent with each such subsequent
submission for the following 7 years, the Secretary of State
shall submit a report to the relevant congressional
committees that contains information relating to the number
and the locations of United States visa denials based, in
whole or in part, on grounds related to human trafficking (as
defined in section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection
Act of 2000, as amended by subsection (f)(2)) during the
period covered by each such report.
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