[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2283 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 2283
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 24, 2014
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To prioritize the fight against human trafficking within the Department
of State according to congressional intent in the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 without increasing the size of the Federal
Government, and for other purposes.
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 ``Human Trafficking Prioritization
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The International Labor Organization estimates that
nearly 21,000,000 people are subjected to modern slavery around
the world at any given time and that the majority of the
enslaved are women and girls.
(2) Congress authorized the creation of a Department of
State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons in
the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (division A of
Public Law 106-386) in order to directly assist the Secretary
of State in his or her effort to coordinate a United States
Government interagency response to domestic and international
trafficking in persons.
(3) The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
monitors trafficking worldwide and produces the online and
printed versions of the annual Trafficking in Persons Report,
which is Congress' primary resource for human trafficking
reporting, analysis, and recommendations on the United States
and 186 countries around the world.
(4) The annual Trafficking in Persons Report contains tier
rankings of each country on which it reports, and these tier
rankings have become an essential diplomatic tool for promoting
protection for victims, prevention of trafficking, and
prosecution of perpetrators.
(5) Some countries have openly stated, and many others have
confided, that dramatic improvements in the country's human
trafficking record were directly related to avoidance of a low
tier ranking in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report.
(6) Ambassador Mark Lagon, former Ambassador-at-Large to
Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (2007-2009),
testified before the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health,
Global Human Rights, and International Organizations of the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives on
April 18, 2013, that ``[T]he State Department does a tremendous
job in producing a report which tells it like it is, offering
objective rankings. Yet at times it pulls punches, typically
due to the urging of regional specialists rather than the TIP
Office's dedicated experts on trafficking.''.
(7) Ambassador John Miller, former Ambassador-at-Large to
Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (2002-2006), recently
stated that, ``Upgrading the status of the Office to a Bureau
will not create additional bureaucracy--it will simply give
JTIP and the Ambassador-at-large who heads it equal standing
with regional and functional bureaus at the State Department.
That standing is absolutely essential for the issue to remain a
priority, especially when multiple U.S. interests are
engaged.''.
(8) The tier ranking process authorized by Congress in the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 has been in some
instances compromised by the Office to Monitor and Combat
Trafficking subordinate stature within the Department of State.
(9) It is essential for Congress and the Secretary of State
to be accurately informed regarding United States and foreign
country successes and failures in the fight against human
trafficking.
(10) The diplomatic power and credibility of the
Trafficking in Persons Report is based on rigorous scholarship
and scrupulous application of the minimum standards for the
elimination of human trafficking and is undermined by
political, rather than factual, tier rankings.
(11) Strong and effective anti-slavery policy requires that
officials from the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking
have equal hierarchical standing with State Department regional
bureaus and direct access to the Secretary of State.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking of the
Department of State will be more effective in carrying out
duties mandated by Congress in the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 if the Office status is changed to that
of a Bureau within the Department hierarchy;
(2) the change in status from Office to Monitor and Combat
Trafficking to a Bureau can be accomplished without increasing
the number of personnel or the budget of the current Office;
(3) a Bureau to Monitor and Combat Trafficking would be
more effective in carrying out duties mandated by Congress in
the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 if the Bureau
were headed by an Assistant Secretary with direct access to the
Secretary of State, rather than an Ambassador-at-Large; and
(4) the Secretary of State should review the current use of
the 24 Assistant Secretary positions authorized by section
1(c)(1) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956
(22 U.S.C. 2651a(c)(1)) and make appropriate revisions,
consolidations, and eliminations, to ensure that those
positions reflect the highest Departmental needs and foreign
policy priorities of the United States, including efforts to
combat trafficking in persons.
SEC. 4. BUREAU TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS.
(a) In General.--Section 105(e) of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7103(e)) is amended--
(1) in the heading, by striking ``Office to Monitor and
Combat Trafficking'' and inserting ``Bureau to Combat
Trafficking in Persons'';
(2) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in the first sentence, by striking ``Office to
Monitor and Combat Trafficking'' and inserting ``Bureau
to Combat Trafficking in Persons'';
(B) in the second sentence, by striking ``Office''
and inserting ``Bureau''; and
(C) in the sixth sentence, by striking ``Office''
and inserting ``Bureau''; and
(3) in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2), by striking
``Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking'' and inserting
``Bureau to Combat Trafficking in Persons''.
(b) Reference.--Any reference in the Trafficking Victims Protection
Act of 2000 or in any other Act to the Office to Monitor and Combat
Trafficking shall be deemed to be a reference to the Bureau to Combat
Trafficking in Persons.
SEC. 5. REPORT REGARDING DESIGNATION OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE TO
COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS.
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations
of the Senate a report detailing--
(1) for each current Assistant Secretary of State
position--
(A) the title of that Assistant Secretary of State;
(B) how long that particular Assistant Secretary
designation has been in existence; and
(C) whether that particular Assistant Secretary
designation was legislatively mandated or authorized
and, if so, the relevant statutory citation for such
mandate or authorization; and
(2) whether the Secretary intends to designate one of the
Assistant Secretary of State positions authorized by section
1(c)(1) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956
(22 U.S.C. 2651a(c)(1)) as the Assistant Secretary of State to
Combat Trafficking in Persons, and the reasons for that
decision.
SEC. 6. COUNTRIES ON SPECIAL WATCH LIST FOR 4 CONSECUTIVE YEARS THAT
ARE DOWNGRADED AND REINSTATED ON SPECIAL WATCH LIST.
Section 110(b)(2) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000
(22 U.S.C. 7107(b)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(F) Countries on special watch list for 4
consecutive years that are downgraded and reinstated on
special watch list.--Notwithstanding subparagraphs (D)
and (E), a country that--
``(i) was included on the special watch
list described in subparagraph (A) for 4
consecutive years after the date of the
enactment of the William Wilberforce
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization
Act of 2008; and
``(ii) was subsequently included on the
list of countries described in paragraph
(1)(C),
may not thereafter be included on the special watch
list described in subparagraph (A) for more than 1
consecutive year.''.
SEC. 7. COST LIMITATION.
No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated for
``Diplomatic and Consular Programs'' to carry out the provisions of
this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives July 23, 2014.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.