II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 181 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 28, 2015 

Received 

AN ACT 

To provide justice for the victims of trafficking. 

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 ‘‘Justice for Victims 

3 of Trafficking Act of 2015’’. 

4 SEC. 2. VICTIM-CENTERED SEX TRAFFICKING DETERRENCE 

5 GRANT PROGRAM. 

6 Section 203 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Re7 authorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 14044b) is amend8 ed— 

9 (1) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub10 section (j); 

11 (2) by striking subsections (a) through (f), and 

12 inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Attorney General 

14 may make grants to eligible entities to develop, improve, 

15 or expand comprehensive domestic child human trafficking 

16 deterrence programs that assist law enforcement officers, 

17 prosecutors, judicial officials, and qualified victims’ serv18 ices organizations in collaborating to rescue and restore 

19 the lives of victims, while investigating and prosecuting of20 fenses involving child human trafficking. 

21 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Grants awarded 

22 under subsection (a) may be used for— 

23 ‘‘(1) the establishment or enhancement of spe24 cialized training programs for law enforcement offi25 cers, first responders, health care officials, child welVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Jan 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H181.RDS H181

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1 fare officials, juvenile justice personnel, prosecutors, 

2 and judicial personnel to— 

3 ‘‘(A) identify victims and acts of child 

4 human trafficking; 

5 ‘‘(B) address the unique needs of victims 

6 of child human trafficking; 

7 ‘‘(C) facilitate the rescue of victims of child 

8 human trafficking; 

9 ‘‘(D) investigate and prosecute acts of 

10 child human trafficking, including the soliciting, 

11 patronizing, or purchasing of commercial sex 

12 acts from children, as well as training to build 

13 cases against complex criminal networks in14 volved in child human trafficking; and 

15 ‘‘(E) implement and provide education on 

16 safe harbor laws enacted by States, aimed at 

17 preventing the criminalization and prosecution 

18 of victims of child human trafficking for pros19 titution offenses; 

20 ‘‘(2) the establishment or enhancement of dedi21 cated anti-child human trafficking law enforcement 

22 units and task forces to investigate child human 

23 trafficking offenses and to rescue victims, includ24 ing— 


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1 ‘‘(A) funding salaries, in whole or in part, 

2 for law enforcement officers, including patrol 

3 officers, detectives, and investigators, except 

4 that the percentage of the salary of the law en5 forcement officer paid for by funds from a 

6 grant awarded under this section shall not be 

7 more than the percentage of the officer’s time 

8 on duty that is dedicated to working on cases 

9 involving child human trafficking; 

10 ‘‘(B) investigation expenses for cases in11 volving child human trafficking, including— 

12 ‘‘(i) wire taps; 

13 ‘‘(ii) consultants with expertise spe14 cific to cases involving child human traf15 ficking; 

16 ‘‘(iii) travel; and 

17 ‘‘(iv) other technical assistance ex18 penditures; 

19 ‘‘(C) dedicated anti-child human traf20 ficking prosecution units, including the funding 

21 of salaries for State and local prosecutors, in22 cluding assisting in paying trial expenses for 

23 prosecution of child human trafficking offenses, 

24 except that the percentage of the total salary of 

25 a State or local prosecutor that is paid using an 


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1 award under this section shall be not more than 

2 the percentage of the total number of hours 

3 worked by the prosecutor that is spent working 

4 on cases involving child human trafficking; and 

5 ‘‘(D) the establishment of child human 

6 trafficking victim witness safety, assistance, 

7 and relocation programs that encourage co8 operation with law enforcement investigations 

9 of crimes of child human trafficking by 

10 leveraging existing resources and delivering 

11 child human trafficking victims’ services 

12 through coordination with— 

13 ‘‘(i) child advocacy centers; 

14 ‘‘(ii) social service agencies; 

15 ‘‘(iii) State governmental health serv16 ice agencies; 

17 ‘‘(iv) housing agencies; 

18 ‘‘(v) legal services agencies; and 

19 ‘‘(vi) non-governmental organizations 

20 and shelter service providers with substan21 tial experience in delivering services to vic22 tims of child human trafficking; 

23 ‘‘(3) the establishment or enhancement of prob24 lem solving court programs for child human traf25 ficking victims that include— 


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1 ‘‘(A) continuing judicial supervision of vic2 tims of child human trafficking who have been 

3 identified by a law enforcement or judicial offi4 cer as a potential victim of child human traf5 ficking, regardless of whether the victim has 

6 been charged with a crime related to human 

7 trafficking; 

8 ‘‘(B) the development of specialized and in9 dividualized treatment programs for identified 

10 victims of child human trafficking, including— 

11 ‘‘(i) State-administered outpatient 

12 treatment; 

13 ‘‘(ii) life skills training; 

14 ‘‘(iii) housing placement; 

15 ‘‘(iv) vocational training; 

16 ‘‘(v) education; 

17 ‘‘(vi) family support services; and 

18 ‘‘(vii) job placement; and 

19 ‘‘(C) collaborative efforts with child advo20 cacy centers, child welfare agencies, shelters, 

21 and non-governmental organizations to provide 

22 services to victims and encourage cooperation 

23 with law enforcement; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) the establishment or enhancement of vic2 tims’ services programs for victims of child human 

3 trafficking, which offer services including— 

4 ‘‘(A) residential care, including temporary 

5 or long-term placement, as appropriate; 

6 ‘‘(B) 24-hour emergency social services re7 sponse systems; and 

8 ‘‘(C) counseling and case management 

9 services. 

10 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity shall sub12 mit an application to the Attorney General for a 

13 grant under this section in such form and manner 

14 as the Attorney General may require. 

15 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—An application 

16 submitted under this subsection shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) disclose— 

18 ‘‘(i) any other grant funding from the 

19 Department of Justice or from any other 

20 Federal department or agency for purposes 

21 similar to those described in subsection (b) 

22 for which the eligible entity has applied, 

23 and which application is pending on the 

24 date of the submission of an application 

25 under this section; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) any other such grant funding 

2 that the eligible entity has received during 

3 the 5-year period prior to the date of the 

4 submission of an application under this 

5 section; 

6 ‘‘(B) describe the activities for which as7 sistance under this section is sought; 

8 ‘‘(C) include a detailed plan for the use of 

9 funds awarded under the grant; and 

10 ‘‘(D) provide such additional information 

11 and assurances as the Attorney General deter12 mines to be necessary to ensure compliance 

13 with the requirements of this section. 

14 ‘‘(3) PREFERENCE.—In reviewing applications 

15 submitted in accordance with paragraphs (1) and 

16 (2), the Attorney General shall give preference to 

17 grant applications if— 

18 ‘‘(A) the application includes a plan to use 

19 awarded funds to engage in all activities de20 scribed under paragraphs (1) and (2) of sub21 section (b); or 

22 ‘‘(B) the application includes a plan by the 

23 State or unit of local government to continue 

24 funding of all activities funded by the award 

25 after the expiration of the award. 


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1 ‘‘(d) DURATION AND RENEWAL OF AWARD.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A grant under this section 

3 shall expire 1 year after the date of award of the 

4 grant. 

5 ‘‘(2) RENEWAL.—A grant under this section 

6 shall be renewable not more than three times and 

7 for a period of not greater than 1 year. 

8 ‘‘(e) EVALUATION.—The Attorney General shall 

9 enter into a contract or other agreement with an academic 

10 or nonprofit organization that has experience in issues re11 lated to child human trafficking and evaluation of grant 

12 programs to conduct an annual evaluation of grants made 

13 under this section to determine the impact and effective14 ness of programs funded with grants awarded under this 

15 section, and shall submit any such evaluation to the Com16 mittee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives 

17 and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate. 

18 ‘‘(f) OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY.—An eligible 

19 entity that receives a grant under this section is subject 

20 to the requirements of section 10 of the Justice for Vic21 tims of Trafficking Act of 2014. 

22 ‘‘(g) ADMINISTRATIVE CAP.—The cost of admin23 istering the grants authorized by this section shall not ex24 ceed 5 percent of the total amount appropriated to carry 

25 out this section. 


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1 ‘‘(h) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the 

2 cost of a program funded by a grant awarded under this 

3 section may not exceed— 

4 ‘‘(1) 70 percent in the first year; 

5 ‘‘(2) 60 percent in the second year; and 

6 ‘‘(3) 50 percent in the third year. 

7 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

8 ‘‘(1) the term ‘child’ means a person under the 

9 age of 18; 

10 ‘‘(2) the term ‘child advocacy center’ means a 

11 center created under subtitle A of the Victims of 

12 Child Abuse Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 13001 et seq.); 

13 ‘‘(3) the term ‘child human trafficking’ means 

14 one or more severe forms of trafficking in persons 

15 (as defined in section 103 of the Trafficking Victims 

16 Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102)) involving 

17 a victim who is a child; and 

18 ‘‘(4) the term ‘eligible entity’ means a State or 

19 unit of local government that— 

20 ‘‘(A) has significant criminal activity in21 volving child human trafficking; 

22 ‘‘(B) has demonstrated cooperation be23 tween Federal, State, local, and, where applica24 ble, tribal law enforcement agencies, prosecuVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Jan 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H181.RDS H181

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1 tors, and social service providers in addressing 

2 child human trafficking; and 

3 ‘‘(C) has developed a workable, multi-dis4 ciplinary plan to combat child human traf5 ficking.’’; and 

6 (3) in subsection (j) (as so redesignated)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘Secretary of Health and 

8 Human Services’’ and inserting ‘‘Attorney Gen9 eral, in consultation with the Secretary of 

10 Health and Human Services,’’; and 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2008 through 

12 2011’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2015 through 

13 2019’’. 

14 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE VICTIMS OF CHILD ABUSE 

15 ACT OF 1990. 

16 The Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

17 13001 et seq.) is amended— 

18 (1) in section 212(5) (42 U.S.C. 13001a(5)), by 

19 inserting ‘‘, including human trafficking and the 

20 production of child pornography’’ before the semi21 colon at the end; and 

22 (2) in section 214 (42 U.S.C. 13002)— 

23 (A) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), 

24 and (d) as subsections (c), (d), and (e), respec25 tively; and 


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1 (B) by inserting after subsection (a) the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(b) DIRECT SERVICES FOR VICTIMS OF CHILD POR4 NOGRAPHY.—The Administrator, in coordination with the 

5 Director and with the Director of the Office of Victims 

6 of Crime, may make grants to develop and implement spe7 cialized programs to identify and provide direct services 

8 to victims of child pornography.’’. 

9 SEC. 4. STREAMLINING FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL 

10 HUMAN TRAFFICKING INVESTIGATIONS. 

11 Section 2516 of title 18, United States Code, is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1)(C)— 

14 (A) by inserting before ‘‘section 1591’’ the 

15 following: ‘‘section 1581 (peonage; obstructing 

16 enforcement), section 1584 (sale into involun17 tary servitude), section 1589 (forced labor), sec18 tion 1590 (trafficking with respect to peonage, 

19 slavery, involuntary servitude, or forced 

20 labor),’’; and 

21 (B) by inserting before ‘‘section 1751’’ the 

22 following: ‘‘section 1592 (unlawful conduct with 

23 respect to documents in furtherance of traf24 ficking, peonage, slavery, involuntary servitude, 

25 or forced labor),’’; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘human traf2 ficking, offenses pertaining to child pornography, 

3 child sexual abuse, coercion and enticement of chil4 dren,’’ after ‘‘kidnapping,’’. 

5 SEC. 5. ENHANCING HUMAN TRAFFICKING REPORTING. 

6 Section 3702 of the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 

7 U.S.C. 5780) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

9 end; and 

10 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

11 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

12 (A), by striking ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘paragraph (3)’’; 

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

15 ‘‘and a photograph taken within the previous 

16 180 days’’ after ‘‘dental records’’; 

17 (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

18 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

19 (D) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 

20 subparagraph (D); and 

21 (E) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(C) notify the National Center for Miss24 ing and Exploited Children of each report re25 ceived relating to a child reported missing from 


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1 a foster care family home or childcare institu2 tion; and’’. 

3 SEC. 6. REDUCING DEMAND FOR SEX TRAFFICKING. 

4 Section 1591 of title 18, United States Code, is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘or main7 tains’’ and inserting ‘‘maintains, patronizes, or solic8 its’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (b)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or ob11 tained’’ and inserting ‘‘obtained, patronized, or 

12 solicited’’; and 

13 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘or ob14 tained’’ and inserting ‘‘obtained, patronized, or 

15 solicited’’; and 

16 (3) in subsection (c)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘or maintained’’ and in18 serting ‘‘, maintained, patronized, or solicited’’; 

19 and 

20 (B) by striking ‘‘knew that the person’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘knew, or recklessly disregarded 

22 the fact, that the person’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. USING EXISTING TASK FORCES TO TARGET OF2 FENDERS WHO EXPLOIT CHILDREN. 

3 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

4 of this Act, the Attorney General shall ensure that all task 

5 forces and working groups within the Violent Crimes 

6 Against Children Program engage in activities, programs, 

7 or operations to increase the investigative capabilities of 

8 State and local law enforcement officers in the detection, 

9 investigation, and prosecution of persons who patronize, 

10 or solicit children for sex. 

11 SEC. 8. HOLDING SEX TRAFFICKERS ACCOUNTABLE. 

12 Section 2423(g) of title 18, United States Code, is 

13 amended by striking ‘‘a preponderance of the evidence’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘clear and convincing evidence’’. 

15 SEC. 9. OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY. 

16 (a) AUDIT REQUIREMENT.—In fiscal year 2015, and 

17 each fiscal year thereafter, the Inspector General of the 

18 Department of Justice shall conduct audits of covered 

19 grantees to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of such funds. 

20 The Inspector General shall determine the appropriate 

21 number of covered grantees to be audited each year. 

22 (b) MANDATORY EXCLUSION.—A covered grantee 

23 that is found to have an unresolved audit finding shall 

24 not be eligible for an allocation of grant funds from the 

25 covered grant program from which it received a grant 


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1 award during the first 2 fiscal years beginning after the 

2 end of the 12-month period described in subsection (g)(3). 

3 (c) REIMBURSEMENT.—If a covered grantee is 

4 awarded funds under the covered grant program from 

5 which it received a grant award during the 2-fiscal-year 

6 period during which the covered grantee is ineligible for 

7 an allocation of grant funds as a result of subsection (b), 

8 the Attorney General shall— 

9 (1) deposit an amount equal to the amount of 

10 the grant funds that were improperly awarded to the 

11 covered grantee into the General Fund of the Treas12 ury; and 

13 (2) seek to recoup the costs of the repayment 

14 to the Fund from the covered grantee that was erro15 neously awarded grant funds. 

16 (d) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 (1) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, 

18 the term ‘‘nonprofit’’, when used with respect to an 

19 organization, means an organization that is de20 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

21 Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation under 

22 section 501(a) of such Code. 

23 (2) PROHIBITION.—A nonprofit organization 

24 that holds money in offshore accounts for the pur25 pose of avoiding paying the tax described in section 


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1 511(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, shall 

2 not be eligible to receive, directly or indirectly, any 

3 funds from a covered grant program. 

4 (3) DISCLOSURE.—Each nonprofit organization 

5 that is a covered grantee shall disclose in its applica6 tion for such a grant, as a condition of receipt of 

7 such a grant, the compensation of its officers, direc8 tors, and trustees. Such disclosure shall include a 

9 description of the criteria relied upon to determine 

10 such compensation. 

11 (e) CONFERENCE EXPENDITURES.— 

12 (1) LIMITATION.—No amounts made available 

13 under a covered grant program may be used to host 

14 or support a conference that uses more than 

15 $20,000 in funds made available by the Department 

16 of Justice unless the Deputy Attorney General or 

17 the appropriate Assistant Attorney General, Direc18 tor, or principal deputy (as designated by the Dep19 uty Attorney General) provides prior written ap20 proval that the funds may be expended to host or 

21 support such conference, except that a conference 

22 that uses more than $20,000 in such funds, but less 

23 than $500 in such funds for each attendee of the 

24 conference, shall not be subject to the limitation 

25 under this paragraph. 


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1 (2) WRITTEN APPROVAL.—Written approval 

2 under paragraph (1) shall include a written estimate 

3 of all costs associated with the conference, including 

4 the cost of all food, beverages, audio-visual equip5 ment, honoraria for speakers, and entertainment. 

6 (3) REPORT.—The Deputy Attorney General 

7 shall submit an annual report to the Committee on 

8 the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on 

9 the Judiciary of the House of Representatives on all 

10 conference expenditures approved under this sub11 section. 

12 (f) PROHIBITION ON LOBBYING ACTIVITY.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts made available 

14 under a covered grant program may not be used by 

15 any covered grantee to— 

16 (A) lobby any representative of the Depart17 ment of Justice regarding the award of grant 

18 funding; or 

19 (B) lobby any representative of the Federal 

20 Government or a State, local, or tribal govern21 ment regarding the award of grant funding. 

22 (2) PENALTY.—If the Attorney General deter23 mines that a covered grantee has violated paragraph 

24 (1), the Attorney General shall— 


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1 (A) require the covered grantee to repay 

2 the grant in full; and 

3 (B) prohibit the covered grantee from re4 ceiving a grant under the covered grant pro5 gram from which it received a grant award dur6 ing at least the 5-year period beginning on the 

7 date of such violation. 

8 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi9 nitions apply: 

10 (1) The term ‘‘covered grant program’’ means 

11 the following: 

12 (A) The grant program under section 203 

13 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthor14 ization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 14044b). 

15 (B) The grant programs under section 214 

16 and 214A of the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 

17 1990 (42 U.S.C. 13002, 13003). 

18 (2) The term ‘‘covered grantee’’ means a recipi19 ent of a grant from a covered grant program. 

20 (3) The term ‘‘unresolved audit finding’’ means 

21 an audit report finding in a final audit report of the 

22 Inspector General of the Department of Justice that 

23 a covered grantee has used grant funds awarded to 

24 that grantee under a covered grant program for an 

25 unauthorized expenditure or otherwise unallowable 


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1 cost that is not closed or resolved during the 12- 

2 month period beginning on the date on which the 

3 final audit report is issued. 

4 SEC. 10. CRIME VICTIMS’ RIGHTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3771 of title 18, United 

6 States Code, is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(9) The right to be informed in a timely man10 ner of any plea agreement or deferred prosecution 

11 agreement. 

12 ‘‘(10) The right to be informed of the rights 

13 under this section and the services described in sec14 tion 503(c) of the Victims’ Rights and Restitution 

15 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 10607(c)) and provided con16 tact information for the Office of the Victims’ 

17 Rights Ombudsman of the Department of Justice.’’; 

18 (2) in subsection (d)(3), in the fifth sentence, 

19 by inserting ‘‘, unless the litigants, with the approval 

20 of the court, have stipulated to a different time pe21 riod for consideration’’ before the period; and 

22 (3) in subsection (e)— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘this chapter, the term’’ 

24 and inserting the following: ‘‘this chapter: 


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1 ‘‘(1) COURT OF APPEALS.—The term ‘court of 

2 appeals’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) the United States court of appeals for 

4 the judicial district in which a defendant is 

5 being prosecuted; or 

6 ‘‘(B) for a prosecution in the Superior 

7 Court of the District of Columbia, the District 

8 of Columbia Court of Appeals. 

9 ‘‘(2) CRIME VICTIM.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term’’; 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘In the case’’ and inserting 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(B) MINORS AND CERTAIN OTHER VIC14 TIMS.—In the case’’; and 

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

16 ‘‘(3) DISTRICT COURT; COURT.—The terms 

17 ‘district court’ and ‘court’ include the Superior 

18 Court of the District of Columbia.’’. 

19 (b) APPELLATE REVIEW OF PETITIONS RELATING

20 TO CRIME VICTIMS’ RIGHTS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3771(d)(3) of title 

22 18, United States Code, as amended by subsection 

23 (a)(2) of this section, is amended by inserting after 

24 the fifth sentence the following: ‘‘In deciding such 


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1 application, the court of appeals shall apply ordinary 

2 standards of appellate review.’’. 

3 (2) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by 

4 paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to any peti5 tion for a writ of mandamus filed under section 

6 3771(d)(3) of title 18, United States Code, that is 

7 pending on the date of enactment of this Act. 

8 SEC. 11. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

9 It is the sense of Congress that— 

10 (1) child human trafficking (as such term is de11 fined in section 203(i) of the Trafficking Victims 

12 Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

13 14044b), as added by this Act) has no place in a civ14 ilized society, and that persons who commit crimes 

15 relating to child human trafficking should be pros16 ecuted to the fullest extent of the law; 

17 (2) the United States, as a leader in monitoring 

18 and combating human trafficking throughout the 

19 world, must hold all nations to the same standards 

20 to which we hold our Nation; 

21 (3) those who obtain, solicit, or patronize a vic22 tim of trafficking for the purpose of engaging in a 

23 commercial sex act with that person, are committing 

24 a human trafficking offense under Federal law; 


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1 (4) the demand for commercial sex is a primary 

2 cause of the human rights violation of human traf3 ficking, and the elimination of that human rights 

4 violation requires the elimination of that demand; 

5 (5) United States citizens or lawful permanent 

6 residents who are victims of severe forms of traf7 ficking are not required to obtain an official certifi8 cation from the Secretary of Health and Human 

9 Services in order to access any of the specialized 

10 services described in section 107 of the Trafficking 

11 Victims Protection Act of 2000 or any other Federal 

12 benefits and protections to which they are otherwise 

13 entitled; and 

14 (6) as matters stand on the date of enactment 

15 of this Act, there are insufficient services and pro16 grams for victims of severe forms of human traf17 ficking in the United States, including United States 

18 citizens and lawful permanent residents. 

19 SEC. 12. CLARIFYING THE BENEFITS AND PROTECTIONS 

20 OFFERED TO DOMESTIC VICTIMS OF HUMAN 

21 TRAFFICKING. 

22 Section 107(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection 

23 Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7105(b)) is amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (F), as sub25 paragraph (G); 


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1 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (G), as sub2 paragraph (H); and 

3 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(F) NO REQUIREMENT OF OFFICIAL CER6 TIFICATION FOR UNITED STATES CITIZENS AND

7 LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENTS.—Nothing in 

8 this section may be construed to require United 

9 States citizens or lawful permanent residents 

10 who are victims of severe forms of trafficking to 

11 obtain an official certification from the Sec12 retary of Health and Human Services in order 

13 to access any of the specialized services de14 scribed in this subsection or any other Federal 

15 benefits and protections to which they are oth16 erwise entitled.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives January 27, 

2015. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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