[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1862 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1862
To amend the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to modify the
criteria for determining whether countries are meeting the minimum
standards for the elimination of human trafficking, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 26, 2017
Mr. Corker (for himself, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. Cardin)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to modify the
criteria for determining whether countries are meeting the minimum
standards for the elimination of human trafficking, 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 ``Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
Section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22
U.S.C. 7102) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through (15) as
paragraphs (7) through (17), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
``(5) Concrete actions.--The term `concrete actions' means
actions that demonstrate increased efforts by the government of
a country to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of
trafficking, including any of the following:
``(A) Enforcement actions taken.
``(B) Investigations actively underway.
``(C) Prosecutions conducted.
``(D) Convictions attained.
``(E) Training provided.
``(F) Programs and partnerships actively underway.
``(G) Efforts to prevent severe forms of
trafficking, including programs to reduce the
vulnerability of particularly vulnerable populations,
involving survivors of trafficking in community
engagement and policy making, engagement with foreign
migrants, ending recruitment fees, and other such
measures.
``(H) Victim services offered, including
immigration services and restitution.
``(I) The amount of money the government has
committed to the actions described in subparagraphs (A)
through (H).
``(6) Credible evidence.--The term `credible evidence'
includes all of the following:
``(A) Reports by the Department of State.
``(B) Reports of other Federal agencies, including
the Department of Labor's List of Goods Produced by
Child Labor or Forced Labor and List of Products
Produced by Forced Labor or Indentured Child Labor.
``(C) Documentation provided by a foreign country,
including--
``(i) copies of relevant laws, regulations,
and policies adopted or modified; and
``(ii) an official record of enforcement
actions taken, judicial proceedings, training
conducted, consultations conducted, programs
and partnerships launched, and services
provided.
``(D) Materials developed by civil society
organizations.
``(E) Information from survivors of human
trafficking, vulnerable persons, and whistleblowers.
``(F) All relevant media and academic reports that,
in light of reason and common sense, are worthy of
belief.
``(G) Information developed by multilateral
institutions.
``(H) An assessment of the impact of the actions
described in subparagraphs (A) through (I) of paragraph
(5) on the prevalence of human trafficking in the
country.''.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING PRIVATE SECTOR SUPPORT TO
STRENGTHEN LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND THE ROLE OF
PRIVATE BUSINESSES IN PREVENTING AND COMBATING CHILD SEX
TRAFFICKING.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the President should work with the private sector to
explore, develop, and use technology that strengthens Federal
law enforcement capabilities to combat traffickers and criminal
networks; and
(2) private businesses, both domestic and international,
should take every reasonable step to prevent and combat child
sex trafficking.
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON PLACEMENT OR RECRUITMENT FEES.
Section 106(g) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000
(22 U.S.C. 7104(g)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating clauses (i) through (iv) as paragraphs
(1) through (4), respectively, and moving such paragraphs 4 ems
to the left; and
(2) in paragraph (4), as redesignated--
(A) by redesignating subclauses (I) through (V) as
subparagraphs (A) through (E), respectively, and moving
such subparagraphs 4 ems to the left;
(B) in subparagraph (B), as redesignated, by
redesignating items (aa) and (bb) as clauses (i) and
(ii), respectively, and moving such clauses 4 ems to
the left; and
(C) in subparagraph (D), as redesignated, by
striking ``unreasonable placement or recruitment fees''
and all that follows through the period at the end and
inserting ``placement or recruitment fees.''.
SEC. 5. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR THE ELIMINATION OF TRAFFICKING.
Section 108(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000
(22 U.S.C. 7106(b)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by inserting ``and without bias'' after
``vigorously'';
(B) by striking ``if the government'' and inserting
the following: ``if--
``(A) the government'';
(C) by striking ``such acts and the Secretary'' and
inserting the following: ``such acts;
``(B) the Secretary''; and
(D) by striking ``such data.'' and inserting the
following: ``such data; and
``(C) the Secretary has included a description of
such data and a description of such good faith efforts
to collect such data in the annual Trafficking in
Persons Report.''; and
(2) in paragraph (7)--
(A) by inserting ``and without bias'' after
``vigorously'';
(B) by inserting ``or enable'' after ``condone'';
(C) by striking ``if the government'' and inserting
the following: ``if--
``(A) the government'';
(D) by striking ``such acts and the Secretary'' and
inserting the following: ``such acts;
``(B) the Secretary''; and
(E) by striking ``such data.'' and inserting the
following: ``such data; and
``(C) the Secretary has included a description of
such data in the annual Trafficking in Persons
Report.''.
SEC. 6. ACTIONS AGAINST GOVERNMENTS FAILING TO MEET MINIMUM STANDARDS.
Section 110(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000
(22 U.S.C. 7107) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``The report should'' and inserting
``The report shall, to the extent concurrent reporting
data is available, cover efforts and activities taking
place during the period between April 1 of the year
preceding the report and March 31 of the year in which
the report is made, and should'';
(B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``based only
on concrete actions taken by the country that are
recorded during the reporting period'' after ``such
standards'';
(C) in subparagraph (B) by inserting ``based only
on concrete actions taken by the country (excluding any
commitments by the country to take additional future
steps during the next year) that are recorded during
the reporting period'' after ``compliance'';
(D) by amending subparagraph (C) to read as
follows:
``(C) a list of those countries, if any, to which
the minimum standards for the elimination of
trafficking are applicable, and whose governments--
``(i) do not fully comply with such
standards and are not making significant
efforts to bring themselves into compliance;
``(ii) tolerate trafficking in government-
funded programs; or
``(iii) have a government-supported
practice of--
``(I) trafficking;
``(II) facilitating the use of
forced labor (such as in agriculture,
forestry, mining, or construction);
``(III) permitting sexual slavery
in government camps, compounds, or
outposts; or
``(IV) employing child soldiers;'';
(E) in subparagraph (F), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(F) in subparagraph (G), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(G) by adding at the end the following:
``(H) for each country included in a different list
than the country had been placed in the previous annual
report, a detailed explanation of how the concrete
actions (or lack of such actions) undertaken (or not
undertaken) by the country during the previous
reporting period contributed to such change, including
a clear linkage between such actions and the minimum
standards enumerated in section 108.'';
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)(iii)--
(i) in subclause (I), by adding ``or'' at
the end;
(ii) in subclause (II), by striking ``;
or'' and inserting a period; and
(iii) by striking subclause (III);
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``the last
annual report'' and inserting ``April 1 of the previous
year'';
(C) in subparagraph (D)--
(i) in clause (i), by striking ``2008,''
and all that follows and inserting--
``2008--
``(I) shall be included on the list
of countries described in paragraph
(1)(C); and
``(II) shall be required to meet
the requirements specified in paragraph
(1)(B) before the country may be
removed from the list of countries
described in paragraph (1)(C).''; and
(ii) in clause (ii), by striking ``2
years'' and inserting ``1 year''; and
(D) in subparagraph (E)--
(i) in the subparagraph heading, by
striking ``Public'' and inserting
``Congressional''; and
(ii) by striking ``shall provide'' and all
that follows and inserting the following:
``shall--
``(i) provide a detailed description of the
credible evidence supporting such determination
on a publicly available website maintained by
the Department of State; and
``(ii) offer to brief the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate and the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives on any written plan submitted
by the country under subparagraph (D)(ii)(I),
with an opportunity to review the written
plan.'';
(3) in paragraph (3)--
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the semicolon
at the end and inserting a period; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) the extent to which the government of the
country is devoting sufficient budgetary resources--
``(i) to investigate and prosecute acts of
severe trafficking in persons;
``(ii) to convict and sentence persons
responsible for such acts; and
``(iii) to obtain restitution for victims
of human trafficking;
``(E) the extent to which the government of the
country is devoting sufficient budgetary resources--
``(i) to protect and rehabilitate victims
of trafficking in persons; and
``(ii) to prevent severe forms of
trafficking in persons; and
``(F) the extent to which the government of the
country has consulted with domestic and international
civil society organizations to improve the provision of
services to victims of trafficking in persons.''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Action plans for countries upgraded to tier 2
watchlist.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after
the release of the annual Trafficking in Persons
Report, the Ambassador-at-Large of the Office to
Monitor and Combat Trafficking and the Assistant
Secretary of the appropriate regional bureau, in
consultation with appropriate officials from the
government of each country described in paragraph
(2)(A)(ii), shall--
``(i) prepare an action plan for each
country upgraded from Tier 3 to Tier 2
Watchlist to further improve such country's
tier ranking under this subsection; and
``(ii) present the relevant action plan to
the government of each such country.
``(B) Coordination.--The United States Ambassador
or Charge d'Affaires of the country for which an action
plan is being prepared, in consultation with the
Ambassador-at-Large of the Office to Monitor and Combat
Trafficking in Persons, shall be responsible for
coordinating all necessary diplomatic engagement to
prepare such plan.
``(C) Contents.--Each action plan prepared under
this paragraph--
``(i) shall include specific concrete
actions to be taken by the country to
substantively address deficiencies preventing
the country from meeting Tier 2 standards,
based on credible evidence; and
``(ii) should be focused on short-term and
multiyear goals.
``(D) Briefings.--The Ambassador-at-Large of the
Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking and all
appropriate regional Assistant Secretaries shall make
themselves available to brief the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate, the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign
Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives on the implementation of each action
plan prepared under this paragraph.
``(E) Savings provision.--Nothing in this paragraph
may be construed as modifying--
``(i) minimum standards for the elimination
of trafficking under section 108; or
``(ii) the actions against governments
failing to meet minimum standards under this
section or the criteria for placement on the
Special Watch List under paragraph (2).''.
SEC. 7. COMMUNICATION WITH GOVERNMENTS OF COUNTRIES DESIGNATED AS TIER
2 WATCH LIST COUNTRIES ON THE TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS
REPORT.
(a) In General.--Not less than annually, the Secretary of State
shall provide, to the foreign minister of each country that has been
downgraded to a ``Tier 2 Watch List'' country pursuant to the
Trafficking in Persons report submitted under section 110(b) of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107(b))--
(1) a copy of the annual Trafficking in Persons report; and
(2) information pertinent to that country's downgrade,
including--
(A) confirmation of the country's designation to
the Tier 2 Watch List;
(B) the implications associated with such
designation and the consequences for the country of a
downgrade to Tier 3;
(C) the factors that contributed to the downgrade;
and
(D) the steps that the country must take to be
considered for an upgrade in status of designation.
(b) Sense of Congress Regarding Communications.--It is the sense of
Congress that, given the gravity of a Tier 2 Watch List designation,
the Secretary of State should communicate the information described in
subsection (a) to the foreign minister of any country downgraded to the
Tier 2 Watch List.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 113 of the Trafficking Victims Prevention Act of 2000 (22
U.S.C. 7110) is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
``(a) Authorization of Appropriations in Support of the Task
Force.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of
State, for each of the fiscal years 2018 through 2023, $12,500,000 for
Diplomatic and Consular Programs of the Office to Monitor and Combat
Trafficking in Persons, which shall be used to carry out sections
105(e), 105(f), and 110, including for additional personnel.'';
(2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:
``(c) Authorization of Appropriations for the Department of
State.--
``(1) Assistance to combat trafficking.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to the Department of State, for
each of the fiscal years 2018 through 2023, $64,800,000, which
shall be used--
``(A) to carry out sections 106 and 107(a);
``(B) to carry out section 134 of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2152d);
``(C) to assist countries in meeting the minimum
standards described in section 108; and
``(D) for programs and activities on prevention,
protection, and prosecution to combat all forms of
trafficking in persons internationally, including
training activities for law enforcement officers,
prosecutors, and members of the judiciary with respect
to trafficking in persons at the International Law
Enforcement Academies.
``(2) End modern slavery initiative.--
``(A) In general.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Department of State, for each of
the fiscal years 2021 through 2023, $37,500,000, which
shall be used to reduce the prevalence of modern
slavery globally.
``(B) Use of funds.--The Secretary of State may
obligate amounts appropriated pursuant to subparagraph
(A), on an incremental basis--
``(i) to carry out the grant program
authorized under section 1298(b) of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 2017 (22 U.S.C. 7114 note); and
``(ii) to ensure the effective and
efficient implementation of program
activities.'';
(3) by striking subsection (e); and
(4) by redesignating subsections (f), (g), (h), and (i) as
subsections (e), (f), (g), and (h), respectively.
SEC. 9. REQUIREMENTS FOR STRATEGIES TO PREVENT TRAFFICKING.
(a) Report on New Practices To Combat Trafficking.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 7 years,
the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Administrator
of the United States Agency for International Development,
shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of
the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives that--
(A) describes any practices adopted by the
Department or the Agency--
(i) to better combat trafficking in
persons, in accordance with the results of the
study conducted under section 101(b) of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization
Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-164); and
(ii) to reduce the risk of trafficking in
post-conflict or post-disaster areas; or
(B) includes a strategy to reduce the risk of
trafficking in the areas referred to in subparagraph
(A)(ii), if none of the practices referred to in
subparagraph (A) have been adopted.
(2) Public availability.--Each report submitted under
paragraph (1) shall be posted on a publicly available website
of the Department of State.
(b) Child Protection Strategies in Watch List Countries.--The
Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development
shall incorporate into the relevant country development cooperation
strategy for each country on the special watch list described in
paragraph (2)(A) of section 110(b) of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107(b)) or on the list described in
paragraph (1)(C) of such section, strategies for the protection of
children and the reduction of the risk of trafficking.
SEC. 10. CHILD SOLDIER PREVENTION.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Child Soldier
Prevention Act of 2017''.
(b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The recruitment or use of children in armed conflict is
unacceptable for any government or government-supported entity
receiving United States assistance.
(2) The recruitment or use of children in armed conflict,
including direct combat, support roles, and sexual slavery,
occurred during 2015 and 2016 in Afghanistan, South Sudan,
Sudan, Burma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq,
Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen.
(3) Entities of the Government of Afghanistan, particularly
the Afghan Local Police and the Afghan National Police,
continue to recruit children to serve as combatants or as
servants, including as sex slaves.
(4) Police forces of the Government of Afghanistan
participate in counterterrorism operations, direct and indirect
combat, and security operations, fight alongside regular
armies, and are targeted for violence by the Taliban and by
other opposition groups.
(5) In February 2016, a 10-year-old boy was assassinated by
the Taliban after he had been publically honored by Afghan
local police forces for his assistance in combat operations
against the Taliban.
(6) The recruitment and use of children in armed conflict
by government forces continued during 2016 in South Sudan with
the return to hostilities.
(7) At least 650 children have been recruited and used in
armed conflict in South Sudan during 2016, and at least 16,000
children have been recruited since that country's civil war
began in 2013.
(c) Amendments to the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008.--
(1) Definitions.--Section 402 of the Child Soldiers
Prevention Act of 2008 (22 U.S.C. 2370c) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``,
police, or other security forces'' after
``governmental armed forces'' each place such
phrase appears; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking
``clauses'' and inserting ``clause''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Nonlethal supplies.--The term `nonlethal supplies'
means property, other than real property, of the Department of
Defense that is not a weapon, ammunition, or other equipment or
material that is designed to inflict serious bodily harm or
death.''.
(2) Prohibition.--Section 404 of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2370c-
1) is amended--
(A) in subsection (a)--
(i) by inserting ``, police, other security
forces,'' after ``governmental armed forces'';
and
(ii) by striking ``recruit and use child
soldiers'' and inserting ``recruit or use child
soldiers'';
(B) in subsection (b), by amending paragraph (2) to
read as follows:
``(2) Notification.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 45 days after the
submission of each report required under section 110(b)
of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22
U.S.C. 7107(b)), the Secretary of State shall formally
notify each government included in the list required
under paragraph (1) of its inclusion on such list.
``(B) Congressional notification.--As soon as
practicable after making all of the notifications
required under subparagraph (A) with respect to a
report, the Secretary of State shall notify the
appropriate congressional committees that the
requirements under subparagraph (A) have been
completed.''; and
(C) in subsection (e)(1), in the matter preceding
subparagraph (A), by striking ``to a country'' and all
that follows through ``subsection (a)'' and inserting
``under section 541 of the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2347) through the Defense Institute for
International Legal Studies or the Center for Civil-
Military Relations at the Naval Post-Graduate School,
and may provide nonlethal supplies to a country subject
to the prohibition under subsection (a)''.
(3) Reports.--Section 405 of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2370c-2)
is amended--
(A) in subsection (c)--
(i) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
(I) by striking ``, during any of
the 5 years following the date of the
enactment of this Act,''; and
(II) by striking ``wavier'' and
inserting ``waiver'';
(ii) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3),
and (4) as paragraphs (3), (4), and (5),
respectively;
(iii) by inserting after paragraph (1) the
following:
``(2) a description and the amount of any assistance
withheld under this title pursuant to the application of the
prohibition under section 404(a) to those countries;''; and
(iv) in paragraph (5), as redesignated, by
inserting ``and the amount'' after ``a
description''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Information To Be Included in Annual Trafficking in Persons
Report.--If a country is notified pursuant to section 404(b)(2), or if
a waiver is granted pursuant to section 404(c)(1), the Secretary of
State shall include, in each report required under section 110(b) of
the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107(b)), the
information required to be included in the annual report under
subsection (c).''.
SEC. 11. UNITED STATES SUPPORT FOR INTEGRATION OF ANTI-TRAFFICKING
INTERVENTIONS IN MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS.
(a) Requirements.--The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation
with the Department of State's Ambassador at Large for Monitoring and
Combating Trafficking in Persons, shall instruct the United States
Executive Director of each multilateral development bank to initiate
discussions with the other executive directors and management of the
respective multilateral development bank to--
(1) further develop anti-human trafficking provisions in
relevant project development, safeguards, procurement, and
evaluation policies;
(2) employing a risk-based approach, require human
trafficking risk assessments and integration plans as a routine
part of developing projects through existing, forthcoming or
new mechanisms and processes;
(3) support analyses of the impact of severe forms of
trafficking in persons on key indicators of economic and social
development and of the benefits of reducing human trafficking
on economic and social development;
(4) support the proactive integration of effective anti-
trafficking interventions into projects with the objectives of
enhancing development outcomes and reducing the incidence of
severe forms of trafficking in project areas;
(5) increase the capacity of multilateral development banks
and of recipient governments to conduct human trafficking risk
assessments and integrate anti-trafficking interventions into
projects;
(6) support the development of meaningful risk mitigation
and reduction policies, regulations, and strategies within the
multilateral development banks to reduce the incidence and
prevalence of severe forms of trafficking in persons and
enhance development outcomes that may be improved by reducing
the incidence and prevalence of human trafficking; and
(7) support the inclusion of human trafficking risk
analysis in the development of relevant country strategies by
each multilateral development bank.
(b) Briefings.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall make relevant
officials available to brief the Committee on Foreign Relations and the
Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign
Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives on the implementation of this section.
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