115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1862 

AN ACT 

To amend the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 

to modify the criteria for determining whether countries 

are meeting the minimum standards for the elimination 

of 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, 
2 

†S 1862 ES

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Trafficking Victims 

3 Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 Section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 

6 of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through 

8 (15) as paragraphs (7) through (17), respectively; 

9 and 

10 (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(5) CONCRETE ACTIONS.—The term ‘concrete 

13 actions’ means actions that demonstrate increased 

14 efforts by the government of a country to meet the 

15 minimum standards for the elimination of traf16 ficking, including any of the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) Enforcement actions taken. 

18 ‘‘(B) Investigations actively underway. 

19 ‘‘(C) Prosecutions conducted. 

20 ‘‘(D) Convictions attained. 

21 ‘‘(E) Training provided. 

22 ‘‘(F) Programs and partnerships actively 

23 underway. 

24 ‘‘(G) Efforts to prevent severe forms of 

25 trafficking, including programs to reduce the 

26 vulnerability of particularly vulnerable popu-
3 

†S 1862 ES

1 lations, involving survivors of trafficking in 

2 community engagement and policy making, en3 gagement with foreign migrants, ending recruit4 ment fees, and other such measures. 

5 ‘‘(H) Victim services offered, including im6 migration services and restitution. 

7 ‘‘(I) The amount of money the government 

8 has committed to the actions described in sub9 paragraphs (A) through (H). 

10 ‘‘(6) CREDIBLE INFORMATION.—The term 

11 ‘credible information’ includes all of the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) Reports by the Department of State. 

13 ‘‘(B) Reports of other Federal agencies, in14 cluding the Department of Labor’s List of 

15 Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced 

16 Labor and List of Products Produced by 

17 Forced Labor or Indentured Child Labor. 

18 ‘‘(C) Documentation provided by a foreign 

19 country, including— 

20 ‘‘(i) copies of relevant laws, regula21 tions, and policies adopted or modified; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(ii) an official record of enforcement 

24 actions taken, judicial proceedings, train25 ing conducted, consultations conducted, 
4 

†S 1862 ES

1 programs and partnerships launched, and 

2 services provided. 

3 ‘‘(D) Materials developed by civil society 

4 organizations. 

5 ‘‘(E) Information from survivors of human 

6 trafficking, vulnerable persons, and whistle7 blowers. 

8 ‘‘(F) All relevant media and academic re9 ports that, in light of reason and common 

10 sense, are worthy of belief. 

11 ‘‘(G) Information developed by multilateral 

12 institutions. 

13 ‘‘(H) An assessment of the impact of the 

14 actions described in subparagraphs (A) through 

15 (I) of paragraph (5) on the prevalence of 

16 human trafficking in the country.’’. 

17 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

18 (a) PRIVATE SECTOR SUPPORT TO STRENGTHEN

19 LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND THE ROLE OF PRI20 VATE BUSINESSES IN PREVENTING AND COMBATING

21 CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING.—It is the sense of Congress 

22 that— 

23 (1) the President should work with the private 

24 sector to explore, develop, and use technology that 
5 

†S 1862 ES

1 strengthens Federal law enforcement capabilities to 

2 combat traffickers and criminal networks; and 

3 (2) private businesses, both domestic and inter4 national, should take every reasonable step to pre5 vent and combat child sex trafficking. 

6 (b) EFFORTS TO END MODERN SLAVERY.—It is the 

7 sense of Congress that any future authorization of appro8 priations to carry out the grant program authorized under 

9 section 1298 of the Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

10 Year 2017 (22 U.S.C. 7114) should simultaneously extend 

11 the accountability provisions under subsections (c), (d), 

12 and (e) of such section. 

13 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON PLACEMENT OR RECRUITMENT 

14 FEES. 

15 Section 106(g) of the Trafficking Victims Protection 

16 Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7104(g)) is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating clauses (i) through (iv) as 

18 paragraphs (1) through (4), respectively, and moving 

19 such paragraphs 4 ems to the left; and 

20 (2) in paragraph (4), as redesignated— 

21 (A) by redesignating subclauses (I) 

22 through (V) as subparagraphs (A) through (E), 

23 respectively, and moving such subparagraphs 4 

24 ems to the left; 
6 

†S 1862 ES

1 (B) in subparagraph (B), as redesignated, 

2 by redesignating items (aa) and (bb) as clauses 

3 (i) and (ii), respectively, and moving such 

4 clauses 4 ems to the left; and 

5 (C) in subparagraph (D), as redesignated, 

6 by striking ‘‘unreasonable placement or recruit7 ment fees’’ and all that follows through the pe8 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘placement or re9 cruitment fees.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR THE ELIMINATION OF 

11 TRAFFICKING. 

12 Section 108(b)(7) of the Trafficking Victims Protec13 tion Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7106(b)(7)) is amended by 

14 inserting ‘‘or enable’’ after ‘‘condone’’. 

15 SEC. 6. ACTIONS AGAINST GOVERNMENTS FAILING TO 

16 MEET MINIMUM STANDARDS. 

17 Section 110(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection 

18 Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘The report should’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘The report shall, to the extent con22 current reporting data is available, cover efforts 

23 and activities taking place during the period be24 tween April 1 of the year preceding the report 
7 

†S 1862 ES

1 and March 31 of the year in which the report 

2 is made, and should’’; 

3 (B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

4 ‘‘based only on concrete actions taken by the 

5 country that are recorded during the reporting 

6 period’’ after ‘‘such standards’’; 

7 (C) in subparagraph (B) by inserting 

8 ‘‘based only on concrete actions taken by the 

9 country (excluding any commitments by the 

10 country to take additional future steps during 

11 the next year) that are recorded during the re12 porting period’’ after ‘‘compliance’’; 

13 (D) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

14 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

15 (E) in subparagraph (G), by striking the 

16 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (F) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(H) for each country included in a dif19 ferent list than the country had been placed in 

20 the previous annual report, a detailed expla21 nation of how the concrete actions (or lack of 

22 such actions) undertaken (or not undertaken) 

23 by the country during the previous reporting 

24 period contributed to such change, including a 
8 

†S 1862 ES

1 clear linkage between such actions and the min2 imum standards enumerated in section 108.’’; 

3 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

4 (A) in subparagraph (A)(iii)— 

5 (i) in subclause (I), by adding ‘‘or’’ at 

6 the end; 

7 (ii) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘; 

8 or’’ and inserting a period; and 

9 (iii) by striking subclause (III); 

10 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘the 

11 last annual report’’ and inserting ‘‘April 1 of 

12 the previous year’’; 

13 (C) in subparagraph (D)(ii), by striking ‘‘2 

14 years’’ and inserting ‘‘1 year’’; and 

15 (D) in subparagraph (E)— 

16 (i) in the subparagraph heading, by 

17 striking ‘‘PUBLIC’’ and inserting ‘‘CON18 GRESSIONAL’’; and 

19 (ii) by striking ‘‘shall provide’’ and all 

20 that follows and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) provide a detailed description of 

23 the credible information supporting such 

24 determination on a publicly available 
9 

†S 1862 ES

1 website maintained by the Department of 

2 State; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) offer to brief the Committee on 

4 Foreign Relations of the Senate and the 

5 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

6 House of Representatives on any written 

7 plan submitted by the country under sub8 paragraph (D)(ii)(I), with an opportunity 

9 to review the written plan.’’; 

10 (3) in paragraph (3)— 

11 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

12 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

13 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 

14 semicolon at the end and inserting a period; 

15 and 

16 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(D) the extent to which the government 

18 of the country is devoting sufficient budgetary 

19 resources— 

20 ‘‘(i) to investigate and prosecute acts 

21 of severe trafficking in persons; 

22 ‘‘(ii) to convict and sentence persons 

23 responsible for such acts; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) to obtain restitution for victims 

25 of human trafficking; 
10 

†S 1862 ES

1 ‘‘(E) the extent to which the government 

2 of the country is devoting sufficient budgetary 

3 resources— 

4 ‘‘(i) to protect and support victims of 

5 trafficking in persons; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) to prevent severe forms of traf7 ficking in persons; and 

8 ‘‘(F) the extent to which the government of 

9 the country has consulted with domestic and 

10 international civil society organizations that re11 sulted in concrete actions to improve the provi12 sion of services to victims of trafficking in per13 sons.’’; and 

14 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(4) ACTION PLANS FOR COUNTRIES UPGRADED

16 TO TIER 2 WATCHLIST.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

18 days after the release of the annual Trafficking 

19 in Persons Report, the Secretary of State, act20 ing through the Ambassador-at-Large of the 

21 Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking and 

22 the Assistant Secretary of the appropriate re23 gional bureau, in consultation with appropriate 

24 officials from the government of each country 

25 described in paragraph (2)(A)(ii), and with the 
11 

†S 1862 ES

1 assistance of the United States Ambassador or 

2 Charge d’Affaires in each country, shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) prepare an action plan for each 

4 country upgraded from Tier 3 to Tier 2 

5 Watchlist to further improve such coun6 try’s tier ranking under this subsection; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(ii) present the relevant action plan 

9 to the government of each such country. 

10 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each action plan pre11 pared under this paragraph— 

12 ‘‘(i) shall include specific concrete ac13 tions to be taken by the country to sub14 stantively address deficiencies preventing 

15 the country from meeting Tier 2 stand16 ards, based on credible information; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) should be focused on short-term 

18 and multi-year goals. 

19 ‘‘(C) BRIEFINGS.—The Ambassador-at20 Large of the Office to Monitor and Combat 

21 Trafficking and all appropriate regional Assist22 ant Secretaries shall make themselves available 

23 to brief the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

24 the Senate, the Committee on Appropriations of 

25 the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
12 

†S 1862 ES

1 of the House of Representatives, and the Com2 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Rep3 resentatives on the implementation of each ac4 tion plan prepared under this paragraph. 

5 ‘‘(D) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in 

6 this paragraph may be construed as modi7 fying— 

8 ‘‘(i) minimum standards for the elimi9 nation of trafficking under section 108; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) the actions against governments 

11 failing to meet minimum standards under 

12 this section or the criteria for placement 

13 on the Special Watch List under para14 graph (2).’’. 

15 SEC. 7. COMMUNICATION WITH GOVERNMENTS OF COUN16 TRIES DESIGNATED AS TIER 2 WATCH LIST 

17 COUNTRIES ON THE TRAFFICKING IN PER18 SONS REPORT. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not less than annually, the Sec20 retary of State shall provide, to the foreign minister of 

21 each country that has been downgraded to a ‘‘Tier 2 

22 Watch List’’ country pursuant to the Trafficking in Per23 sons report submitted under section 110(b) of the Traf24 ficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 

25 7107(b))— 
13 

†S 1862 ES

1 (1) a copy of the annual Trafficking in Persons 

2 report; and 

3 (2) information pertinent to that country’s 

4 downgrade, including— 

5 (A) confirmation of the country’s designa6 tion to the Tier 2 Watch List; 

7 (B) the implications associated with such 

8 designation and the consequences for the coun9 try of a downgrade to Tier 3; 

10 (C) the factors that contributed to the 

11 downgrade; and 

12 (D) the steps that the country must take 

13 to be considered for an upgrade in status of 

14 designation. 

15 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING COMMUNICA16 TIONS.—It is the sense of Congress that, given the gravity 

17 of a Tier 2 Watch List designation, the Secretary of State 

18 should communicate the information described in sub19 section (a) to the foreign minister of any country down20 graded to the Tier 2 Watch List. 

21 SEC. 8. UNITED STATES SUPPORT FOR INTEGRATION OF 

22 ANTI-TRAFFICKING INTERVENTIONS IN MUL23 TILATERAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS. 

24 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary of the Treasury, 

25 in consultation with the Secretary of State, acting through 
14 

†S 1862 ES

1 the Ambassador at Large for Monitoring and Combating 

2 Trafficking in Persons, shall instruct the United States 

3 Executive Director of each multilateral development bank 

4 to initiate discussions with the other executive directors 

5 and management of the respective multilateral develop6 ment bank to— 

7 (1) further develop anti-human trafficking pro8 visions in relevant project development, safeguards, 

9 procurement, and evaluation policies; 

10 (2) employing a risk-based approach, require 

11 human trafficking risk assessments and integration 

12 plans as a routine part of developing projects 

13 through existing, forthcoming or new mechanisms 

14 and processes; 

15 (3) support analyses of the impact of severe 

16 forms of trafficking in persons on key indicators of 

17 economic and social development and of the benefits 

18 of reducing human trafficking on economic and so19 cial development; 

20 (4) support the proactive integration of effective 

21 anti-trafficking interventions into projects with the 

22 objectives of enhancing development outcomes and 

23 reducing the incidence of severe forms of trafficking 

24 in project areas; 
15 

†S 1862 ES

1 (5) increase the capacity of multilateral devel2 opment banks and of recipient governments to con3 duct human trafficking risk assessments and inte4 grate anti-trafficking interventions into projects; 

5 (6) support the development of meaningful risk 

6 mitigation and reduction policies, regulations, and 

7 strategies within the multilateral development banks 

8 to reduce the incidence and prevalence of severe 

9 forms of trafficking in persons and enhance develop10 ment outcomes that may be improved by reducing 

11 the incidence and prevalence of human trafficking; 

12 and 

13 (7) support the inclusion of human trafficking 

14 risk analysis in the development of relevant country 

15 strategies by each multilateral development bank. 

16 (b) BRIEFINGS.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall 

17 make relevant officials available to brief the Committee 

18 on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on Ap19 propriations of the Senate, the Committee on Financial 

20 Services of the House of Representatives, and the Com-
16 

†S 1862 ES

1 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives 

2 on the implementation of this section. 

Passed the Senate December 17, 2018. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1862 

AN ACT 

To amend the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 

ficking, and for other purposes. standards for the elimination of human trafwhether countries are meeting the minimum 2000 to modify the criteria for determining