[House Report 115-467]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


115th Congress   }                                     {        Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session     }                                     {       115-467

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



 
         COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN COMMERCIAL VEHICLES ACT

                                _______
                                

 December 18, 2017.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Shuster, from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3813]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom 
was referred the bill (H.R. 3813) to designate a human 
trafficking prevention coordinator and to expand the scope of 
activities authorized under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration's outreach and education program to include 
human trafficking prevention activities, and for other 
purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon 
without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose of Legislation...........................................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Hearings.........................................................     2
Legislative History and Consideration............................     2
Committee Votes..................................................     2
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     2
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................     2
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................     2
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     4
Advisory of Earmarks.............................................     4
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................     4
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings..............................     4
Federal Mandate Statement........................................     4
Preemption Clarification.........................................     4
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     4
Applicability of Legislative Branch..............................     5
Section-by-Section Analysis of Legislation.......................     5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     5

                         Purpose of Legislation

    H.R. 3813 directs the Department of Transportation 
(Department) to take certain actions and amends eligibilities 
under existing grant programs to help combat human trafficking.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    In summer 2017, 10 people died in San Antonio, Texas in the 
process of being illegally trafficked in a commercial motor 
vehicle.
    H.R. 3813 directs the Secretary of Transportation to 
designate a human trafficking prevention coordinator from 
within the Department. The bill expands the scope of activities 
authorized under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration's (FMCSA) outreach and education program and 
commercial driver's license program implementation grants to 
include human trafficking prevention activities. H.R. 3813 also 
directs the Secretary to establish an advisory committee on 
human trafficking.

                                Hearings

    No hearings were held on H.R. 3813.

                 Legislative History and Consideration

    On September 21, 2017, Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty (D-CT) 
introduced H.R. 3813.
    On November 30, 2017, the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure met in open session to consider H.R. 3813. The 
Committee ordered the bill to be reported favorably to the 
House by voice vote with a quorum present.

                            Committee Votes

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires each committee report to include the 
total number of votes cast for and against on each record vote 
on a motion to report and on any amendment offered to the 
measure or matter, and the names of those members voting for 
and against. There were no recorded votes taken in connection 
with consideration of H.R. 3813.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are 
reflected in this report.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 has been timely submitted prior to the filing of the 
report and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is 
included in this report.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 
received the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3813 from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                 Washington, DC, December 12, 2017.
Hon. Bill Shuster,
Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3813, the 
Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Sarah Puro.
            Sincerely,
                                                Keith Hall,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 3813--Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act

    H.R. 3813 would require the Department of Transportation 
(DOT) to designate an official to coordinate agency activities 
designed to prevent and address human trafficking, establish an 
advisory committee on human trafficking within DOT, and to 
authorize the use of certain grant funds administered by the 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for 
activities related to preventing human trafficking. Using 
information from DOT, CBO estimates that implementing the 
provisions of the bill would require one or two additional 
employees per year over the 2019-2022 period, at a total cost 
of $1 million. Such spending would be subject to the 
availability of appropriated funds.
    In recent years, FMCSA has been appropriated $4 million per 
year for education and outreach grants and about $32 million 
per year for the Commercial Driver's License Financial 
Assistance Program. While H.R. 3813 would expand the eligible 
expenses that could be covered by those grants, because states 
already have flexibility in choosing how they use their grant 
funds, CBO estimates, this additional authority would have no 
significant cost.
    Enacting H.R. 3813 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO 
estimates that enacting H.R. 3813 would not increase net direct 
spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 
10-year periods beginning in 2028.
    H.R. 3813 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    On August 29, 2017 CBO provided an estimate for S. 1536, 
the Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act, as 
reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation on August 3, 2017. The two pieces of legislation 
are similar and CBO's estimated costs are the same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Sarah Puro. The 
estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
performance goal and objective of H.R. 3813 is to assist with 
preventing human trafficking across different modes of 
transportation.

                          Advisory of Earmarks

    Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives, the Committee is required to include a list 
of congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited 
tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of 
rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. No 
provision in the bill includes an earmark, limited tax benefit, 
or limited tariff benefit under clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of 
rule XXI.

                    Duplication of Federal Programs

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that no provision 
of H.R. 3813 establishes or reauthorizes a program of the 
federal government known to be duplicative of another federal 
program, a program that was included in any report from the 
Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to 
section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program related to a 
program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance.

                  Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings

    Pursuant to section 3(i) of H. Res. 5, 115th Cong. (2017), 
the Committee finds that enacting H.R. 3813 does not direct the 
completion of a specific rule making within the meaning of 
section 551 of title 5, United States Code.

                       Federal Mandate Statement

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act (Public Law 104-4).

                        Preemption Clarification

    Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 
requires the report of any Committee on a bill or joint 
resolution to include a statement on the extent to which the 
bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local, 
or tribal law. The Committee states that H.R. 3813 does not 
preempt any state, local, or tribal law.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    Section 5 of H.R. 3813 establishes an advisory committee 
within the meaning of section 5(b) of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (FACA)(5 U.S.C. app.). Pursuant to section 5 of 
the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Committee determines 
that the functions of the advisory committee and the working 
groups are not being carried out by existing agencies or 
advisory commissions. The Committee also determines that the 
advisory committee and the working groups have a clearly 
defined purpose, fairly balanced membership, and meet all of 
the other requirements of section 5(b) of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act.

                  Applicability of Legislative Branch

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 
104-1).

               Section-by-Section Analysis of Legislation


Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 designates the short title of the bill as the 
Combatting Human Trafficking in Commercial Motor Vehicles Act.

Section 2. Human trafficking prevention coordinator

    Section 2 directs the Secretary of Transportation to 
designate a human trafficking prevention coordinator from 
within the Department.

Section 3. Expansion of outreach and education program

    Section 3 expands the scope of activities authorized under 
the FMCSA's outreach and education program to include human 
trafficking prevention activities.

Section 4. Expansion of commercial driver's license financial 
        assistance program

    Section 4 expands the scope of eligible activities under 
the FMCSA's commercial driver's license program implementation 
grants to include human trafficking prevention activities.

Section 5. Establishment of the department of transportation advisory 
        committee on human trafficking

    Section 5 directs the Secretary to establish an advisory 
committee on human trafficking.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

                      TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE




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SUBTITLE VI--MOTOR VEHICLE AND DRIVER PROGRAMS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


PART B--COMMERCIAL

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


              CHAPTER 311--COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY


            SUBCHAPTER I--GENERAL AUTHORITY AND STATE GRANTS

     * * * * * * *
Sec.
31110. Authorization of appropriations.
     * * * * * * *

SUBCHAPTER I--GENERAL AUTHORITY AND STATE GRANTS PROGRAMS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 31110. Authorization of appropriations

  (a) Administrative Expenses.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated from the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass 
Transit Account) for the Secretary of Transportation to pay 
administrative expenses of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration--
          (1) $267,400,000 for fiscal year 2016;
          (2) $277,200,000 for fiscal year 2017;
          (3) $283,000,000 for fiscal year 2018;
          (4) $284,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; and
          (5) $288,000,000 for fiscal year 2020.
  (b) Use of Funds.--The funds authorized by this section shall 
be used for--
          (1) personnel costs;
          (2) administrative infrastructure;
          (3) rent;
          (4) information technology;
          (5) programs for research and technology, information 
        management, regulatory development, and the 
        administration of performance and registration 
        information systems management under section 31106(b);
          (6) programs for outreach and education under 
        subsection (c);
          (7) other operating expenses;
          (8) conducting safety reviews of new operators; and
          (9) such other expenses as may from time to time 
        become necessary to implement statutory mandates of the 
        Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration not funded 
        from other sources.
  (c) Outreach and Education Program.--
          (1) In general.--The Secretary may conduct, through 
        any combination of grants, contracts, cooperative 
        agreements, and other activities, an internal and 
        external outreach and education program to be 
        administered by the Administrator of the Federal Motor 
        Carrier Safety Administration. The program authorized 
        under this subsection may support, in addition to funds 
        otherwise available for such purposes, the recognition, 
        prevention, and reporting of human trafficking, while 
        deferring to existing resources, as practicable.
          (2) Federal share.--The Federal share of an outreach 
        and education project for which a grant, contract, or 
        cooperative agreement is made under this subsection may 
        be up to 100 percent of the cost of the project.
          (3) Funding.--From amounts made available under 
        subsection (a), the Secretary shall make available not 
        more than $4,000,000 each fiscal year to carry out this 
        subsection.
  (d) Contract Authority; Initial Date of Availability.--
Amounts authorized from the Highway Trust Fund (other than the 
Mass Transit Account) by this section shall be available for 
obligation on the date of their apportionment or allocation or 
on October 1 of the fiscal year for which they are authorized, 
whichever occurs first.
  (e) Funding Availability.--Amounts made available under this 
section shall remain available until expended.
  (f) Contractual Obligation.--The approval of funds by the 
Secretary under this section is a contractual obligation of the 
Federal Government for payment of the Federal Government's 
share of costs.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


CHAPTER 313--COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATORS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec.
31313. Commercial driver's license program implementation financial 
          assistance program.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 31313. Commercial driver's license program implementation 
                    financial assistance program

  (a) Financial Assistance Program.--
          (1) In general.--The Secretary of Transportation 
        shall administer a financial assistance program for 
        commercial driver's license program implementation for 
        the purposes described in paragraphs (2) and (3).
          (2) State commercial driver's license program 
        implementation grants.--In carrying out the program, 
        the Secretary may make a grant to a State agency in a 
        fiscal year--
                  (A) to assist the State in complying with the 
                requirements of section 31311; and
                  (B) in the case of a State that is making a 
                good faith effort toward substantial compliance 
                with the requirements of section 31311, to 
                improve the State's implementation of its 
                commercial driver's license program, including 
                expenses--
                          (i) for computer hardware and 
                        software;
                          (ii) for publications, testing, 
                        personnel, training, and quality 
                        control;
                          (iii) for commercial driver's license 
                        program coordinators; and
                          (iv) to implement or maintain a 
                        system to notify an employer of an 
                        operator of a commercial motor vehicle 
                        of the suspension or revocation of the 
                        operator's commercial driver's license 
                        consistent with the standards developed 
                        under section 32303(b) of the 
                        Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety 
                        Enhancement Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 
                        31304 note).
          (3) Priority activities.--The Secretary may make a 
        grant to or enter into a cooperative agreement with a 
        State agency, local government, or any person in a 
        fiscal year for research, development and testing, 
        demonstration projects, public education, and other 
        special activities and projects relating to commercial 
        drivers licensing and motor vehicle safety that--
                  (A) benefit all jurisdictions of the United 
                States;
                  (B) address national safety concerns and 
                circumstances;
                  (C) address emerging issues relating to 
                commercial driver's license improvements;
                  (D) support innovative ideas and solutions to 
                commercial driver's license program issues; 
                [or]
                  (E) support, in addition to funds otherwise 
                available for such purposes, the recognition, 
                prevention, and reporting of human trafficking; 
                or
                  [(E)] (F) address other commercial driver's 
                license issues, as determined by the Secretary.
  (b) Prohibitions.--A recipient may not use financial 
assistance funds awarded under this section to rent, lease, or 
buy land or buildings.
  (c) Report.--The Secretary shall issue an annual report on 
the activities carried out under this section.
  (d) Apportionment.--All amounts made available to carry out 
this section for a fiscal year shall be apportioned to a 
recipient described in subsection (a)(3) according to criteria 
prescribed by the Secretary.
  (e) Funding.--For fiscal years beginning after September 30, 
2016, this section shall be funded under section 31104.

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