IIB 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 514 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 27, 2015 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

AN ACT 

To prioritize the fight against human trafficking within the 

Department of State according to congressional intent 

in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 without increasing the size of the Federal Government, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 Prioritization Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) The International Labor Organization esti7 mates that nearly 21 million people are subjected to 

8 modern slavery around the world at any given time 

9 and that the majority of the enslaved are women 

10 and girls. 

11 (2) Congress authorized the creation of a De12 partment of State Office to Monitor and Combat 

13 Trafficking in Persons in the Trafficking Victims 

14 Protection Act of 2000 (Division A of Public Law 

15 106–386) in order to directly assist the Secretary of 

16 State in his or her effort to coordinate a United 

17 States Government interagency response to domestic 

18 and international trafficking in persons. 

19 (3) The Office to Monitor and Combat Traf20 ficking in Persons monitors trafficking worldwide 

21 and produces the online and printed versions of the 

22 annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which is Con23 gress’ primary resource for human trafficking re24 porting, analysis, and recommendations on the 

25 United States and 186 countries around the world. 


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1 (4) The annual Trafficking in Persons Report 

2 contains tier rankings of each country on which it 

3 reports, and these tier rankings have become an es4 sential diplomatic tool for promoting protection for 

5 victims, prevention of trafficking, and prosecution of 

6 perpetrators. 

7 (5) Some countries have openly stated, and 

8 many others have confided, that dramatic improve9 ments in the country’s human trafficking record 

10 were directly related to avoidance of a low tier rank11 ing in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report. 

12 (6) Ambassador Mark Lagon, former Ambas13 sador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking 

14 in Persons (2007–2009), testified before the Sub15 committee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human 

16 Rights, and International Organizations of the Com17 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep18 resentatives on April 18, 2013, that ‘‘[T]he State 

19 Department does a tremendous job in producing a 

20 report which tells it like it is, offering objective 

21 rankings. Yet at times it pulls punches, typically due 

22 to the urging of regional specialists rather than the 

23 TIP Office’s dedicated experts on trafficking.’’. 

24 (7) Ambassador John Miller, former Ambas25 sador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking 


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1 in Persons (2002–2006), recently stated that, ‘‘Up2 grading the status of the Office to a Bureau will not 

3 create additional bureaucracy—it will simply give 

4 JTIP and the Ambassador-at-large who heads it 

5 equal standing with regional and functional bureaus 

6 at the State Department. That standing is abso7 lutely essential for the issue to remain a priority, es8 pecially when multiple U.S. interests are engaged.’’. 

9 (8) The tier ranking process authorized by Con10 gress in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 

11 2000 has been in some instances compromised by 

12 the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking subor13 dinate stature within the Department of State. 

14 (9) It is essential for Congress and the Sec15 retary of State to be accurately informed regarding 

16 United States and foreign country successes and 

17 failures in the fight against human trafficking. 

18 (10) The diplomatic power and credibility of the 

19 Trafficking in Persons Report is based on rigorous 

20 scholarship and scrupulous application of the min21 imum standards for the elimination of human traf22 ficking and is undermined by political, rather than 

23 factual, tier rankings. 

24 (11) Strong and effective anti-slavery policy re25 quires that officials from the Office to Monitor and 


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1 Combat Trafficking have equal hierarchical standing 

2 with State Department regional bureaus and direct 

3 access to the Secretary of State. 

4 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that— 

6 (1) the Office to Monitor and Combat Traf7 ficking of the Department of State will be more ef8 fective in carrying out duties mandated by Congress 

9 in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 if 

10 the Office status is changed to that of a Bureau 

11 within the Department hierarchy; 

12 (2) the change in status from Office to Monitor 

13 and Combat Trafficking to a Bureau can be accom14 plished without increasing the number of personnel 

15 or the budget of the current Office; 

16 (3) a Bureau to Monitor and Combat Traf17 ficking would be more effective in carrying out du18 ties mandated by Congress in the Trafficking Vic19 tims Protection Act of 2000 if the Bureau were 

20 headed by an Assistant Secretary with direct access 

21 to the Secretary of State, rather than an Ambas22 sador-at-Large; and 

23 (4) the Secretary of State should review the 

24 current use of the 24 Assistant Secretary positions 

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1 ment Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 

2 2651a(c)(1)) and make appropriate revisions, con3 solidations, and eliminations, to ensure that those 

4 positions reflect the highest Departmental needs and 

5 foreign policy priorities of the United States, includ6 ing efforts to combat trafficking in persons. 

7 SEC. 4. BUREAU TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 105(e) of the Trafficking 

9 Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7103(e)) is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘OFFICE TO

12 MONITOR AND COMBAT TRAFFICKING’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘BUREAU TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PER14 SONS’’; 

15 (2) in paragraph (1)— 

16 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘Of17 fice to Monitor and Combat Trafficking’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘Bureau to Combat Trafficking in 

19 Persons’’; 

20 (B) in the second sentence, by striking 

21 ‘‘Office’’ and inserting ‘‘Bureau’’; and 

22 (C) in the sixth sentence, by striking ‘‘Of23 fice’’ and inserting ‘‘Bureau’’; and 

24 (3) in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2), by 

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1 ficking’’ and inserting ‘‘Bureau to Combat Traf2 ficking in Persons’’. 

3 (b) REFERENCE.—Any reference in the Trafficking 

4 Victims Protection Act of 2000 or in any other Act to the 

5 Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking shall be deemed 

6 to be a reference to the Bureau to Combat Trafficking 

7 in Persons. 

8 SEC. 5. REPORT REGARDING DESIGNATION OF ASSISTANT 

9 SECRETARY OF STATE TO COMBAT TRAF10 FICKING IN PERSONS. 

11 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact12 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to 

13 the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep14 resentatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

15 the Senate a report detailing— 

16 (1) for each current Assistant Secretary of 

17 State position— 

18 (A) the title of that Assistant Secretary of 

19 State; 

20 (B) how long that particular Assistant Sec21 retary designation has been in existence; and 

22 (C) whether that particular Assistant Sec23 retary designation was legislatively mandated or 

24 authorized and, if so, the relevant statutory ci25 tation for such mandate or authorization; and 


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1 (2) whether the Secretary intends to designate 

2 one of the Assistant Secretary of State positions au3 thorized by section 1(c)(1) of the State Department 

4 Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 

5 2651a(c)(1)) as the Assistant Secretary of State to 

6 Combat Trafficking in Persons, and the reasons for 

7 that decision. 

8 SEC. 6. COUNTRIES ON SPECIAL WATCH LIST FOR 4 CON9 SECUTIVE YEARS THAT ARE DOWNGRADED 

10 AND REINSTATED ON SPECIAL WATCH LIST. 

11 Section 110(b)(2) of the Trafficking Victims Protec12 tion Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107(b)(2)) is amended by 

13 adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(F) COUNTRIES ON SPECIAL WATCH LIST

15 FOR 4 CONSECUTIVE YEARS THAT ARE DOWN16 GRADED AND REINSTATED ON SPECIAL WATCH

17 LIST.—Notwithstanding subparagraphs (D) and 

18 (E), a country that— 

19 ‘‘(i) was included on the special watch 

20 list described in subparagraph (A) for 4 

21 consecutive years after the date of the en22 actment of the William Wilberforce Traf23 ficking Victims Protection Reauthorization 

24 Act of 2008; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) was subsequently included on the 

2 list of countries described in paragraph 

3 (1)(C), 

4 may not thereafter be included on the special 

5 watch list described in subparagraph (A) for 

6 more than 1 consecutive year.’’. 

7 SEC. 7. COST LIMITATION. 

8 No additional funds are authorized to be appro9 priated for ‘‘Diplomatic and Consular Programs’’ to carry 

10 out the provisions of this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives January 26, 

2015. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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