[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 164 (Tuesday, September 22, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H4674-H4677]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           LEVERAGING INFORMATION ON FOREIGN TRAFFICKERS ACT

  Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 5664) to amend the Trafficking Victims Protection 
Act of 2000 to ensure adequate time for the preparation of the annual 
Trafficking in Persons Report, require the timely provision of 
information to the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons 
and the Bureau of Diplomatic Security of the Department of State 
regarding the number and location of visa denials based, in whole or in 
part, on grounds related to human trafficking, and for other purposes, 
as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5664

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Leveraging Information on 
     Foreign Traffickers Act'' or the ``LIFT Act''.

     SEC. 2. 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.

     SEC. 3. 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''.

     SEC. 4. UNITED STATES ADVISORY COUNCIL ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING.

       (a) 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''.
       (b) Compensation.--Section 115(f) of the Justice for 
     Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-22; 129 
     Stat. 243) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' after the 
     semicolon at the end;
       (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at end and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(3) may each receive compensation for each day such 
     member is engaged in the actual performance of the duties of 
     the Council.''.
       (c) Compensation Report.--Not later than 120 days after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 
     shall provide to the relevant congressional committees a plan 
     to implement compensation for members of the United States 
     Advisory Council on Human Trafficking pursuant to paragraph 
     (3) of section 115(f) of the Justice for Victims of 
     Trafficking Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-22; 129 Stat. 243), 
     as added by subsection (b).

     SEC. 5. TIMELY PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO THE OFFICE TO 
                   MONITOR AND COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS OF 
                   THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.

       (a) In General.--Section 106 of the Trafficking Victims 
     Protection Act of 2000 (22

[[Page H4675]]

     U.S.C. 7104) is amended by adding at the end the following 
     new subsection:
       ``(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).''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 103 of the Trafficking 
     Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
       ``(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 subsection (a)(2)(H) of section 212 of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182).''.

     SEC. 6. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

       (a) Initial Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 
     provide to the relevant congressional committees a report 
     that--
       (1) describes the actions that have been taken and that are 
     planned to implement subsection (l) of section 106 of the 
     Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7104), 
     as added by section 5 of this Act; and
       (2) 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 such term is defined in section 103 of the 
     Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102) 
     (as amended by section 5(b))).
       (b) Annual Report.--Beginning with the first annual anti-
     trafficking report required under subsection (b)(1) of 
     section 110 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 
     (22 U.S.C. 7107; enacted as division A of the Victims of 
     Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000) that is 
     submitted after the date of the enactment of this Act and 
     concurrent with each such subsequent submission for the 
     following seven years, the Secretary of State shall submit to 
     the relevant congressional committees a report 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 such term is defined 
     in section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 
     2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102) (as amended by section 5(b))) during 
     the period covered by each such annual anti-trafficking 
     report.

     SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (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 Affairs and the Committee on 
     the Judiciary of the House of Representatives; and
       (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
     the Judiciary of the Senate.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Castro) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Castro).


                             General Leave

  Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 5664.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, human trafficking, better termed modern-day slavery, 
has grown into a sprawling and complex billion-dollar criminal 
enterprise. An estimated 25 million people are currently victims of 
trafficking, having been forced into abusive situations involving 
forced labor, sex exploitation, and involuntary domestic servitude.
  The House Foreign Affairs Committee has a long history of confronting 
modern-day slavery, and the LIFT Act continues that legacy for this 
committee.
  Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend and the ranking member of the 
committee, Mr. McCaul, for authoring this bill, and Mr. Smith for his 
leadership on this issue for over two decades.
  In 2000, President Clinton signed into law the Victims of Trafficking 
and Violence Prevention Act, now hailed as the most comprehensive 
legislation on human trafficking to date. That landmark piece of 
legislation came out of the Foreign Affairs Committee and was authored 
by our colleague, Chris Smith.
  That legislation gave the State Department the responsibility of 
drafting the annual Trafficking Report, which has been a critical 
resource in pushing countries to take action to combat human 
trafficking.
  The bill before us ensures that the State Department has adequate 
time to prepare the annual Trafficking Report. It streamlines data 
sharing among bureaus on visa denials for human traffickers and engages 
trafficking survivors in our policymaking process.
  We must continue to fight modern-day slavery and work to enact 
legislation that brings us to a brighter future free of this horrific 
injustice. Today's measure is a step in that direction, and I hope all 
of my colleagues, Republican and Democrat, will join me in supporting 
it.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
                                         House of Representatives,


                                       Committee on Judiciary,

                                    Washington, DC, July 30, 2020.
     Hon. Eliot L. Engel,
     Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Engel: This is to advise you that the 
     Committee on the Judiciary has now had an opportunity to 
     review the provisions in H.R. 5664, the LIFT Act, that fall 
     within our Rule X jurisdiction. I appreciate your consulting 
     with us on those provisions. The Judiciary Committee has no 
     objection to your including them in the bill for 
     consideration on the House floor, and to expedite that 
     consideration is willing to waive sequential referral, with 
     the understanding that we do not thereby waive any future 
     jurisdictional claim over those provisions or their subject 
     matters.
       In the event a House-Senate conference on this or similar 
     legislation is convened, the Judiciary Committee reserves the 
     right to request an appropriate number of conferees to 
     address any concerns with these or similar provisions that 
     may arise in conference.
       Please place this letter into the Congressional Record 
     during consideration of the measure on the House floor. Thank 
     you for the cooperative spirit in which you have worked 
     regarding this matter and others between our committees.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Jerrold Nadler,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                                 Committee on Foreign Affairs,

                                    Washington, DC, July 31, 2020.
     Hon. Jerrold Nadler,
     Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Nadler: I am writing to you concerning H.R. 
     5664, the LIFT Act. I appreciate your willingness to work 
     cooperatively on this legislation.
       I acknowledge that provisions of the bill fall within the 
     jurisdiction of the House Committee on the Judiciary under 
     House Rule X, and that your Committee will forgo action on 
     H.R. 5664 to expedite floor consideration. I further 
     acknowledge that the inaction of your Committee with respect 
     to the bill does not waive any future jurisdictional claim 
     over the matters contained in the bill that fall within your 
     jurisdiction. I will also support the appointment of 
     Committee on the Judiciary conferees during any House-Senate 
     conference convened on this legislation.
       Lastly, I will ensure that our exchange of letters is 
     included in the Congressional Record during floor 
     consideration of the bill. Thank you again for your 
     cooperation regarding the legislation. I look forward to 
     continuing to work with you as the measure moves through the 
     legislative process.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Eliot L. Engel,
                                                         Chairman.

  Mr. McCAUL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, the trafficking of people, whether for sexual 
exploitation or forced labor, is an affront to human dignity. It is, as 
the gentleman from Texas said, a modern-day form of slavery that 
oppresses nearly 25 million people around the world, including

[[Page H4676]]

right here in the United States and in my home State of Texas.
  A few years ago, a mother from Katy, Texas, in my district, reached 
out to me with one request: ``Please help me bring my daughter home, my 
daughter, Courtney.''
  Courtney was a junior in high school. She was on the swim team and 
attended church regularly. She was groomed, unfortunately, by 
traffickers. She was groomed at her high school.
  Many parents think, ``This can't happen to my child,'' and not in 
suburbia in Houston, but just ask Courtney's family that question.
  The traffickers embedded themselves in the high school. They operated 
through Courtney's classmates. Like leeches, they latched onto 
Courtney's vulnerabilities, and they used them against her. It was then 
that she was swept up into this nightmare and used like property.
  We may expect things like this out of foreign countries, but not in 
our backyards.
  Thankfully, after several months of work with law enforcement, 
Courtney returned home to her family. I was there when she came home. 
She had battle scars. She had lost so much weight. She had just about 
died. It was quite a reunion with a mother and father and their 
daughter who had been gone for almost 2 years.
  She now dedicates her time to raising awareness and educating others 
on the signs of human trafficking. Her work earned her a spot on the 
U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. I cannot be more proud of 
her work and her inspiration to me and her contributions to the 
council.
  It is because of survivors like Courtney and the countless others 
that Chairman Engel and I introduced the LIFT Act to continue our 
committee's 20-year commitment to combating human trafficking.

                              {time}  1330

  The LIFT Act will help our law enforcement officers and diplomatic 
officials communicate better so we can then root out more human 
traffickers and bring them to justice.
  I was surprised to find out that when someone applies for a visa at 
an embassy or a consulate and they are denied on human trafficking 
grounds, that that information is not currently given to our law 
enforcement officers, to the FBI.
  The LIFT Act also gives a voice to survivors of human trafficking so 
that brave people like Courtney will remain a central part of the 
policy discussion.
  By reauthorizing the survivor-led U.S. Advisory Council on Human 
Trafficking through 2025, which is what this bill does, we are 
empowering survivors and sharpening our tools to counter traffickers.
  I am very grateful for the support this bill has received from the 
Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking, and the U.S. Conference of 
Catholic Bishops.
  Madam Speaker, the evil of slavery was abolished in this country many 
years ago. We are still living up to the principles of our Founding 
Fathers that all men are created equal. We are still bringing this 
country to racial and social justice. It is still something we strive 
for. We must end this form of human slavery today, and this bill is a 
start.
  We have a lot more work to do but the numbers are very perplexing. In 
fact, the numbers are very disturbing, the numbers of young children, 
both little girls and boys, who are swept up into this awful system.
  I have worked most of my life as a Federal prosecutor on these issues 
and now in Congress. I put the worst of the worst behind bars for these 
crimes where they deserve to spend a very long time in our prison 
system. They are the lowest of the low.
  So with this bill today, we renew and strengthen our commitment to 
stand with the exploited and the children against their oppressors.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCAUL. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Yoho).
  Mr. YOHO. Madam Speaker, I would like to commend Chairmen McCaul, 
Engel, and my colleague Mr. Castro for bringing up this strong 
bipartisan bill.
  Human trafficking is an issue which is still alive and well today, 
unfortunately. It is modern-day slavery.
  The International Labour Organization estimates that there are 40.3 
million victims of human trafficking worldwide today. The global human 
trafficking market is estimated to be a $150 billion per year industry, 
and I hate to call it an industry. The profits from these nefarious and 
heinous acts only go to fund corrupt governments and organizations to 
rain more terror, pain, organ harvesting, and suffering on the world's 
most vulnerable populations.
  As of 2020, the Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative shows globally 
108,613 individual cases of human trafficking; 164 countries of 
exploitation; and 175 nationalities.
  The LIFT Act will ensure adequate time for preparation of the State 
Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report. It will also require 
timely provisions on information to the State Department on the number 
and location of visa denials based wholly or partially on grounds 
related to human trafficking.
  One of the greatest challenges in developing targeted counter-traffic 
responses and measuring their impact is the lack of reliable, high-
quality data related to the scale of human trafficking and the profile 
of the victims.
  The LIFT Act will help to provide this global data on human 
trafficking through its insurance of thorough preparation of the State 
Department's Trafficking in Persons Report. In these times of hyper-
partisanship, combating human trafficking is a worldwide scourge on 
societies that we should, we can, and we do tackle in a bipartisan 
fashion here.
  In order to combat human trafficking, we must all continue to work 
together.
  I will, and I encourage all others to support the LIFT Act.
  Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCAUL. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I yield myself 
such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, in 2002, I formed the Internet Crimes Against Children 
unit in the attorney general's office in the State of Texas to stop 
internet trafficking and stop the exploitation of children online.
  Since that day, we have put thousands behind bars. This is a 
worldwide scourge. It happens on an international level.
  But what is, again, most disturbing, is it is happening now in our 
backyards. It is happening in suburbia America.
  A case like Courtney's is so compelling because you never thought it 
would be possible in a town like Katy, Texas, but it happens, and it is 
happening all over this Nation. The numbers from the FBI are revealing 
and it is an industry. It is a sick industry that is run by 
businessmen; that is run by lawyers, an industry that exploits our 
children.
  I have talked to many veterans with PTSD, but I can't imagine the 
post-traumatic stress of a victim of human trafficking who has been 
violated over and over and over again, offending the deepest ounce of 
human dignity where there is no dignity left, where they had to put 
their mind in such a place--almost like Stockholm syndrome--where they 
can survive the horrors that they are living in day in and day out.
  Madam Speaker, this has to stop. This bill will help, but this 
Congress and the next Congress, we really need to ramp up our efforts 
to take this issue square on, to put these monsters out of their 
business and say they are closed forever, and to put them behind bars 
for a very, very long time.
  Madam Speaker, I would like to thank many in my district who have 
worked hard on this issue: Houston 20's Jenn Hohman, and Austin 20's 
Lisa Knapp. These women are warriors for the cause against human 
trafficking. I also want to thank the Harris County human trafficking 
task force for their great work on this effort. They are truly one of 
the models for the Nation.

  When the officials from Homeland Security came down from the Blue 
Campaign, they told me this is one of the most effective operations we 
have seen in the United States, and it is a model for the Nation.

[[Page H4677]]

  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this meaningful, 
necessary legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume for the purpose of closing.
  Combating human trafficking is a global challenge, and we are proud 
of the State Department's critical role in that effort. This 
legislation will ensure that the Department has the tools and resources 
necessary to counter these heinous human rights abuses.
  I would like to thank the ranking member, Mr. McCaul, for his work on 
this important issue. This is a strong bill that I am pleased to 
support, and I urge my colleagues, Democrat and Republican, to do the 
same.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Castro) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 5664, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. McCAUL. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3 of House Resolution 
965, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion 
are postponed.

                          ____________________