II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1504 

To direct the Attorney General to study issues relating to human trafficking, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 29, 2017 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself and Mr. RUBIO) 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. 

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 ‘‘Put Trafficking Vic5 tims First Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REPORT ON SAFE HARBOR LAWS. 

7 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, the Attorney General, acting through the Di9 rector of the Office for Victims of Crime, shall issue a 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1504 IS

1 report to be posted on a publicly available website that 

2 includes— 

3 (1) the impact of State safe harbor laws and 

4 associated services on the re-victimization of victims 

5 of trafficking (as such term is defined in section 

6 103(15) of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence 

7 Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102(15))), the 

8 recovery of victims, victim outcomes, and prosecu9 tions of traffickers; and 

10 (2) best practices and recommendations on the 

11 development and implementation of effective State 

12 safe harbor laws that promote full recovery of vic13 tims of trafficking and do not interfere with prosecu14 tions of traffickers. 

15 SEC. 3. TRAINING FOR PROSECUTIONS OF TRAFFICKERS 

16 AND SUPPORT FOR STATE SERVICES FOR 

17 VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 107(b)(2)(B)(ii) of the 

19 Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 

20 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7105(b)(2)(B)(ii)) is amended to read 

21 as follows: 

22 ‘‘(ii) 5 percent for training and tech23 nical assistance, to be provided in coordi24 nation with the Secretary of Health and 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1504 IS

1 Human Services, including with respect 

2 to— 

3 ‘‘(I) increasing capacity and ex4 pertise on security for and protection 

5 of service providers from intimidation 

6 or retaliation for their activities; 

7 ‘‘(II) ‘‘investigating, prosecuting, 

8 and preventing human trafficking 

9 through a trauma-informed and vic10 tim-centered approach that provides 

11 services and protections for victims of 

12 trafficking; 

13 ‘‘(III) facilitating the provision of 

14 evidence-based, trauma-informed care 

15 and mental health services to victims 

16 of trafficking; 

17 ‘‘(IV) ensuring that all victims of 

18 trafficking, including United States 

19 citizens, lawful permanent residents, 

20 and foreign nationals, are eligible for 

21 services; 

22 ‘‘(V) ensuring that law enforce23 ment officers and prosecutors make 

24 every attempt to determine whether 

25 an individual’s participation in human 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1504 IS

1 trafficking is free from force, fraud, 

2 or coercion of any means before ar3 resting them for, or charging them 

4 with, an offense; 

5 ‘‘(VI) effectively prosecuting traf6 fickers and individuals who patronize 

7 or solicit children for sex, and facili8 tating access for child victims of traf9 ficking to the same type of court pro10 cedures and legal protections acces11 sible to child victims of sexual assault, 

12 rape, child sexual abuse, or incest, 

13 and clarifying the right of child vic14 tims of trafficking to not be treated as 

15 criminals as a result of their victim16 ization; and 

17 ‘‘(VII) encouraging States to 

18 identify the locations of victims of 

19 trafficking and serve those victims, in20 cluding through efforts that utilize 

21 internet outreach, through methods 

22 informed by survivors of human traf23 ficking, and by offering help and serv24 ices that are responsive to victims’ 

25 needs in their communities; and’’. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1504 IS

1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 2017. 

3 SEC. 4. WORKING TO DEVELOP METHODOLOGIES TO AS4 SESS PREVALENCE OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING. 

5 (a) WORKING GROUP.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

7 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of 

8 the National Institute of Justice, in consultation 

9 with the Director of the Human Smuggling and 

10 Trafficking Center, shall establish an expert working 

11 group, which shall include survivors of human traf12 ficking, experts on sex and labor trafficking, rep13 resentatives from organizations collecting data on 

14 human trafficking, and law enforcement officers. 

15 The working group shall, utilizing, to the extent 

16 practicable, existing efforts of agencies, task forces, 

17 States, cities, research institutions, and organiza18 tions— 

19 (A) identify the methodological and prac20 tical barriers hampering data collection on sex 

21 and labor trafficking; 

22 (B) identify the information that should be 

23 collected, and how that information should be 

24 collected; and 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1504 IS

1 (C) recommend practices that could be 

2 standardized as replicable best practices to pro3 mote better data comparison, aggregation, and 

4 analysis. 

5 (2) PILOT TESTING.—Not later than 3 years 

6 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 

7 of the National Institute of Justice shall implement 

8 a series of pilot studies to test promising methodolo9 gies studied under paragraph (1). 

10 (b) REPORT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of 

13 the National Institute of Justice, in consultation 

14 with the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health 

15 and Human Services, the Secretary of Homeland Se16 curity, and the Director of the Human Smuggling 

17 and Trafficking Center, shall submit to Congress a 

18 report, which includes— 

19 (A) the efforts made in developing robust, 

20 comprehensive methodologies to estimate the 

21 prevalence of human trafficking at the national 

22 and regional levels; 

23 (B) best practices for determining the 

24 trends of human trafficking in the United 

25 States; 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 1504 IS

1 (C) evaluations of the effectiveness of cur2 rent policies and procedures to address the 

3 needs of victims of trafficking, including appro4 priate housing and services from trained trau5 ma-informed care service providers; and 

6 (D) an analysis of the varying characteris7 tics of victims of trafficking in different regions, 

8 including age, gender, race or ethnicity, involve9 ment in the child welfare system, involvement in 

10 the juvenile or criminal justice system, the 

11 number of foster care placements, the number 

12 of congregate care placements, and whether an 

13 individual is a victim of sex trafficking or labor 

14 trafficking, and recommendations for how to 

15 address the unique vulnerabilities of different 

16 victims. 

17 (2) AVAILABILITY OF REPORT.—The report re18 quired under paragraph (1) shall be made publicly 

19 available on the website of the Department of Jus20 tice. 

21 (3) INPUT FROM RELEVANT PARTIES.—In de22 veloping the report under paragraph (1), the Direc23 tor shall seek input from the United States Advisory 

24 Council on Human Trafficking, victims of traf25 ficking, human trafficking survivor advocates, servVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Jul 12, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1504.IS S1504

lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 1504 IS

1 ice providers for victims of sex and labor trafficking, 

2 and the President’s Interagency Task Force on 

3 Human Trafficking. 

4 (c) SURVEY.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

5 of enactment of this Act, the Director of the National In6 stitute of Justice, in coordination with Federal, State, 

7 local, and tribal governments, and private organizations, 

8 including victim service providers and expert researchers, 

9 shall develop and execute a survey of survivors seeking and 

10 receiving services through a model agreed upon by service 

11 providers for victims of trafficking, government entities, 

12 and research experts to better understand where and how 

13 victims of trafficking are accessing services, how they are 

14 referred to services, including referrals by first responders, 

15 how assessment tools work to identify victims of traf16 ficking, and to help estimate the prevalence of human traf17 ficking and victim identification in the United States. Sur18 vey results shall be made publicly available on the website 

19 of the Department of Justice. 

20 (d) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—No additional funds 

21 are authorized to carry out this section. 

22 SEC. 5. REPORT ON PROSECUTORS SEEKING MANDATORY 

23 RESTITUTION IN TRAFFICKING CASES. 

24 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation with the 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 1504 IS

1 Administrative Office of the United States Courts, shall 

2 submit to Congress a report on efforts to increase manda3 tory restitution orders and use of asset forfeiture to pro4 vide restitution to victims of trafficking that shall be post5 ed on a publicly available website, which shall include the 

6 following: 

7 (1) Information on the Department of Justice’s 

8 training programs on mandatory restitution and the 

9 use of asset forfeiture to provide restitution to vic10 tims of trafficking, and recommendations of nec11 essary additional training to ensure mandatory res12 titution is ordered in all relevant human trafficking 

13 cases. 

14 (2) An assessment of obstacles that continue to 

15 prevent Federal prosecutors and Federal courts from 

16 ordering restitution. 

17 (3) An assessment of whether the asset for18 feiture provisions in the Justice for Victims of Traf19 ficking Act of 2015 (Public Law 114–22; 129 Stat. 

20 227) and the amendments made by that Act have 

21 helped increase requests to transfer forfeited pro22 ceeds for restitution, including how many requests 

23 have been made and how many of those requests 

24 have been approved, and whether United States AtVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Jul 12, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1504.IS S1504

lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 1504 IS

1 torneys offices are properly informed about request2 ing transfers. 

3 (4) An assessment of how establishing trauma4 informed, victim-centered investigative and prosecu5 torial procedures can help improve mandatory res6 titution orders, including by encouraging victims of 

7 trafficking to cooperate in criminal cases, equipping 

8 victims of trafficking with proper assistance during 

9 criminal proceedings, and helping victims of traf10 ficking secure mandatory restitution. 

11 (5) The annual number and percentage of Fed12 eral cases related to human trafficking, separating 

13 sex trafficking and labor trafficking, during the pe14 riod beginning on June 1, 2015, and ending on the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act, in which restitu16 tion was ordered, and the amount of restitution or17 dered in each case. 

18 (6) Data on the participation and non-partici19 pation of victims of trafficking in criminal pro20 ceedings, data on the participation and nonparticipa21 tion of victims of trafficking in witness protection 

22 programs and services, and recommendations for en23 couraging the participation of victims of trafficking 

24 in such proceedings. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 1504 IS

1 SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS ENCOURAGING STATES TO 

2 ADOPT PROTECTIONS FOR VICTIMS OF TRAF3 FICKING. 

4 Congress recognizes and applauds the State legisla5 tive bodies that have taken tremendous steps to adopt pro6 tections and services for victims of trafficking. Congress 

7 encourages States to do the following: 

8 (1) Uphold the basic rights and dignity of 

9 human trafficking survivors. 

10 (2) Adopt a survivor-centered approach to ad11 dressing human trafficking that ensures the safety, 

12 confidentiality, and well-being of victims of traf13 ficking, while recognizing symptoms of trauma and 

14 coping mechanisms that may impact victims’ inter15 actions with law enforcement officers, the justice 

16 system, and service providers. 

17 (3) Implement screening mechanisms for all 

18 children entering child welfare services, the juvenile 

19 justice system, or the criminal justice system to 

20 identify child victims of trafficking and connect them 

21 with appropriate services, including appropriate 

22 housing and services from trained trauma-informed 

23 care service providers, and to try to identify foreign 

24 nationals who may be victims of trafficking. 

25 (4) Ensure that child victims of trafficking are 

26 provided with a range of protections, including acVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:16 Jul 12, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1504.IS S1504

lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 1504 IS

1 cess to child welfare services, trauma-informed pro2 gramming, and the same legal rights afforded to 

3 other children who experience sexual abuse, rape, or 

4 incest, including ensuring that— 

5 (A) criminals who exploit child victims of 

6 sex trafficking, including offenders who pur7 chase, solicit, or obtain a child for purposes of 

8 engaging in a commercial sex act, face serious 

9 penalties and sentences under sex trafficking 

10 laws, and are not given lesser sentences; and 

11 (B) child victims of trafficking are never 

12 referred to as ‘‘child prostitutes’’ or ‘‘underage 

13 sex workers’’ in law or official documents and 

14 proceedings. 

15 (5) Develop a 24-hour emergency response plan 

16 to provide victims trafficking with immediate protec17 tion and support when they are first identified, 

18 which may include physically moving victims of traf19 ficking to a place of safety, attending to the imme20 diate medical and emotional needs of survivors, as21 sessing whether survivors are under risk for harm, 

22 retaliation, or intimidation, and directly connecting 

23 survivors with victim advocates, housing, and service 

24 providers. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 1504 IS

1 (6) Adopt protections for victims of trafficking 

2 that include the right— 

3 (A) to be treated as a victim of crime and 

4 afforded justice, respect, and dignity; 

5 (B) to protection if the victim’s safety is at 

6 risk or if there is danger of harm, retaliation, 

7 or recapture by the trafficker; 

8 (C) to comprehensive trauma-informed, 

9 long-term, culturally competent care and heal10 ing services oriented toward emotional, psycho11 logical, and family healing; 

12 (D) to evidence-based screening and as13 sessment tools, treatment plans, and therapy to 

14 address traumatic stress and associated mental 

15 health symptoms; 

16 (E) to safe and effective emergency and 

17 long-term housing; education, vocational, and 

18 job assistance and training; mentoring pro19 grams; language assistance; drug and substance 

20 abuse services; and legal services; 

21 (F) for child sex trafficking victims to be 

22 treated as children in need of child protective 

23 services and to be served through the child wel24 fare system, where appropriate, in place of the 

25 juvenile justice system; 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 1504 IS

1 (G) for all victims of trafficking, including 

2 United States citizens, lawful permanent resi3 dents, and foreign nationals, to be eligible for 

4 services; 

5 (H) to have convictions and adjudications 

6 related to prostitution and nonviolent offenses 

7 vacated and such records cleared and expunged 

8 if offenses were committed as a direct result of 

9 the victim being trafficked, and protection for 

10 foreign nationals from being removed, being de11 termined to be inadmissible, or losing any im12 migration benefit because of such conviction or 

13 arrests; 

14 (I) to the same type of court procedures 

15 and legal protections accessible to victims of 

16 sexual assault, rape, child sexual abuse, or in17 cest, including the right to not be treated as a 

18 criminal; and 

19 (J) to retain all rights regardless of wheth20 er the crime has been reported to law enforce21 ment authorities. 

Æ 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS