[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 486 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 486
Supporting the observation of National Trafficking and Modern Slavery
Prevention Month during the period beginning on January 1, 2020, and
ending on February 1, 2020, to raise awareness of, and opposition to,
human trafficking and modern slavery.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 28, 2020
Mrs. Feinstein (for herself, Ms. Murkowski, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr.
Grassley, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Tester, Mr. Brown, Mr. Markey, Mr. Leahy,
Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Rubio, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Toomey, Ms.
Ernst, Mr. Wyden, and Mrs. Shaheen) submitted the following resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Supporting the observation of National Trafficking and Modern Slavery
Prevention Month during the period beginning on January 1, 2020, and
ending on February 1, 2020, to raise awareness of, and opposition to,
human trafficking and modern slavery.
Whereas the United States abolished the transatlantic slave trade in 1808 and
abolished chattel slavery and prohibited involuntary servitude in 1865;
Whereas, because the people of the United States remain committed to protecting
individual freedom, there is a national imperative to eliminate human
trafficking and modern slavery, which is commonly considered to mean--
(1) the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining
of an individual through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the
purpose of subjecting that individual to involuntary servitude, peonage,
debt bondage, or slavery; or
(2) the inducement of a commercial sex act by force, fraud, or
coercion, or in which the individual induced to perform that act is younger
than 18 years of age;
Whereas forced labor and human trafficking generates revenues of approximately
$150,000,000,000 annually worldwide, and there are an estimated
40,000,000 victims of human trafficking across the globe;
Whereas victims of human trafficking are difficult to identify and are subject
to manipulation, force, fraud, coercion, and abuse;
Whereas the Department of Justice has reported that human trafficking and modern
slavery has been reported and investigated in each of the 50 States and
the District of Columbia;
Whereas the Department of State has reported that the top 3 countries of origin
of federally identified human trafficking victims in fiscal year 2018
were the United States, Mexico, and the Philippines;
Whereas, to help businesses in the United States combat child labor and forced
labor in global supply chains, the Department of Labor has identified
148 goods from 76 countries that are made by child labor and forced
labor;
Whereas, since 2007, the National Human Trafficking Hotline has identified
nearly 52,000 cases of human trafficking;
Whereas, of the more than 23,500 endangered runaways reported to the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 2019, 1 in 6 were likely
child sex trafficking victims;
Whereas the Administration for Native Americans of the Department of Health and
Human Services reports that American Indian, Alaska Native, and Pacific
Islander women and girls have a heightened risk for sex trafficking;
Whereas the Department of Justice found that studies on the topic of human
trafficking of American Indians and Alaska Natives suggest there are--
(1) high rates of sexual exploitation of Native women and girls;
(2) gaps in data and research on trafficking of American Indian and
Alaska Native victims; and
(3) barriers that prevent law enforcement agencies and victim service
providers from identifying and responding appropriately to Native victims;
Whereas, according to the Government Accountability Office, from fiscal year
2013 through fiscal year 2016, there were only 14 Federal investigations
and 2 Federal prosecutions of human trafficking offenses in Indian
country;
Whereas, to combat human trafficking and modern slavery in the United States and
globally, the people of the United States, the Federal Government, and
State and local governments must be--
(1) aware of the realities of human trafficking and modern slavery; and
(2) dedicated to stopping the horrific enterprise of human trafficking
and modern slavery;
Whereas the United States should hold accountable all individuals, groups,
organizations, and countries that support, advance, or commit acts of
human trafficking and modern slavery;
Whereas, through education, the United States must also work to end human
trafficking and modern slavery in all forms in the United States and
around the world;
Whereas victims of human trafficking deserve a trauma-informed approach that
integrates the pursuit of justice and provision of social services
designed to help them escape, and recover from, the physical, mental,
emotional, and spiritual trauma they endured;
Whereas combating human trafficking requires a whole-of-government effort that
rests on a unified and coordinated response among Federal, State, and
local agencies and that places equal value on the identification and
stabilization of victims, as well as the investigation and prosecution
of traffickers;
Whereas laws to prosecute perpetrators of human trafficking and to assist and
protect victims of human trafficking and modern slavery have been
enacted in the United States, including--
(1) the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7101 et
seq.);
(2) title XII of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013
(Public Law 113-4; 127 Stat. 136);
(3) the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-
22; 129 Stat. 227);
(4) sections 910 and 914(e) of the Trade Facilitation and Trade
Enforcement Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-125; 130 Stat. 239 and 274);
(5) section 1298 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 2017 (22 U.S.C. 7114);
(6) the Abolish Human Trafficking Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-392; 132
Stat. 5250);
(7) the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-393;
132 Stat. 5265);
(8) the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and
Protection Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-425; 132 Stat.
5472); and
(9) the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017
(Public Law 115-427; 132 Stat. 5503);
Whereas the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-22;
129 Stat. 227) established the United States Advisory Council on Human
Trafficking to provide a formal platform for survivors of human
trafficking to advise and make recommendations on Federal anti-
trafficking policies to the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat
Trafficking established by the President;
Whereas the Department of Defense, the General Services Administration, and the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration issued a final rule (80
Fed. Reg. 4967) to implement Executive Order 13627, entitled
``Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal
Contracts'', that clarifies the policy of the United States on combating
trafficking in persons as outlined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation
by strengthening the prohibition on contractors from charging employee
recruitment fees;
Whereas, although such laws and regulations are currently in force, it is
essential to increase public awareness, particularly among individuals
who are most likely to come into contact with victims of human
trafficking and modern slavery, regarding conditions and dynamics of
human trafficking and modern slavery precisely because traffickers use
techniques that are designed to severely limit self-reporting and evade
law enforcement;
Whereas January 1 is the anniversary of the effective date of the Emancipation
Proclamation;
Whereas February 1 is--
(1) the anniversary of the date on which President Abraham Lincoln
signed the joint resolution sending the 13th Amendment to the Constitution
of the United States to the States for ratification to forever declare,
``Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude . . . shall exist within the
United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction''; and
(2) a date that has long been celebrated as National Freedom Day, as
described in section 124 of title 36, United States Code; and
Whereas, under the authority of Congress to enforce the 13th Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States ``by appropriate legislation'',
Congress, through the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22
U.S.C. 7101 et seq.), updated the post-Civil War involuntary servitude
and slavery statutes and adopted an approach of victim protection,
vigorous prosecution, and prevention of human trafficking, commonly
known as the ``3P'' approach: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate supports--
(1) observing National Trafficking and Modern Slavery
Prevention Month during the period beginning on January 1,
2020, and ending on February 1, 2020, to recognize the vital
role that the people of the United States have in ending human
trafficking and modern slavery;
(2) marking the observation of National Trafficking and
Modern Slavery Prevention Month with appropriate programs and
activities, culminating in the observance on February 1, 2020,
of National Freedom Day, as described in section 124 of title
36, United States Code;
(3) urging continued partnerships with Federal, State, and
local agencies, as well as social service providers and
nonprofit organizations to address human trafficking with a
collaborative, victim-centered approach; and
(4) all other efforts to prevent, eradicate, and raise
awareness of, and opposition to, human trafficking and modern
slavery.
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