[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4007 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4007
To direct the Attorney General to study issues relating to human
trafficking, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 20, 2024
Mrs. Gillibrand (for herself, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. Hawley) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Attorney General to study issues relating to 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 ``Put Trafficking Victims First Act of
2024''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING TRAINING FOR PROSECUTIONS OF
TRAFFICKERS AND SUPPORT FOR STATE SERVICES FOR
TRAFFICKING VICTIMS.
It is the sense of Congress that a portion of the funds available
for training and technical assistance under section 107(b)(2)(B)(ii) of
the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C.
7105(b)(2)(B)(ii)) should be devoted to advancing the following goals:
(1) Increasing the personal safety of organizations working
in the human trafficking field, who may face intimidation or
retaliation for their activities.
(2) Promoting a trauma-informed, evidence-based, culturally
competent, and victim-centered approach to the provision of
services for victims of trafficking.
(3) Ensuring that law enforcement officers and prosecutors
make every attempt to determine whether an individual is a
victim of human trafficking before arresting the individual
for, or charging the individual with, an offense that is
related to the trafficking victimization of the individual.
(4) Effectively prosecuting traffickers and individuals who
patronize or solicit children for sex, and facilitating access
for child victims of commercial sex trafficking to the services
and protections afforded to other victims of sexual violence.
(5) Encouraging States to improve efforts to identify and
meet the needs of human trafficking victims and individuals at
risk for trafficking victimization, through methods that are
responsive to the needs of victims in their communities.
SEC. 3. WORKING GROUP TO DEVELOP METHODOLOGIES TO ASSESS PREVALENCE OF
HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
(a) Working Group.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in
consultation with other Federal entities engaged in efforts to
combat human trafficking, shall establish an expert working
group, which shall--
(A) utilize, to the extent practicable, existing
efforts of agencies, task forces, States, localities,
tribes, research institutions, and organizations;
(B) identify barriers to the collection of data on
the incidence of sex and labor trafficking; and
(C) recommend practices to promote better data
collection and analysis.
(2) Membership.--The working group established pursuant to
paragraph (2) shall include--
(A) survivors of human trafficking;
(B) experts on sex and labor trafficking;
(C) representatives from organizations collecting
data on human trafficking; and
(D) law enforcement officers.
(3) Pilot testing.--Not later than 3 years after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall
implement a pilot project to test promising methodologies
studied under paragraph (1).
(b) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in
consultation with the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of
Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Homeland Security,
and the Director of the Center for Countering Human Trafficking
of the Department of Homeland Security, shall submit a report
to Congress that includes--
(A) a description of Federal efforts to estimate
the prevalence of human trafficking at the national and
regional levels;
(B) the effectiveness of current policies and
procedures to address the needs of victims of
trafficking;
(C) an analysis of demographic characteristics of
victims of trafficking in different regions of the
United States; and
(D) recommendations for how to address the unique
vulnerabilities of different victims.
(2) Input from relevant parties.--In developing the report
required under paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall seek
input from--
(A) the United States Advisory Council on Human
Trafficking;
(B) victims of sex and labor trafficking;
(C) human trafficking survivor advocates;
(D) service providers for victims of sex and labor
trafficking; and
(E) the President's Interagency Task Force on Human
Trafficking.
(c) Survey.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Attorney General, in coordination with Federal, State,
local, and Tribal governments, and private organizations, including
victim service providers and expert researchers, shall--
(1) develop and execute a survey of survivors seeking and
receiving victim assistance services for the purpose of
improving the provision of services to human trafficking
victims and victim identification in the United States; and
(2) make the results of such survey publicly available on
the website of the Department of Justice.
(d) No Additional Funds.--No additional funds are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON PROSECUTORS SEEKING RESTITUTION IN TRAFFICKING CASES.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Attorney General, in consultation with the Administrative Office of
the United States Courts, shall submit a report to Congress that
describes efforts to increase restitution to victims of human
trafficking.
SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS ENCOURAGING STATES TO ADOPT PROTECTIONS FOR
VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING.
Congress recognizes and applauds State legislative bodies that have
taken tremendous steps to adopt protections and services for victims of
trafficking and encourages States--
(1) to uphold the dignity of human trafficking survivors;
(2) to ensure the safety, confidentiality, and well-being
of victims of trafficking, while recognizing symptoms of trauma
and coping mechanisms that may impact victims' interactions
with law enforcement, the justice system, and service
providers;
(3) to implement screening mechanisms to identify and
extend appropriate services to children in the custody of child
protective services agencies, the juvenile justice system, or
the criminal justice system who are or may be victims of
trafficking;
(4) to promote greater access to child welfare services and
other appropriate victim services for, rather than
criminalization of, child victims of sex trafficking;
(5) to develop a 24-hour emergency response plan by which
victims of human trafficking may receive immediate protection,
shelter, and support from a victim assistance coordinator when
those victims are first identified;
(6) to adopt protections for adult victims of trafficking,
such as protection if the victim's safety is at risk,
comprehensive trauma-informed, long-term, culturally competent
care and healing services, mental health services to relieve
traumatic stress, housing, education (including, where
appropriate, vocational training and employment assistance),
mentoring, language assistance, drug and substance abuse
services, and legal services;
(7) to ensure that child trafficking victims--
(A) are treated as children in need of child
protective services; and
(B) receive appropriate care from child welfare and
other appropriate victim services, rather than from the
juvenile justice system;
(8) to adopt procedures for human trafficking victims that
are consistent with the procedures afforded to victims of
sexual assault, rape, child sexual abuse, or incest to allow
human trafficking victims to clear records, expunge
convictions, and vacate adjudications related to prostitution
and nonviolent offenses that arose as a direct result of being
trafficked; and
(9) to ensure victims of trafficking, including United
States citizens, lawful permanent residents, and foreign
nationals, are eligible for victim assistance services.
<all>