IC 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1536 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 

Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

AN ACT 

To designate a human trafficking prevention coordinator and 

to expand the scope of activities authorized under the 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s outreach 

and education program to include human trafficking prevention activities, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Combating Human 

5 Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. HUMAN TRAFFICKING PREVENTION COORDINATOR. 

7 The Secretary of Transportation shall designate an 

8 official within the Department of Transportation who 

9 shall— 

10 (1) coordinate human trafficking prevention ef11 forts across modal administrations in the Depart12 ment of Transportation and with other departments 

13 and agencies of the Federal Government; and 

14 (2) in coordinating such efforts, take into ac15 count the unique challenges of combating human 

16 trafficking within different transportation modes. 

17 SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF OUTREACH AND EDUCATION PRO18 GRAM. 

19 Section 31110(c)(1) of title 49, United States Code, 

20 is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The pro21 gram authorized under this subsection may support, in ad22 dition to funds otherwise available for such purposes, the 

23 recognition, prevention, and reporting of human traf24 ficking, while deferring to existing resources, as prac25 ticable.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSE FI2 NANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

3 Section 31313(a)(3) of title 49, United States Code, 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

6 the end; 

7 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as sub8 paragraph (F); and 

9 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(E) support, in addition to funds other12 wise available for such purposes, the recogni13 tion, prevention, and reporting of human traf14 ficking; or’’. 

15 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANS16 PORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON 

17 HUMAN TRAFFICKING. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

19 an advisory committee on human trafficking. 

20 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

21 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Committee shall be 

22 composed of not more than 15 external stakeholder 

23 members whose diverse experience and background 

24 enable them to provide balanced points of view with 

25 regard to carrying out the duties of the Committee. 


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1 (2) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall appoint 

2 the external stakeholder members to the Committee, 

3 including representatives from— 

4 (A) trafficking advocacy organizations; 

5 (B) law enforcement; and 

6 (C) trucking, bus, rail, aviation, maritime, 

7 and port sectors, including industry and labor. 

8 (3) PERIODS OF APPOINTMENT.—Members 

9 shall be appointed for the life of the Committee. 

10 (4) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Committee 

11 shall be filled in the manner in which the original 

12 appointment was made and shall not affect the pow13 ers or duties of the Committee. 

14 (5) COMPENSATION.—Committee members shall 

15 serve without compensation. 

16 (c) AUTHORITY.—Not later than 9 months after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish 

18 and appoint all members of the Committee. 

19 (d) DUTIES.— 

20 (1) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENT

21 OF TRANSPORTATION.—Not later than 18 months 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Com23 mittee shall make recommendations to the Secretary 

24 on actions the Department can take to help combat 


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1 human trafficking, including the development and 

2 implementation of— 

3 (A) successful strategies for identifying 

4 and reporting instances of human trafficking; 

5 and 

6 (B) recommendations for administrative or 

7 legislative changes necessary to use programs, 

8 properties, or other resources owned, operated, 

9 or funded by the Department to combat human 

10 trafficking. 

11 (2) BEST PRACTICES AND RECOMMENDA12 TIONS.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 

14 develop recommended best practices for States 

15 and State and local transportation stakeholders 

16 to follow in combating human trafficking. 

17 (B) DEVELOPMENT.—The best practices 

18 shall be based on multidisciplinary research and 

19 promising, evidence-based models and pro20 grams. 

21 (C) CONTENT.—The best practices shall be 

22 user-friendly, incorporate the most up-to-date 

23 technology, and include the following: 

24 (i) Sample training materials. 

25 (ii) Strategies to identify victims. 


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1 (iii) Sample protocols and rec2 ommendations, including— 

3 (I) strategies to collect, docu4 ment, and share data across systems 

5 and agencies; 

6 (II) strategies to help agencies 

7 better understand the types of traf8 ficking involved, the scope of the prob9 lem, and the degree of victim inter10 action with multiple systems; and 

11 (III) strategies to identify effec12 tive pathways for State agencies to 

13 utilize their position in educating crit14 ical stakeholder groups and assisting 

15 victims. 

16 (D) INFORMING STATES OF BEST PRAC17 TICES.—The Secretary shall ensure that State 

18 Governors and State departments of transpor19 tation are notified of the best practices and rec20 ommendations. 

21 (e) REPORTS.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall— 

23 (1) submit a report on the actions of the Com24 mittee described in subsection (d) to— 


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1 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

2 and Transportation of the Senate; and 

3 (B) the Committee on Transportation and 

4 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; 

5 and 

6 (2) make the report under paragraph (1) pub7 licly available both physically and online. 

8 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Committee’’ 

10 means the Department of Transportation Advisory 

11 Committee on Human Trafficking established under 

12 subsection (a). 

13 (2) HUMAN TRAFFICKING.—The term ‘‘human 

14 trafficking’’ means an act or practice described in 

15 paragraph (9) or paragraph (10) of section 103 of 

16 the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 

17 U.S.C. 7102). 

18 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

19 the Secretary of Transportation. 

Passed the Senate September 14, 2017. 

Attest: JULIE E. ADAMS, 

Secretary. 


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