Human Trafficking Prioritization Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2283) 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, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, today is an historic day for the House of Representatives, so I would like to begin by offering my profound appreciation for the extraordinary leadership of Majority Leader Eric Cantor for encouraging and moving through this House this very comprehensive package of antitrafficking legislation. I have been in Congress now 34 years, and I have never seen so many bills that are mutually reinforcing, that send a clear, unambiguous message to the world, as well as to our fellow Americans, that we care and we care deeply about the victims, and we want to put the perpetrators behind bars for a very, very long time. Again, I want to thank Eric Cantor for his leadership.

I am very proud to say that the United States continues to lead the world in our trafficking responses at home and abroad. The bills we debate today not only bring relief to trafficking victims, but light the way for the rest of the world to do likewise.

One of the greatest and most successful efforts to transmit our best practices to the rest of the world and to ensure accountability for minimum standards that we created in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act is the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons housed in the U.S. Department of State, created by the legislation I authored known as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.

Over the last 15 years, this office has been led by several incredibly talented and dedicated ambassadors who, through their persistence and grit, have turned out the annual Trafficking in Persons Report, laying bare the record of each country for the world to see, and summarizing the country's progress in an annual tier ranking.

Tier 1 countries, for the record, are countries that fully meet the minimum standards prescribed by the act. Tier 2 countries do not meet the minimum standards but are making significant efforts to do so. Tier 3 countries do not meet the standards and are not making significant efforts to do so, and those countries can be held liable through a series of sanctions that are imposed by our government.

Along with Tier 1, 2 and 3, we also have what we call a watch list. Since the TIP report's inception, Mr. Speaker, more than 100 countries have enacted antitrafficking laws, and many countries have taken other steps required to significantly raise their tier rankings, many citing the TIP Report as a key factor in their increased antitrafficking response.

The importance of accurate tier rankings cannot be overstated. Over the years, we have seen countries begin in earnest the hard work of reaching the minimum standards after the TIP Report accurately exposed--with a Tier 3 ranking--each country's failure to take significant action against human trafficking. Whether that country be a close ally or foe, the TIP Report is designed to speak truth to power. And even some of our greatest friends and allies, like South Korea and Israel, have found themselves on Tier 3, only to engage in Herculean efforts to get off Tier 3 and to protect victims and to prosecute the traffickers.

The tier rankings were meant to be and in large part have become a very powerful tool in the fight against trafficking. We have found a system that works. But tragically, it is sometimes muffled, misguided, and marginalized by unrelated bilateral concerns and by the internal structure of the State Department itself.

In the words of Ambassador Mark Lagon, who from 2007 to 2009 was our Ambassador-at-Large to combat human trafficking:

The 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.

This problem is what my bill, the Human Trafficking Prioritization Act, H.R. 2283, seeks to remedy. The Human Trafficking Prioritization Act will keep the fight against human trafficking from being lost in the politics of other U.S. interests by raising the status of the J/TIP ``office'' to that of a ``bureau'' within the U.S. Department of State.

In the words of Ambassador John Miller, who served from 2002 to 2006 as Ambassador-at-Large:

Upgrading the status of the office to a bureau will not

create additional bureaucracy, it will simply give J/TIP and

the Ambassador-at-Large who heads it equal standing with

regional and functional bureaus at the Department of State.

That standing is absolutely essential for the issue to remain

a priority, especially when multiple U.S. interests are

engaged.

H.R. 2283 encourages the Secretary of State to upgrade the ``ambassador-at-large'' position to that of ``Assistant Secretary,'' to lead the bureau without adding to the number of Assistant Secretaries the State Department is permitted by law.

In addition, H.R. 2283 will make it more difficult for countries and some State Department bureaus to game the tier-ranking system by limiting the time period countries can use promises of action to avoid tier downgrading. Currently, a country can sit on the Tier 2 watch list for up to 4 years with Presidential waivers, effectively stringing the U.S. along with promises to take action without ever actually taking action. After 4 years, by law, the country must be automatically downgraded to Tier 3 and, therefore, subject to sanctions.

The law worked very well upon its first implementation in the 2013 reporting cycle. But we discovered a problem this year when China was wrongly and foolishly upgraded from Tier 3 to Tier 2 Watch List. As the law is currently written, China and its enablers at the U.S. Department of State can again game the system for 4 more years. H.R. 2283 will hold countries like China accountable by limiting to 1 year the amount of time a country can stay on the Tier 2 Watch List after the country was previously ordered downgraded to Tier 3.

H.R. 2283 builds on the success of the TIP Office for the sake of the 21 million people still living in modern day slavery, and does so without increasing the cost of government. H.R. 2283 will give the TIP Office the integration and voice it deserves within the State Department and ensure accurate accountability for countries failing to meet the minimum standards for the eliminate of human trafficking.

I respectfully ask my colleagues to support the bill. I would also like to offer special thanks to Gary Haugen, Holly Burkhalter, Tim Gehring, and the grassroots efforts of the International Justice Mission, which has worked so tirelessly to educate Members of Congress on the importance of this bill. I would note parenthetically that at least two of those people, Holly and Gary, especially Gary when we were first writing the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, was a frequent contributor to hearings as we crafted the bill, and then when we did the oversight as to how well or poorly the U.S. Department of State was implementing the law. You could always count on Gary Haugen to be there to give a very incisive look at the work that was being done or not being done. So a very special thanks to them for their work on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time, and I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Meadows) and ask unanimous consent that he may control that time.

Mr. Speaker, this week we mark the 20th anniversary of enactment of the Violence Against Women Act, which was signed on September 20, 1994. I supported and continue to strongly support this law. I voted to create the programs in 1994 and helped ensure enactment of the first reauthorization in 2000 by attaching it to my anti-trafficking law--the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act (PL 106-386/TVPA). I also cosponsored the 2005 reauthorization, fought to ensure these programs are fully funded to assist the maximum number of victims and voted for seven of the first seven VAWA reauthorization bills offered through 2012.

All of these efforts have helped draw national attention to the epidemic of domestic violence and invested significant resources to prevent domestic violence, assist the women and children who fall victim to it, and improve our justice system's response.

Millions of victims have been helped by VAWA, but more remains to be done.

The release of a video last week of then-Baltimore Ravens runningback Ray Rice assaulting his now wife in an elevator in Atlantic City horrified us all. I, like most Americans, was shocked and disgusted by the unacceptable brutality and violence captured on the video. But regrettably, the violence exposed does not represent a rare, isolated incident but rather an exploitation that remains all too prevalent in our modern day society.

VAWA is one component of a solution, but we must work harder and have a more robust national conversation on the culture of violence in America and how we can better protect vulnerable women and children.

Of course, acts of violence against women and children are not a uniquely American problem. Around the world, women and children are abused and assaulted, and in many places, unable to receive any form of assistance or hold perpetrators to account. In conflict zones rape is used as a weapon of war and intimidation. Modern day slavery continues as traffickers sell women as commodities. Gendercide, where babies are aborted based exclusively on their sex, is common-place in many cultures, particularly in China.

Again, Mr. Speaker, we can, and must, do better.

In 2000, when VAWA was up for renewal and there was a concern that it may not pass, I helped secure its enactment by attaching the reauthorization bill in it entirety to my landmark TVPA. The TVPA was a significant breakthrough--for the first time we put significant U.S. resources and the real force of law towards the prosecution of those who sexually exploit and traffic women and children and significant resources towards shelters and treatment for women abused both here in the U.S. and around the world. Simultaneously we reauthorized the VAWA programs; enacted ``Aimee's Law'' under which any state that prematurely releases violent criminals will be forced to reimburse another state if the criminal repeats the crime; and expanded the scope of Megan's Law so that it covered college campuses.

The version of VAWA that was signed into law last year reauthorized some of these antihuman trafficking programs but unfortunately gutted the State Department's Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Office. As I stated at the time, these provisions: ``represents a significant retreat in the struggle to end human trafficking.''

The TIP Office is an extraordinary advocacy mechanism and has had a huge impact worldwide. In addition to `best practices' advocacy, the office monitors labor and sex trafficking in every country of the world pursuant to minimum standards prescribed in the TVPA and makes recommendations for whether or not countries should be ranked Tier I, Tier II Watch List or Tier III. Countries with bad records and who fail to make `serious and sustained' efforts to improve are designated Tier 3--the worst ranking--which may result in sanctions.

For over a decade the TIP Office has been the flagship in our struggle to combat the violence of human trafficking, and demoting our anti-trafficking efforts, as PL 113-4 did, was wrong and must be addressed. On behalf of the women and children who fall victim to the soulless traffickers every year, we need to ensure these efforts remain a top priority.

Accordingly, I authored, and the House passed the Human Trafficking Prioritization Act (H.R. 2283) to raise the profile and influence of the TIP Office by making it a bureau within the State Department. My bill is pending in the Senate.

Mr. Speaker, the House has also passed my first of its kind anti-sex tourism bill this year, my International Megan's Law to Prevent Demand for Sex Trafficking (H.R. 4573)--as part of a phenomenal package of legislation that builds on our efforts to end the exploitation of and violence against women and children.

H.R. 4573 will combat child sex tourism by alerting countries of destination concerning the travel plans of convicted U.S. pedophiles. And to protect American children, the bill encourages the President to use bilateral agreements and assistance to establish reciprocal notification so that we will know when convicted child-sex offenders are planning to come to the U.S.

The legislation is named for Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old from Hamilton, NJ, who was kidnapped, raped, and brutally murdered in 1994. Megan's assailant was a convicted, repeat sex offender living across the street, unbeknownst to residents in the neighborhood. Due to public outcry in response to the tragedy and to the hard work by Megan's loving parents, Richard and Maureen Kanka, the New Jersey State Legislature passed the original Megan's Law to require public notification of convicted sex offenders living in the community. Today, all 50 States and all the territories have a ``Megan's Law'', an important tool in preventing more children from becoming victims.

My International Megan's Law takes the lessons we have learned on how to protect our children from known child sex predators within our borders and expands those protections globally.

The Senate, thus far, has yet to act on these important bills--as well as the many other anti-trafficking measures we've passed.

The Majority Leader has an opportunity right now to send a strong message. On the anniversary of VAWA and as we approach Domestic Violence Awareness month, I call on Majority Leader Reid to bring these bills to the floor.

As the nation is focused on the NFL's response to the horrific abuse perpetrated by a few of its players, Harry Reid can set an example of how organizations can act, deliberately and aggressively, to end the culture of violence that harms women and children.

Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2283, ``Human Trafficking Prioritization Act of 2014.''

I support this bipartisan legislation which modifies the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to elevate the status of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking to that of the Bureau to Combat Trafficking in Persons, which shall be headed by an Assistant Secretary of State.

The office produces the annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report), which is Congress' primary resource for human trafficking reporting, analysis and recommendations for the United States and 186 countries around the world. The TIP Report also contains tier rankings of each country on which it reports, which are used to help protect victims, prevent trafficking and prosecute traffickers.

Mr. Speaker, I agree with many thoughtful observers that the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking would be even more effective in carrying out the duties mandated by Congress in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 if its status was elevated from that of ``Office'' to a ``Bureau'' within the department hierarchy and the title of its chief administrator elevated from ``director'' to Assistant Secretary of State.''

Human trafficking is a problem for the United States because the U.S. State Department estimates that approximately 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States, the largest number of people trafficked into the United States come from East Asia and the Pacific and the next highest numbers coming from Latin America and Europe.

It is estimated 2.8 million children living on the streets of this nation are at risk for trafficking into the sex industry. Children who are abused or victims of molestation are most vulnerable.

If they are lured into human trafficking they are isolated from the rest of the world and start living lives controlled by pimps, escort and massage services, private dancing clubs, pornographic clubs and much worse.

Mr. Speaker, this bill requires the Secretary of State to report to Congress within 90 days of enactment on how long each assistant secretary designation has been in existence, and whether the designation was legislatively mandated or authorized.

According to a Northwestern Journal of International Human Rights Report Mexican authorities are working to address the problem of trans- border human trafficking, but the country's ``legal framework remains largely untouched and hence limited in its crime-fighting scope and effectiveness.''

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Houston, Texas is one of the nation's largest hubs for human trafficking, with over 200 active brothels in Houston and two new ones opening each month.

Houston has also surpassed Las Vegas for the dubious distinction of having the most strip clubs and illicit spas serving as fronts for sex trafficking.

Human trafficking in Texas is not limited to Houston. During the 2011 Dallas Super Bowl, 133 underage arrests for prostitution were made and during this year's massive effort ``Operation Cross Country'' led by the FBI, several pimps were arrested.

In 2006, the Department of Justice National Conference on Human Trafficking identified the I-10 corridor as one of the main routes for traffickers. Interstate I-10 links the major Texas urban areas Houston, San Antonio and El Paso and dozens of mid- and small sized towns in between.

Mr. Speaker, one of the most important things that can and must continue to be done is to raise public awareness of the continuing prevalence of modern day slavery and human trafficking.

Raising the visibility and status of the governmental entity charged with the responsibility of documenting the problems, successes, and remaining challenges confronting the United States and the international community in eradicating the scourge of human trafficking is a positive step forward in achieving this goal.

I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting passage of H.R. 2283.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this legislation and many other bills we are considering that deal with human and sex trafficking--an important issue, a critical issue, that especially relates to protecting children who are too often victims of abuse and violence. I commend the Speaker for bringing these bills up for a vote.

Mr. Speaker, as I was watching the debate this evening, I couldn't help but come back to the floor. I hope all of my colleagues that are speaking tonight on the importance of passing these human trafficking bills will join us next week to talk about the importance of protecting children.

It was with alarm, Mr. Speaker, that I read a letter that Speaker Boehner penned to President Barack Obama that appears that my Republican colleagues, when they left a meeting earlier this afternoon, are asking to take away the very protections from children during a law that was passed in 2008 that we are asking to protect these children tonight.

So I come today to ask my colleagues to read the transcripts, to hear the debate this evening, and to think about it, to go home this weekend and, whatever faith that we may be, that we pray about it and we talk to our pastors and our religious leaders about it because these kids that we are going to be talking about next week are the very children that need protections as well.

The motivation to pass these bills today is the same motivation that moved this body to pass legislation that became law in 2008, to protect children. This law has since become the subject of much condemnation for many of my Republican colleagues as we discuss the humanitarian crisis on the border.

We are here on this floor debating legislation to protect children, yet many of my colleagues want to take away due process from children who are trying to escape unimaginable violence in Central America. In Honduras, the murder capital of the world, the violence was captured in a story recently--and I apologize for the graphic nature of this story.

This is a story from The New York Times:

During a recent late-night visit to the San Pedro Sula

morgue, more than 60 bodies, all victims of violence, were

seen piled in a heap, each wrapped in a brown plastic bag.

While picking bullets out of a 15-year-old boy shot 15 times,

technicians discussed how they regularly received corpses of

children under 10 and sometimes as young as 2. Last week, in

nearby Santa Barbara, an 11-year-old had his throat slit by

other children because he did not pay a 50-cent extortion

fee.

The doctor at the morgue said: before, we saw children being killed because they were at the scene when gangs were coming to prey on families and they just happened to be there; now, we are seeing kids kill kids.

There are hundreds of other stories like this.

Mr. Speaker, I beg and I plead of my colleagues, each and every one of us that may or may not have been here when the law passed, but those of us that are here now, these are kids. I know that you and I, Mr. Speaker, that we love children, and we want to make sure that they are not victims of these horrific crimes.

Please, please, take this weekend and ask the Speaker to remove the provisions that will take away the due process from these children. As we pass these bills together, let us not forget what brought this Congress together in 2008, to protect these children.

Let us show the same compassion that is a driving force of these bills tonight.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Human Trafficking Prioritization Act, H.R. 2283, and commend my friend and colleague Rep. Chris Smith for introducing it. Congressman Smith is a leader in the global fight against sex slavery and I thank him for all he has done and the leadership he continues to provide.

The State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP) does a fantastic job of maintaining U.S. leadership and accountability in the worldwide effort to combat human trafficking.

Today, human trafficking represents a modern form of slavery. It is a crisis that victimizes 21 million people worldwide.

In my home state of Illinois, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center estimates 25,000 women and girls are exploited each year by sex traffickers.

More than 130 countries have created or strengthened their anti- trafficking laws largely due to the work carried out by the J/TIP. It's important, therefore, to provide the J/TIP with the standing it needs to maintain the momentum that has resulted in increased prosecution of traffickers, protection of victims, and prevention of human trafficking.

The Human Trafficking Prioritization Act does just that. By raising the status of the J/TIP ``office'' to that of a ``bureau'' and encouraging the Secretary of State to upgrade the ``ambassador-at- large'' position to that of an ``assistant secretary,'' H.R 2283 builds upon the acknowledged accomplishments of the J/TIP.

It will give the J/TIP and the Ambassador-at-Large who leads it level standing with regional and functional bureaus within the State Department and prevent countries and other bureaus at the agency from gaming the tier ranking system. It achieves this without creating additional bureaucracy or additional cost to the government.

As a member of the Congressional Human Trafficking Task Force working with the congressional leadership, J/TIP, and international anti- trafficking groups to end sex slavery, I know it is critical to keep the fight against human trafficking from being consumed in a bureaucratic shuffle. I am convinced that the Human Trafficking Prioritization Act will only serve to enhance the vital work undertaken by the J/TIP.

Human trafficking targets the most vulnerable in a society. The Human Trafficking Prioritization Act will give the J/TIP the integration and voice it deserves within the Department of State to ensure nations are diligent in their efforts to protect the victims and punish the perpetrators of human trafficking.

Again, I thank Mr. Smith for introducing this bill and I urge my colleagues to support its passage.