[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 19]
[House]
[Pages 27034-27041]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PROTECTION REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2003

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 2620) to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 
2004 and 2005 for the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, and 
for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2620

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Trafficking Victims 
     Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) Trafficking in persons continues to victimize countless 
     men, women, and children in the United States and abroad.
       (2) Since the enactment of the Trafficking Victims 
     Protection Act of 2000 (division A of Public Law 106-386), 
     the United States Government has made significant progress in 
     investigating and prosecuting acts of trafficking and in 
     responding to the needs of victims of trafficking in the 
     United States and abroad.
       (3) On the other hand, victims of trafficking have faced 
     unintended obstacles in the process of securing needed 
     assistance, including admission to the United States under 
     section 101(a)(15)(T)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality 
     Act.
       (4) Additional research is needed to fully understand the 
     phenomenon of trafficking in persons and to determine the 
     most effective strategies for combating trafficking in 
     persons.
       (5) Corruption among foreign law enforcement authorities 
     continues to undermine the efforts by governments to 
     investigate, prosecute, and convict traffickers.
       (6) International Law Enforcement Academies should be more 
     fully utilized in the effort to train law enforcement 
     authorities, prosecutors, and members of the judiciary to 
     address trafficking in persons-related crimes.

     SEC. 3. ENHANCING PREVENTION OF TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS.

       (a) Border Interdiction, Public Information Programs, and 
     Combating International Sex Tourism.--Section 106 of the 
     Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7104) 
     is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (f);
       (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
     subsections:
       ``(c) Border Interdiction.--The President shall establish 
     and carry out programs of border interdiction outside the 
     United States. Such programs shall include providing grants 
     to foreign nongovernmental organizations that provide for 
     transit shelters operating at key border crossings and that 
     help train survivors of trafficking in persons to educate and 
     train border guards and officials, and other local law 
     enforcement officials, to identify traffickers and victims of 
     severe forms of trafficking, and the appropriate manner in 
     which to treat such victims. Such programs shall also 
     include, to the extent appropriate, monitoring by such 
     survivors of trafficking in persons of the implementation of 
     border interdiction programs, including helping in the 
     identification of such victims to stop the cross-border 
     transit of victims. The President shall ensure that any 
     program established under this subsection provides the 
     opportunity for any trafficking victim who is freed to return 
     to his or her previous residence if the victim so chooses.
       ``(d) International Media.--The President shall establish 
     and carry out programs that support the production of 
     television and radio programs, including documentaries, to 
     inform vulnerable populations overseas of the dangers of 
     trafficking, and to increase awareness of the public in 
     countries of destination regarding the slave-like practices 
     and other human rights abuses involved in trafficking, 
     including fostering linkages between individuals working in 
     the media in different countries to determine the best 
     methods for informing such populations through such media.
       ``(e) Combating International Sex Tourism.--
       ``(1) Development and dissemination of materials.--The 
     President, pursuant to such regulations as may be prescribed, 
     shall ensure that materials are developed and disseminated to 
     alert travelers that sex tourism (as described in subsections 
     (b) through (f) of section 2423 of title 18, United States 
     Code) is illegal, will be prosecuted, and presents dangers to 
     those involved. Such materials shall be disseminated to 
     individuals traveling to foreign destinations where the 
     President determines that sex tourism is significant.
       ``(2) Monitoring of compliance.--The President shall 
     monitor compliance with the requirements of paragraph (1).
       ``(3) Feasibility report.--Not later than 180 days after 
     the date of the enactment of the Trafficking Victims 
     Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003, the President shall 
     transmit to the Committee on International Relations of the 
     House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
     of the Senate a report that describes the feasibility of such 
     United States Government materials being disseminated through 
     public-private partnerships to individuals traveling to 
     foreign destinations.''; and
       (3) in subsection (f) (as redesignated), by striking 
     ``initiatives described in subsections (a) and (b)'' and 
     inserting ``initiatives and programs described in subsections 
     (a) through (e)''.
       (b) Termination of Certain Grants, Contracts and 
     Cooperative Agreements.--Section 106 of such Act (as amended 
     by subsection (a)) is further amended by adding at the end 
     the following new subsection:
       ``(g) Termination of Certain Grants, Contracts and 
     Cooperative Agreements.--
       ``(1) Termination.--The President shall ensure that any 
     grant, contract, or cooperative agreement provided or entered 
     into by a Federal department or agency under which funds 
     described in paragraph (2) are to be provided to a private 
     entity, in whole or in part, shall include a condition that 
     authorizes the department or agency to terminate the grant, 
     contract, or cooperative agreement, without penalty, if the 
     grantee or any subgrantee, or the contractor or any 
     subcontractor (i) engages in severe forms of trafficking in 
     persons or has procured a commercial sex act during the 
     period of time that the grant, contract, or cooperative 
     agreement is in effect, or (ii) uses forced labor in the 
     performance of the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement.
       ``(2) Assistance described.--Funds referred to in paragraph 
     (1) are funds made available to carry out any program, 
     project, or activity abroad funded under major functional 
     budget category 150 (relating to international affairs).''.

     SEC. 4. ENHANCING PROTECTION FOR TRAFFICKING VICTIMS.

       (a) Amendments to Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 
     2000.--
       (1) Cooperation between foreign governments and 
     nongovernmental organizations.--Section 107(a)(1)(B) of the 
     Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 
     7105(a)(1)(B)) is amended by adding at the end before the 
     period the following: ``, and by facilitating contact between 
     relevant foreign government agencies and such nongovernmental 
     organizations to facilitate cooperation between the foreign 
     governments and such organizations''.
       (2) Assistance for family members of victims of trafficking 
     in united states.--Section 107(b)(1) of the Trafficking 
     Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7105(b)(1)) is 
     amended--
       (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``, or an alien 
     classified as a nonimmigrant under

[[Page 27035]]

     section 101(a)(15)(T)(ii),'' after ``in persons''; and
       (B) in subparagraph (B)--
       (i) by inserting ``and aliens classified as a nonimmigrant 
     under section 101(a)(15)(T)(ii),'' after ``United States,''; 
     and
       (ii) by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``In 
     the case of nonentitlement programs funded by the Secretary 
     of Health and Human Services, such benefits and services may 
     include services to assist potential victims of trafficking 
     in achieving certification and to assist minor dependent 
     children of victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons 
     or potential victims of trafficking.''.
       (3) Certification of victims of a severe form of 
     trafficking in persons.--Section 107(b)(1)(E)) of the 
     Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 
     7105(b)(1)(E)) is amended by adding at the end the following 
     new clause:
       ``(iv) Assistance to investigations.--In making the 
     certification described in this subparagraph with respect to 
     the assistance to investigation or prosecution described in 
     clause (i)(I), the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
     shall consider statements from State and local law 
     enforcement officials that the person referred to in 
     subparagraph (C)(ii)(II) has been willing to assist in every 
     reasonable way with respect to the investigation and 
     prosecution of State and local crimes such as kidnapping, 
     rape, slavery, or other forced labor offenses, where severe 
     forms of trafficking appear to have been involved.''.
       (4) Private right of action.--
       (A) In general.--Chapter 77 of part I of title 18, United 
     States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 
     new section:

     ``Sec. 1595. Civil remedy

       ``(a) An individual who is a victim of a violation of 
     section 1589, 1590, or 1591 of this chapter may bring a civil 
     action against the perpetrator in an appropriate district 
     court of the United States and may recover damages and 
     reasonable attorneys fees.
       ``(b)(1) Any civil action filed under this section shall be 
     stayed during the pendency of any criminal action arising out 
     of the same occurrence in which the claimant is the victim.
       ``(2) In this subsection, a `criminal action' includes 
     investigation and prosecution and is pending until final 
     adjudication in the trial court.''.
       (B) Conforming amendment.--The table of contents of chapter 
     77 of part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following new item:

``1595.  Civil remedy.''.

       (b) Amendments to Immigration and Nationality Act.--
       (1) Nonimmigrant alien classes.--Section 101(a)(15)(T) of 
     the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(T)) 
     is amended--
       (A) in clause (i)(III)(bb), by striking ``15 years of 
     age,'' and inserting ``18 years of age,''; and
       (B) in clause (ii)(I), by inserting ``unmarried siblings 
     under 18 years of age on the date on which such alien applied 
     for status under such clause,'' before ``and parents''.
       (2) Admission of nonimmigrants.--Section 214(n) of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(n)) is 
     amended--
       (A) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``siblings,'' before 
     ``or parents''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(4) An unmarried alien who seeks to accompany, or follow 
     to join, a parent granted status under section 
     101(a)(15)(T)(i), and who was under 21 years of age on the 
     date on which such parent applied for such status, shall 
     continue to be classified as a child for purposes of section 
     101(a)(15)(T)(ii), if the alien attains 21 years of age after 
     such parent's application was filed but while it was pending.
       ``(5) An alien described in clause (i) of section 
     101(a)(15)(T) shall continue to be treated as an alien 
     described in clause (ii)(I) of such section if the alien 
     attains 21 years of age after the alien's application for 
     status under such clause (i) is filed but while it is 
     pending.
       ``(6) In making a determination under section 
     101(a)(15)(T)(i)(III)(aa) with respect to an alien, 
     statements from State and local law enforcement officials 
     that the alien has complied with any reasonable request for 
     assistance in the investigation or prosecution of crimes such 
     as kidnapping, rape, slavery, or other forced labor offenses, 
     where severe forms of trafficking in persons (as defined in 
     section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 
     2000) appear to have been involved, shall be considered.''.
       (3) Adjustment of status.--Section 245(l) of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255(l)) (as added 
     by section 107(f) of Public Law 106-386) is amended--
       (A) in paragraph (1)--
       (i) by striking ``admitted under that section'' and 
     inserting ``admitted under section 101(a)(15)(T)(ii)''; and
       (ii) by inserting ``sibling,'' after ``parent,''; and
       (B) in paragraph (3)(B), by inserting ``siblings,'' after 
     ``daughters,''.
       (4) Exemption from public charge ground for 
     inadmissibility.--Section 212(d)(13) of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(13)), as added by section 
     107(e)(3) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 
     (22 U.S.C. 7105(e)(3)), is amended--
       (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking the period at the end 
     and adding the following:
     ``, except that the ground for inadmissibility described in 
     subsection (a)(4) shall not apply with respect to such a 
     nonimmigrant.''; and
       (B) in subparagraph (B)--
       (i) by amending clause (i) to read as follows:
       ``(i) subsection (a)(1); and''; and
       (ii) in clause (ii)--

       (I) by striking ``such subsection'' and inserting 
     ``subsection (a)''; and
       (II) by inserting ``(4),'' after ``(3),''.

       (5) Aggravated felony defined.--Section 101(a)(43)(K)(iii) 
     of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
     1101(a)(43)(K)(iii)) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(iii) is described in any of sections 1581-1585 or 1588-
     1591 of title 18, United States Code (relating to peonage, 
     slavery, involuntary servitude, and trafficking in 
     persons);''.

     SEC. 5. ENHANCING PROSECUTIONS OF TRAFFICKERS.

       (a) Sex Trafficking of Children or by Force, Fraud, or 
     Coercion.--Section 1591 of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) in the heading, by inserting a comma after ``FRAUD'';
       (2) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``in or affecting 
     interstate commerce'' and inserting ``in or affecting 
     interstate or foreign commerce, or within the special 
     maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States''; 
     and
       (3) in subsection (b), by striking ``the person 
     transported'' each place it appears and inserting ``the 
     person recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, provided, 
     or obtained''.
       (b) Definition of Racketeering Activity.--Section 
     1961(1)(A) of title 18, United States Code is amended by 
     striking ``sections 1581-1588 (relating to peonage and 
     slavery)'' and inserting ``sections 1581-1591 (relating to 
     peonage, slavery, and trafficking in persons).''.
       (c) Conforming Amendments.--(1) The heading for chapter 77 
     of part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read 
     as follows:

     ``CHAPTER 77--PEONAGE, SLAVERY, AND TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS''.

       (2) The table of contents for part I of title 18, United 
     States Code, is amended in the item relating to chapter 77 to 
     read as follows:

         ``77.  Peonage, slavery, and trafficking in persons''.

     SEC. 6. ENHANCING UNITED STATES EFFORTS TO COMBAT 
                   TRAFFICKING.

       (a) Report.--
       (1) In general.--Section 105(d) of the Victims of 
     Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 
     7103(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     paragraph:
       ``(7) Not later than May 1, 2004, and annually thereafter, 
     the Attorney General shall submit 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, 
     a report on Federal agencies that are implementing any 
     provision of this division, or any amendment made by this 
     division, which shall include, at a minimum, information on--
       ``(A) the number of persons who received benefits or other 
     services under section 107(b) in connection with programs or 
     activities funded or administered by the Secretary of Health 
     and Human Services, the Secretary of Labor, the Board of 
     Directors of the Legal Services Corporation, and other 
     appropriate Federal agencies during the preceding fiscal 
     year;
       ``(B) the number of persons who have been granted continued 
     presence in the United States under section 107(c)(3) during 
     the preceding fiscal year;
       ``(C) the number of persons who have applied for, been 
     granted, or been denied a visa or otherwise provided status 
     under section 101(a)(15)(T)(i) of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(T)(i)) during the 
     preceding fiscal year;
       ``(D) the number of persons who have been charged or 
     convicted under one or more of sections 1581, 1583, 1584, 
     1589, 1590, 1591, 1592, or 1594 of title 18, United States 
     Code, during the preceding fiscal year and the sentences 
     imposed against each such person;
       ``(E) the amount, recipient, and purpose of each grant 
     issued by any Federal agency to carry out the purposes of 
     sections 106 and 107 of this Act, or section 134 of the 
     Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, during the preceding fiscal 
     year;
       ``(F) the nature of training conducted pursuant to section 
     107(c)(4) during the preceding fiscal year; and
       ``(G) the activities undertaken by the Senior Policy 
     Operating Group to carry out its responsibilities under 
     section 105(f) of this division.''.
       (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 107(b)(1) of the Victims 
     of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 
     7105(b)(1)) is amended by striking subparagraph (D).
       (b) Support for the Task Force.--
       (1) Amendment.--The second sentence of section 105(e) of 
     the Victims of Trafficking

[[Page 27036]]

     and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7103(e)) is 
     amended by inserting at the end before the period the 
     following: ``, who shall be appointed by the President, by 
     and with the advice and consent of the Senate, with the rank 
     of Ambassador-at-Large''.
       (2) Applicability.--The individual who holds the position 
     of Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking 
     of the Department of State may continue to hold such position 
     notwithstanding the amendment made by paragraph (1).
       (c) Senior Policy Operating Group.--
       (1) Amendment.--Section 105 of the Victims of Trafficking 
     and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7103) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(f) Senior Policy Operating Group.--
       ``(1) Establishment.--There shall be established within the 
     executive branch a Senior Policy Operating Group.
       ``(2) Membership; related matters.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Operating Group shall consist of the 
     senior officials designated as representatives of the 
     appointed members of the Task Force (pursuant to Executive 
     Order 13257 of February 13, 2002).
       ``(B) Chairperson.--The Operating Group shall be chaired by 
     the Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking 
     of the Department of State.
       ``(C) Meetings.--The Operating Group shall meet on a 
     regular basis at the call of the Chairperson.
       ``(3) Duties.--The Operating Group shall coordinate 
     activities of Federal departments and agencies regarding 
     policies (including grants and grant policies) involving the 
     international trafficking in persons and the implementation 
     of this division.
       ``(4) Availability of information.--Each Federal department 
     or agency represented on the Operating Group shall fully 
     share all information with such Group regarding the 
     department or agency's plans, before and after final agency 
     decisions are made, on all matters relating to grants, grant 
     policies, and other significant actions regarding the 
     international trafficking in persons and the implementation 
     of this division.
       ``(5) Regulations.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
     of the enactment of the Trafficking Victims Protection 
     Reauthorization Act of 2003, the President shall promulgate 
     regulations to implement this section, including regulations 
     to carry out paragraph (4).''.
       (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 406 of the Department of 
     State and Related Agency Appropriations Act, 2003 (as 
     contained in division B of Public Law 108-7) is hereby 
     repealed.
       (d) Minimum Standards for the Elimination of Trafficking.--
     Section 108(b) of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence 
     Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7106(b)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) by striking ``that take place wholly or partly within 
     the territory of the country'' and inserting ``, and convicts 
     and sentences persons responsible for such acts, that take 
     place wholly or partly within the territory of the country''; 
     and
       (B) by adding at the end the following new sentences: 
     ``After reasonable requests from the Department of State for 
     data regarding investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and 
     sentences, a government which does not provide such data, 
     consistent with the capacity of such government to obtain 
     such data, shall be presumed not to have vigorously 
     investigated, prosecuted, convicted or sentenced such acts. 
     During the periods prior to the annual report submitted on 
     June 1, 2004, and on June 1, 2005, and the periods afterwards 
     until September 30 of each such year, the Secretary of State 
     may disregard the presumption contained in the preceding 
     sentence if the government has provided some data to the 
     Department of State regarding such acts and the Secretary has 
     determined that the government is making a good faith effort 
     to collect such data.'';
       (2) in paragraph (7)--
       (A) by striking ``and prosecutes'' and inserting ``, 
     prosecutes, convicts, and sentences''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following new sentence: 
     ``After reasonable requests from the Department of State for 
     data regarding such investigations, prosecutions, 
     convictions, and sentences, a government which does not 
     provide such data consistent with its resources shall be 
     presumed not to have vigorously investigated, prosecuted, 
     convicted, or sentenced such acts. During the periods prior 
     to the annual report submitted on June 1, 2004, and on June 
     1, 2005, and the periods afterwards until September 30 of 
     each such year, the Secretary of State may disregard the 
     presumption contained in the preceding sentence if the 
     government has provided some data to the Department of State 
     regarding such acts and the Secretary has determined that the 
     government is making a good faith effort to collect such 
     data.''.
       (3) by adding the following new paragraphs at the end:
       ``(8) Whether the percentage of victims of severe forms of 
     trafficking in the country that are non-citizens of such 
     countries is insignificant.
       ``(9) Whether the government of the country, consistent 
     with the capacity of such government, systematically monitors 
     its efforts to satisfy the criteria described in paragraphs 
     (1) through (8) and makes available publicly a periodic 
     assessment of such efforts.
       ``(10) Whether the government of the country achieves 
     appreciable progress in eliminating severe forms of 
     trafficking when compared to the assessment in the previous 
     year.''.
       (e) Special Watch List.--Section 110(b) of the Trafficking 
     Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107(b)) is 
     amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and
       (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new 
     paragraph:
       ``(3) Special watch list.--
       ``(A) Submission of list.--Not later than the date on which 
     the determinations described in subsections (c) and (d) are 
     submitted to the appropriate congressional committees in 
     accordance with such subsections, the Secretary of State 
     shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
     list of countries that the Secretary determines requires 
     special scrutiny during the following year. The list shall be 
     composed of the following countries:
       ``(i) Countries that have been listed pursuant to paragraph 
     (1)(A) in the current annual report and were listed pursuant 
     to paragraph (1)(B) in the previous annual report.
       ``(ii) Countries that have been listed pursuant to 
     paragraph (1)(B) pursuant to the current annual report and 
     were listed pursuant to paragraph (1)(C) in the previous 
     annual report.
       ``(iii) Countries that have been listed pursuant to 
     paragraph (1)(B) pursuant to the current annual report, 
     where--

       ``(I) the absolute number of victims of severe forms of 
     trafficking is very significant or is significantly 
     increasing;
       ``(II) there is a failure to provide evidence of increasing 
     efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from 
     the previous year, including increased investigations, 
     prosecutions and convictions of trafficking crimes, increased 
     assistance to victims, and decreasing evidence of complicity 
     in severe forms of trafficking by government officials; or
       ``(III) the determination that a country is making 
     significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with 
     minimum standards was based on commitments by the country to 
     take additional future steps over the next year.

       ``(B) Interim assessment.--Not later than February 1st of 
     each year, the Secretary of State shall provide to the 
     appropriate congressional committees an assessment of the 
     progress that each country on the special watch list 
     described in subparagraph (A) has made since the last annual 
     report.
       ``(C) Relation of special watch list to annual trafficking 
     in persons report.--A determination that a country shall not 
     be placed on the special watch list described in subparagraph 
     (A) shall not affect in any way the determination to be made 
     in the following year as to whether a country is complying 
     with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking 
     or whether a country is making significant efforts to bring 
     itself into compliance with such standards.''.
       (f) Enhancing United States Assistance.--Section 134(b) of 
     the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2152d(b)) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: 
     ``Assistance may be provided under this section 
     notwithstanding section 660 of this Act.''.
       (g) Research Relating to Trafficking in Persons.--
       (1) In general.--The Victims of Trafficking and Violence 
     Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) is amended by 
     inserting after section 112 the following new section:

     ``SEC. 112A. RESEARCH ON DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL 
                   TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS.

       ``The President, acting through the Council of Economic 
     Advisors, the National Research Council of the National 
     Academies, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health 
     and Human Services, the Attorney General, the Secretary of 
     State, the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
     International Development, and the Director of Central 
     Intelligence, shall carry out research, including by 
     providing grants to nongovernmental organizations, as well as 
     relevant United States Government agencies and international 
     organizations, which furthers the purposes of this division 
     and provides data to address the problems identified in the 
     findings of this division. Such research initiatives shall, 
     to the maximum extent practicable, include, but not be 
     limited to, the following:
       ``(1) The economic causes and consequences of trafficking 
     in persons.
       ``(2) The effectiveness of programs and initiatives funded 
     or administered by Federal agencies to prevent trafficking in 
     persons and to protect and assist victims of trafficking.
       ``(3) The interrelationship between trafficking in persons 
     and global health risks.''.
       (2) Conforming amendment.--The table of contents of the 
     Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 is 
     amended by inserting after the item relating to section 112 
     the following new item:


[[Page 27037]]


``Sec. 112A. Research on domestic and international trafficking in 
              persons.''.

       (h) Sanctions and Waivers.--Section 110(d) of the 
     Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 
     7107(d)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (4), by inserting after ``nonhumanitarian, 
     nontrade-related foreign assistance'' the following: ``or 
     funding for participation in educational and cultural 
     exchange programs''; and
       (2) in paragraph (5)(A)(i), by inserting after ``foreign 
     assistance'' the following: ``or funding for participation in 
     educational and cultural exchange programs''.
       (i) Subsequent Waiver Authority.--Section 110 of the 
     Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107) 
     is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(f) After the President has made a determination 
     described in subsection (d)(1) with respect to the government 
     of a country, the President may at any time make a 
     determination described in paragraphs (4) and (5) of 
     subsection (d) to waive, in whole or in part, the measures 
     imposed against the country by the previous determination 
     under subsection (d)(1).''.

     SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; RELATED MATTERS.

       Section 113 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 
     2000 (22 U.S.C. 7110) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) by striking ``105'' and inserting ``105(e), 105(f)''; 
     and
       (B) by striking ``and $3,000,000 for each of the fiscal 
     years 2002 and 2003'' and inserting ``, $3,000,000 for each 
     of the fiscal years 2002 and 2003, and $5,000,000 for each of 
     the fiscal years 2004 and 2005'';
       (2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end before the 
     period the following: ``and $15,000,000 for each of the 
     fiscal years 2004 and 2005'';
       (3) in subsection (c)--
       (A) in paragraph (1) to read as follows:
       ``(1) Bilateral assistance to combat trafficking.--
       ``(A) Prevention.--To carry out the purposes of section 
     106, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 
     of State $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2004 and 
     2005.
       ``(B) Protection.--To carry out the purposes of section 
     107(a), there are authorized to be appropriated to the 
     Secretary of State $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2003 and 
     $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2004 and 2005.
       ``(C) Prosecution and meeting minimum standards.--To carry 
     out the purposes of section 134 of the Foreign Assistance Act 
     of 1961, there are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 
     for each of the fiscal years 2004 and 2005 to assist in 
     promoting prosecution of traffickers and otherwise to assist 
     countries in meeting the minimum standards described in 
     section 108 of this Act, including $250,000 for each such 
     fiscal year to carry out training activities for law 
     enforcement officers, prosecutors, and members of the 
     judiciary with respect to trafficking in persons at the 
     International Law Enforcement Academies.''; and
       (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``for each of the fiscal 
     years 2001, 2002, and 2003'' and inserting ``for each of the 
     fiscal years 2001 through 2005'';
       (4) in subsection (d)--
       (A) by adding at the end before the period the following: 
     ``and $15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2004 and 
     2005''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``To 
     carry out the purposes of section 134 of the Foreign 
     Assistance Act of 1961 (as added by section 109), there are 
     authorized to be appropriated to the President, acting 
     through the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, 
     $250,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 and 2005 to carry out 
     training activities for law enforcement officers, 
     prosecutors, and members of the judiciary with respect to 
     trafficking in persons at the International Law Enforcement 
     Academies.'';
       (5) in subsection (e)--
       (A) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by striking ``for fiscal 
     year 2003'' each place it appears and inserting ``for each of 
     the fiscal years 2003 through 2005''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(3) Research.--To carry out the purposes of section 112A, 
     there are authorized to be appropriated to the President 
     $300,000 for fiscal year 2004 and $300,000 for fiscal year 
     2005.'';
       (6) in subsection (f), by adding at the end before the 
     period the following: ``and $10,000,000 for each of the 
     fiscal years 2004 and 2005''; and
       (7) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(g) Limitation on Use of Funds.--
       ``(1) Restriction on programs.--No funds made available to 
     carry out this division, or any amendment made by this 
     division, may be used to promote, support, or advocate the 
     legalization or practice of prostitution. Nothing in the 
     preceding sentence shall be construed to preclude assistance 
     designed to promote the purposes of this Act by ameliorating 
     the suffering of, or health risks to, victims while they are 
     being trafficked or after they are out of the situation that 
     resulted from such victims being trafficked.
       ``(2) Restriction on organizations.--No funds made 
     available to carry out this division, or any amendment made 
     by this division, may be used to implement any program that 
     targets victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons 
     described in section 103(8)(A) of this Act through any 
     organization that has not stated in either a grant 
     application, a grant agreement, or both, that it does not 
     promote, support, or advocate the legalization or practice of 
     prostitution. The preceding sentence shall not apply to 
     organizations that provide services to individuals solely 
     after they are no longer engaged in activities that resulted 
     from such victims being trafficked.''.

     SEC. 8. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.

       (a) Immigration and Nationality Act.--
       (1) Classes of nonimmigrant aliens.--Section 101(a)(15) of 
     the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) is 
     amended--
       (A) by moving the margins of subparagraphs (T) and (U) 2 
     ems to the left;
       (B) in subparagraph (T), by striking ``214(n),'' and 
     inserting ``214(o),'';
       (C) in subparagraph (U), by striking ``214(o),'' and 
     inserting ``214(p),''; and
       (D) in subparagraph (V), by striking ``214(o),'' and 
     inserting ``214(q),''.
       (2) Classes of aliens ineligible for visas and admission.--
     Section 212(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1182(d)) is amended by redesignating the paragraph 
     (13) added by section 1513(e) of the Battered Immigrant Women 
     Protection Act of 2000 (title V of division B of Public Law 
     106-386; 114 Stat. 1536) as paragraph (14).
       (3) Admission of nonimmigrants.--Section 214 of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184) is amended by 
     redesignating subsections (m) (as added by section 105 of 
     Public Law 106-313), (n) (as added by section 107(e) of 
     Public Law 106-386), (o) (as added by section 1513(c) of 
     Public Law 106-386), (o) (as added by section 1102(b) of the 
     Legal Immigration Family Equity Act), and (p) (as added by 
     section 1503(b) of the Legal Immigration Family Equity Act) 
     as subsections (n), (o), (p), (q), and (r), respectively.
       (4) Adjustment of status of nonimmigrants.--Section 245 of 
     the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255) is 
     amended--
       (A) in the subsection (l) added by section 107(f) of Public 
     Law 106-386, by redesignating the second paragraph (2), and 
     paragraphs (3) and (4), as paragraphs (3), (4), and (5), 
     respectively; and
       (B) by redesignating the subsection (l) added by section 
     1513(f) of Public Law 106-386 as subsection (m).
       (b) Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.--(1) 
     Section 103(7)(A)(i) of the Trafficking Victims Protection 
     Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102(7)(A)(i)) is amended by inserting 
     after ``part II of that Act'' the following: ``in support of 
     programs of nongovernmental organizations''.
       (2) Section 107(g) of the Trafficking Victims Protection 
     Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7105(g)) is amended by striking 
     ``214(n)(1)'' and inserting ``214(o)(2)''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).


                             General Leave

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and 
extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 2620.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, Public 
Law 106-386 has made an enormous positive difference in our efforts to 
end modern-day slavery, a nefarious enterprise that, according to the 
United Nations, nets the exploiters something in the order of $7 
billion to $10 billion each year.
  This modern-day slavery, this terrible practice that is in our midst, 
enslaves more than 800,000 to 900,000 people according to the United 
States Department of State, of which about 20,000 are brought to this 
country every year to be exploited in the sex trade and in other 
aspects of this modern-day slavery. That number, I would point out to 
my colleagues, does not even include those who are trafficked intra-
country. For instance, in places like India where there are millions of 
women who are forced into sexual slavery, they are not even counted in 
this number. It is for the victim, a difference without a distinction 
like the difference between a refugee and the

[[Page 27038]]

internally displaced person--IDP. They suffer the same misery, but they 
have not crossed a geographic border. But nevertheless, the 
exploitation continues.
  The 3-year-old landmark law with its numerous mutually-reinforcing 
provisions to prevent trafficking, to protect victims, and to prosecute 
to the max those who traffic, has been a model statute worldwide. 
Indeed, many of its provisions have been adopted into law, in whole or 
in part, by governments around the world.
  Mr. Speaker, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 does not 
pull any punches. By naming the names of countries out of compliance 
with what we call ``minimum standards'', and by imposing smart 
sanctions that are prescribed in the Act, the withholding of 
nonhumanitarian foreign aid, for example, we have signaled to the world 
that ending this egregious practice is among the highest priorities of 
the United States. By prosecuting traffickers and imposing serious jail 
time, and I would note parenthetically that in my own State of New 
Jersey, a group of traffickers were convicted under the Act and got 
just over 17 years for their crimes. So the law is being implemented 
around the country. There is something in the order of 79 current 
Federal prosecutions that have been initiated. We are telling these 
exploiters that we are coming after you and you are going to have to 
pay for your crimes.
  By protecting the victims, Mr. Speaker, and not sending them back to 
their home country where they are often exploited again in a cycle of 
exploitation, we say to the victims, we will try to make you safe and 
secure. I would point out that nearly 400 survivors of trafficking are 
already getting help here in the United States and rebuilding their 
shattered lives.
  For its part, Mr. Speaker, the Bush administration has aggressively 
sought to implement both the spirit and the letter of the law. Our 
former Congressional colleague, John Miller, is doing an exemplary job 
as director of what we call the Trafficking in Persons Office. He is 
living this 24-7 and has a fire in the belly to try to stop the 
traffickers and provide a save haven for the women. I commend our 
former colleague for his outstanding work.
  President Bush himself is deeply committed to ending slavery and 
recently told the U.N. General Assembly that trafficking was a 
``special evil in the abuse and exploitation of the most innocent and 
the most vulnerable.'' He called on the United Nations and its member 
states to do more; and I am proud of the fact that President Bush has 
led in both spirit, word and in deed.
  Last year President Bush issued what is known as NSPD-22 which 
established a zero-tolerance policy regarding the U.S. Government 
employees and contractor personnel representing U.S. abroad who engage 
in trafficking in persons. In other words, if you do business with the 
United States, if you are one of our contractors, do not be involved in 
any way, shape or form, do not be complicit in trafficking. If you do, 
you are in big trouble and its going to cost you the contract.
  The DOD Inspector General, Joseph Schmitz, has released phase one of 
a global assessment of human trafficking as it relates to the 
Department of Defense and its activity. We have found that in many of 
our deployments, that many of our soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen 
were actually visiting places where women have been trafficked from 
Russia and the Philippines. And this is particularly the case in South 
Korea.
  Thankfully, as a result of this Inspector General's report and the 
action plan that followed, we are achieving the zero-tolerance policy 
as it relates to our deployments, and hopefully NATO will follow suit 
soon.
  Notwithstanding these initial successes, Mr. Speaker, it is clear 
that even more has to be done to destroy this mob-infested criminal 
enterprise known as human trafficking.
  The bill before the House today, the Smith-Lantos bill, enhances our 
efforts. I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for his 
leadership on this. We are working in a partnership that is really 
making a difference. This legislation that is before us today tries to 
update, expand, and improve our law. There have been lessons learned 
since the first law was enacted 3 years ago. They are incorporated into 
this legislation as we try to do a better job in mitigating the 
suffering of the victims while simultaneously going after those who 
traffic and the countries that harbor traffickers who are part of the 
problems themselves.
  Mr. Speaker, I would ask my colleagues to support this legislation. 
It has a number of mutually-reenforcing provisions, just like the 
original bill. But it updates current law and expands it as well. For 
example, we would now require that U.S. contracts relating to 
international affairs contain clauses authorizing termination by the 
United States if a contractor engages in human trafficking or procures 
commercial sexual services while the contract is in force.
  We have found, Mr. Speaker, through hearings that have been held, 
that companies like DynCorps, where we have provided money for their 
overseas work in the area of policing, particularly in the Balkans, 
that some of their members, some of those that we are underwriting the 
cost of, are engaged in trafficking. This is unacceptable. 
Unfortunately, the only things that happened to those individual 
employees was they were sent home. The contract continued unabated. 
This legislation will say, Department of State, DOD or any of the 
others can rip up that contract if a contractor's personnel are 
involved in trafficking.
  We also promote innovative trafficking prevention initiatives, such 
as border interdiction programs. And we urge working with private/
public partnership on trying to educate and alert travelers as to what 
is going on with our sex tourism laws so that they know they will be 
prosecuted. An informational campaign will follow from that.
  We provide protections for trafficking victims by allowing State or 
local law enforcement authorities to assist in identifying the victims 
of trafficking who have cooperated in the investigation or prosecution 
of trafficking crimes.
  We allow trafficking victims to sue their traffickers in U.S. courts. 
We eliminate the requirement that the victim of trafficking between the 
ages of 15 and 18 must cooperate with the investigation and the 
prosecution of his or her trafficker in order to be eligible for a T 
Visa. That was an oversight in the first law. It is fixed in this 
legislation.
  We allow benefits and services available to victims of trafficking to 
be available to their family members and that they may be legally 
entitled to join them here in the United States. So we do not have the 
separation and we do not have the situation where they can be exploited 
back home because their daughter or their sister or their wife, who had 
been trafficked, goes into a situation of protection here. They are no 
longer vulnerable back home. They can come and join them as immigrants.
  We also provide prosecution of trafficking-related crimes through a 
number of provisions, including making human trafficking crimes 
predicate offenses for RICO charges. We encourage the use of 
international law enforcement academies to train foreign law 
enforcement authorities, prosecutors and members of the judiciary 
regarding human trafficking. We permit Federal anti-trafficking 
statutes to be used to prosecute acts of trafficking involving foreign 
commerce or occurring in a special maritime or territorial jurisdiction 
of the United States.
  Equally important in this bill we would elevate, John Miller's 
position, the Director of the Trafficking in Persons Office, an 
ambassador-at-large, raising his status and the ability to make changes 
both in the building, as well as outside of it, in this very important 
fight.
  There is much more. Naturally, we authorize the money it will take to 
do the job and effectively implement the new law. By and large, this 
bill is a significant upgrading. This is a bipartisan bill. Again, I 
want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for his 
leadership on this.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

[[Page 27039]]


  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. Mr. 
Speaker, first I would like to congratulate my good friend, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), vice chairman of the Committee 
on International Relations, for his continuing dedication to the 
critical issue of fighting trafficking in persons. The gentleman from 
New Jersey (Mr. Smith) has brought his passionate and principled 
commitment to this most important matter, and I want to congratulate 
him.
  I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this important 
reauthorization bill, and I want to thank the chairman, the gentleman 
from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), for bringing the matter to the floor today. I 
also want to express publicly my appreciation to the chief democratic 
council, Mr. David Abromowitz for his invaluable work in connection 
with this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, in the 106th Congress, the gentleman from New Jersey 
(Mr. Smith) and our former colleague, my predecessor as the ranking 
member of the Committee on International Relations, Mr. Gejdenson of 
Connecticut, expended enormous energy to pass the Trafficking Victims 
Protection Act of 2000. At that time, the shocking truth was that 
thousands of men and women were being forced to labor in fields across 
the United States without pay, to work endless hours in sweatshops, and 
to serve in sexual slavery in cities across this country.

                              {time}  1515

  U.S. prosecution of traffickers faltered because attorneys in our 
Department of Justice did not have the right tools to pursue new forms 
of trafficking, which often relied on threats, not chains, and on 
document fraud, not bills of sale.
  Overseas, millions of people were being used as chattel, and the 
brothels of Bombay and Bangkok were overflowing with prostitutes, many 
of them pitifully young girls who were forced to provide sex.
  Governments were barely aware of what was happening to their own 
people. They usually blamed the victims instead of helping them.
  Today, Mr. Speaker, the picture is visibly brighter. Empowered by the 
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, the Attorney General is 
prosecuting cases from all over the United States. Victims are coming 
forward because of the Federal benefits we are offering to them as we 
treat them like the refugees that they are.
  Naming countries that are not making significant efforts to combat 
trafficking and threatening them with sanctions are forcing measurable 
changes in the way that governments around the globe are facing this 
modern-day form of slavery. This vicious practice is under assault from 
all directions.
  But, Mr. Speaker, trafficking in human beings remains a significant 
problem. In Brazil, for instance, an estimated 40,000 men, women, and 
children are forced to toil in large estates to clear land, mine for 
precious minerals, and produce charcoal and rubber. The abhorrent 
conditions in which they work amount to slavery in the 21st century in 
our own hemisphere.
  Although the recently installed administration of President Lula has 
done much to free many of these trapped laborers, resource constraints, 
political unwillingness to seek legislative changes and a powerful 
group of large estate owners impede additional efforts.
  Mr. Speaker, we clearly need to do more. In the 2\1/2\ years since 
the enactment of the trafficking legislation, we have learned much more 
about the phenomenon of trafficking and how to combat it. The 
legislation before us today, the Trafficking Victims Reauthorization 
Act of 2003, implements these new lessons. For example, our bill 
authorizes new strategies for prevention, including using trafficking 
victims to identify traffickers at the borders and deterring sex 
tourism, which is part of the fuel of sex slavery around the globe.
  It increases protection by making measured expansions of the visa 
category for trafficking victims. It improves cooperation with respect 
to State and local trafficking prosecutions, which are increasingly in 
the front line of law enforcement in this area. It enhances prosecution 
of traffickers by ensuring that trafficking is treated like the 
organized crime that it is. It coordinates more effectively Federal 
efforts by ensuring a comprehensive report on our efforts and by 
establishing an interagency group to ensure compliance.
  I believe the administration in this regard should consider using the 
expertise developed in the interagency group to review all U.S. 
assistance programs that affect trafficking victims, including public 
health programs such as HIV/AIDS that target trafficking victims.
  Mr. Speaker, before concluding, I want to commend the President for 
expressing his commitment to combat trafficking human beings in his 
speech before the General Assembly of the United Nations this past 
September. I welcome the President joining our fight against human 
rights abuses, both in the area of sex trafficking and forced labor.
  Indeed, our bill demonstrates a continuing congressional commitment 
to fighting this outrage by authorizing additional funds for U.S. 
agencies to combat this human rights crisis around the globe.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, the original legislation, we must all remember, 
was one of the singular achievements of our late colleague from 
Minnesota, Senator Paul Wellstone. Adopting this legislation is a 
fitting tribute to his memory.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 2620.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  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 and 
colleague, who has been a champion on behalf of human rights in general 
but particularly on this issue of trafficking. His bill, the Commerce, 
Justice and State appropriations bill, contains many of the provisions 
that need to be implemented. And not only has he faithfully implemented 
those; he has provided additional funding and resources for that. So I 
want to thank him for his leadership.
  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me the time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2620, the Trafficking 
Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003. I want to particularly 
commend the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) for his leadership in 
Congress and around the world on combatting trafficking but also on all 
of these issues. Whenever we see the House is ready to take up an issue 
like trafficking or to help the exploited, whether it be women or 
children, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) will always be 
here; the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) will always be there; 
the gentleman from Illinois' (Mr. Hyde) name will always be on the 
bill. So I just want to particularly thank the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Smith) today and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) 
for their efforts with regard to this issue.
  I also want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) for his 
work in moving this legislation. All of them, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Smith), the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), and the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), have shown great leadership and 
vision and commitment in human rights on all of these issues.
  I also want to particularly commend the Office of Trafficking at the 
State Department. It has done a good job under the leadership of our 
former colleague, John Miller. John Miller was a great Member of 
Congress. He represented the Seattle area and used to vote against 
giving MFN to the barbarians in China because they were persecuting 
Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Tibetans, the Dalai Lama's people 
there. Yet John Miller used to get up and always oppose granting MFN 
and Seattle was ground zero with regard to Boeing.
  John has done an outstanding job. The State Department produces an 
annual report that is improved each year

[[Page 27040]]

on the status of trafficking in every country, and John has played a 
key, key role.
  I heard the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) mention it as I 
was walking in. I want to commend the President of the United States, 
President George Bush. I was pleasantly surprised, not surprised but 
pleased, to see the statement that the President made when he addressed 
the U.N., and he said there is a special evil in the abuse and 
exploitation of the most innocent and vulnerable. He went on to say we 
must show new energy in fighting back an old evil, and that is what the 
bill that the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Lantos) are handling today; and he said nearly two 
centuries after the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, more 
than a century after slavery was initially ended in its last 
stronghold, to trade in human beings for any purpose must not be 
allowed to thrive in our time. The President was right, and I want to 
commend and we should commend the President for providing the 
leadership and putting John Miller where he is and working with the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Lantos) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) to take care of 
this problem.
  Also, I would urge at the end we remember in our own city, there are 
several hundred thousand young women who are sexually trafficked here 
in the United States. As we tell countries abroad, put pressure on 
them, we have to make sure we do everything. So modeling what the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Lantos) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) did, we are 
going to try to have a national conference next year dealing with the 
issue in our own country so that we can eliminate this, not just reduce 
it, but eliminate it.
  So in closing, I urge all Members to support this and want to again 
thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lantos), and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) 
because those three each and every time have been down here defending 
the weak, the vulnerable in our society.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, first I want to thank my good friend from 
Virginia for his most gracious words.
  Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield as much time as she might 
consume to my distinguished colleague and dear friend, the gentlewoman 
from California (Ambassador Watson).
  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lantos), for his thorough commitment to the right 
causes, and I thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) for being 
on the point.
  According to the latest U.S. Government estimates, some 800,000 to 
900,000 people worldwide are trafficked across borders each year for 
forced labor or sexual exploitation. Although men are also victimized, 
the overwhelming majority of those trafficked are women and children. 
In addition, trafficking in people for prostitution, domestic 
servitude, and forced labor is an increasing area of international 
criminal activity.
  The reasons for the increase in trafficking are many. In general, the 
criminal business feeds on poverty, despair, war, crisis, and 
ignorance. Trafficking is considered one of the largest sources of 
profits for organized crime, generating 7 to $10 billion annually, 
according to United Nations estimates.
  The largest number of victims are annually trafficked from Asia and 
the Pacific region, according to the U.S. Department of State. The 
growth of sexual tourism in this region is one of the main contributing 
factors.
  Mr. Speaker, as my colleagues know, Congress passed the Victims of 
Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, which strengthened 
many provisions of law dealing with trafficking in persons for sexual 
and other exploitation. The Trafficking Victims Protection 
Reauthorization Act of 2003 is critical to maintaining the progress 
already achieved.
  H.R. 2620 authorizes new strategies for prevention, including using 
trafficking victims to identify traffickers at the borders and to deter 
sex tourism. It increases protection by making measured expansions of 
the visa category for trafficking victims. It also improves cooperation 
with respect to State and local trafficking prosecutions, which are 
increasingly the front line of law enforcement in this area. This 
legislation will also enhance the prosecution of traffickers by 
ensuring that trafficking is treated like the organized crime that it 
is.
  Mr. Speaker, we should also be very concerned about human trafficking 
and human rights that are violated right here in this country. H.R. 
2620 coordinates Federal efforts by ensuring a comprehensive report on 
United States antitrafficking actions and by establishing an 
interagency group to ensure compliance.
  I urge my colleagues to support this most-needed legislation, and I 
thank those who are sponsoring this piece of legislation.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I just have a few closing 
comments. We have no further speakers, so I reserve the balance of our 
time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Before closing, I would first like to recognize my friend and 
colleague from New York (Ms. Slaughter) for her leadership on this 
issue for many years and for her commitment to this most important 
cause.
  I would like to yield for a colloquy with the distinguished vice 
chairman of our committee and the principal sponsor of this 
legislation.

                              {time}  1530

  Mr. Speaker, as the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) knows, as 
in other bills, there are provisions in this legislation that represent 
a compromise and do not go as far as either side would like. In this 
case, Mr. Speaker, there is a provision that prohibits providing funds 
to any organization that promotes, supports, or advocates the 
legalization of the practice of prostitution. Some have raised concerns 
regarding this provision since the committee has reported this bill, 
and I think that this provision needs some clarification.
  When this provision was drafted, it was my understanding that an 
organization can satisfy this requirement if it states in a grant 
application or in a grant agreement or both that it does not promote, 
support, or advocate such action since it has no policy regarding this 
issue. Just to be clear on this point, I yield to the gentleman from 
New Jersey (Mr. Smith) to confirm that this is his understanding of the 
statute.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. LANTOS. I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I agree with the interpretation 
of the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos). It was also my 
understanding that an organization can satisfy the prohibition that the 
gentleman has referred to if it states in a grant application, a grant 
agreement, or both that it does not promote, support, or advocate such 
actions since it has no policy regarding this issue.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Smith). On that basis, I would say this is a good bipartisan bill, and 
I strongly urge all of my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, again, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Lantos), and say a very special thanks to the gentleman from Illinois 
(Chairman Hyde), who has been a stalwart in promoting this legislation. 
When the gentleman from Illinois was chairman of the Committee on the 
Judiciary, 3 years ago, we ran into a serious barrier to provisions 
which referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Mr. Hyde and Charles 
Kennedy, our former colleague, were indispensable in making sure that 
the legislation was not bottlenecked in that committee, and sure 
enough, a compromise was worked out, and the bill was released out of 
the Committee on the Judiciary.

[[Page 27041]]

  I also thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner) for his 
leadership on this issue as well. And majority leader Tom Delay for 
supporting the bill and getting it to the floor. I also thank Renee 
Austell and Walker Roberts for their work from the Committee on 
International Relations, Dorothy Taft who is our chief of staff for the 
Commission on Security Cooperation in Europe, Maureen Walsh, who is 
also from the commission, who has worked on this, George Phillips, Dina 
Funderburk who works in the office of the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
DeLay), David Abramowitz, a good friend on the Democratic side who has 
worked so well with us, and I specially want to thank Joseph Rees, who 
is now our U.S. Ambassador to East Timor. He worked night and day on 
the original trafficking law and other pieces of legislation when he 
was staff director of the Subcommittee on International Operations and 
Human Rights. Joseph used to be the general counsel for the INS. He 
knew those issues intimately and was indispensable in getting the 
original trafficking legislation passed. It took almost 2 years to 
craft that legislation. It ran into a myriad of obstacles. It was 
referred to four full committees, 11 subcommittees. A number of 
barriers had to be overcome, and Joseph did a great job, and I thank 
him for that.
  I also remind my colleagues, and I did not go through all of the 
provisions, but there is so much in this bill. Just recently, the 
President determined which countries were Tier III, egregious violators 
which were not making serious and sustained efforts to get off the 
list, thereby subjecting themselves to a number of sanctions that will 
be imposed. There are a number of countries that are Tier II. In other 
words, they have a very serious problem with human trafficking, but 
they have taken efforts to get off the list. They have passed laws, 
issued decrees, prosecuted traffickers, and protected victims, but we 
are concerned, that there could be some erosion or backsliding so they 
will be watched.
  I believe under John Miller's leadership and, of course, with the 
strong oversight capabilities of the Congress, we will keep pressure on 
those countries. We create in this bill a new watch list to try to 
prevent that kind of slippage from occurring. Yes, the sword of 
Damocles has been removed, for the time being, from these countries, 
and there were some 15 that were on Tier III that were at risk of 
losing significant benefits from the United States Government, many of 
which got off that through a flurry of activity. But I want them to 
know, and I say this in bipartisan way, we will be watching. If there 
is any backsliding, if they do not continue the work to mitigate, and 
hopefully end, this horrific practice of human slavery, they will lose 
those benefits. We will take our case everywhere, including the World 
Bank, international multilateral lending institutions, and they will 
lose their support if they do not end this complicity in human 
trafficking. So the watch list is a very important inclusion in this 
statute or soon-to-be statute. I just want to bring Members' attention 
to it.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill, a bipartisan bill, and I hope 
Members will support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hefley). 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. 2620, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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