I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION 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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 6, 2013 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Human Trafficking 

5 Prioritization Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The International Labor Organization esti2 mates that nearly 21,000,000 people are subjected 

3 to modern slavery around the world at any given 

4 time and that the majority of the enslaved are 

5 women and girls. 

6 (2) Congress authorized the creation of a De7 partment of State Office to Monitor and Combat 

8 Trafficking in Persons in the Trafficking Victims 

9 Protection Act of 2000 (Public Law 106–386) in 

10 order to directly assist the Secretary of State in his 

11 or her effort to coordinate a United States Govern12 ment interagency response to domestic and inter13 national trafficking in persons. 

14 (3) The Office to Monitor and Combat Traf15 ficking in Persons monitors trafficking worldwide 

16 and produces the online and printed versions of the 

17 annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which is Con18 gress’ primary resource for human trafficking re19 porting, analysis, and recommendations on the 

20 United States and 186 countries around the world. 

21 (4) The annual Trafficking in Persons Report 

22 contains tier rankings of each country on which it 

23 reports, and these tier rankings have become an es24 sential diplomatic tool for promoting protection for 


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1 victims, prevention of trafficking, and prosecution of 

2 perpetrators. 

3 (5) Some countries have openly stated, and 

4 many others have confided, that dramatic improve5 ments in the country’s human trafficking record 

6 were directly related to avoidance of a low tier rank7 ing in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report. 

8 (6) Ambassador Mark Lagon, former Ambas9 sador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking 

10 in Persons (2007–2009), testified before the Sub11 committee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human 

12 Rights, and International Organizations of the Com13 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep14 resentatives on April 18, 2013, that ‘‘[T]he State 

15 Department does a tremendous job in producing a 

16 report which tells it like it is, offering objective 

17 rankings. Yet at times it pulls punches, typically due 

18 to the urging of regional specialists rather than the 

19 TIP Office’s dedicated experts on trafficking.’’. 

20 (7) Ambassador John Miller, former Ambas21 sador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking 

22 in Persons (2002–2006), recently stated that, ‘‘Up23 grading the status of the Office to a Bureau will not 

24 create additional bureaucracy—it will simply give 

25 JTIP and the Ambassador-at-large who heads it 


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1 equal standing with regional and functional bureaus 

2 at the State Department. That standing is abso3 lutely essential for the issue to remain a priority, es4 pecially when multiple U.S. interests are engaged.’’. 

5 (8) The tier ranking process authorized by Con6 gress in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 

7 2000 has been in some instances compromised by 

8 the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking subor9 dinate stature within the Department of State. 

10 (9) It is essential for Congress and the Sec11 retary of State to be accurately informed regarding 

12 United States and foreign country successes and 

13 failures in the fight against human trafficking. 

14 (10) The diplomatic power and credibility of the 

15 Trafficking in Persons Report is based on rigorous 

16 scholarship and scrupulous application of the min17 imum standards for the elimination of human traf18 ficking and is undermined by political, rather than 

19 factual, tier rankings. 

20 (11) Strong and effective anti-slavery policy re21 quires that officials from the Office to Monitor and 

22 Combat Trafficking have equal hierarchical standing 

23 with State Department regional bureaus and direct 

24 access to the Secretary of State. 


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1 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 It is the Sense of Congress that— 

3 (1) the Office to Monitor and Combat Traf4 ficking of the Department of State will be more ef5 fective in carrying out duties mandated by Congress 

6 in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 if 

7 the Office status is changed to that of a Bureau 

8 within the Department hierarchy; 

9 (2) the Office to Monitor and Combat Traf10 ficking will be more effective in carrying out duties 

11 mandated by Congress in the Trafficking Victims 

12 Protection Act of 2000 if the Office is headed by an 

13 Assistant Secretary with direct access to the Sec14 retary of State, rather than an Ambassador-at15 Large; and 

16 (3) the change in status from Office to Monitor 

17 and Combat Trafficking with an Ambassador-at18 Large to a Bureau led by an Assistant Secretary can 

19 be accomplished without increasing the number of 

20 personnel or the budget of the current Office. 

21 SEC. 4. OFFICE TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 105(e) of the Trafficking 

23 Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7103(e)) is 

24 amended— 

25 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘OFFICE TO

26 MONITOR AND COMBAT TRAFFICKING’’ and insertVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:14 Jun 08, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2283.IH H2283

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1 ing ‘‘BUREAU TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PER2 SONS’’; 

3 (2) in paragraph (1)— 

4 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘Of5 fice to Monitor and Combat Trafficking’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘Bureau to Combat Trafficking in 

7 Persons’’; 

8 (B) in the second sentence,— 

9 (i) by striking ‘‘Office’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘Bureau’’; 

11 (ii) by striking ‘‘Director’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘Assistant Secretary of State’’; and 

13 (iii) by striking ‘‘, with the rank of 

14 Ambassador-at-Large’’; and 

15 (C) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘Di16 rector’’ and inserting ‘‘Assistant Secretary of 

17 State’’; 

18 (D) in the fourth sentence, by striking 

19 ‘‘Director’’ and inserting ‘‘Assistant Secretary 

20 of State’’; 

21 (E) in the fifth sentence, by striking ‘‘Di22 rector’’ and inserting ‘‘Assistant Secretary of 

23 State’’; and 

24 (F) in the sixth sentence, by striking ‘‘Of25 fice’’ and inserting ‘‘Bureau’’; and 


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1 (3) in paragraph (2)— 

2 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘Of3 fice to Monitor and Combat Trafficking’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘Bureau to Combat Trafficking in 

5 Persons’’; and 

6 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘Di7 rector’’ and inserting ‘‘Assistant Secretary of 

8 State’’. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any reference in the Traf11 ficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 or in any 

12 other Act to— 

13 (A) the Office to Monitor and Combat 

14 Trafficking shall be deemed to be a reference to 

15 the Bureau to Combat Trafficking in Persons; 

16 and 

17 (B) the Director or Ambassador-at-Large 

18 of the Office to Monitor and Combat Traf19 ficking in Persons shall be deemed to be a ref20 erence to the Assistant Secretary directing the 

21 Bureau to Combat Trafficking in Persons. 

22 (2) STATE DEPARTMENT BASIC AUTHORITIES

23 ACT OF 1956.—Section 1(c)(1) of the State Depart24 ment Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 


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1 2651a(c)(1)) is amended, in the first sentence, by 

2 striking ‘‘24’’ and inserting ‘‘25’’. 

Æ 


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