[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 7284-7296]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



               TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PROTECTION ACT OF 2000

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 3244) to combat trafficking of persons, especially 
into the sex trade, slavery, and slavery-like conditions, in the United 
States and countries around the world through prevention, through 
prosecution and enforcement against traffickers, and through protection 
and assistance to victims of trafficking, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3244

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the 
     ``Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Purposes and findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.
Sec. 5. Interagency task force to monitor and combat trafficking.
Sec. 6. Prevention of trafficking.
Sec. 7. Protection and assistance for victims of trafficking.
Sec. 8. Minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.
Sec. 9. Assistance to foreign countries to meet minimum standards.
Sec. 10. Actions against governments failing to meet minimum standards.
Sec. 11. Actions against significant traffickers.
Sec. 12. Strengthening protection and punishment of traffickers.
Sec. 13. Authorization of appropriations.

     SEC. 2. PURPOSES AND FINDINGS.

       (a) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to combat 
     trafficking in persons, a contemporary manifestation of 
     slavery whose victims are predominantly women and children, 
     to ensure just and effective punishment of traffickers, and 
     to protect their victims.
       (b) Findings.--The Congress finds that:
       (1) Millions of people every year, primarily women or 
     children, are trafficked within or across international 
     borders. Approximately 50,000 women and children are 
     trafficked into the United States each year.
       (2) Many of these persons, of whom the overwhelming 
     majority are women and children, are trafficked into the 
     international sex trade, often by means of force, fraud, or 
     coercion. The sex industry has rapidly expanded over the past 
     several decades. It involves sexual exploitation of persons, 
     predominantly women and girls, within activities related to 
     prostitution, pornography, sex tourism, and other commercial 
     sexual services. The rapid expansion of the sex industry and 
     the low status of women in many parts of the world have 
     contributed to a burgeoning of the trafficking industry, of 
     which sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion is a 
     major component.
       (3) Trafficking in persons is not limited to sex 
     trafficking, but often involves forced labor and other 
     violations of internationally recognized human rights. The 
     worldwide trafficking of persons is a growing transnational 
     crime, migration, economics, labor, public health, and human 
     rights problem that is significant on nearly every continent.
       (4) Traffickers primarily target women and girls, who are 
     disproportionately affected by poverty, lack of access to 
     education, chronic unemployment, discrimination, and lack of 
     viable economic opportunities in countries of origin. 
     Traffickers lure women and girls into their networks through 
     false promises of good working conditions at relatively high 
     pay as nannies, maids, dancers, factory workers, restaurant 
     workers, sales clerks, or models. Traffickers also buy girls 
     from poor families and sell them into prostitution or into 
     various types of forced or bonded labor.
       (5) Traffickers often facilitate victims' movement from 
     their home communities to unfamiliar destinations, away from 
     family and friends, religious institutions, and other sources 
     of protection and support, making the victims more 
     vulnerable.
       (6) Victims are often forced to engage in sex acts or to 
     perform labor or other services through physical violence, 
     including rape and other forms of sexual abuse, torture, 
     starvation, and imprisonment, through threats of violence, 
     and through other forms of psychological abuse and coercion.
       (7) Trafficking is perpetrated increasingly by organized 
     and sophisticated criminal enterprises. Trafficking in 
     persons is the fastest growing source of profits for 
     organized criminal enterprises worldwide. Profits from the 
     trafficking industry contribute to the expansion of organized 
     criminal activity in the United States and around the world. 
     Trafficking often is aided by official corruption in 
     countries of origin, transit, and destination, thereby 
     threatening the rule of law.
       (8) Traffickers often make representations to their victims 
     that physical harm may occur to them or to others should the 
     victim escape or attempt to escape. Such representations can 
     have the same coercive effects on victims as specific threats 
     to inflict such harm.
       (9) Sex trafficking, when it involves the involuntary 
     participation of another person in sex acts by means of 
     fraud, force, or coercion, includes all the elements of the 
     crime of forcible rape, which is defined by all legal systems 
     as among the most serious of all crimes.
       (10) Sex trafficking also involves frequent and serious 
     violations of other laws, including labor and immigration 
     codes and laws against kidnapping, slavery, false 
     imprisonment, assault, battery, pandering, fraud, and 
     extortion.
       (11) Women and children trafficked into the sex industry 
     are exposed to deadly diseases, including HIV and AIDS. 
     Trafficking victims are sometimes worked or physically 
     brutalized to death.
       (12) Trafficking in persons substantially affects 
     interstate and foreign commerce. The United States must take 
     action to eradicate the substantial burdens on commerce that 
     result from trafficking in persons and to prevent the 
     channels of commerce from being used for immoral and 
     injurious purposes.

[[Page 7285]]

       (13) Trafficking of persons in all its forms is an evil 
     that calls for concerted and vigorous action by countries of 
     origin, transit countries, receiving countries, and 
     international organizations.
       (14) Existing legislation and law enforcement in the United 
     States and in other nations around the world have proved 
     inadequate to deter trafficking and to bring traffickers to 
     justice, principally because such legislation and enforcement 
     do not reflect the gravity of the offenses involved. No 
     comprehensive law exists in the United States that penalizes 
     the range of offenses involved in the trafficking scheme. 
     Instead, even the most brutal instances of forcible sex 
     trafficking are often punished under laws that also apply to 
     far less serious offenses such as consensual sexual activity 
     and illegal immigration, so that traffickers typically escape 
     severe punishment.
       (15) In the United States, the seriousness of the crime of 
     trafficking in persons is not reflected in current sentencing 
     guidelines for component crimes of the trafficking scheme, 
     which results in weak penalties for convicted traffickers. 
     Adequate services and facilities do not exist to meet the 
     health care, housing, education, and legal assistance needs 
     for the safe reintegration of domestic trafficking victims.
       (16) In some countries, enforcement against traffickers is 
     also hindered by official indifference, by corruption, and 
     sometimes even by active official participation in 
     trafficking.
       (17) Because existing laws and law enforcement procedures 
     often fail to make clear distinctions between victims of 
     trafficking and persons who have knowingly and willfully 
     violated laws, and because victims often do not have legal 
     immigration status in the countries into which they are 
     trafficked, the victims are often punished more harshly than 
     the traffickers themselves.
       (18) Because victims of trafficking are frequently 
     unfamiliar with the laws, cultures, and languages of the 
     countries into which they have been trafficked, and because 
     they are often subjected to coercion and intimidation 
     including physical detention, debt bondage, fear of 
     retribution, and fear of forcible removal to countries in 
     which they will face retribution or other hardship, these 
     victims often find it difficult or impossible to report the 
     crimes committed against them or to assist in the 
     investigation and prosecution of such crimes.
       (19) The United States and the international community are 
     in agreement that trafficking in persons often involves grave 
     violations of human rights and is a matter of pressing 
     international concern. The Universal Declaration of Human 
     Rights; the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of 
     Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices 
     Similar to Slavery; the International Covenant on Civil and 
     Political Rights; the Convention on the Elimination of All 
     Forms of Discrimination Against Women; the Convention Against 
     Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or 
     Punishment, and other relevant instruments condemn slavery 
     and involuntary servitude, violence against women, and other 
     components of the trafficking scheme.
       (20) One of the founding documents of the United States, 
     the Declaration of Independence, recognizes the inherent 
     dignity and worth of all people. It states that all men are 
     created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with 
     certain unalienable rights. The right to be free from slavery 
     and involuntary servitude is among those unalienable rights. 
     Acknowledging this fact, the United States outlawed slavery 
     and involuntary servitude in 1865, recognizing them as evil 
     institutions that must be abolished. Current practices of 
     sexual slavery and trafficking of women and children are 
     similarly abhorrent to the principles upon which our country 
     was founded.
       (21) The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes 
     the right to be free from slavery and involuntary servitude, 
     arbitrary detention, degrading or inhuman treatment, and 
     arbitrary interference with privacy or the family, as well as 
     the right to protection by law against these abuses.
       (22) The United Nations General Assembly has passed three 
     resolutions during the last 3 years (50/167, 51/66, and 52/
     98) recognizing that the international traffic in women and 
     girls, particularly for purposes of forced prostitution, is a 
     matter of pressing international concern involving numerous 
     violations of fundamental human rights. The resolutions call 
     upon governments of receiving countries as well as countries 
     of origin to strengthen their laws against such practices, to 
     intensify their efforts to enforce such laws, and to ensure 
     the full protection, treatment, and rehabilitation of women 
     and children who are victims of trafficking.
       (23) The Final Report of the World Congress against Sexual 
     Exploitation of Children, held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 
     August 1996, recognized that international sex trafficking is 
     a principal cause of increased exploitation and degradation 
     of children.
       (24) The Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing 
     Conference) called on all governments to take measures, 
     including legislative measures, to provide better protection 
     of the rights of women and girls who are victims of 
     trafficking, to address the root factors that put women and 
     girls at risk to traffickers, and to take measures to 
     dismantle the national, regional, and international networks 
     on trafficking.
       (25) In the 1991 Moscow Document of the Organization for 
     Security and Co-operation in Europe, participating states, 
     including the United States, agreed to seek to eliminate all 
     forms of violence against women, and all forms of traffic in 
     women and exploitation of prostitution of women including by 
     ensuring adequate legal prohibitions against such acts and 
     other appropriate measures.
       (26) Numerous treaties to which the United States is a 
     party address government obligations to combat trafficking, 
     including such treaties as the 1956 Supplementary Convention 
     on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions 
     and Practices Similar to Slavery, which calls for the 
     complete abolition of debt bondage and servile forms of 
     marriage, and the 1957 Abolition of Forced Labor Convention, 
     which undertakes to suppress and requires signatories not to 
     make use of any forced or compulsory labor.
       (27) Trafficking in persons is a transnational crime with 
     national implications. In order to deter international 
     trafficking and to bring its perpetrators to justice, nations 
     including the United States must recognize that trafficking 
     is a serious offense and must act on this recognition by 
     prescribing appropriate punishment, by giving the highest 
     priority to investigation and prosecution of trafficking 
     offenses, and by protecting rather than punishing the victims 
     of such offenses. The United States must work bilaterally and 
     multilaterally to abolish the trafficking industry and take 
     steps to promote and facilitate cooperation among countries 
     linked together by international trafficking routes. The 
     United States must also urge the international community to 
     take strong action in multilateral fora to engage 
     recalcitrant countries in serious and sustained efforts to 
     eliminate trafficking and protect trafficking victims.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       For the purposes of this Act:
       (1) ``Sex trafficking'' means the purchase, sale, securing, 
     recruitment, harboring, transportation, transfer or receipt 
     of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act.
       (2) ``Severe forms of trafficking in persons'' means--
       (A) sex trafficking in which either a commercial sex act or 
     any act or event contributing to such act is effected or 
     induced by force, coercion, fraud, or deception, or in which 
     the person induced to perform such act has not attained the 
     age of 18 years; and
       (B) the purchase, sale, securing, recruitment, harboring, 
     transportation, transfer or receipt of a person for the 
     purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, or 
     slavery or slavery-like practices which is effected by force, 
     coercion, fraud, or deception.
       (3) ``Slavery-like practices'' means inducement of a person 
     to perform labor or any other service or act by force, by 
     coercion, or by any scheme, plan, or pattern to cause the 
     person to believe that failure to perform the work will 
     result in the infliction of serious harm, debt bondage in 
     which labor or services are pledged for debt on terms 
     calculated never to allow full payment of the debt or 
     otherwise amounting to indentured servitude for life or for 
     an indefinite period, or subjection of the person to 
     conditions so harsh or degrading as to provide a clear 
     indication that the person has been subjected to them by 
     force, fraud, or coercion.
       (4) ``Coercion'' means the use of force, violence, physical 
     restraint, or acts or circumstances not necessarily including 
     physical force but calculated to have the same effect, such 
     as the credible threat of force or of the infliction of 
     serious harm.
       (5) ``Act of a severe form of trafficking in persons'' 
     means any act at any point in the process of a severe form of 
     trafficking in persons, including any act of recruitment, 
     harboring, transport, transfer, purchase, sale or receipt of 
     a victim of such trafficking, or any act of operation, 
     management, or ownership of an enterprise in which a victim 
     of such trafficking engages in a commercial sex act, is 
     subjected to slavery or a slavery-like practice, or is 
     expected or induced to engage in such acts or be subjected to 
     such condition or practice, or sharing in the profits of the 
     process of a severe form of trafficking in persons or any 
     part thereof.
       (6) ``Victim of sex trafficking'' and ``victim of a severe 
     form of trafficking in persons'' mean a person subjected to 
     an act or practice described in paragraphs (1) and (2) 
     respectively.
       (7) ``Commercial sex act'' means a sex act on account of 
     which anything of value is given to or received by any 
     person.
       (8) ``Minimum standards for the elimination of 
     trafficking'' means the standards set forth in section 8.
       (9) ``Appropriate congressional committees'' means the 
     Committee on Foreign Relations of the United States Senate 
     and the Committee on International Relations of the United 
     States House of Representatives.
       (10) ``Nonhumanitarian foreign assistance'' means--
       (A) any assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 
     (including programs under title IV of chapter 2 of part I of 
     that Act, relating to the Overseas Private Investment 
     Corporation), other than--

[[Page 7286]]

       (i) assistance under chapter 8 of part I of that Act;
       (ii) any other narcotics-related assistance under part I of 
     that Act or under chapter 4 or 5 of part II of that Act, but 
     any such assistance provided under this clause shall be 
     subject to the prior notification procedures applicable to 
     reprogrammings pursuant to section 634A of that Act;
       (iii) disaster relief assistance, including any assistance 
     under chapter 9 of part I of that Act;
       (iv) antiterrorism assistance under chapter 8 of part II of 
     that Act;
       (v) assistance which involves the provision of food 
     (including monetization of food) or medicine;
       (vi) assistance for refugees; and
       (vii) humanitarian and other development assistance in 
     support of programs of nongovernmental organizations under 
     chapters 1 and 10 of that Act;
       (B) sales, or financing on any terms, under the Arms Export 
     Control Act, other than sales or financing provided for 
     narcotics-related purposes following notification in 
     accordance with the prior notification procedures applicable 
     to reprogrammings pursuant to section 634A of the Foreign 
     Assistance Act of 1961; and
       (C) financing under the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945.

     SEC. 4. ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES.

       The Secretary of State, with the assistance of the 
     Assistant Secretary of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, 
     shall, as part of the annual Country Reports on Human Rights 
     Practices, include information to address the status of 
     trafficking in persons, including--
       (1) a list of foreign countries that are countries of 
     origin, transit, or destination for a significant number of 
     victims of severe forms of trafficking;
       (2) a description of the nature and extent of severe forms 
     of trafficking in persons in each country;
       (3) an assessment of the efforts by the governments 
     described in paragraph (1) to combat severe forms of 
     trafficking. Such an assessment shall address--
       (A) whether any governmental authorities tolerate or are 
     involved in such trafficking;
       (B) which governmental authorities are involved in 
     activities to combat such trafficking;
       (C) what steps the government has taken against its 
     officials who participate in, facilitate, or condone such 
     trafficking;
       (D) what steps the government has taken to investigate and 
     prosecute officials who participate in or facilitate such 
     trafficking;
       (E) what steps the government has taken to prohibit other 
     individuals from participating in such trafficking, including 
     the investigation, prosecution, and conviction of individuals 
     involved in severe forms of trafficking in persons, the 
     criminal and civil penalties for such trafficking, and the 
     efficacy of those penalties in eliminating or reducing such 
     trafficking;
       (F) what steps the government has taken to assist victims 
     of such trafficking, including efforts to prevent victims 
     from being further victimized by traffickers, government 
     officials, or others, grants of stays of deportation, and 
     provision of humanitarian relief, including provision of 
     mental and physical health care and shelter;
       (G) whether the government--
       (i) is cooperating with governments of other countries to 
     extradite traffickers when requested;
       (ii) is assisting in international investigations of 
     transnational trafficking networks and in other co-operative 
     efforts to combat trafficking;
       (iii) refrains from prosecuting victims of severe forms of 
     trafficking and from other discriminatory treatment of such 
     victims due to such victims having been trafficked, or due to 
     their having left or entered the country illegally; and
       (iv) recognizes the rights of victims and ensures their 
     access to justice.
       (4) Information described in paragraph (2) and, where 
     appropriate, in paragraph (3) shall be included in the annual 
     Country Reports on Human Rights Practices on a country-by-
     country basis.
       (5) In addition to the information described in this 
     section, the Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 
     may contain such other information relating to trafficking in 
     persons as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.

     SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE TO MONITOR AND COMBAT 
                   TRAFFICKING.

       (a) Establishment.--The President shall establish an 
     Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking (in 
     this section referred to as the ``Task Force'').
       (b) Appointment.--The President shall appoint the members 
     of the Task Force, which shall include the Secretary of 
     State, the Director of the Agency for International 
     Development, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor, 
     the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Director of 
     the Central Intelligence Agency, and such other officials as 
     may be designated by the President.
       (c) Chairman.--The Task Force shall be chaired by the 
     Secretary of State.
       (d) Support for the Task Force.--The Secretary of State is 
     authorized to establish within the Department of State an 
     Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking, which shall provide 
     assistance to the Task Force. Any such Office shall be 
     administered by a Director. The Director shall have the 
     primary responsibility for assisting the Secretary of State 
     in carrying out the purposes of this Act and may have 
     additional responsibilities as determined by the Secretary. 
     The Director shall consult with domestic, international 
     nongovernmental and intergovernmental organizations, and with 
     trafficking victims or other affected persons. The Director 
     shall have the authority to take evidence in public hearings 
     or by other means. The Office is authorized to retain staff 
     members from agencies represented on the Task Force.
       (e) Activities of the Task Force.--In consultation with 
     nongovernmental organizations, the Task Force shall carry out 
     the following activities:
       (1) Coordinate the implementation of this Act.
       (2) Measure and evaluate progress of the United States and 
     countries around the world in the areas of trafficking 
     prevention, protection and assistance to victims of 
     trafficking, and prosecution and enforcement against 
     traffickers, including the role of public corruption in 
     facilitating trafficking.
       (3) Expand interagency procedures to collect and organize 
     data, including significant research and resource information 
     on domestic and international trafficking. Any data 
     collection procedures established under this subsection shall 
     respect the confidentiality of victims of trafficking.
       (4) Engage in efforts to facilitate cooperation among 
     countries of origin, transit, and destination. Such efforts 
     shall aim to strengthen local and regional capacities to 
     prevent trafficking, prosecute traffickers and assist 
     trafficking victims, and shall include initiatives to enhance 
     cooperative efforts between destination countries and 
     countries of origin and assist in the appropriate 
     reintegration of stateless victims of trafficking.
       (5) Examine the role of the international ``sex tourism'' 
     industry in the trafficking of women and children and in the 
     sexual exploitation of women and children around the world 
     and make recommendations on appropriate measures to combat 
     this industry.

     SEC. 6. PREVENTION OF TRAFFICKING.

       (a) Economic Alternatives To Prevent and Deter 
     Trafficking.--The President, acting through the Administrator 
     of the United States Agency for International Development and 
     the heads of other appropriate agencies, shall establish and 
     carry out initiatives to enhance economic opportunity for 
     potential victims of trafficking as a method to deter 
     trafficking. Such initiatives may include--
       (1) microcredit lending programs, training in business 
     development, skills training, and job counseling;
       (2) programs to promote women's participation in economic 
     decision making;
       (3) programs to keep children, especially girls, in 
     elementary and secondary schools and to educate persons who 
     have been victims of trafficking;
       (4) development of educational curricula regarding the 
     dangers of trafficking; and
       (5) grants to nongovernmental organizations to accelerate 
     and advance the political, economic, social, and educational 
     roles and capacities of women in their countries.
       (b) Public Awareness and Information.--The President, 
     acting through the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of 
     Health and Human Services, the Attorney General, and the 
     Secretary of State, shall establish and carry out programs to 
     increase public awareness, particularly among potential 
     victims of trafficking, of the dangers of trafficking and the 
     protections that are available for victims of trafficking.
       (c) Consultation Requirement.--The President shall consult 
     with appropriate nongovernmental organizations with respect 
     to the establishment and conduct of initiatives described in 
     subsection (a).

     SEC. 7. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING.

       (a) Assistance for Victims in Other Countries.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of State and the 
     Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
     Development, in consultation with appropriate nongovernmental 
     organizations, shall establish and carry out programs and 
     initiatives in foreign countries to assist in the safe 
     integration, reintegration, or resettlement, as appropriate, 
     of victims of trafficking and their children. Such programs 
     and initiatives shall be designed to meet the mental and 
     physical health, housing, legal, and other assistance needs 
     of such victims and their children, as identified by the 
     Inter-Agency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking 
     established under section 5.
       (2) Additional requirement.--In establishing and conducting 
     programs and initiatives described in paragraph (1), the 
     Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States 
     Agency for International Development shall take all 
     appropriate steps to enhance cooperative efforts among 
     foreign countries, including countries of origin of victims 
     of trafficking, to assist in the integration, reintegration, 
     or resettlement, as

[[Page 7287]]

     appropriate, of victims of trafficking including stateless 
     victims.
       (b) Victims in the United States.--
       (1) Assistance.--
       (A) Notwithstanding title IV of the Personal Responsibility 
     and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, an alien who 
     is a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons shall 
     be eligible for benefits and services under any Federal or 
     State program or activity funded or administered by any 
     official or agency described in subparagraph (B) to the same 
     extent as an alien who is admitted to the United States as a 
     refugee under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality 
     Act.
       (B) Subject, in the case of nonentitlement programs, to the 
     availability of appropriations, the Secretary of Health and 
     Human Services, the Secretary of Labor, and the Board of 
     Directors of the Legal Services Corporation shall expand 
     benefits and services to victims of severe forms of 
     trafficking in persons in the United States.
       (C) For the purposes of this paragraph, the term ``victim 
     of a severe form of trafficking in persons'' means only a 
     person--
       (i) who has been subjected to an act or practice described 
     in section 3(2) as in effect on the date of the enactment of 
     this Act; and
       (ii)(I) who has not attained the age of fifteen years, or
       (II) who is the subject of a certification under 
     subparagraph (E).
       (D) Not later than December 31 of each year, the Secretary 
     of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the 
     Secretary of Labor and the Board of Directors of the Legal 
     Services Corporation, shall submit a report, which includes 
     information on the number of persons who received benefits or 
     other services under this paragraph in connection with 
     programs or activities funded or administered by such 
     agencies or officials during the preceding fiscal year, to 
     the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee on 
     International Relations, and the Committee on the Judiciary 
     of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance, 
     the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on the 
     Judiciary of the Senate.
       (E)(i) The certification referred to in subparagraph (C) is 
     a certification by the Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services, after consultation with the Attorney General, that 
     the person referred to in subparagraph (C)(ii)(II)--
       (I) is willing to assist in every reasonable way in the 
     investigation and prosecution of severe forms of trafficking 
     in persons; and
       (II) has made a bona fide application for a visa under 
     section 101(a)(15)(T) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
     that has not been denied or is a person whose presence in the 
     United States the Attorney General is ensuring under 
     subsection (c)(4).
       (ii) For the purpose of a certification under this 
     subparagraph, the term ``investigation and prosecution'' 
     includes--
       (I) identification of a person or persons who have 
     committed severe forms of trafficking in persons;
       (II) location and apprehension of such persons; and
       (III) testimony at proceedings against such persons.
       (F) A person, who is the subject of a certification under 
     subparagraph (E) because the Attorney General is ensuring 
     such person's presence under subsection (c)(4) in order to 
     effectuate prosecution, is eligible for benefits and services 
     under this paragraph only for so long as the Attorney General 
     determines such person's presence is necessary to effectuate 
     such prosecution.
       (2) Benefits.--Subject to the availability of 
     appropriations and notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons in the 
     United States shall be eligible, without regard to their 
     immigration status, for any benefits that are otherwise 
     available under the Crime Victims Fund, established under the 
     Victims of Crime Act of 1984, including victims' services, 
     compensation, and assistance.
       (3) Grants.--
       (A) Subject to the availability of appropriations, the 
     Attorney General may make grants to States, territories, and 
     possessions of the United States (including the Commonwealths 
     of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands), Indian 
     tribes, units of local government, and nonprofit, 
     nongovernmental victims' service organizations to develop, 
     expand, or strengthen victim service programs for victims of 
     trafficking.
       (B) To receive a grant under this paragraph, an eligible 
     unit of government or organization shall certify that its 
     laws, policies, and practices, as appropriate, do not punish 
     or deny services to victims of severe forms of trafficking in 
     persons on account of the nature of their employment, 
     services, or other acts performed in connection with such 
     trafficking.
       (C) Of amounts made available for grants under this 
     paragraph, there shall be set aside 3 percent for research, 
     evaluation and statistics; 2 percent for training and 
     technical assistance; and 1 percent for management and 
     administration.
       (D) The Federal share of a grant made under this paragraph 
     may not exceed 75 percent of the total costs of the projects 
     described in the application submitted.
       (4) Civil action.--An individual who is a victim of a 
     violation of section 1589, 1590, 1591 of title 18, United 
     States Code, regarding trafficking, may bring a civil action 
     in United States district court. The court may award actual 
     damages, punitive damages, reasonable attorneys' fees, and 
     other litigation costs reasonably incurred.
       (c) Trafficking Victim Regulations.--Not later than 180 
     days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 
     General and the Secretary of State shall promulgate 
     regulations for law enforcement personnel, immigration 
     officials, and Department of State officials to implement the 
     following:
       (1) Victims of severe forms of trafficking, while in the 
     custody of the Federal Government and to the extent 
     practicable, shall be housed in appropriate shelter as 
     quickly as possible; receive prompt medical care, food, and 
     other assistance; and be provided protection if a victim's 
     safety is at risk or if there is danger of additional harm by 
     recapture of the victim by a trafficker.
       (2) Victims of severe forms of trafficking shall not be 
     jailed, fined, or otherwise penalized due to having been 
     trafficked, but the authority of the Attorney General under 
     the Immigration and Nationality Act to detain aliens shall 
     not be curtailed by any regulation promulgated to implement 
     this paragraph.
       (3) Victims of severe forms of trafficking shall have 
     access to legal assistance, information about their rights, 
     and translation services.
       (4) Federal law enforcement officials shall act to ensure 
     an alien's continued presence in the United States, if after 
     an assessment, it is determined that such alien is a victim 
     of a severe form of trafficking in persons, or a material 
     witness to such trafficking, in order to effectuate 
     prosecution of those responsible and to further the 
     humanitarian interests of the United States. Such officials, 
     in investigating and prosecuting persons engaging in such 
     trafficking, shall take into consideration the safety and 
     integrity of such victims, but the authority of the Attorney 
     General under the Immigration and Nationality Act to detain 
     aliens shall not be curtailed by any regulation promulgated 
     to implement this paragraph.
       (5) Appropriate personnel of the Department of State and 
     the Department of Justice are trained in identifying victims 
     of severe forms of trafficking and providing for the 
     protection of such victims. Training under this paragraph 
     should include methods for achieving antitrafficking 
     objectives through the nondiscriminatory application of 
     immigration and other related laws.
       (d) Construction.--Nothing in subsection (c) shall be 
     construed as creating any private cause of action against the 
     United States or its offices or employees.
       (e) Funding.--Funds from asset forfeiture under section 
     1594 of title 18, United States Code, (as added by section 12 
     of this Act) shall first be disbursed to satisfy any 
     judgments awarded victims of trafficking under subsection 
     (b)(4) or section 1593 of title 18, United States Code, (as 
     added by section 12 of this Act). The remaining funds from 
     such asset forfeiture are authorized to be available in equal 
     amounts for the purposes of subsections (a) and (b) and shall 
     remain available for obligation until expended.
       (f) Protection From Removal for Certain Victims of 
     Trafficking.--
       (1) Nonimmigrant classification for certain victims of 
     trafficking.--Section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) is amended--
       (A) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph (R);
       (B) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (S) 
     and inserting ``; or''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(T) subject to section 214(n), an alien, and the spouse 
     and children of the alien if accompanying or following to 
     join the alien, who the Attorney General determines--
       ``(i) is or has been a victim of a severe form of 
     trafficking in persons (as defined in section 3 of the 
     Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000);
       ``(ii) is physically present in the United States or at a 
     port of entry into the United States by reason of having been 
     transported to the United States or the port of entry in 
     connection with such severe form of trafficking in persons;
       ``(iii)(I) has not attained 15 years of age; or
       ``(II) was induced to participate in the commercial sex act 
     or condition of involuntary servitude, peonage, or slavery or 
     slavery-like practices that is the basis of the determination 
     under clause (i) by force, coercion, fraud, or deception, did 
     not voluntarily agree to any arrangement including such 
     participation, and has complied with any reasonable request 
     for assistance in the investigation or prosecution of severe 
     forms of trafficking in persons; and
       ``(iv)(I) has a well-founded fear of retribution involving 
     the infliction of severe harm upon removal from the United 
     States; or
       ``(II) would suffer extreme hardship in connection with the 
     victimization described in clause (i) upon removal from the 
     United States;

     and, if the Attorney General considers it to be necessary to 
     avoid extreme hardship, the sons and daughters (who are not 
     children), of any such alien (and the parents of any such

[[Page 7288]]

     alien, in the case of an alien under 21 years of age) if 
     accompanying or following to join the alien.''.
       (2) Conditions on nonimmigrant status.--Section 214 of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating the subsection (l) added by section 
     625(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 
     Responsibility Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-208; 110 Stat. 
     3009-1820) as subsection (m); and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(n)(1) No alien shall be eligible for admission to the 
     United States under section 101(a)(15)(T) if there is 
     substantial reason to believe that the alien has committed an 
     act of a severe form of trafficking in persons (as defined in 
     section 3 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000).
       ``(2) The total number of aliens who may be issued visas or 
     otherwise provided nonimmigrant status during any fiscal year 
     under section 101(a)(15)(T) may not exceed 5,000.
       ``(3) The numerical limitation of paragraph (2) shall only 
     apply to principal aliens and not to the spouses, sons, 
     daughters, or parents of such aliens.
       ``(4) Aliens who are subject to the numerical limitation of 
     paragraph (2) shall be issued visas (or otherwise provided 
     nonimmigrant status) in the order in which petitions are 
     filed for such visas or status.''.
       (3) Waiver of grounds for ineligibility for admission.--
     Section 212(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1182(d)) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(13)(A) The Attorney General shall determine whether a 
     ground for inadmissibility exists with respect to a 
     nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(T).
       ``(B) In addition to any other waiver that may be available 
     under this section, in the case of a nonimmigrant described 
     in section 101(a)(15)(T), if the Attorney General considers 
     it to be in the national interest to do so, the Attorney 
     General, in the Attorney General's discretion, may waive the 
     application of--
       ``(i) paragraphs (1) and (4) of subsection (a); and
       ``(ii) any other provision of such subsection (excluding 
     paragraphs (3), (10)(C), and (10(E)) if the activities 
     rendering the alien inadmissible under the provision were 
     caused by, or were incident to, the victimization described 
     in section 101(a)(15)(T)(i).
       ``(C) Nothing in this paragraph shall be regarded as 
     prohibiting the Attorney General from instituting removal 
     proceedings against an alien admitted as a nonimmigrant under 
     section 101(a)(15)(T) for conduct committed after the alien's 
     admission into the United States, or for conduct or a 
     condition that was not disclosed to the Attorney General 
     prior to the alien's admission as a nonimmigrant under 
     section 101(a)(15)(T).''.
       (4) Adjustment to permanent resident status.--Section 245 
     of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(l)(1) If, in the opinion of the Attorney General, a 
     nonimmigrant admitted into the United States under section 
     101(a)(15)(T)--
       ``(A) has been physically present in the United States for 
     a continuous period of at least 3 years since the date of 
     such admission;
       ``(B) has, throughout such period, been a person of good 
     moral character;
       ``(C) has, during such period, complied with any reasonable 
     request for assistance in the investigation or prosecution of 
     severe forms of trafficking in persons; and
       ``(D)(i) has a well-founded fear of retribution involving 
     the infliction of severe harm upon removal from the United 
     States; or
       ``(ii) would suffer extreme hardship in connection with the 
     victimization described in section 101(a)(15)(T)(i) upon 
     removal from the United States;

     the Attorney General may adjust the status of the alien (and 
     the spouse, parents, married and unmarried sons and daughters 
     of the alien if admitted under such section) to that of an 
     alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
       ``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to an alien admitted 
     under section 101(a)(15)(T) who is inadmissible to the United 
     States by reason of a ground that has not been waived under 
     section 212, except that, if the Attorney General considers 
     it to be in the national interest to do so, the Attorney 
     General, in the Attorney General's discretion, may waive the 
     application of--
       ``(A) paragraphs (1) and (4) of section 212(a); and
       ``(B) any other provision of such section (excluding 
     paragraphs (3), (10)(C), and (10(E)), if the activities 
     rendering the alien inadmissible under the provision were 
     caused by, or were incident to, the victimization described 
     in section 101(a)(15)(T)(i).
       ``(3) An alien shall be considered to have failed to 
     maintain continuous physical presence in the United States 
     for purposes of paragraph (1)(A) if the alien has departed 
     from the United States for any period in excess of 90 days or 
     for any periods in the aggregate exceeding 180 days.
       ``(4)(A) The total number of aliens whose status may be 
     adjusted under paragraph (1) during any fiscal year may not 
     exceed 5,000.
       ``(B) The numerical limitation of subparagraph (A) shall 
     only apply to principal aliens and not to the spouses, sons, 
     daughters, or parents of such aliens.
       ``(C) Aliens who are subject to the numerical limitation of 
     subparagraph (A) shall have their status adjusted in the 
     order in which applications are filed for such adjustment.
       ``(D) Upon the approval of adjustment of status under 
     paragraph (1)--
       ``(i) the Attorney General shall record the alien's lawful 
     admission for permanent residence as of the date of such 
     approval; and
       ``(ii) the Secretary of State shall not be required to 
     reduce the number of immigrant visas authorized to be issued 
     under this Act for any fiscal year.''.

     SEC. 8. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR THE ELIMINATION OF TRAFFICKING.

       (a) Minimum Standards.--Minimum standards for the 
     elimination of trafficking for a country that is a country of 
     origin, of transit, or of destination for a significant 
     number of victims are as follows:
       (1) The country should prohibit severe forms of trafficking 
     in persons and punish acts of such trafficking.
       (2) For the knowing commission of any act of sex 
     trafficking involving fraud, force, or coercion or in which 
     the victim of sex trafficking is a child incapable of giving 
     meaningful consent, or of trafficking which includes rape or 
     kidnapping or which causes a death, the country should 
     prescribe punishment commensurate with that for the most 
     serious crimes, such as forcible sexual assault.
       (3) For the knowing commission of any act of a severe form 
     of trafficking in persons, the country should prescribe 
     punishment which is sufficiently stringent to deter and which 
     adequately reflects the heinous nature of the offense.
       (4) The country should make serious and sustained efforts 
     to eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons.
       (b) Criteria.--In determinations under subsection (a)(4) 
     the following factors should be considered:
       (1) Whether the country vigorously investigates and 
     prosecutes acts of severe forms of trafficking in persons 
     that take place wholly or partly within the territory of the 
     country.
       (2) Whether the country cooperates with other countries in 
     the investigation and prosecution of severe forms of 
     trafficking in persons.
       (3) Whether the country extradites persons charged with 
     acts of severe forms of trafficking in persons on the same 
     terms and to the same extent as persons charged with other 
     serious crimes.
       (4) Whether the country monitors immigration and emigration 
     patterns for evidence of severe forms of trafficking in 
     persons and whether law enforcement agencies of the country 
     respond to any such evidence in a manner which is consistent 
     with the vigorous investigation and prosecution of acts of 
     such trafficking, as well as with the protection of victims 
     and the internationally recognized human right to leave 
     countries and to return to one's own country.
       (5) Whether the country protects victims of severe forms of 
     trafficking in persons and encourages their assistance in the 
     investigation and prosecution of such trafficking, including 
     provision for legal alternatives to their removal to 
     countries in which they would face retribution or other 
     hardship.
       (6) Whether the country vigorously investigates and 
     prosecutes public officials who participate in or facilitate 
     severe forms of trafficking in persons, and takes all 
     appropriate measures against officials who condone such 
     trafficking.

     SEC. 9. ASSISTANCE TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES TO MEET MINIMUM 
                   STANDARDS.

       The Secretary of State and the Director of the Agency for 
     International Development are authorized to provide 
     assistance to foreign countries for programs and activities 
     designed to meet the minimum international standards for the 
     elimination of trafficking, including drafting of legislation 
     to prohibit and punish acts of trafficking, investigation and 
     prosecution of traffickers, and facilities, programs, and 
     activities for the protection of victims.

     SEC. 10. ACTIONS AGAINST GOVERNMENTS FAILING TO MEET MINIMUM 
                   STANDARDS.

       (a) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United 
     States not to provide nonhumanitarian foreign assistance to 
     countries which do not meet minimum standards for the 
     elimination of trafficking.
       (b) Reports to Congress.--
       (1) Annual report.--Not later than April 30 of each year, 
     the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate 
     congressional committees a report with respect to the status 
     of severe forms of trafficking in persons which shall include 
     a list of those countries, if any, to which the minimum 
     standards for the elimination of trafficking under section 8 
     are applicable and which do not meet such standards, and 
     which may include additional information, including 
     information about efforts to combat trafficking and about 
     countries which have taken appropriate actions to combat 
     trafficking.
       (2) Interim reports.--The Secretary of State may submit to 
     the appropriate congressional committees in addition to the 
     annual report under subsection (b) one or more interim 
     reports with respect to the status of severe forms of 
     trafficking in persons, including information about countries 
     whose

[[Page 7289]]

     governments have come into or out of compliance with the 
     minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking since 
     the transmission of the last annual report.
       (c) Notification.--For fiscal year 2002 and each subsequent 
     fiscal year, for each foreign country to which the minimum 
     standards for the elimination of trafficking are applicable 
     and which has failed to meet such standards, as described in 
     an annual or interim report under subsection (b), not less 
     than 45 days and not more than 90 days after the submission 
     of such a report the President shall submit a notification to 
     the appropriate congressional committees of one of the 
     determinations described in subsection (d).
       (d) Determinations.--The determinations referred to in 
     subsection (c) are as follows:
       (1) Withholding of nonhumanitarian assistance.--The 
     President has determined that--
       (A)(i) the United States will not provide nonhumanitarian 
     foreign assistance to the government of the country for the 
     subsequent fiscal year until such government complies with 
     the minimum standards; or
       (ii) in the case of a country whose government received no 
     nonhumanitarian foreign assistance from the United States 
     during the previous fiscal year, the United States will not 
     provide funding for participation by officials or employees 
     of such governments in educational and cultural exchange 
     programs for the subsequent fiscal year until such government 
     complies with the minimum standards; and
       (B) the President will instruct the United States Executive 
     Director of each multilateral development bank and of the 
     International Monetary Fund to vote against, and to use his 
     or her best efforts to deny, any loan or other utilization of 
     the funds of his or her institution to that country (other 
     than for humanitarian assistance, or for development 
     assistance which directly addresses basic human needs, is not 
     administered by the government of the sanctioned country, and 
     confers no benefit to that country) for the subsequent fiscal 
     year until such government complies with the minimum 
     standards.
       (2) Subsequent compliance.--The Secretary of State has 
     determined that the country has come into compliance with the 
     minimum standards.
       (3) Continuation of assistance in the national interest.--
     Notwithstanding the failure of the country to comply with 
     minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, the 
     President has determined that the provision of 
     nonhumanitarian foreign assistance to the country is in the 
     national interest of the United States.
       (4) Exercise of waiver authority.--The President may 
     exercise the authority under paragraph (3) with respect to 
     all nonhumanitarian foreign assistance to a country or with 
     respect to one or more programs, projects, or activities.
       (e) Certification.--Together with any notification under 
     subsection (c), the President shall provide a certification 
     by the Secretary of State that with respect to assistance 
     described in clause (i), (ii), or (iv) of subparagraph 
     3(10)(A) or in subparagraph 3(10)(B), no assistance is 
     intended to be received or used by any agency or official who 
     has participated in, facilitated, or condoned a severe form 
     of trafficking in persons.

     SEC. 11. ACTIONS AGAINST SIGNIFICANT TRAFFICKERS IN PERSONS.

       (a) Authority to Sanction Significant Traffickers in 
     Persons.--
       (1) In general.--The President may exercise IEEPA 
     authorities (other than authorities relating to importation) 
     without regard to section 202 of the International Emergency 
     Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) in the case of any 
     foreign person who is on the list described in subsection 
     (b).
       (2) Penalties.--The penalties set forth in section 206 of 
     the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 
     1705) apply to violations of any license, order, or 
     regulation issued under this section.
       (3) IEEPA authorities.--For purposes of clause (i), the 
     term ``IEEPA authorities'' means the authorities set forth in 
     section 203(a) of the International Emergency Economic Powers 
     Act (50 U.S.C. 1702(a)).
       (b) List of Traffickers of Persons.--
       (1) Compiling list of traffickers in persons.--The 
     Secretary of State is authorized to compile a list of the 
     following persons:
       (A) any foreign person that plays a significant role in a 
     severe form of trafficking in persons, directly or indirectly 
     in the United States or any of its territories or 
     possessions;
       (B) foreign persons who materially assist in, or provide 
     financial or technological support for or to, or providing 
     goods or services in support of, activities of a significant 
     foreign trafficker in persons identified pursuant to 
     subparagraph (A); and
       (C) foreign persons that are owned, controlled, or directed 
     by, or acting for or on behalf of, a significant foreign 
     trafficker so identified pursuant to subparagraph (A).
       (2) Revisions to list.--The Secretary of State shall make 
     additions or deletions to any list published under paragraph 
     (1) on an ongoing basis based on the latest information 
     available.
       (3) Consultation.--The Secretary of State shall consult 
     with the following officers in carrying out paragraphs (1) 
     and (2).
       (A) the Attorney General;
       (B) the Director of Central Intelligence;
       (C) the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
       (D) the Secretary of Labor; and
       (E) the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
       (4) Publication of list.--Upon compiling the list referred 
     to in paragraph (1) and within 30 days of any revisions to 
     such list, the Secretary of State shall submit the list or 
     revisions to such list to the Committees on the International 
     Relations and Judiciary and the Permanent Select Committee on 
     Intelligence of the House of Representatives; and to the 
     Committees on the Foreign Relations and the Select Committee 
     on Intelligence of the Senate; and publish the list or 
     revisions to such list in the Federal Register.
       (c) Report to Congress on Identification and Sanctioning of 
     Significant Traffickers in Persons.--Upon exercising the 
     authority of subsection (a), the President shall report to 
     the Committees on the International Relations and Judiciary 
     and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 
     House of Representatives; and to the Committees on the 
     Foreign Relations and the Select Committee on Intelligence of 
     the Senate--
       (1) identifying publicly the foreign persons that the 
     President determines are appropriate for sanctions pursuant 
     to this section; and
       (2) detailing publicly the sanctions imposed pursuant to 
     this section.
       (d) Exclusion of Certain Information.--
       (1) Intelligence.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     this section, the list and report described in subsections 
     (b) and (c) shall not disclose the identity of any person, if 
     the Director of Central Intelligence determines that such 
     disclosure could compromise an intelligence operation, 
     activity, source, or method of the United States.
       (2) Law enforcement.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
     of this section, the list and report described in subsections 
     (b) and (c) shall not disclose the name of any person if the 
     Attorney General, in coordination as appropriate with the 
     Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the 
     Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the 
     Secretary of the Treasury, determines that such disclosure 
     could reasonably be expected to--
       (A) compromise the identity of a confidential source, 
     including a State, local, or foreign agency or authority or 
     any private institution that furnished information on a 
     confidential basis;
       (B) jeopardize the integrity or success of an ongoing 
     criminal investigation or prosecution;
       (C) endanger the life or physical safety of any person; or
       (D) cause substantial harm to physical property.
       (3) Notification required.--(A) Whenever either the 
     Director of Central Intelligence or the Attorney General 
     makes a determination under this subsection, the Director of 
     Central Intelligence or the Attorney General shall notify the 
     Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of 
     Representatives and the Select Committee on Intelligence of 
     the Senate, and explain the reasons for such determination.
       (B) The notification required under this paragraph shall be 
     submitted to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 
     of the House of Representatives and the Select Committee on 
     Intelligence of the Senate not later than July 1, 2000, and 
     on an annual basis thereafter.
       (e) Law Enforcement and Intelligence Activities Not 
     Affected.--Nothing in this section prohibits or otherwise 
     limits the authorized law enforcement or intelligence 
     activities of the United States, or the law enforcement 
     activities of any State or subdivision thereof.
       (f) Exclusion of Persons Who Have Benefited From Illicit 
     Activities of Traffickers in Persons.--Section 212(a)(2) of 
     the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)) is 
     amended by inserting the following new subparagraph at the 
     end:
       ``(H) Significant traffickers in persons.--Any alien who--
       ``(i) is on the most recent list of significant traffickers 
     provided in section 10 of the Trafficking Victims Protection 
     Act of 1999, or who the consular officer or the Attorney 
     General knows or has reason to believe is or has been a 
     knowing aider, abettor, assister, conspirator, or colluder 
     with such a trafficker in severe forms of trafficking in 
     persons as defined in the section 3 of such Act; or
       ``(ii) who the consular officer or the Attorney General 
     knows or has reason to believe is the spouse, son, or 
     daughter of an alien inadmissible under clause (i), has, 
     within the previous 5 years, obtained any financial or other 
     benefit from the illicit activity of that alien, and knew or 
     reasonably should have known that the financial or other 
     benefit was the product of such illicit activity, is 
     inadmissible.''.
       (g) Implementation.--
       (1) The Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the 
     Secretary of Treasury are authorized to take such actions as 
     may be necessary to carry out this section, including 
     promulgating rules and regulations permitted under this Act.

[[Page 7290]]

       (2)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), such rules and 
     regulations shall require that a reasonable effort be made to 
     provide notice and an opportunity to be heard, in person or 
     through a representative, prior to placement of a person on 
     the list described in subsection (b).
       (B) If there is reasonable cause to believe that such a 
     person would take actions to undermine the ability of the 
     President to exercise the authority provided under subsection 
     (a), such notice and opportunity to be heard shall be 
     provided as soon as practicable after the placement of the 
     person on the list described in subsection (b).
       (h) Definition of Foreign Persons.--As used in this 
     section, the term ``foreign person'' means any citizen or 
     national of a foreign state or any entity not organized under 
     the laws of the United States, including a foreign government 
     official, but does not include a foreign state.
       (i) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
     construed as precluding judicial review of the placement of 
     any person on the list of traffickers in person described in 
     subsection (b).

     SEC. 12. STRENGTHENING PROSECUTION AND PUNISHMENT OF 
                   TRAFFICKERS.

       (a) Title 18 Amendments.--Chapter 77 of title 18, United 
     States Code, is amended--
       (1) in each of sections 1581(a), 1583, and 1584--
       (A) by striking ``10 years'' and inserting ``20 years''; 
     and
       (B) by adding at the end the following: ``If death results 
     from a violation of this section, or if such violation 
     includes kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated 
     sexual abuse or the attempt to commit aggravated sexual 
     abuse, or an attempt to kill, the defendant shall be fined 
     under this title or imprisoned for any term of years or life, 
     or both.'';
       (2) by inserting at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 1589. Forced labor

       ``Whoever knowingly provides or obtains the labor or 
     services of a person--
       ``(1) by threats of serious harm to, or physical restraint 
     against, that person or another person;
       ``(2) by use of fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation if the 
     person is a minor, mentally disabled, or otherwise 
     particularly susceptible to undue influence;
       ``(3) by means of any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to 
     cause the person to believe that if the person did not 
     perform such labor or services, serious harm or physical 
     restraint would be inflicted on that person or another 
     person; or
       ``(4) by means of the abuse or threatened abuse of law or 
     the legal process;

     shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 
     20 years, or both. If death results from a violation of this 
     section, or if such violation includes kidnapping or an 
     attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or the attempt to 
     commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, the 
     defendant shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for 
     any term of years or life, or both.

     ``Sec. 1590. Trafficking with respect to peonage, slavery, 
       involuntary servitude, or forced labor

       ``Whoever knowingly--
       ``(1) recruits, harbors, transports, provides, or obtains 
     by any means, any person for labor or services in violation 
     of this chapter; or
       ``(2) benefits, financially or otherwise, from an 
     enterprise in which a person has been subjected to labor or 
     services in violation of this chapter;

     shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 
     20 years, or both. If death results from a violation of this 
     section, or if such violation includes kidnapping or an 
     attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse, or the attempt to 
     commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, the 
     defendant shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for 
     any term of years or life, or both.

     ``Sec. 1591. Sex trafficking of children or by coercion, 
       fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation

       ``(a) In General.--Whoever knowingly--
       ``(1) recruits, harbors, transports, provides, or obtains 
     by any means a person, or
       ``(2) benefits, financially or otherwise, from an 
     enterprise in which a person has been recruited, enticed, 
     harbored, transported, provided, or obtained in violation of 
     paragraph (1);

     knowing that coercion, fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, or 
     other abusive practices described in subsection (c)(2) 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, shall 
     be punished as provided in subsection (b).
       ``(b) Punishment.--The punishment for an offense under 
     subsection (a) is--
       ``(1) if the offense was effected by coercion, fraud, 
     deceit, misrepresentation, or other abusive practices or if 
     the person transported had not attained the age of 14 years 
     at the time of such offense, by a fine under this title or 
     imprisonment for any term of years or for life, or both; or
       ``(2) if the offense was not so effected, and the person 
     transported had attained the age of 14 years but had not 
     attained the age of 18 years at the time of such offense, by 
     a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 20 
     years, or both.
       ``(c) Definition.--In this section--
       ``(1) The term `commercial sex act' means any sex act, on 
     account of which anything of value is given to or received by 
     any person, and--
       ``(A) which takes place in the United States;
       ``(B) which affects United States foreign commerce; or
       ``(C) in which either the person caused or expected to 
     participate in the act or the person committing the violation 
     is a United States citizen or an alien admitted for permanent 
     residence in the United States.''
       ``(2) The term `other abusive practices' means --
       ``(A) threats of serious harm to, or physical restraint 
     against, the person or other person; and
       ``(B) the abuse or threatened abuse of law or the legal 
     process.

     ``Sec. 1592. Unlawful conduct with respect to documents in 
       furtherance of trafficking, peonage, slavery, involuntary 
       servitude, or forced labor

       ``(a) Whoever destroys, conceals, removes, confiscates, or 
     possesses any identification, passport, or other immigration 
     documents, or any other documentation of another person--
       ``(1) in the course of a violation of section 1581, 1583, 
     1584, 1589, 1590, or 1591 or a conspiracy or attempt to 
     commit such a violation; or
       ``(2) to prevent or restrict, without lawful authority, the 
     person's liberty to move or travel in interstate or foreign 
     commerce in furtherance of a violation of section 1581, 1583, 
     1584, 1589, 1590, or 1591 or a conspiracy or attempt to 
     commit such a violation;

     shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more 
     than 5 years, or both.
       ``(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to the conduct of a 
     person who is or has been a victim of a severe form of 
     trafficking in persons as defined in section 3(6) of the 
     Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, if that conduct 
     is caused by, or incident to, that trafficking.

     ``Sec. 1593. Mandatory restitution

       ``(a) Notwithstanding sections 3663 or 3663A, and in 
     addition to any other civil or criminal penalties authorized 
     by law, the court shall order restitution for any offense 
     under this chapter.
       ``(b)(1) The order of restitution under this section shall 
     direct the defendant to pay the victim (through the 
     appropriate court mechanism) the full amount of the victim's 
     losses, as determined by the court under paragraph (3) of 
     this subsection.
       ``(2) An order of restitution under this section shall be 
     issued and enforced in accordance with section 3664 in the 
     same manner as an order under section 3663A.
       ``(3) As used in this subsection, the term `full amount of 
     the victim's losses' has the same meaning as provided in 
     section 2259(b)(3) and shall in addition include the greater 
     of the gross income or value to the defendant of the victim's 
     services or labor or the value of the victim's labor as 
     guaranteed under the minimum wage and overtime guarantees of 
     the Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 201, et seq.).
       ``(c) As used in this section, the term `victim' means the 
     individual harmed as a result of a crime under this chapter, 
     including, in the case of a victim who is under 18 years of 
     age, incompetent, incapacitated, or deceased, the legal 
     guardian of the victim or a representative of the victim's 
     estate, or another family member, or any other person 
     appointed as suitable by the court, but in no event shall the 
     defendant be named such representative or guardian.

     ``Sec. 1594. General provisions

       ``(a) An attempt or conspiracy to violate section 1581, 
     1583, 1584, 1589, 1590, or 1591 shall be punishable in the 
     same manner as a completed violation of that section.
       ``(b)(1) The court, in imposing sentence on any person 
     convicted of a violation of this chapter, shall order, in 
     addition to any other sentence imposed and irrespective of 
     any provision of State law, that such person shall forfeit to 
     the United States--
       ``(A) such person's interest in any property, real or 
     personal, that was used or intended to be used to commit or 
     to facilitate the commission of such violation; and
       ``(B) any property, real or personal, constituting or 
     derived from, any proceeds that such person obtained, 
     directly or indirectly, as a result of such violation.
       ``(2) The criminal forfeiture of property under this 
     subsection, any seizure and disposition thereof, and any 
     administrative or judicial proceeding in relation thereto, 
     shall be governed by the provisions of section 7(e) of the 
     Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.
       ``(c)(1) The following shall be subject to forfeiture to 
     the United States and no property right shall exist in them:
       ``(A) Any property, real or personal, used or intended to 
     be used to commit or to facilitate the commission of any 
     violation of this chapter.
       ``(B) Any property, real or personal, which constitutes or 
     is derived from proceeds traceable to any violation of this 
     chapter.
       ``(2) The provisions of chapter 46 of this title relating 
     to civil forfeitures shall extend to any seizure or civil 
     forfeiture under this subsection.

[[Page 7291]]

       ``(d) Witness Protection.--Any violation of this chapter 
     shall be considered an organized criminal activity or other 
     serious offense for the purposes of application of chapter 
     224 (relating to witness protection).''; and
       (3) by amending the table of sections at the beginning of 
     chapter 77 by adding at the end the following new items:

``1589. Forced labor.
``1590. Trafficking with respect to peonage, slavery, involuntary 
              servitude, or forced labor.
``1591. Sex trafficking of children or by coercion, fraud, deceit, or 
              misrepresentation.
``1592. Unlawful conduct with respect to documents in furtherance of 
              trafficking, peonage, slavery, involuntary servitude, or 
              forced labor
``1593. Mandatory restitution.
``1594. General provisions.''.
       (b) Amendment to the Sentencing Guidelines.--
       (1) Pursuant to its authority under section 994 of title 
     28, United States Code, and in accordance with this section, 
     the United States Sentencing Commission shall review and, if 
     appropriate, amend the sentencing guidelines and policy 
     statements applicable to persons convicted of offenses 
     involving the trafficking of persons including component or 
     related crimes of peonage, involuntary servitude, slave trade 
     offenses, and possession, transfer or sale of false 
     immigration documents in furtherance of trafficking, and the 
     Fair Labor Standards Act and the Migrant and Seasonal 
     Agricultural Worker Protection Act.
       (2) In carrying out this subsection, the Sentencing 
     Commission shall--
       (A) take all appropriate measures to ensure that these 
     sentencing guidelines and policy statements applicable to the 
     offenses described in paragraph (1) of this subsection are 
     sufficiently stringent to deter and adequately reflect the 
     heinous nature of such offenses;
       (B) consider conforming the sentencing guidelines 
     applicable to offenses involving trafficking in persons to 
     the guidelines applicable to peonage, involuntary servitude, 
     and slave trade offenses; and
       (C) consider providing sentencing enhancements for those 
     convicted of the offenses described in paragraph (1) of this 
     subsection that--
       (i) involve a large number of victims;
       (ii) involve a pattern of continued and flagrant 
     violations;
       (iii) involve the use or threatened use of a dangerous 
     weapon; or
       (iv) result in the death or bodily injury of any person.
       (3) The Commission may promulgate the guidelines or 
     amendments under this subsection in accordance with the 
     procedures set forth in section 21(a) of the Sentencing Act 
     of 1987, as though the authority under that Act had not 
     expired.

     SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) Authorization of Appropriations for the Interagency 
     Task Force.--To carry out the purposes of section 5, there 
     are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of State 
     $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $3,000,000 for fiscal 
     year 2001.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations to the Secretary of 
     Health and Human Services.--To carry out the purposes of 
     section 7(b) there are authorized to be appropriated to the 
     Secretary of Health and Human Services $5,000,000 for fiscal 
     year 2000 and $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.
       (c) Authorization of Appropriations to the Secretary of 
     State.--To carry out the purposes of section 7(a) there are 
     authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of State 
     $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $10,000,000 for fiscal 
     year 2001.
       (d) Authorization of Appropriations to Attorney General.--
     To carry out the purposes of section 7(b) there are 
     authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General 
     $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $10,000,000 for fiscal 
     year 2001.
       (e) Authorization of Appropriations to President.--
       (1) Foreign victim assistance.--To carry out the purposes 
     of section 6 there are authorized to be appropriated to the 
     President $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $10,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 2001.
       (2) Assistance to foreign countries to meet minimum 
     standards.--To carry out the purposes of section 9 there are 
     authorized to be appropriated to the President $5,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 2000 and $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.
       (f) Authorization of Appropriations to the Secretary of 
     Labor.--To carry out the purposes of section 7(b) there are 
     authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Labor 
     $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and $10,000,000 for fiscal 
     year 2001.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), the distinguished 
chairman of the Committee on International Relations.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time.
  I am pleased to rise in strong support of H.R. 3244, the Trafficking 
Victims Protection Act of 2000. I am pleased to cosponsor H.R. 3244.
  This legislation would not be before us today without the strong 
leadership and extensive work by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Smith), the distinguished chairman of our Subcommittee on International 
Operations and Human Rights of our Committee on International 
Relations. He was joined in refining this legislation by the gentleman 
from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson), the distinguished ranking Democratic 
member of our committee. Together they produced a very fine product 
which deserves the support of every Member of this body.
  As noted in the legislation, Mr. Speaker, millions of people, 
primarily women and children, are trafficked every year across the 
international borders for sexual or other exploitive purposes. 
Approximately 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the United 
States for such purposes every year. H.R. 3244 contains a number of 
provisions designed to ensure that our government uses its influence 
around the world to stop this abominable trafficking in human beings. 
Moreover, it enhances the protections under U.S. law for victims of 
trafficking in the United States.
  This legislation establishes minimum standards that should be 
achieved in nations with significant trafficking problems in order for 
them to begin eliminating trafficking. The bill also authorizes U.S. 
foreign assistance to help countries meet those minimum standards and 
beginning in the year 2002, requires the withholding of nonhumanitarian 
U.S. foreign assistance from countries that fail to meet those 
standards.
  Mr. Speaker, this measure enables the President to exercise a 
national interest waiver to permit the delivery of nonhumanitarian 
assistance, notwithstanding this requirement. But in the typical case, 
this threat should provide a powerful incentive to nations with 
trafficking problems to meet the minimum standards.
  Within our Nation, the legislation permits certain victims of 
trafficking to remain in the country so that among other things, they 
can assist in the prosecution of the traffickers. Victims of severe 
forms of trafficking are also made eligible for special programs set up 
for crime victims. This legislation strengthens the criminal penalties 
for trafficking under U.S. law in a number of very critical respects.
  Taken together, this is a solidly-crafted piece of legislation that 
addresses an urgent moral and humanitarian problem. Regrettably, the 
administration has opposed this legislation, but I am optimistic that a 
strong expression of support in the House of Representatives today will 
prompt the administration to reconsider its position.
  Accordingly, Mr. Speaker, I urge our colleagues to fully support H.R. 
3244.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume. I thank the distinguished chairman of the Committee on 
International Relations for his very kind words; the feeling is mutual 
and the respect is mutual.
  Mr. Speaker, I am deeply grateful that the House is meeting today to 
consider H.R. 3244, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 
which I introduced last year along with the gentleman from Connecticut 
(Mr. Gejdenson), the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), the 
gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter), the gentleman from Virginia 
(Mr. Wolf), and a number of other bipartisan cosponsors.
  Before discussing the merits of the legislation, I would like to 
point out that the bill now has 36 cosponsors, 18 Democrats and 18 
Republicans. Among the Republican cosponsors are the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Armey), the distinguished majority leader, who last year 
gave us a very firm commitment that this bill would be brought to the

[[Page 7292]]

floor because of the egregious nature of the situation that we are 
facing; the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), the majority whip; the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), the chairman of the Committee on 
International Relations who just spoke; the gentleman from Virginia 
(Mr. Bliley), the chairman of the Committee on Commerce; and the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Canady), the chairman of the Subcommittee 
on the Constitution. The Democratic cosponsors include not only the 
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson), the distinguished ranking 
minority member of the Committee on International Relations, but also 
the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers), the gentleman from Illinois 
(Mr. Gutierrez), and the gentlewoman from Georgia (Ms. McKinney), my 
friend and the ranking member on my subcommittee.
  Another index of the broad support for the Trafficking Victims 
Protection Act is that it has both the support of Charles Colson and 
Gloria Steinem, of the Family Research Council and of Equality Now; of 
the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, as well as the National 
Association of Evangelicals.
  In crafting this legislation, we have also had the assistance of 
impartial experts, such as Michael Horowitz of the Hudson Institute, 
Gary Haugen of the International Justice Mission, which goes out and 
rescues trafficked women and children one-by-one. I especially want to 
thank Grover Joseph Rees, the chief counsel and chief of staff of the 
Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, for his 
remarkable skill in helping to craft this measure and, in like manner, 
I would like to thank David Abramowitz, the chief counsel for the 
Minority staff, who has done tremendous work on it as well. I would 
also like to thank Dr. Laura Lederer of the Protection Project whose 
painstaking research has been indispensable in ensuring that we have 
the facts about this worldwide criminal enterprise and its victims.
  As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, in testimony at a Helsinki 
Commission sexual trafficking hearing that I chaired on June 28, Dr. 
Lederer told the story of Lydia. Lydia's story, she told us, is an 
amalgamation of several true stories of women and girls who have been 
trafficked in Eastern Europe in recent years.

                              {time}  1245

  Lydia was 16 and hanging around with friends on streets, she told us. 
You can fill in the name of the country here, the Ukraine, Russia, 
Rumania, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, when they were approached by an 
older, beautifully dressed woman who befriended them and told them they 
were so nice looking she could get them a part-time job in modeling.
  She took them to dinner, bought them some small gifts, and when the 
dinner was over she invited them back to her home for a drink. Taking 
the drink is the last thing that Lydia remembers. The woman drugged her 
and handed her and her friends over to an agent who drove them, 
unconscious, across the border. Here you can fill in another set of 
countries, be it Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, some Middle Eastern 
countries, even as far as Japan, Canada, and of course, the United 
States.
  When Lydia awoke she was alone in a strange room in a foreign 
country. Her friends were gone. A while later a man came into the room 
and told her that she now belonged to him. I own you, he said. You are 
my property. You will work for me until I say stop. Don't try to leave. 
You have no papers. You have no passport. You don't speak the language 
in this country. He told her if she tried to escape his men would come 
in after her and beat her and bring her back. He told her that her 
family back home was in danger. He told her that she owed the agency 
$35,000, which she would work off in a brothel by sexually servicing 
men, sometimes 10 to 20 men a day.
  Stunned, angry, rebellious, Lydia refused. The man then hit her. He 
beat her. He raped her. He sent friends in to gang rape her. She was 
left in the room alone without food or water for 3 days. Frightened and 
broken, she succumbed. For the next 6 months she was held in virtual 
confinement and forced to prostitute herself. She received no money. 
She had no hope of escape.
  She was rescued when the brothel was raided by local police. They 
arrested the young women and charged them with working without a visa. 
They arrested the brothel manager and charged him with procuration, but 
he was later released. They did not attempt to arrest the brothel 
owners or to identify the traffickers.
  The girls were interviewed, and those who were not citizens of the 
country were charged as illegal aliens and transferred to a woman's 
prison where they awaited deportation.
  A medical examiner found that Lydia had several sexually transmitted 
diseases. In addition, she was addicted to a potent cough syrup, and 
she was physically weak. She was spiritually broken. There was no one 
to speak for Lydia. She feared the future because she knew her keepers. 
They had the networks, the power, the resources to track her down, 
kidnap her, and bring her back again.
  The risk is low so the potential profits are high, and girls like 
Lydia are the real target. There seems to be no one who cares about 
Lydia's life. The authorities do not have an interest in tracking down 
the organizations or the individuals in this trafficking chain, from 
the woman who drugged Lydia to the agent who brought her across the 
border to the agent who broke her will to the brothel managers and to 
the brothel owners.
  In addition, there are corrupt law enforcement officers involved, 
because the process of getting Lydia across the borders and keeping the 
brothels running involves payoffs to local visa officials and police in 
the country of origin, border patrols for both countries, and local 
police in the destination countries. Lydia is without protection. The 
traffickers have bought theirs.
  Now, think of Lydia's story multiplied by hundreds of thousands and 
you get the picture of the scope of the problem. UNICEF is estimating 
that 1 million children are forced into prostitution in southeast Asia 
alone, another 1 million worldwide. These are just children. An 
estimated 250,000 women and children from Russia, the newly-independent 
States, and Eastern Europe are trafficked into Western Europe, the 
Middle East, Japan, Canada, and the U.S. each and every year.
  An estimated 20,000 children from Central American countries, and 
this is a new figure from the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of 
Slavery, are being trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual 
exploitation up through Central America and into the United States.
  Mr. Speaker, on an OSCE human rights trip to St. Petersburg last 
July, my wife Marie and I, joined by several other Members, met with 
Dr. Juliette Engel of MiraMed Institute, an NGO dedicated to helping 
women exploited by trafficking. We met with girls and young women who 
told us their heartbreaking stories of their captivity.
  Dr. Engel's group has supported H.R. 3244 and points out that, 
unfortunately for Russian girls, sexual trafficking is the most 
profitable of all the criminal enterprises. Estimates are as high as $4 
billion last year, because unlike one-time sales of weapons and 
narcotics, women can be sold over and over again. Dreams are shattered, 
she writes, families are broken apart, lives are destroyed.
  Mr. Speaker, our legislation, H.R. 3244, has attracted such broad 
support not only because it is pro-women, pro-child, pro-human rights, 
pro-family values, and anticrime, but because it addresses a problem 
that absolutely cries out for a solution.
  The Trafficking Victims Protection Act focuses on the most severe 
forms of trafficking in human beings: on the buying and selling of 
children into the international sex industry, on sex trafficking of 
women and children alike by force, fraud, or coercion, and on 
trafficking into slavery, involuntary servitude, and forced labor.
  Each year, as many as 2 million innocent victims, of whom the 
overwhelming majority of are women and children, are brought by force 
and/or

[[Page 7293]]

fraud into the international commercial sex industry.
  Efforts by the U.S. Government, international organizations, and 
others to stop this brutal practice have thus far proved, 
unfortunately, unsuccessful. Indeed, all the evidence suggests that 
instances of forcible and/or fraudulent sexual trafficking are far more 
numerous than just a few years ago.
  Mr. Speaker, let me just say a couple of final points. Part of the 
problem is that current laws and enforcement strategies in the U.S. and 
other countries often punish the victims more severely than they punish 
the perpetrators. When a sex-for hire establishment is raided, the 
women and sometimes children in the brothel are typically deported if 
they are not citizens of the country in which the establishment is 
located, without reference to whether their participation was voluntary 
or involuntary, and without reference to whether they will face 
retribution or other serious harm upon return.
  This not only inflicts further cruelty on the victims, it also leaves 
nobody to testify against the real criminals, and frightens other 
victims from coming forward.
  My legislation, Mr. Speaker, seeks the elimination of slavery and 
particularly sex slavery by a comprehensive, balanced approach of 
prevention, prosecution and enforcement, and victim protection.
  The central principle behind the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 
is that criminals who knowingly operate enterprises that profit from 
sex acts involving persons who had been brought across international 
boundaries for such purposes by force or fraud, or who force human 
beings into slavery, should receive punishments commensurate with the 
penalties for kidnapping and forcible rape. That means up to life 
imprisonment. Putting these gangsters away for life would not only be 
just punishment but also a powerful deterrent, and the logical 
corollary of this principle is that we need to treat victims of these 
terrible crimes as victims who desperately need protection.
  Let me just say, this bill needs to be passed, Mr. Speaker and it 
needs to be passed today.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to start joining my colleagues, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. Gilman), and commend them for working together on something that 
has a broad bipartisan and broad ideological support. These are clearly 
some of the most vulnerable people on the planet: people who are 
impoverished, often; people who have not had the opportunities to 
defend themselves. This legislation begins a process of giving them 
some protection.
  I would like to particularly thank Alethia Gordon, a Fellow in my 
office, for the work that she did in establishing the boundaries of 
this legislation and in doing much of the research; and also my friend, 
Gloria Steinem, for her work. This legislation crosses the political 
boundaries that often are dividing this House, again, both political 
and ideological.
  I think, as Mr. Smith pointed out, what is so frustrating in the 
present situation is often the laws that we have punish only the 
victims, people who are tricked from their small villages or large 
cities in either the former Soviet Union or poor countries around the 
world, Africa, Asia, almost anywhere, tricked and then threatened, 
intimidated, their passports taken away, people who do not know what 
rights they may have and often may understand that the laws even in our 
country only apply to them and not so much, often, to those who enslave 
them.
  We in this legislation begin the process to both shift the burden to 
those who traffic not just in sexual slavery, but employment slavery. 
People are brought to this country as employees, often, legally and 
illegally, and are then worked beyond all reasonable length of time in 
completely abhorrent conditions.
  We have seen that happen from Mexicans who are deaf brought to work 
the U.S. airports to oftentimes even people brought up with diplomats 
and international organizations coming here. Their passports are taken 
away.
  We do more than just work on the punishment end, though. We also in 
this legislation begin the process of getting the information back to 
the villages.
  I was with a group of people who were in Groton, Connecticut, the 
other day who were having a march for MADD, the organization that has 
done so much to raise awareness about drinking.
  Of all the things they have done, and they have done some wonderful 
things, it occurs to me probably the most important thing they have 
done is make people aware of the problem, getting the messages back to 
the villages so families will not be fooled into thinking their child 
is going off to work in a factory somewhere, or work as a domestic and 
bring back resources to a hungry and impoverished community. That is 
also an important part of this legislation. We need to make sure that 
message gets out.
  In the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the poverty that has 
enveloped many of those former Soviet countries, the poverty in 
countries around the world, that ought not be an excuse for allowing 
people's lives to be enslaved.
  Again, I applaud all the cosponsors, particularly the gentleman from 
New Jersey (Mr. Smith), and all those who have worked on this 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts).
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Trafficking 
Victims Protection Act, a bill that my good friend, the gentleman from 
New Jersey (Mr. Smith) has worked on so tirelessly.
  I would like to share a story with my colleagues. It is the story of 
a young girl from a very poor family in a developing country who had 
hopes for a better life in a wealthier land. This attractive young 
woman came from a good family, but it was a family that could provide 
her with very little. Like young people everywhere, she had dreams, 
dreams of nicer clothes, dreams of new opportunities, dreams of seeing 
foreign places.
  One day she was offered the chance to make her dreams come true. She 
would have to leave her family and make her own way, but if she worked 
hard, she was promised a new life in a land of opportunity. She was 
nervous, but she took the chance.
  When she got where she was going, she could tell something was wrong. 
She was led to a hot, dirty trailer and locked inside with a handful of 
other women, women with emotionless faces and broken spirits. It was 
there that her life as a sex slave began.
  At first, she refused to do what she was told, but she could only 
take so many beatings. Then 30 men a day entered her trailer and raped 
her, sometimes beating her, always robbing her of her dignity and self-
respect, almost constantly abused, crying until tears would no longer 
flow, month after month.
  She could not escape because she was locked in a trailer. She didn't 
know where she was. She didn't know the language. This is a true story. 
It did not happen in Bangkok, it did not happen in Amsterdam, it did 
not happen in Rio de Janeiro, it happened in Florida. It is happening 
today in this country. Every year, 2 million women and children are 
trafficked into sexual slavery in this country and around the world, 
45,500 to 50,000 times in America a year.
  The sad ending to this story is that this poor girl, who was freed in 
an FBI raid 2 years ago, spent a year in jail waiting to be deported 
back to Mexico.
  Mr. Speaker, if this country stands for justice at all, we can do 
better for this girl. Dr. Laura Lederer, director of the Protection 
Project of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, has taken the lead 
in researching and exposing the shockingly widespread nature of the 
international sex trade.
  Here is what she says: ``To conceptualize how immense the problem is,

[[Page 7294]]

imagine a city the size of Minneapolis or St. Louis made up entirely of 
women and children. Imagine that those women and children are 
kidnapped, raped, and forced into prostitution. Imagine that it happens 
every year. Then stop imagining, because it is happening now in those 
numbers.''

                              {time}  1300

  We all owe Dr. Lederer a debt that we cannot repay for the work he 
has done for the forgotten victims of this underprosecuted area of 
organized crime. I urge my colleagues to vote for this important bill.
  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman 
from New York (Ms. Slaughter), who spent a tremendous amount of effort 
on this piece of legislation.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Connecticut 
(Mr. Gejdenson) for yielding me this time. As he mentioned, on June 
1994, I first introduced legislation addressing the growing problem of 
Burmese women and children who were being sold to work in a thriving 
sex industry in Thailand. It is an awful tragedy. These were sometimes 
young girls as young as 5 years.
  This legislation responded to credible reports that indicated that 
thousands of Burmese women and girls were being trafficked into 
Thailand with false promises of good-paying jobs in restaurants or 
factories, and then being forced into brothels under slavery-like 
conditions.
  Unfortunately, as I learned more and more about the issue, it became 
abundantly clear that the issue was not limited to one region of the 
world. In fact, in the wake of the discovery of a prostitution ring of 
trafficked women in Florida and the Carolinas, as well as a group of 
Thai garment workers held captive in California, I soon realized this 
was an issue that must also be dealt with in our own backyard.
  Six years later, I am pleased to be standing here today to support 
this important legislation. H.R. 3244 sets forth policies not only to 
monitor but to eliminate trafficking here in the United States and 
abroad. More importantly, it does so in a way that punishes the true 
perpetrators, the traffickers themselves, while at the same time taking 
the necessary steps to protect the victims of this awful crime.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, it uses our Nation's considerable influence 
throughout the world to put pressure on other nations to adopt policies 
that will hopefully lead to an end to this abhorrent practice. I am 
especially pleased to see that this bill recognizes the fact that 
trafficking is not exclusively a crime of sexual exploitation. Taken 
independently, this action is an egregious practice in and of itself. 
But it is also important to be aware that people are being illegally 
smuggled across borders to work in sweatshops, domestic servitude, or 
other slavery-like conditions.
  Mr. Speaker, developing this initiative has been a long and arduous 
process. At the beginning of this endeavor, many of the groups involved 
had different approaches to defining and dealing with the issue. And in 
addition, we also had to deal with a State Department that was often 
less than cooperative when dealing with the Congress.
  Nevertheless, we are here today because this is an issue important 
enough to cross party lines and personality divides. I offer my 
personal thanks to the gentleman from New Jersey (Chairman Smith) and 
the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson), ranking member, for 
moving the legislation and look forward to its passage.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), my good friend who 
has been very earnest on all human rights issues, but this one as well.
  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3244, the 
Trafficking Victims Protection Act, and I want to compliment the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson). Both have done an outstanding job. If it 
was not for the both of these gentlemen, last year when we passed the 
religious freedom bill, I remember they went in there and that bill 
passed. What the gentleman from Connecticut and the gentleman from New 
Jersey are doing today is a continuation of that policy.
  The gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) has a heart for these 
issues and really cares deeply. My main purpose was to congratulate Mr. 
Smith and Mr. Gejdenson. It is a strong bill. It is a tough bill. It is 
comprehensive. It is another initiative fitting in with what their 
committee did last year with the religious freedom legislation. 
Hopefully, now this bill will be picked up in the Senate and passed 
quickly.
  Mr. Speaker, I again thank the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. 
Gejdenson) for his efforts here and all the good work that he has done 
on human rights over the years. He has always been there on these 
issues. And the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) who, frankly, his 
people back in his congressional district can be very proud of him and 
his good work. Whenever there has been an issue like religious freedom, 
abortion, China, the Soviet Union, gulag, sex trafficking, the 
gentleman has been there; not in the crowd, but he has been right out 
in front and has made the big difference. So I thank him for the great 
job that he has done, and the staff as well. Mr. Smith is a credit to 
the Congress and we are all better for his service.
  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman 
from California (Ms. Woolsey), who also spent immeasurable efforts on 
this legislation.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I want to compliment the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson) 
for good work.
  Mr. Speaker, I wholeheartedly agree that we must address the problem 
of sexual trafficking of women and children throughout the globe, and I 
support H.R. 3244 with a lot of enthusiasm.
  More than 2 million women and girls are enslaved around the world. In 
the United States, estimates run as high as 100,000 being enslaved into 
sexual and domestic servitude as a result of lax protections.
  Present laws in the United States are inadequate. This bill, H.R. 
3244, addresses ways to deter trafficking and assist victims and it 
must be passed. But what is this Congress doing to strengthen women's 
human rights around the world in order to eradicate international 
sexual trafficking? Unfortunately, the Senate Foreign Relations 
Committee has not ratified the United Nation's women's treaty known as 
CEDAW, Convention to End Discrimination Against All Women.
  The people's House must go on record to urge the Senate to ratify 
this Bill of Rights. Why? Because CEDAW establishes basic human rights 
for women around the globe, rights that are not fully addressed in any 
other international treaty. Ratification of CEDAW puts the United 
States in a position to be a real player when advocating for women's 
human rights and fighting against sexual trafficking.
  Mr. Speaker, 165 countries, including Nepal, have ratified CEDAW. 
However, Nepal still struggles in its effort to fight against 
enslavement of nearly 200,000 women in Indian brothels. This is an 
example of where United States ratification of CEDAW would lend muscle 
to the fight against sexual trafficking. We need to protect women from 
the human rights abuses they face simply as a result of their gender, 
and we can help to make that happen if the United States ratifies 
CEDAW.
  It is time for Congress to take strides against sexual trafficking 
and having the Senate ratify CEDAW is key to this effort. Passing H.R. 
3244 is also key.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaTourette). Without objection, the time 
of the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson) will be controlled by 
the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown).
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman 
from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues on both sides of 
the aisle for introducing this wonderful piece of legislation. I am 
sure, Mr. Speaker, there are many Americans

[[Page 7295]]

who think that the buying and selling of people ended in the 19th 
century when slavery was abolished, and most people here are sure at 
least that if it happens, it certainly does not happen here.
  Wrong. It is estimated that over 50,000 women and children are 
brought to the United States under false pretenses and forced to work 
as prostitutes, abused laborers or servants. And worldwide, it is even 
worse. Each year 1 to 2 million women and children are trafficked 
around the world. This is by far one of the worst human rights 
violations of our time. Women and children are easy targets for 
exploitation and are often the most marginalized members of society, 
the last to be educated, and the last to have economic independence.
  Mr. Speaker, when I had the privilege of traveling with the President 
to South Asia, I saw a young girl named Nurjahan in Bangladesh. She was 
about 15 years old. All she knows for sure is that she thinks she is 
about 15 years old, but she knows for sure that at 8, she was bought by 
a brothel in Pakistan probably for between $200 and $1,500.
  She finally escaped from a life as a sex slave. I met her and eight 
other girls at the headquarters of an organization called Action 
Against Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Children in Dhaka, 
Bangladesh. They all looked like the children they were, except for the 
acid scars borne by a few of them. The invisible scars one can hardly 
bear to imagine.
  Many of these girls could not go home because even if their families 
would accept them, their communities would not. Adding to their 
unspeakable tragedy, some are infected with HIV and all require 
counseling, a relatively new practice in South Asia.
  I am committed to advancing the economic, legal and political status 
of women and children here in the United States and worldwide, and urge 
my colleagues to support H.R. 3244, the Trafficking Victims Protection 
Act of 1999. Nurjahan and so many others are waiting for us to take 
seriously the horrendous practices involved in the trafficking of human 
beings.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers on this 
side, and I yield back the balance of my time and ask for House support 
of H.R. 3244.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank all of those who have 
supported this bill through an incredibly arduous process, as well as 
for the kind and important comments that were made on the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act contains several 
mutually reinforcing provisions, probably two most notable of which are 
reforms to the United States criminal law to provide severe punishment, 
up to life imprisonment in the worse cases, for criminals who buy and 
sell human beings or who profit from the deliberate, premeditated and 
repeated rape of women and children. This includes people who recruit, 
transport, purchase, and sell these innocent victims as well as those 
who manage or share in the proceeds of trafficking enterprises. And of 
equal importance the bill establishes preventive programs, and provides 
real, tangible protections for the victims.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, we cannot wait one more day to begin saving 
these millions of women and children who are forced every day to submit 
to the most atrocious offenses against their persons and against their 
dignity as human beings. I urge unanimous support for the Trafficking 
Victims Protection Act of 2000.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I wish to express my support for H.R. 
3244, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.
  Trafficking in human beings is an evil which many assume was 
abolished long ago. Sadly, this is not the case. Human trafficking 
remains one of the worst human rights violations of the contemporary 
world. Its victims are typically the poorest, the most vulnerable and 
most disadvantaged. Trafficking is global in scope, fed by poverty, 
lawlessness, dictatorship and indifference. Each year, more than one 
million people, mostly women and children, are lured or forced into 
slavery. Traffickers buy young girls from relatives, kidnap children 
from their homes or lure women with false promises of legitimate 
employment. Traffickers use rape, starvation, torture, extreme physical 
brutality and psychological abuse to force victims to work in horrible 
conditions as prostitutes, in sweatshops or domestic servitude. Every 
American should be concerned and ashamed that many of these victims--
perhaps numbering in the thousands--are trafficked into the United 
States each year.
  It is clear that we need stronger laws to deter trafficking. We 
especially need to impose disincentives to deter the international 
criminal rings which profit from the practice. H.R. 3244 includes these 
disincentives and other provisions to deter and punish traffickers by:
  Establishing new criminal provisions and increasing criminal and 
other penalties for traffickers;
  Establishing initiatives to prevent trafficking by educating 
potential victims and improving their economic conditions to decrease 
the lure of traffickers;
  Authorizing assistance for countries where victims originate to help 
them;
  Authorizing a new visa for trafficking victims and providing certain 
federal benefits for such victims to create a safe haven so that 
victims will escape their conditions and help prosecute the 
traffickers;
  Cutting off non-humanitarian assistance to countries that do not 
effectively combat trafficking, while providing the President a 
national interest waiver; and
  Focusing U.S. Government efforts in order to create greater 
interagency coordination to combat this problem.
  Trafficking in human beings is a shameful blot on the contemporary 
world. It imposes unspeakable hardship and cruelty on millions of 
people. I support the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, 
because it provides a legal framework to attack this contemporary evil. 
This measure deserves our support, because it affirms our adherence to 
universally accepted norms of human rights and it gives concrete 
expression to our will to defend and extend those rights.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I am in support of this 
legislation to address the issue of international sex trade. I thank 
the author, Mr. Smith, for offering this legislation and the Committee 
on International Relations for bringing it to the floor for discussion.
  The approach of this legislation is admirable. It sets up a process 
whereby the United States will motivate other countries to strengthen 
their laws with regard to the illegal trafficking of women for sex. It 
recognizes that women and children from poorer nations are the primary 
targets for the sex trade industry. They are often lured into a scheme 
of travel, opportunity, and jobs, only to find themselves as indentured 
servants and sex slaves. They are isolated and have no means of escape. 
The legislation addresses this issue and provides a mechanism for the 
U.S. to withhold non-humanitarian aid to those countries which refuse 
to be proactive in their approach to help stop human trafficking from 
happening. Foreign countries must meet a minimum criteria to protect 
against illegal trafficking and to prosecute those individuals that 
profit from this despicable business. Along with providing states and 
territories with funding to establish programs designed to assist 
victims, H.R. 3422 also allows for victims to seek a change in their 
residential status under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) so 
that they can become permanent residents of the United States while 
seeking redress from their abusers.
  The problem is this bill will not help the victims of sexual slavery 
in the U.S. territory of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands (US/CNMI) where the INA does not apply. Just last month, the 
Central Intelligence Agency released a report entitled, International 
Trafficking in Women to the United States: A Contemporary Manifestation 
of Slavery and Organized Crime. The report identifies the CNMI as a 
United States locality used by international criminal organizations to 
import women for the sex industry. The US/CNMI is used both as a 
transfer point and a point of destination for human smugglers. 
Unfortunately, local enforcement of immigration in the CNMI has been 
unable and unwilling to halt this importation of sexual slaves. In 
fact, local immigration just permitted the importation of 300 young 
women from Russia to work in a new casino in the US/CNMI purportedly as 
waitresses and public relations staff even though none of them speak 
English.
  The Republican leadership of this House has consistently refused to 
address the human rights abuses in the US/CNMI and now this legislation 
neglects to assist its victims. We need to be sure that as we encourage 
other countries to address the issue of illegal trafficking of women in 
the sex industry that we also make ourselves and our system a model

[[Page 7296]]

for countries to look upon. The first and perhaps the easiest step is 
to make sure we protect victims of this industry beneath our own flag.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, of all the human rights violations 
currently occurring in our world, the trafficking of human beings, 
predominantly women and children, has to be one of the most horrific 
practices of our time. At its core, the international trade in women 
and children is about abduction, coercion, violence and exploitation in 
the most reprehensible ways. H.R. 3244 is a modest effort to eradicate 
forcible and/or fraudulent trafficking of persons into prostitution or 
involuntary servitude. The bill provides some protection for victims 
who would otherwise be deportable if identified by law enforcement by 
creating a new ``T'' visa category for eligible victims. Unfortunately, 
the bill reported out of the Judiciary Committee is much more 
restrictive than the bill originally introduced by Representative Chris 
Smith and Representative Sam Gejdenson. A compromise bill was 
substituted by the Republicans immediately prior to the Judiciary 
Committee mark-up to satisfy their unrealistic concerns that the bill 
would enable persons to fraudulently obtain a lawful status by claiming 
that they were a victim of sex trafficking or involuntary servitude.
  In particular, the Committee-reported bill incorporated several 
significant restrictions on the availability of visas for victims of 
sex trafficking and involuntary servitude. Among other things, the bill 
requires that victims establish that their presence is a ``direct 
result of trafficking;'' that they did not ``voluntarily agree'' to 
such trafficking; that they have a ``a well-founded fear of retribution 
involving the infliction of severe harm upon removal from the United 
States'' or ``would suffer extreme hardship in connection with the 
trafficking upon removal from the United States;'' and limits the 
Attorney General's authority to waive grounds of inadmissibility for 
trafficking victims. Each one of these requirements represents a marked 
departure from the spirit and text of the introduced version of the 
legislation, and each has the potential to prevent real victims of the 
legislation, and each has the potential to prevent real victims of sex 
trafficking and involuntary servitude from receiving refuge from their 
tormentors.
  Further, the bill unnecessarily caps at 5,000 per year the number of 
victims who can receive a nonimmigrant visa and caps at 5,000 per year 
the number of victims who can become permanent residents. Because 
estimates of the number of trafficking victims entering the United 
States are greater than 5,000 per year, we see no reason not to provide 
protection to the 5,001st who has been the subject of such terrible 
acts.
  Not only would the original bill have been more helpful to victims 
and their families, I believe that we should be doing far more to 
protect not just the victims of sex traffickers and involuntary 
servitude but also the victims of other forms of abuse such as battered 
immigrants and sweatshop laborers. I hope we have the opportunity to 
consider such legislation in the near future.
  Finally, I would like to note for the record my understanding of two 
somewhat technical issues. First, regarding the phrase in the new ``T'' 
visa provision that makes visas available to, ``an alien, and the 
children and spouse of the alien if accompanying or following to join 
the alien, who  * * *.'' It is clear that the principal foreign 
national who is applying for the visa must meet the criterion for 
eligibility which includes proof that he or she is or has been a victim 
of a severe form of trafficking and several other requirements. The 
possible ambiguity is with respect to whether a child or spouse 
accompanying or following to join the principal foreign national also 
has to meet those requirements. However, I have been assured that the 
intention of the provision is for the child or spouse to receive 
derivative benefits from the principal foreign national who is applying 
for the visa. The spouse and child do not have to meet the eligibility 
requirements themselves.
  The bill also would permit trafficking victims who have been here for 
three years to become lawful permanent residents of the United States. 
This issue concerns the possibility of a misinterpretation in this 
provision too. Whereas the new nonimmigrant visa provision applies one 
eligibility criterion to ``children'' and another criterion to ``sons 
and daughters (who are not children),'' the provision for adjustment of 
status only addresses criterion applicable to ``unmarried sons and 
daughters.'' In a perfect world, I would have preferred to use the term 
``children'' in the adjustment of status context to explicitly state 
that ``children are eligible for derivative permanent resident status. 
That being said, I accept the sponsors position that in the case of 
adjustment of status, derivative status is available to unmarried sons 
and daughters, which includes children, of the principal foreign 
national.
  Mr. HOEFFEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3244, the 
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.
  The illegal trafficking of women and children for prostitution and 
forced labor is one of the fastest growing criminal enterprises in the 
world.
  Globally, between 1 and 2 million people are trafficked each year. Of 
these, 45,000 to 50,000 are brought to the United States. Some are made 
to work in illegal sweatshops, while many more are forced into 
prostitution or domestic servitude here in the United States.
  There is an increasing need for adequate laws to deter trafficking. 
This legislation is meant to combat this modern day form of slavery by 
including provisions to punish traffickers and protect its victims.
  Specifically, H.R. 3244 would require the Secretary of State to 
include informaiton on trafficking in the Annual Country Reports on 
Human Rights Practices. This bill would also require the President to 
appoint an Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking and 
authorizes the Secretary of State to establish an Office to Monitor and 
Combat Trafficking to assist the Task Force.
  This bill also has strong enforcement mechanisms. For example, H.R. 
3244 would establish minimum standards applicable to those countries 
found to have significant trafficking problems to prevent, punish, and 
eliminate trafficking. If these countries do not meet the minimum 
standards, the President would be authorized to withhold 
nonhumanitarian assistance. This legislation would also require the 
Secretary of State to publish a list of those believed to be involved 
with illegal trafficking and would allow the President to impose 
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) sanctions against 
any individual on this list.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this important legislation.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3244, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________