[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9217 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9217
To amend title 5, United States Code, to establish a priority for
accommodation in places with policies relating to severe forms of human
trafficking, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 21, 2022
Mr. Smith of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 5, United States Code, to establish a priority for
accommodation in places with policies relating to severe forms 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 ``Halting Of Trafficking and
Exploitation in Lodging Act of 2022'' or the ``HOTEL Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. PRIORITY FOR ACCOMMODATION IN PLACES WITH POLICIES RELATING TO
SEVERE FORMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
(a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 5712. Priority for accommodation in places with certain policies
relating to severe forms of human trafficking
``(a) In General.--For the purpose of making payments under this
chapter for lodging expenses, each agency shall ensure that, to the
greatest extent practicable, commercial-lodging room nights in the
United States for employees of that agency are booked in a preferred
place of accommodation.
``(b) Eligibility as a Preferred Place of Accommodation.--To be
considered a preferred place of accommodation for the purposes of this
section, a hotel or motel shall--
``(1) enforce a zero-tolerance policy regarding severe
forms of trafficking in persons (as defined in section 103(11)
of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C.
7102(11))) made available by the Administrator of General
Services under subsection (c)(1), or a similar zero-tolerance
policy developed by the place of accommodation, demonstrated
by--
``(A) posting such policy in a nonpublic space
within the place of accommodation that is accessible by
all employees; or
``(B) including such policy in the employee
handbook;
``(2) have procedures in place, not later than 180 days
after the date of the enactment of this section, for employees
to identify and report any such exploitation according to
protocol identified in the employee training based on training
materials developed under subsection (c)(3) to the appropriate
law enforcement authorities, management of the preferred
accommodation, or the National Human Trafficking Hotline;
``(3) post the informational materials made available under
subsection (c)(3) in an appropriate nonpublic space within the
place of accommodation that is accessible by all employees;
``(4) review and update, as necessary, the zero-tolerance
policy, procedures, and informational materials at least every
two years prior to the due date for self-certifications;
``(5) require each employee who is physically located at
the place of accommodation and who is likely to interact with
guests, including security, front desk, housekeeping, room
service, and bell staff, to complete the training developed
under subsection (c)(2), or a training developed pursuant to
subsection (d), that shall--
``(A) take place not later than 90 days after the
starting date of the new employee, or in the case of an
employee hired before the effective date of this
section, not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this section;
``(B) include refresher trainings every two years;
and
``(C) include training on the identification of
possible cases of sexual exploitation of children and
procedures to report suspected abuse to the appropriate
authorities;
``(6) include a notice to all independent contractors in
any agreement affecting a property in the United States
negotiated or renewed on or after the date of enactment of this
section that states the following: `Federal law prohibits the
trafficking of humans under the Trafficking Victims Protection
Act (22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.).'; and
``(7) ensure that the place of accommodation does not
retaliate against employees for reporting suspected cases of
such exploitation if reported according to protocol identified
in the employee training.
``(c) GSA Requirements.--The Administrator of General Services
shall--
``(1) make available on the website of the General Services
Administration, an up-to-date model zero tolerance policy for
places of accommodation regarding severe forms of trafficking
in persons (as defined in section 103(11) of the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. (11))), including
informational materials regarding such policy to be posted in
places of accommodation in nonpublic spaces;
``(2) make available on the website of the General Services
Administration an up-to-date list of Department of Homeland
Security, Department of Justice, and Department of State and
privately produced training programs that address the
identification of severe forms of human trafficking and
reporting to law enforcement authorities or the National Human
Trafficking Hotline;
``(3) in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland
Security's Blue Campaign, make available up-to-date training
materials on preventing severe forms of human trafficking and
informational materials to be posted in nonpublic spaces in
places of accommodation on spotting the signs of severe forms
of human trafficking and reporting possible incidences of such
exploitation, except that the Administrator shall permit the
use of substantially similar training materials or
informational materials required by State or local law on
identifying the signs of human trafficking and reporting
possible incidences of such exploitation in lieu of materials
developed under this paragraph; and
``(4) maintain a list of each preferred place of
accommodation that meets the requirements of subsection (b),
beginning by examining places of accommodation that are--
``(A) participating in government lodging programs
such as FedRooms (or successor system);
``(B) included on the FEMA Fire Safe List; or
``(C) otherwise known to have received government
travel business in the 2 years prior to enactment of
this section.
``(d) Training Programs.--A place of accommodation or lodging
company may use a training program developed or acquired by such place
of accommodation or company to satisfy the requirements of subsection
(b)(4) if such training program--
``(1) focuses on identifying and reporting suspected cases
of severe forms of human trafficking; and
``(2) was developed in consultation with State governments,
survivor leaders, survivor-led anti-trafficking organization,
or a nationally recognized organization with expertise in anti-
trafficking initiatives.
``(e) Previously Trained Employees.--
``(1) Training prior to effective date.--Any employee of a
place of accommodation who has been trained to identify and
report potential cases of severe forms of human trafficking
during the 2-year period ending on the date of the enactment of
this section shall be considered to have met the training
requirement in subsection (b)(4) with respect to any employment
at that place of accommodation or at any other place of
accommodation managed by the same entity.
``(2) Training prior to a transfer of employment.--Any
employee of a place of accommodation who has met the training
requirements under subsection (b)(4) shall be considered to
have met such requirements with respect to any employment at a
place of accommodation managed by the same entity if such
training occurred during the 2-year period ending on the date
of the enactment of this section.
``(f) Property-by-Property Implementation.--
``(1) In general.--Each preferred place of accommodation
shall self-certify (in writing) to the Administrator of General
Services that such place is in compliance with the requirements
of this section. Such self-certification shall occur every 2
years beginning on the date of the enactment of this section.
The Administrator shall--
``(A) provide notice to each place of accommodation
regarding any self-certification required under this
subsection not later than the date that is 90 days
before the due date of such self-certification; and
``(B) report to the Committee on Oversight and
Reform of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
of the Senate, not later than 2 years after the date of
the enactment of this section and every two years
thereafter--
``(i) each preferred places of
accommodation that submitted and did not submit
their self-certifications in the preceding 2
years; and
``(ii) the corresponding total numbers of
nights the government paid for Federal
employees in self-certified preferred places of
accommodation compared to preferred places of
accommodation that did not report self-
certification to the Administrator of General
Services.
``(2) Group certification.--A person or entity that manages
or franchises multiple places of accommodation may provide a
single notice with respect to self-certification under
subsection (a) that each such place is in compliance with this
section.
``(g) Statutory Construction.--No provision in this section that
applies to an employee of a place of accommodation shall be construed
to apply to an individual who is an independent contractor or otherwise
not directly employed by a place of accommodation, unless the contract
is for housekeeping, security, front desk, room service, or bell staff,
in which case it shall be the responsibility of the service provider to
ensure compliance with the requirements set forth in this section.
``(h) Regulations Required.--The Administrator of General Services
shall issue such regulations as are necessary to carry out this
section.''.
(b) Effective Date.--Section 5712(a) of title 5, United States Code
(as added by subsection (a)), shall take effect 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act.
(c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for subchapter I of
chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the
end the following new item:
``5712. Priority for accommodation in places with certain policies
relating to severe forms of human
trafficking.''.
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