[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 61 (Wednesday, April 6, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2047-S2048]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 5019. Mr. SCHUMER (for Mr.
Peters) proposed an amendment to the bill S. 2991, to establish a
Department of Homeland Security Center for Countering Human
Trafficking, and for other purposes; as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Countering Human Trafficking
Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the victim-centered approach must become universally
understood, adopted, and practiced;
(2) criminal justice efforts must increase the focus on,
and adeptness at, investigating and prosecuting forced labor
cases;
(3) corporations must eradicate forced labor from their
supply chains;
(4) the Department of Homeland Security must lead by
example--
(A) by ensuring that its government supply chain of
contracts and procurement are not tainted by forced labor;
and
(B) by leveraging all of its authorities against the
importation of goods produced with forced labor; and
(5) human trafficking training, awareness, identification,
and screening efforts--
(A) are a necessary first step for prevention, protection,
and enforcement; and
(B) should be evidence-based to be most effective.
SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER FOR COUNTERING
HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
operate, within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's
Homeland Security Investigations, the Center for Countering
Human Trafficking (referred to in this Act as ``CCHT'').
(2) Purpose.--The purpose of CCHT shall be to serve at the
forefront of the Department of Homeland Security's unified
global efforts to counter human trafficking through law
enforcement operations and victim protection, prevention, and
awareness programs.
(3) Administration.--Homeland Security Investigations
shall--
(A) maintain a concept of operations that identifies CCHT
participants, funding, core functions, and personnel; and
(B) update such concept of operations, as needed, to
accommodate its mission and the threats to such mission.
(4) Personnel.--
(A) Director.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
appoint a CCHT Director, who shall--
(i) be a member of the Senior Executive Service; and
(ii) serve as the Department of Homeland Security's
representative on human trafficking.
(B) Minimum core personnel requirements.--Subject to
appropriations, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall
ensure that CCHT is staffed with at least 45 employees in
order to maintain continuity of effort, subject matter
expertise, and necessary support to the Department of
Homeland Security, including--
(i) employees who are responsible for the Continued
Presence Program and other victim protection duties;
(ii) employees who are responsible for training, including
curriculum development, and public awareness and education;
(iii) employees who are responsible for stakeholder
engagement, Federal interagency coordination, multilateral
partnerships, and policy;
(iv) employees who are responsible for public relations,
human resources, evaluation, data analysis and reporting, and
information technology;
(v) special agents and criminal analysts necessary to
accomplish its mission of combating human trafficking and the
importation of goods produced with forced labor; and
(vi) managers.
(b) Operations Unit.--The CCHT Director shall operate,
within CCHT, an Operations Unit, which shall, at a minimum--
(1) support criminal investigations of human trafficking
(including sex trafficking and forced labor)--
(A) by developing, tracking, and coordinating leads; and
(B) by providing subject matter expertise;
(2) augment the enforcement of the prohibition on the
importation of goods produced with forced labor through civil
and criminal authorities;
(3) coordinate a Department-wide effort to conduct
procurement audits and enforcement actions, including
suspension and debarment, in order to mitigate the risk of
human trafficking throughout Department acquisitions and
contracts; and
(4) support all CCHT enforcement efforts with intelligence
by conducting lead development, lead validation, case
support, strategic analysis, and data analytics.
(c) Protection and Awareness Programs Unit.--The CCHT
Director shall operate, within CCHT, a Protection and
Awareness Programs Unit, which shall--
(1) incorporate a victim-centered approach throughout
Department of Homeland Security policies, training, and
practices;
(2) operate a comprehensive Continued Presence program;
(3) conduct, review, and assist with Department of Homeland
Security human trafficking training, screening, and
identification tools and efforts;
(4) operate the Blue Campaign's nationwide public awareness
effort and any other awareness efforts needed to encourage
victim identification and reporting to law enforcement and to
prevent human trafficking; and
(5) coordinate external engagement, including training and
events, regarding human trafficking with critical partners,
including survivors, nongovernmental organizations,
corporations, multilateral entities, law enforcement
agencies, and other interested parties.
SEC. 4. SPECIALIZED INITIATIVES.
(a) Human Trafficking Information Modernization
Initiative.--The CCHT Director, in conjunction with the
Science and Technology Directorate Office of Science and
Engineering, shall develop a strategy and proposal to modify
systems and processes throughout the Department of Homeland
Security that are related to CCHT's mission in order to--
(1) decrease the response time to access victim
protections;
(2) accelerate lead development;
(3) advance the identification of human trafficking
characteristics and trends;
(4) fortify the security and protection of sensitive
information;
(5) apply analytics to automate manual processes; and
(6) provide artificial intelligence and machine learning to
increase system capabilities and enhance data availability,
reliability, comparability, and verifiability.
(b) Submission of Plan.--Upon the completion of the
strategy and proposal under subsection (a), the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall submit a summary of the strategy and
plan for executing the strategy to--
(1) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives.
SEC. 5. REPORTS.
(a) Information Sharing to Facilitate Reports and
Analysis.--Each subagency of the Department of Homeland
Security shall share with CCHT--
(1) any information needed by CCHT to develop the strategy
and proposal required under section 4(a); and
(2) any additional data analysis to help CCHT better
understand the issues surrounding human trafficking.
(b) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the CCHT Director shall
submit a report to Congress that identifies any legislation
that is needed to facilitate the Department of Homeland
Security's mission to end human trafficking.
(c) Annual Report on Potential Human Trafficking Victims.--
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this
Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland
Security shall submit a report to Congress that includes--
(1) the numbers of screened and identified potential
victims of trafficking (as defined in section 103(17) of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C.
7102(17))) at or near the international border between the
[[Page S2048]]
United States and Mexico, including a summary of the age
ranges of such victims and their countries of origin; and
(2) an update on the Department of Homeland Security's
efforts to establish protocols and methods for personnel to
report human trafficking, pursuant to the Department of
Homeland Security Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, the
Importation of Goods Produced with Forced Labor, and Child
Sexual Exploitation, published in January 2020.
SEC. 6. TRANSFER OF OTHER FUNCTIONS RELATED TO HUMAN
TRAFFICKING.
(a) Blue Campaign.--The functions and resources of the Blue
Campaign located within the Office of Partnership and
Engagement on the day before the date of the enactment of
this Act are hereby transferred to CCHT.
(b) Other Transfer.--
(1) Authorization.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland
Security may transfer the functions and resources of any
component, directorate, or other office of the Department of
Homeland Security related to combating human trafficking to
the CCHT.
(2) Notification.--Not later than 30 days before executing
any transfer authorized under paragraph (1), the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall notify the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives of such planned transfer.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
In addition to amounts otherwise authorized to be
appropriated, there is authorized to be appropriated to the
Secretary of Homeland Security to carry out this Act
$14,000,000, which shall remain available until expended.
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