I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2522 

To establish a congressional Commission on the Abolition of Modern-Day 

Slavery. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 24, 2007 

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia (for himself, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mrs. MALONEY

of New York, Mrs. DRAKE, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. 

ENGEL, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PITTS, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. 

SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. HONDA, Ms. CLARKE, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of 

Texas, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. COHEN, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. JOHNSON of 

Georgia, Mr. CONYERS, and Ms. SCHAKOWSKY) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Ways and Means, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish a congressional Commission on the Abolition 

of Modern-Day Slavery. 

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 ‘‘Congressional Commis5 sion on the Abolition of Modern-Day Slavery Act’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. MODERN-DAY SLAVERY. 

2 In this Act, the term ‘‘modern-day slavery’’ means 

3 the status or condition of a person who is under the con4 trol of another person, where that control is enforced by 

5 violence, or psychological coercion, and who is exploited 

6 through involuntary servitude, forced labor, debt bondage 

7 or bonded labor, serfdom, peonage, trafficking in persons 

8 for forced labor or for sexual exploitation (including child 

9 sex tourism), forced marriage, or other similar means. 

10 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

11 Congress makes the following findings: 

12 (1) Modern-day slavery takes many forms, in13 cluding chattel slavery or slavery by descent, and the 

14 exploitation occurs in a myriad of situations, includ15 ing in the agricultural, commercial sex, construction, 

16 manufacturing, and service industries, as well as in 

17 domestic servitude. 

18 (2) The perpetrators of modern-day slavery vio19 late the dignity of men, women, and children, using 

20 violence that at times results in death, sexual abuse, 

21 rape, torture, dangerous and degrading working con22 ditions, poor nutrition, drug and alcohol addiction, 

23 and psychological trauma. 

24 (3) According to the Universal Declaration of 

25 Human Rights ‘‘No one shall be held in slavery or 

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1 servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be pro2 hibited in all their forms.’’. 

3 (4) The United States and the international 

4 community have acknowledged that modern-day 

5 slavery must be abolished in accordance with the 

6 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; 

7 the Slavery, Servitude, Forced Labour and Similar 

8 Institutions and Practices Convention of 1926; the 

9 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slav10 ery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices 

11 Similar to Slavery; the Optional Protocol to the Con12 vention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of 

13 Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography; 

14 the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the 

15 Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children 

16 in Armed Conflicts; the Convention concerning the 

17 Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimi18 nation of the Worst Forms of Child Labour; the 

19 Abolition of Forced Labour Convention; and the 

20 Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Traf21 ficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, 

22 Supplementing the United Nations Convention 

23 Against Transnational Organized Crime. 

24 (5) The Declaration of Independence recognizes 

25 the inherent dignity and worth of all people and 

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1 states that all people are created equal and are en2 dowed by their Creator with certain unalienable 

3 rights. 

4 (6) The 13th amendment to the Constitution of 

5 the United States recognizes that ‘‘Neither slavery 

6 nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment 

7 for crime whereof the party shall have been duly 

8 convicted, shall exist within the United States, or 

9 any place subject to their jurisdiction.’’. 

10 (7) The United States has given particular pri11 ority to combating trafficking in persons, a form of 

12 modern-day slavery, through the enactment of the 

13 Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (division 

14 A of Public Law 106–386) and the Trafficking Vic15 tims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 (Public 

16 Law 108–193) and the Trafficking Victims Protec17 tion Reauthorization Act of 2005 (Public Law 109– 

18 164). 

19 (8) The importation into the United States of 

20 goods mined, produced, or manufactured by forced 

21 or indentured labor, including forced or indentured 

22 child labor, is prohibited under the Tariff Act of 

23 1930. 

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1 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a con3 gressional Commission on the Abolition of Modern-Day 

4 Slavery (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

5 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

6 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 

7 composed of 12 members, of whom— 

8 (A) 3 shall be appointed by the Speaker of 

9 the House of Representatives; 

10 (B) 3 shall be appointed by the majority 

11 leader of the Senate; 

12 (C) 3 shall be appointed by the minority 

13 leader of the House of Representatives; and 

14 (D) 3 shall be appointed by the minority 

15 leader of the Senate. 

16 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Members of the Com17 mission shall be individuals with demonstrated ex18 pertise or experience in combating modern-day slav19 ery. 

20 (3) DATE.—The appointments of the members 

21 of the Commission shall be made not later than 30 

22 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

23 (c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.—Mem24 bers shall be appointed for the life of the Commission. Any 

25 vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its powers, but 

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1 shall be filled in the same manner as the original appoint2 ment. 

3 (d) CO-CHAIRPERSONS.—The Speaker of the House 

4 of Representatives shall designate 1 of the members ap5 pointed under subsection (b)(1)(A) as a co-chairperson of 

6 the Commission. The majority leader of the Senate shall 

7 designate 1 of the members appointed under subsection 

8 (b)(1)(B) as a co-chairperson of the Commission. 

9 (e) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 60 days after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 

11 hold its first meeting. 

12 (f) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 

13 call of either Co-chairperson. 

14 (g) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 

15 Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser num16 ber of members may meet or hold hearings. 

17 SEC. 5. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION. 

18 (a) STUDY.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall— 

20 (A) conduct a thorough study of modern21 day slavery in all its forms and why it still ex22 ists, including the failure by authorities to en23 force laws prohibiting slavery and prosecuting 

24 the perpetrators of slavery, corruption among 

25 officials, and the vulnerability of certain popumstockstill on PROD1PC62 with BILLS

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1 lations, such as those who are discriminated 

2 against because of gender, ethnicity or caste, 

3 and those in areas of conflict and post conflict, 

4 transitioning states, or states undergoing sud5 den political upheaval, economic collapse, civil 

6 unrest, internal armed conflict, chronic unem7 ployment, widespread poverty, or manmade or 

8 natural disasters; 

9 (B) review programs of relevant govern10 mental agencies with respect to modern-day11 slavery, including the Office of the United 

12 States Trade Representative, the Department 

13 of Commerce, the Department of Defense, the 

14 Department of Health and Human Services, the 

15 Department of Homeland Security, the Depart16 ment of Labor, the Department of the Treas17 ury, the United States Agency for International 

18 Development, the Department of State, the 

19 President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor 

20 and Combat Trafficking in Persons, and the 

21 Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center; 

22 (C) examine efforts undertaken by foreign 

23 countries and multilateral organizations to pre24 vent or combat modern-day slavery in all its 

25 forms, prosecute the perpetrators or protect its 

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1 victims, and identify those countries with the 

2 most significant number of victims of modern3 day slavery; and 

4 (D) convene additional experts from rel5 evant nongovernmental organizations as part of 

6 the Commission’s review. 

7 (2) GOALS.—Based on its findings under para8 graph (1), the Commission shall— 

9 (A) advise the Congress on how the United 

10 States could lend support to the efforts to 

11 eradicate modern-day slavery in all its forms; 

12 (B) provide a comprehensive evaluation of 

13 comparative models and strategies to prevent 

14 modern-day slavery, rescue and rehabilitate vic15 tims of modern-day slavery, prosecute offend16 ers, increase accountability within countries 

17 that tolerate modern-day slavery, develop inter18 national cooperation to combat modern slavery, 

19 and increase education about modern-day slav20 ery in all its forms, particularly among vulner21 able populations; 

22 (C) provide a comprehensive evaluation of 

23 current United States trade policy’s effect on 

24 modern slavery, including a list of the top ten 

25 countries with the highest number of slaves 

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1 within their borders, along with the precise na2 ture of the United States trade relationship 

3 with each country; 

4 (D) provide a comprehensive evaluation of 

5 the effectiveness of United States laws prohib6 iting the importation of goods manufactured or 

7 produced in whole or in part through forced 

8 labor or child labor, including a list of the five 

9 categories of slave-made goods that most regu10 larly are imported into the United States, and 

11 any related law enforcement action taken to 

12 prevent their importation; 

13 (E) provide a comprehensive evaluation of 

14 United States Government procurement policies 

15 and practices regarding the procurement of 

16 slave-made goods or services through grantees, 

17 contractors, or subcontractors; and 

18 (F) examine the economic impact on com19 munities and countries that demonstrate meas20 ured success in fighting modern-day slavery in 

21 all its forms. 

22 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission shall rec23 ommend legislative and administrative actions necessary 

24 for the most effective ways to combat and eliminate mod25 ern-day slavery in all its forms, including incorporating 

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1 best practices into all United States Government anti-slav2 ery programs for prevention, rescue and rehabilitation, 

3 prosecution, increasing accountability within governments 

4 that tolerate slavery, developing international cooperation 

5 to combat modern-day slavery, and increasing education 

6 about modern-day slavery, particularly among vulnerable 

7 populations. The Commission shall also determine the na8 ture of what constitutes appropriate relations with coun9 tries that tolerate modern-day slavery in any form and 

10 make specific recommendations to eliminate the importa11 tion of slave-made goods and the United States Govern12 ment’s procurement of slave-made goods and services. 

13 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 11 months after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall sub15 mit to the Speaker and minority leader of the House of 

16 Representatives and the majority leader and minority 

17 leader of the Senate, a report containing the results of 

18 the study and other activities conducted under subsection 

19 (a) and the recommendations developed under subsection 

20 (b). 

21 SEC. 6. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 

22 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may hold such 

23 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such 

24 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission 

25 considers necessary to carry out this Act. 

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1 (b) INFORMATION FROM GOVERNMENTAL AGEN2 CIES.—The Commission may secure directly from any de3 partment or agency such information as the Commission 

4 considers necessary to carry out this Act. Upon request 

5 of either co-chairperson of the Commission, the head of 

6 such department or agency shall furnish such information 

7 to the Commission. 

8 SEC. 7. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

9 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each member of 

10 the Commission who is not an officer or employee of the 

11 Federal Government shall be compensated at a rate equal 

12 to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay pre13 scribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under sec14 tion 5313 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (in15 cluding travel time) during which such member is engaged 

16 in the performance of the duties of the Commission. All 

17 members of the Commission who are officers or employees 

18 of the United States shall serve without compensation in 

19 addition to that received for their services as officers or 

20 employees of the United States. 

21 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Com22 mission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per 

23 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employ24 ees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 

25 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or 

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1 regular places of business in the performance of services 

2 for the Commission. 

3 (c) STAFF.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The co-chairpersons of the 

5 Commission, acting jointly, may, without regard to 

6 the civil service laws and regulations, appoint and 

7 terminate an executive director and such other addi8 tional personnel as may be necessary to enable the 

9 Commission to perform its duties. The employment 

10 of an executive director shall be subject to confirma11 tion by the Commission. 

12 (2) COMPENSATION.—The co-chairpersons of 

13 the Commission, acting jointly, may fix the com14 pensation of the executive director and other per15 sonnel without regard to chapter 51 and subchapter 

16 III of chapter 53 of title 5, United Sates Code, re17 lating to classification of positions and General 

18 Schedule pay rates, except that the rate of pay for 

19 the executive director and other personnel may not 

20 exceed the rate payable for level V of the Executive 

21 Schedule under section 5316 of such title. 

22 (d) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Federal 

23 Government employees may be detailed to the Commission 

24 without reimbursement, and such detail shall be without 

25 interruption or loss of civil service status or privilege. 

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1 (e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT2 TENT SERVICES.—The co-chairpersons of the Commis3 sion, acting jointly, may procure temporary and intermit4 tent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United 

5 States Code, at rates for individuals which do not exceed 

6 the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay pre7 scribed for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 

8 5316 of such title. 

9 SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF THE COMMISSION. 

10 The Commission shall terminate 90 days after the 

11 date on which the Commission submits its report under 

12 section 5(c). 

13 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro15 priated to the Commission for fiscal year 2008 such sums 

16 as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 

17 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Any sums appropriated under 

18 the authorization contained in this section shall remain 

19 available, without fiscal year limitation, until expended. 

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