[Senate Report 114-46]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                        Calendar No. 82
114th Congress     }                                      {      Report
                                 SENATE
                                                                 
 1st Session       }                                      {      114-46
_______________________________________________________________________


                      HUMAN TRAFFICKING DETECTION

                              ACT OF 2015

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                                H.R. 460

  TO DIRECT THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY TO TRAIN DEPARTMENT OF 
HOMELAND SECURITY PERSONNEL HOW TO EFFECTIVELY DETER, DETECT, DISRUPT, 
AND PREVENT HUMAN TRAFFICKING DURING THE COURSE OF THEIR PRIMARY ROLES 
              AND RESPONSIBILITIES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


                  May 14, 2015.--Ordered to be printed
                  
                                   ______

                         U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 

49-010                         WASHINGTON : 2015                
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                    RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona                 THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio                    CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri
RAND PAUL, Kentucky                  JON TESTER, Montana
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma             TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming             HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota
KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire          CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey
JONI ERNST, Iowa                     GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
BEN SASSE, Nebraska

                    Keith B. Ashdown, Staff Director
                  Christopher R. Hixon, Chief Counsel
             David S. Luckey, Director of Homeland Security
       William H.W. McKenna, Chief Counsel for Homeland Security
              Jose J. Bautista, Professional Staff Member
              Gabrielle A. Batkin, Minority Staff Director
           John P. Kilvington, Minority Deputy Staff Director
               Mary Beth Schultz, Minority Chief Counsel
     Stephen R. Vina, Minority Chief Counsel for Homeland Security
               Holly A. Idelson, Minority Senior Counsel
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                            C O N T E N T S

                                                                   Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................3
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................4
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................5
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................5
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Act, as Reported.............6
















                                                        Calendar No. 82
114th Congress     }                                      {      Report
                                 SENATE
                                                                 
 1st Session       }                                      {      114-46

======================================================================



 
                HUMAN TRAFFICKING DETECTION ACT OF 2015

                                _______
                                

                  May 14, 2015.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Johnson, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 460]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (H.R. 460) to direct 
the Secretary of Homeland Security to train Department of 
Homeland Security personnel how to effectively deter, detect, 
disrupt, and prevent human trafficking during the course of 
their primary roles and responsibilities, and for other 
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 
without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                         I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    H.R. 460, the Human Trafficking Detection Act of 2015, 
requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (the Secretary) to 
train and periodically retrain relevant Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS) personnel on methods for deterring, detecting, 
and disrupting human trafficking and would authorize the 
Secretary to provide training curricula to state, local, and 
tribal governments, and private organizations upon request. The 
act reflects DHS's important role in combating human 
trafficking, through the Blue Campaign and public-facing 
operational components like the Transportation Security 
Administration (TSA), U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection (CBP).

              II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Today, human trafficking is one of the most prolific areas 
of criminal activity around the world.\1\ It is a $32 billion 
global industry, ranking second only to drug trafficking among 
the most profitable transnational crimes.\2\ Human traffickers 
operate nationwide, exploiting victims of any age, race, 
gender, nationality, or socioeconomic background.\3\
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    \1\See generally Combating Human Trafficking: Federal, State, and 
Local Perspectives: Hearing Before the Comm. on Homeland Security & 
Governmental Affairs, 113th Cong. 13 (2013) [hereinafter Combating 
Human Trafficking].
    \2\See Director-General, International Labour Office, A Global 
Alliance Against Forced Labour 55 (2005); see also U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security, Definition of Human Trafficking, Dec. 22, 2014, 
http://www.dhs.gov/definition-human-trafficking.
    \3\U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Myths and Misconceptions, 
http://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/myths-and-misconceptions (last visited 
March 25, 2015).
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    Human trafficking presents U.S. law enforcement with a 
multi-faceted challenge.\4\ Often, victims are forced to work 
in various legitimate and illegitimate agriculture, 
manufacturing, hospitality, and foodservice industries, but 
only a few are identified or seek assistance because of the 
difficulty in detection and perpetrators' control over their 
victims.\5\ The United States also acts as a source, transit, 
and final destination country for the trafficking of both U.S. 
and foreign nationals.\6\ During Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, federal 
agencies identified men, women, and children--mostly from the 
U.S., Mexico, the Philippines, Thailand, Honduras, Guatemala, 
India, and El Salvador--as victims of forced labor or sexual 
exploitation.\7\ To combat domestic human trafficking and 
disrupt supply chains, DHS focuses its domestic response on 
increasing public awareness and reporting, providing assistance 
to victims and survivors, and training law enforcement officers 
to arrest and prosecute perpetrators.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\E.g., Combating Human Trafficking, supra note 1 at 36 (statement 
of John J. Farmer, Jr., Senior Vice President and University Counsel, 
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey).
    \5\See id. at 20 (joint statement of Anne C. Gannon, National 
Coordinator for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction, Office 
of the Deputy Att'y Gen., U.S. Department of Justice, and Joseph S. 
Campbell, Deputy Assistant Director, Criminal Investigative Division, 
Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice); U.S. 
Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report 397 (2014); Heather 
J. Clawson and Nicole Dutch, U.S. Department of Health and Human 
Services, Identifying Victims of Human Trafficking 2 (2008).
    \6\Trafficking in Persons Report, supra note 5, at 397.
    \7\Id. 
    \8\Combating Human Trafficking, supra note 1 at 89 (joint statement 
of Alice Hill, Chair, Blue Campaign, U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security, and James Dinkins, Executive Associate Director, Homeland 
Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. 
Department of Homeland Security).
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    Recognizing the complexity of combating human trafficking 
and the need for better coordination, in 2010, DHS established 
a unified victim-centered program to coordinate its human 
trafficking response and awareness campaign, the Blue 
Campaign.\9\ The Blue Campaign raises public awareness about 
human trafficking taking place within U.S. national borders by 
educating the public, law enforcement, and public and private 
organizations on how to recognize and report possible human 
trafficking.\10\ Specifically, the Blue Campaign provides 
formal training on the indicators of human trafficking to those 
most likely to encounter a victim or a trafficker, including 
first responders, healthcare providers, social workers, 
community volunteers, and law enforcement officers.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\Id. at 9.
    \10\Id.
    \11\Id. 
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    In recent years, Blue Campaign partnerships have 
significantly increased human trafficking reporting to the U.S. 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) investigative tip 
line (1-866-347-2423). Compared to the 231 tips received in FY 
2010, DHS law enforcement components reported 384 tips in FY 
2011 and 588 in FY 2012.\12\ In FY 2014, ICE Homeland Security 
Investigations initiated 987 investigations related to human 
trafficking and recorded 1,770 arrests, 1,028 indictments, and 
828 convictions.\13\ These efforts resulted in identification 
of more than 440 human trafficking victims to receive victim 
assistance and medical services.\14\
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    \12\DHS Briefing to Committee Staff (March 23, 2015).
    \13\Id. 
    \14\Id. 
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    However, challenges remain in combating domestic human 
trafficking. In its 2014 Trafficking in Persons report, the 
U.S. Department of State recommended the United States 
strengthen interagency coordination on survivor engagement and 
training, and enhance human trafficking training for law 
enforcement and prosecutors.\15\ The report also noted non-
governmental organizations have called for increased 
transparency in reporting results of federal criminal 
trafficking investigations that do not result in criminal 
prosecutions.\16\
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    \15\Trafficking in Persons Report, supra note 5, at 398.
    \16\Id. at 399.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    This act seeks to address those concerns by requiring human 
trafficking training for DHS personnel and improving reporting 
of suspected and confirmed human trafficking cases. H.R. 460 
requires the Secretary to ensure that TSA, CBP, and other DHS 
personnel who interact with the public periodically receive 
training on the most current methods to identify suspected 
victims and perpetrators while preforming their primary 
responsibilities. It also requires the Secretary to submit an 
annual report describing the overall effectiveness of the 
training program required by the Act. Specifically, the report 
will require DHS to provide the number of suspected and 
confirmed cases of human trafficking reported by DHS personnel. 
Finally, the act authorizes the Secretary to provide training 
curricula to state and local governments and public and private 
organizations who request assistance in establishing a training 
program to contribute to the efforts to combat human 
trafficking in the United States.

                        III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    In the 113th Congress, on September 23, 2013, the Committee 
held a hearing titled ``Combating Human Trafficking: Federal, 
State and Local Perspectives.''\17\ The purpose of the hearing 
was to raise awareness about domestic human trafficking and 
examine efforts to coordinate federal, state, tribal and local 
efforts to combat human trafficking within the U.S. Witnesses 
at the hearing were two senior DHS officials, including the 
Chair of the Blue Campaign; the National Coordinator for Child 
Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction at the Department of 
Justice; two representatives from human trafficking victims 
resource centers; a representative from a non-profit anti-human 
trafficking advocacy organization; and the Senior Vice 
President and Professor of Law at Rutgers University. The 
witnesses discussed the incidence of human trafficking in the 
U.S. and their respective communities, causes of human 
trafficking, and existing federal, state, and local strategies 
to combat it. The witnesses also offered strategies for 
increasing national awareness of human trafficking, and 
opportunities for increased collaboration between federal, 
state, tribal and local authorities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \17\Combating Human Trafficking, supra note 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    On July 15, 2014, Representative Meadows introduced H.R. 
5116, the Human Trafficking Detection Act of 2014. The act 
passed the House by voice vote on July 23, 2014, but the Senate 
did not take up the bill during the 113th Congress.
    In the 114th Congress, on January 21, 2015, Representative 
Walker introduced the Human Trafficking Detection Act of 2015. 
Upon being discharged by the House Committee on Homeland 
Security, the act passed the House by voice vote on January 27, 
2015. The measure was received in the Senate and referred to 
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on 
January 28, 2015. Chairman Johnson introduced S. 623, a 
companion bill to H.R. 460, in the Senate on March 3, 2015, 
which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs.
    The Committee considered H.R. 460 at a business meeting on 
March 4, 2015. The Committee ordered the act, without 
amendment, reported favorably by voice vote on March 4, 2015. 
Senators present for the vote were: Johnson, Portman, Lankford, 
Ayotte, Ernst, Carper, McCaskill, Baldwin, Heitkamp, and 
Peters.

        IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE ACT, AS REPORTED

Section 1. Short title

    This section provides the act's short title, the ``Human 
Trafficking Detection Act of 2015.''

Section 2. Definitions

    This section defines several terms, including ``human 
trafficking.''

Section 3. Training for department personnel to identify human 
        trafficking

    Subsection (a) requires that within 180 days of enactment, 
the Secretary implement a program to train relevant TSA, CBP, 
and other DHS personnel to effectively deter, detect, and 
disrupt human trafficking during the course of their primary 
responsibilities; and, where appropriate, how to interdict a 
perpetrator during the course of their primary 
responsibilities.
    Subsection (b) allows the Secretary to achieve the training 
required by subsection (a) via in-person or online training, 
and requires the training modules to include: methods to 
identify suspected victims and perpetrators; methods to safely 
approach a suspected victim; location and environment specific 
information; other topics that the Secretary deems appropriate 
to combat human trafficking; and an evaluation of the personnel 
after completing the assigned training.
    Subsection (c) requires the Secretary to reassess annually 
the training program established under subsection (a) to ensure 
the training modules are kept current.

Section 4. Certification and report to Congress

    Subsection (a) directs the Secretary to certify to the 
appropriate congressional committees, which the Committee 
intends to include the Senate Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Homeland 
Security, that all relevant DHS personnel have successfully 
completed the required training under section 3.
    Subsection (b) requires the Secretary to report annually to 
the appropriate congressional committees, which the Committee 
intends to include the Senate Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Homeland 
Security, on the overall effectiveness of the training program 
and on the number of suspected cases reported by DHS personnel 
as well as the number of confirmed cases of human trafficking. 
The Committee recognizes the number of confirmed cases reported 
by the Secretary may be lower than the number of cases 
suspected and investigated, due to the inherent challenges in 
identifying and prosecuting human traffickers. Accordingly, the 
Committee instructs the Secretary to include with the report 
such caveats as necessary to explain these data and their 
limitations, as well as any additional information that may be 
necessary to provide a complete picture of the Department's 
efforts to combat human trafficking.

Section 5. Assistance to non-Federal entities

    This section authorizes the Secretary to provide training 
curricula to any state, local, or tribal government, or private 
organization seeking to establish its own training program to 
identify human trafficking.

                   V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this act and determined 
that the act will have no regulatory impact within the meaning 
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional 
Budget Office's statement that the act contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs 
on state, local, or tribal governments.

             VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

                                                    March 18, 2015.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. 
        Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 460, the Human 
Trafficking Detection Act of 2015.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark 
Grabowicz.
            Sincerely,
                                              Douglas W. Elmendorf.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 460--Human Trafficking Detection Act of 2015

    H.R. 460 would require the Department of Homeland Security 
(DHS) to train certain employees in techniques for detecting 
and deterring human trafficking. DHS also would have to prepare 
an annual report to the Congress on the effectiveness of the 
training program. There are ongoing activities within the 
department to provide the training required by the act, so CBO 
estimates that implementing H.R. 460 would not significantly 
affect DHS spending. Because enacting the legislation would not 
affect direct spending or revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures do 
not apply.
    H.R. 460 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz. 
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

       VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE ACT, AS REPORTED

    Because this legislation would not repeal or amend any 
provision of current law, it would make no changes in existing 
law within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of paragraph 12 
of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate.

                                  [all]