II 

★(Star Print)

Calendar No. 272 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2991 

[Report No. 117–73] 

To establish a Department of Homeland Security Center for Countering 

Human Trafficking, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 18, 2021 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mr. PORTMAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

FEBRUARY 14, 2022 

Reported by Mr. PETERS, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To establish a Department of Homeland Security Center 

for Countering 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 ‘‘Countering Human 

5 Trafficking Act of 2021’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

S 2991 RS1S 

1 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 It is the sense of Congress that— 

3 (1) the victim-centered approach must become 

4 universally understood, adopted, and practiced; 

5 (2) criminal justice efforts must increase the 

6 focus on, and adeptness at, investigating and pros7 ecuting forced labor cases; 

8 (3) corporations must eradicate forced labor 

9 from their supply chains; 

10 (4) the Department of Homeland Security must 

11 lead by example— 

12 (A) by ensuring that its government supply 

13 chain of contracts and procurement are not 

14 tainted by forced labor; and 

15 (B) by leveraging all of its authorities 

16 against the importation of goods produced with 

17 forced labor; and 

18 (5) human trafficking training, awareness, iden19 tification, and screening efforts— 

20 (A) are a necessary first step for preven21 tion, protection, and enforcement; and 

22 (B) should be evidence-based to be most 

23 effective. 

24 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER 

25 FOR COUNTERING HUMAN TRAFFICKING. 

26 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

S 2991 RS1S 

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

2 Security shall operate, within U.S. Immigration and 

3 Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Inves4 tigations, the Center for Countering Human Traf5 ficking (referred to in this Act as ‘‘CCHT’’). 

6 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of CCHT shall be 

7 to serve at the forefront of the Department of 

8 Homeland Security’s unified global efforts to 

9 counter human trafficking through law enforcement 

10 operations and victim protection, prevention, and 

11 awareness programs. 

12 (3) ADMINISTRATION.—Homeland Security In13 vestigations shall— 

14 (A) maintain a concept of operations that 

15 identifies CCHT participants, funding, core 

16 functions, and personnel; and 

17 (B) update such concept of operations, as 

18 needed, to accommodate its mission and the 

19 threats to such mission. 

20 (4) PERSONNEL.— 

21 (A) DIRECTOR.—The Secretary of Home22 land Security shall appoint a CCHT Director, 

23 who shall— 

24 (i) be a member of the Senior Execu25 tive Service; and 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

S 2991 RS1S 

1 (ii) serve as the Department of Home2 land Security’s representative on human 

3 trafficking. 

4 (B) MINIMUM CORE PERSONNEL REQUIRE5 MENTS.—Subject to appropriations, the Sec6 retary of Homeland Security shall ensure that 

7 CCHT is staffed with at least 45 employees in 

8 order to maintain continuity of effort, subject 

9 matter expertise, and necessary support to the 

10 Department of Homeland Security, including— 

11 (i) employees who are responsible for 

12 the Continued Presence Program and 

13 other victim protection duties; 

14 (ii) employees who are responsible for 

15 training, including curriculum develop16 ment; 

17 (iii) employees who are responsible for 

18 stakeholder engagement, Federal inter19 agency coordination, multilateral partner20 ships, and policy; 

21 (iv) employees who are responsible for 

22 public relations, human resources, evalua23 tion, data analysis and reporting, and in24 formation technology; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

S 2991 RS1S 

1 (v) special agents and criminal ana2 lysts necessary to accomplish its mission of 

3 combating human trafficking and the im4 portation of goods produced with forced 

5 labor; and 

6 (vi) managers. 

7 (b) OPERATIONS UNIT.—The CCHT Director shall 

8 operate, within CCHT, an Operations Unit, which shall, 

9 at a minimum— 

10 (1) support criminal investigations of human 

11 trafficking (including sex trafficking and forced 

12 labor)— 

13 (A) by developing, tracking, and coordi14 nating leads; and 

15 (B) by providing subject matter expertise; 

16 (2) augment the enforcement of the prohibition 

17 on the importation of goods produced with forced 

18 labor through civil and criminal authorities; 

19 (3) coordinate a Department-wide effort to con20 duct procurement audits and enforcement actions, 

21 including suspension and debarment, in order to 

22 mitigate the risk of human trafficking throughout 

23 Department acquisitions and contracts; and 

24 (4) support all CCHT enforcement efforts with 

25 intelligence by conducting lead development, lead 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

S 2991 RS1S 

1 validation, case support, strategic analysis, and data 

2 analytics. 

3 (c) PROTECTION AND AWARENESS PROGRAMS

4 UNIT.—The CCHT Director shall operate, within CCHT, 

5 a Protection and Awareness Programs Unit, which shall— 

6 (1) incorporate a victim-centered approach 

7 throughout Department of Homeland Security poli8 cies, training, and practices; 

9 (2) operate a comprehensive Continued Pres10 ence program; 

11 (3) conduct, review, and assist with Department 

12 of Homeland Security human trafficking training, 

13 screening, and identification tools and efforts; 

14 (4) operate the Blue Campaign’s nationwide 

15 public awareness effort and any other awareness ef16 forts needed— 

17 (A) to encourage victim identification and 

18 reporting to law enforcement; and 

19 (B) to prevent human trafficking; and 

20 (5) coordinate external engagement, including 

21 training and events, regarding human trafficking 

22 with critical partners, including survivors, non23 governmental organizations, corporations, multilat24 eral entities, law enforcement agencies, and other in25 terested parties. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

S 2991 RS1S 

1 SEC. 4. SPECIALIZED INITIATIVES. 

2 (a) HUMAN TRAFFICKING INFORMATION MOD3 ERNIZATION INITIATIVE.—The CCHT Director, in con4 junction with the Science and Technology Directorate Of5 fice of Science and Engineering, shall develop a strategy 

6 and proposal to modify systems and processes throughout 

7 the Department of Homeland Security that are related to 

8 CCHT’s mission in order to— 

9 (1) decrease the response time to access victim 

10 protections; 

11 (2) accelerate lead development; 

12 (3) advance the identification of human traf13 ficking characteristics and trends; 

14 (4) fortify the security and protection of sen15 sitive information; 

16 (5) apply analytics to automate manual proc17 esses; and 

18 (6) provide artificial intelligence and machine 

19 learning to increase system capabilities and enhance 

20 data availability, reliability, comparability, and 

21 verifiability. 

22 (b) SUBMISSION OF PLAN.—Upon the completion of 

23 the strategy and proposal under subsection (a), the Sec24 retary of Homeland Security shall submit a summary of 

25 the strategy and plan for executing the strategy to— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

S 2991 RS1S 

1 (1) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

2 Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 

3 (2) the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

4 House of Representatives. 

5 SEC. 5. REPORTS. 

6 (a) INFORMATION SHARING TO FACILITATE RE7 PORTS AND ANALYSIS.—Each subagency of the Depart8 ment of Homeland Security shall share with CCHT— 

9 (1) any information needed by CCHT to de10 velop the strategy and proposal required under sec11 tion 5(a); and 

12 (2) any additional data analysis to help CCHT 

13 better understand the issues surrounding human 

14 trafficking. 

15 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the CCHT 

17 Director shall submit a report to Congress that identifies 

18 any legislation that is needed to facilitate the Department 

19 of Homeland Security’s mission to end human trafficking. 

20 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

21 In addition to amounts otherwise authorized to be ap22 propriated, there is authorized to be appropriated to the 

23 Secretary of Homeland Security to carry out this Act 

24 $14,000,000, which shall remain available until expended. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

S 2991 RS1S 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Countering Human 

3 Trafficking Act of 2021’’. 

4 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that— 

6 (1) the victim-centered approach must become 

7 universally understood, adopted, and practiced; 

8 (2) criminal justice efforts must increase the 

9 focus on, and adeptness at, investigating and pros10 ecuting forced labor cases; 

11 (3) corporations must eradicate forced labor from 

12 their supply chains; 

13 (4) the Department of Homeland Security must 

14 lead by example— 

15 (A) by ensuring that its government supply 

16 chain of contracts and procurement are not 

17 tainted by forced labor; and 

18 (B) by leveraging all of its authorities 

19 against the importation of goods produced with 

20 forced labor; and 

21 (5) human trafficking training, awareness, iden22 tification, and screening efforts— 

23 (A) are a necessary first step for prevention, 

24 protection, and enforcement; and 

25 (B) should be evidence-based to be most ef26 fective. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

S 2991 RS1S 

1 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER 

2 FOR COUNTERING HUMAN TRAFFICKING. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

5 Security shall operate, within U.S. Immigration and 

6 Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investiga7 tions, the Center for Countering Human Trafficking 

8 (referred to in this Act as ‘‘CCHT’’). 

9 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of CCHT shall be to 

10 serve at the forefront of the Department of Homeland 

11 Security’s unified global efforts to counter human 

12 trafficking through law enforcement operations and 

13 victim protection, prevention, and awareness pro14 grams. 

15 (3) ADMINISTRATION.—Homeland Security In16 vestigations shall— 

17 (A) maintain a concept of operations that 

18 identifies CCHT participants, funding, core 

19 functions, and personnel; and 

20 (B) update such concept of operations, as 

21 needed, to accommodate its mission and the 

22 threats to such mission. 

23 (4) PERSONNEL.— 

24 (A) DIRECTOR.—The Secretary of Home25 land Security shall appoint a CCHT Director, 

26 who shall— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
11 

S 2991 RS1S 

1 (i) be a member of the Senior Execu2 tive Service; and 

3 (ii) serve as the Department of Home4 land Security’s representative on human 

5 trafficking. 

6 (B) MINIMUM CORE PERSONNEL REQUIRE7 MENTS.—Subject to appropriations, the Sec8 retary of Homeland Security shall ensure that 

9 CCHT is staffed with at least 45 employees in 

10 order to maintain continuity of effort, subject 

11 matter expertise, and necessary support to the 

12 Department of Homeland Security, including— 

13 (i) employees who are responsible for 

14 the Continued Presence Program and other 

15 victim protection duties; 

16 (ii) employees who are responsible for 

17 training, including curriculum develop18 ment, and public awareness and education; 

19 (iii) employees who are responsible for 

20 stakeholder engagement, Federal interagency 

21 coordination, multilateral partnerships, and 

22 policy; 

23 (iv) employees who are responsible for 

24 public relations, human resources, evaluaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Apr 07, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2991.RS S2991

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
12 

S 2991 RS1S 

1 tion, data analysis and reporting, and in2 formation technology; 

3 (v) special agents and criminal ana4 lysts necessary to accomplish its mission of 

5 combating human trafficking and the im6 portation of goods produced with forced 

7 labor; and 

8 (vi) managers. 

9 (b) OPERATIONS UNIT.—The CCHT Director shall op10 erate, within CCHT, an Operations Unit, which shall, at 

11 a minimum— 

12 (1) support criminal investigations of human 

13 trafficking (including sex trafficking and forced 

14 labor)— 

15 (A) by developing, tracking, and coordi16 nating leads; and 

17 (B) by providing subject matter expertise; 

18 (2) augment the enforcement of the prohibition 

19 on the importation of goods produced with forced 

20 labor through civil and criminal authorities; 

21 (3) coordinate a Department-wide effort to con22 duct procurement audits and enforcement actions, in23 cluding suspension and debarment, in order to miti24 gate the risk of human trafficking throughout Depart25 ment acquisitions and contracts; and 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
13 

S 2991 RS1S 

1 (4) support all CCHT enforcement efforts with 

2 intelligence by conducting lead development, lead val3 idation, case support, strategic analysis, and data 

4 analytics. 

5 (c) PROTECTION AND AWARENESS PROGRAMS UNIT.— 

6 The CCHT Director shall operate, within CCHT, a Protec7 tion and Awareness Programs Unit, which shall— 

8 (1) incorporate a victim-centered approach 

9 throughout Department of Homeland Security poli10 cies, training, and practices; 

11 (2) operate a comprehensive Continued Presence 

12 program; 

13 (3) conduct, review, and assist with Department 

14 of Homeland Security human trafficking training, 

15 screening, and identification tools and efforts; 

16 (4) operate the Blue Campaign’s nationwide 

17 public awareness effort and any other awareness ef18 forts needed to encourage victim identification and re19 porting to law enforcement and to prevent human 

20 trafficking; and 

21 (5) coordinate external engagement, including 

22 training and events, regarding human trafficking 

23 with critical partners, including survivors, non24 governmental organizations, corporations, multilatVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Apr 07, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2991.RS S2991

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
14 

S 2991 RS1S 

1 eral entities, law enforcement agencies, and other in2 terested parties. 

3 SEC. 4. SPECIALIZED INITIATIVES. 

4 (a) HUMAN TRAFFICKING INFORMATION MODERNIZA5 TION INITIATIVE.—The CCHT Director, in conjunction 

6 with the Science and Technology Directorate Office of 

7 Science and Engineering, shall develop a strategy and pro8 posal to modify systems and processes throughout the De9 partment of Homeland Security that are related to CCHT’s 

10 mission in order to— 

11 (1) decrease the response time to access victim 

12 protections; 

13 (2) accelerate lead development; 

14 (3) advance the identification of human traf15 ficking characteristics and trends; 

16 (4) fortify the security and protection of sensitive 

17 information; 

18 (5) apply analytics to automate manual proc19 esses; and 

20 (6) provide artificial intelligence and machine 

21 learning to increase system capabilities and enhance 

22 data availability, reliability, comparability, and 

23 verifiability. 

24 (b) SUBMISSION OF PLAN.—Upon the completion of 

25 the strategy and proposal under subsection (a), the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Apr 07, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2991.RS S2991

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
15 

S 2991 RS1S 

1 retary of Homeland Security shall submit a summary of 

2 the strategy and plan for executing the strategy to— 

3 (1) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

4 Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 

5 (2) the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

6 House of Representatives. 

7 SEC. 5. REPORTS. 

8 (a) INFORMATION SHARING TO FACILITATE REPORTS

9 AND ANALYSIS.—Each subagency of the Department of 

10 Homeland Security shall share with CCHT— 

11 (1) any information needed by CCHT to develop 

12 the strategy and proposal required under section 4(a); 

13 and 

14 (2) any additional data analysis to help CCHT 

15 better understand the issues surrounding human traf16 ficking. 

17 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

18 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the CCHT Direc19 tor shall submit a report to Congress that identifies any 

20 legislation that is needed to facilitate the Department of 

21 Homeland Security’s mission to end human trafficking. 

22 SEC. 6. TRANSFER OF OTHER FUNCTIONS RELATED TO 

23 HUMAN TRAFFICKING. 

24 (a) BLUE CAMPAIGN.—The functions and resources of 

25 the Blue Campaign located within the Office of Partnership 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
16 

S 2991 RS1S 

1 and Engagement on the day before the date of the enactment 

2 of this Act are hereby transferred to CCHT. 

3 (b) OTHER TRANSFER.— 

4 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—Not later than 180 days 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec6 retary of Homeland Security may transfer the func7 tions and resources of any component, directorate, or 

8 other office of the Department of Homeland Security 

9 related to combating human trafficking to the CCHT. 

10 (2) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 30 days be11 fore executing any transfer authorized under para12 graph (1), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

13 notify the Committee on Homeland Security and 

14 Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Com15 mittee on Homeland Security of the House of Rep16 resentatives of such planned transfer. 

17 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 In addition to amounts otherwise authorized to be ap19 propriated, there is authorized to be appropriated to the 

20 Secretary of Homeland Security to carry out this Act 

21 $14,000,000, which shall remain available until expended. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 272 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2991 

[Report No. 117–73] 

A BILL 

To establish a Department of Homeland Security 

for other purposes. Center for Countering Human Trafficking, and 

FEBRUARY 14, 2022 

Reported with an amendment 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS