I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 500 

To establish the United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking to 

review Federal Government policy on human trafficking. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 22, 2015 

Mr. HONDA (for himself, Mr. POE of Texas, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, 

Ms. BASS, and Ms. LEE) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee 

on the Judiciary, 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 the United States Advisory Council on Human 

Trafficking to review Federal Government policy on 

human trafficking. 

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 ‘‘Survivors of Human 

5 Trafficking Empowerment Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. UNITED STATES ADVISORY COUNCIL ON HUMAN 

2 TRAFFICKING. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 

4 United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking 

5 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Council’’), which shall 

6 provide advice and recommendations to the Senior Policy 

7 Operating Group (referred to in this section as the 

8 ‘‘Group’’) established under section 105(g) of the Victims 

9 of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (22 

10 U.S.C. 7103(g)) and the President’s Interagency Task 

11 Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking established 

12 under section 105(a) of that Act (22 U.S.C. 7103(a)) (re13 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 

14 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

15 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Council shall be com16 posed of not fewer than 8 and not more than 14 in17 dividuals who are— 

18 (A) survivors of human trafficking; or 

19 (B) nongovernmental experts or profes20 sionals in the human trafficking field. 

21 (2) REPRESENTATION OF SURVIVORS.—To the 

22 extent practicable, not less than 50 percent of mem23 bers of the Council shall be survivors of trafficking, 

24 who shall accurately reflect the diverse backgrounds 

25 of survivors of trafficking, including— 


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1 (A) survivors of sex trafficking and sur2 vivors of labor trafficking; and 

3 (B) survivors who are United States citi4 zens and survivors who are aliens lawfully 

5 present in the United States. 

6 (3) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 180 days 

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

8 President shall appoint the members of the Council. 

9 (4) TERM; REAPPOINTMENT.—Council members 

10 shall serve for terms of 2 years and may be re11 appointed by the President to serve additional 2-year 

12 terms. 

13 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The Council shall— 

14 (1) be a nongovernmental advisory body to the 

15 Group; 

16 (2) meet, at its own discretion, or at the re17 quest of the Group, not less frequently than annu18 ally to review Federal Government policy and pro19 grams intended to combat human trafficking, includ20 ing programs related to the provision of services for 

21 victims, and serve as a point of contact for Federal 

22 agencies reaching out to human trafficking survivors 

23 for input on programming and polices relating to 

24 human trafficking in the United States; 


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1 (3) formulate assessments and recommenda2 tions to ensure that United States policy and pro3 gramming efforts conform, to the extent practicable, 

4 to the best practices in the field of human traf5 ficking prevention; and 

6 (4) meet with the Group not less frequently 

7 than annually and not later than 45 days before the 

8 next meeting of the Task Force to formally present 

9 the Council’s findings and recommendations. 

10 (d) REPORTS.—Every year beginning after the date 

11 of the enactment of this Act, the Council shall submit a 

12 report that contains the findings derived from the reviews 

13 conducted pursuant to subsection (c)(2) to— 

14 (1) the chair of the Task Force; 

15 (2) the members of the Group; and 

16 (3) the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Home17 land Security, Appropriations, and the Judiciary of 

18 the House of Representatives, and the Committees 

19 on Foreign Relations, Appropriations, Homeland Se20 curity and Governmental Affairs, and the Judiciary 

21 of the Senate. 

22 (e) EMPLOYEE STATUS.—Members of the Council— 

23 (1) shall not be considered employees of the 

24 United States Government for any purpose; and 


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1 (2) shall not receive compensation other than 

2 reimbursement of travel expenses and per diem al3 lowance in accordance with section 5703 of title 5, 

4 United States Code. 

5 (f) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Council 

6 shall not be subject to the requirements under the Federal 

7 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

8 SEC. 3. SUNSET. 

9 This Act shall cease to be effective on September 30, 

10 2021. 

Æ 


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