II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2925 

To establish a grant program to benefit victims of sex trafficking, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 22, 2009 

Mr. WYDEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish a grant program to benefit victims of sex 

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 ‘‘Trafficking Deterrence 

5 and Victims Support Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Human trafficking is modern-day slavery. It 

9 is the fastest-growing, and second largest, criminal 

10 enterprise in the world. Human trafficking generates 


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1 an estimated profit of $32,000,000,000 per year, 

2 world wide. 

3 (2) In the United States, human trafficking is 

4 an increasing problem. This criminal enterprise in5 cludes citizens of the United States, many of them 

6 children, who are forced into prostitution, and for7 eigners brought into the country, often under false 

8 pretenses, who are coerced into forced labor or com9 mercial sexual exploitation. 

10 (3) Sex trafficking is one of the most lucrative 

11 areas of human trafficking. Criminal gang members 

12 in the United States are increasingly involved in re13 cruiting young women and girls into sex trafficking. 

14 Interviews with gang members indicate that the 

15 gang members regard working as an individual who 

16 solicits customers for a prostitute (commonly known 

17 as a ‘‘pimp’’) to being as lucrative as trafficking in 

18 drugs, but with a much lower chance of being crimi19 nally convicted. 

20 (4) Minors in the United States are highly vul21 nerable for sexual exploitation and sex trafficking. 

22 As many as 2,800,000 children live on the streets. 

23 Of the estimated 1,600,000 children who run away 

24 each year, 77 percent return home within 1 week. 

25 However, 33 percent of children who run away are 


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1 lured into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving 

2 home. 

3 (5) National Incidence Studies of Missing, Ab4 ducted, Runaway and Throwaway Children, the de5 finitive study of episodes of missing children, found 

6 that of the children who are victims of non-family 

7 abduction, runaway or throwaway children, the po8 lice are alerted by family or guardians in only 21 

9 percent of the cases. In 79 percent of cases there is 

10 no report and no police involvement, and therefore 

11 no official attempt to find the child. 

12 (6) In 2007, the Administration of Children 

13 and Families, Department of Health and Human 

14 Services, reported to the Federal Government 

15 265,000 cases of serious physical, sexual, or psycho16 logical abuse of children. 

17 (7) Experts estimate that over 100,000 children 

18 in the United States are at risk for prostitution. 

19 (8) Children who have run away from home are 

20 at a high risk of becoming involved in sex traf21 ficking. Children who have run away multiple times 

22 are at much higher risk of not returning home and 

23 of engaging in prostitution. 

24 (9) The vast majority of children involved in sex 

25 trafficking have suffered previous sexual or physical 


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1 abuse, live in poverty, or have no stable home or 

2 family life. These children require a comprehensive 

3 framework of specialized treatment and mental 

4 health counseling that addresses post-traumatic 

5 stress, depression, and sexual exploitation. 

6 (10) The average age of entry into prostitution 

7 is 12. Seventy-five percent of minors engaged in 

8 prostitution have a pimp. A pimp can earn $200,000 

9 per year prostituting 1 trafficking victim. 

10 (11) Sex trafficking is a complex and varied 

11 criminal problem that requires a multi-disciplinary, 

12 cooperative solution. Reducing trafficking will re13 quire the Government to address victims, pimps, and 

14 johns; and to provide training specific to sex traf15 ficking for law enforcement officers and prosecutors, 

16 and child welfare, public health, and other social 

17 service providers. A good model for this type of ap18 proach is the Internet Crimes Against Children task 

19 force program. 

20 (12) Human trafficking is a criminal enterprise 

21 that imposes significant costs on the economy of the 

22 United States. Government and non-profit resources 

23 used to address trafficking include those of law en24 forcement, the judicial and penal systems, and social 

25 service providers. Without a range of appropriate 


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1 treatments to help trafficking victims overcome the 

2 trauma they have experienced, victims will continue 

3 to be involved in crime, unable to support them4 selves, and continue to require Government re5 sources rather than being productive contributors to 

6 the legitimate economy. 

7 (13) Many domestic minor sex trafficking vic8 tims are younger than 18 years old and are below 

9 the age of consent. Because trafficking victims have 

10 been forced to engage in prostitution rather than 

11 willfully to committing a crime, these victims should 

12 not be charged as criminal defendants. Instead, 

13 these victims of trafficking should have access to 

14 treatment and services to help them escape and 

15 overcome being sexually exploited, and should also 

16 be allowed to seek appropriate remuneration from 

17 crime victims’ compensation funds. 

18 (14) The State of New York has adopted a safe 

19 harbor law that establishes a presumption a minor 

20 charged with a prostitution offense is a severely traf21 ficked person. This law allows the child to avoid 

22 criminal charges of prostitution and instead be con23 sidered a ‘‘person in need of supervision.’’ The stat24 ute also provides support and services to sexually ex25 ploited youth who are under the age of 18 years old. 


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1 These services include safe houses, crisis interven2 tion programs, community-based programs, and law3 enforcement training to help officers identify sexu4 ally exploited youth. 

5 (15) Sex trafficking is not a problem that oc6 curs only in urban settings. This crime exists also in 

7 rural areas and on Indian reservations. Efforts to 

8 address sex trafficking should include partnerships 

9 with organizations that seek to address the needs of 

10 such under-served communities. 

11 SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE SENATE. 

12 It is the sense of the Senate that— 

13 (1) the Attorney General should implement 

14 changes to the National Crime Information Center 

15 database in order to ensure that— 

16 (A) a child entered into the database will 

17 be automatically designated as an endangered 

18 juvenile if the child has been reported missing 

19 not less than 3 times in a 1-year period; 

20 (B) the database be programmed to cross21 reference newly entered reports with historical 

22 records already in the database; and 

23 (C) the database be programmed to in24 clude a visual cue on the record of a child des25 ignated as an endangered juvenile in order to 


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1 assist law enforcement officers in recognizing 

2 the child and providing the child with appro3 priate care and services; and 

4 (2) funds awarded under subpart 1 of part E 

5 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

6 Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.) (com7 monly known as Byrne Grants) should be used to 

8 provide programs relating to sex trafficking edu9 cation, training, deterrence, and prevention. 

10 SEC. 4. SEX TRAFFICKING BLOCK GRANTS. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

12 (1) the term ‘‘Assistant Attorney General’’ 

13 means the Assistant Attorney General for the Office 

14 of Justice Programs of the Department of Justice; 

15 (2) the term ‘‘domestic minor’’ means an indi16 vidual who is— 

17 (A) a citizen of the United States or a law18 ful permanent resident of the United States; 

19 and 

20 (B) under the age of 18 years old; and 

21 (3) the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a State or 

22 unit of local government that— 

23 (A) has significant sex trafficking activity; 

24 (B) has demonstrated cooperation between 

25 State and local law enforcement agencies, prosVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:31 Dec 23, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2925.IS S2925

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1 ecutors, and social service providers in address2 ing sex trafficking; and 

3 (C) has developed a workable, multi-dis4 ciplinary plan to combat sex trafficking, includ5 ing— 

6 (i) the establishment of a shelter for 

7 sex trafficking victims; 

8 (ii) the provision of comprehensive 

9 services to domestic minor victims; 

10 (iii) the provision of specialized train11 ing for law enforcement officers and social 

12 service providers; and 

13 (iv) deterrence and prosecution of sex 

14 trafficking offenses. 

15 (b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Attorney Gen17 eral is authorized to award 6 block grants to eligible 

18 entities in different regions of the United States to 

19 combat sex trafficking, and not less than 1 of the 

20 block grants shall be awarded to an eligible entity 

21 with a State population of less than 5,000,000. 

22 (2) GRANT AMOUNT.—Each grant awarded 

23 under this section shall be in the amount of 

24 $2,500,000. 

25 (3) DURATION.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—A grant awarded under 

2 this section shall be for a period of 1 year. 

3 (B) RENEWAL.—The Secretary may renew 

4 a grant under this section for two 1-year peri5 ods. 

6 (c) USE OF FUNDS.— 

7 (1) ALLOCATION.—For each grant awarded 

8 under subsection (b)— 

9 (A) not less than 25 percent of the funds 

10 shall be used to provide shelter and services to 

11 victims of sex trafficking; and 

12 (B) not less than 10 percent of the funds 

13 shall be awarded by the eligible entity to a sub14 contractor with annual revenues of less than 

15 $750,000, to provide services to victims of sex 

16 trafficking or training for law enforcement and 

17 social service providers. 

18 (2) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—Grants awarded pur19 suant to subsection (b) may be used for activities 

20 such as— 

21 (A) providing shelter to domestic minor 

22 trafficking victims, including temporary or long23 term placement as appropriate; 

24 (B) providing trafficking victims with 

25 clothing and other daily necessities needed to 


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1 keep the trafficking victims from returning to 

2 living on the street; 

3 (C) counseling and legal services for vic4 tims of sex trafficking, including substance 

5 abuse treatment, trauma-informed care, and 

6 sexual abuse or other mental health counseling; 

7 (D) specialized training for law enforce8 ment personnel and social service providers, 

9 specific to sex trafficking issues; 

10 (E) funding salaries, in whole or in part, 

11 for law enforcement officers, including patrol 

12 officers; detectives; and investigators; provided 

13 that the percentage of the salary of the law en14 forcement officer paid for by funds from a 

15 grant awarded under subsection (b) shall be no 

16 less than the percentage of the time dedicated 

17 to working on sex trafficking cases by the law 

18 enforcement officer; 

19 (F) funding salaries for State and local 

20 prosecutors, including assisting in paying trial 

21 expenses for prosecution of sex trafficking law 

22 offenders; 

23 (G) investigation expenses, including— 

24 (i) wire taps; 


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1 (ii) consultants with expertise specific 

2 to sex trafficking cases; 

3 (iii) travel; and 

4 (iv) any other technical assistance ex5 penditures; and 

6 (H) outreach and education programs to 

7 provide information about deterrence and pre8 vention of sex trafficking, including programs 

9 to provide treatment to men charged with solici10 tation of prostitution in cases where— 

11 (i) a treatment program is an appro12 priate alternative to criminal prosecution; 

13 and 

14 (ii) the men were not charged with so15 licitation of sex with a minor. 

16 (d) APPLICATION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity desiring 

18 a grant under this Act shall submit an application 

19 to the Assistant Attorney General at such time, in 

20 such manner, and accompanied by such information 

21 as the Assistant Attorney General may reasonably 

22 require. 

23 (2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 

24 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall— 


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1 (A) describe the activities for which assist2 ance under this section is sought; and 

3 (B) provide such additional assurances as 

4 the Secretary determines to be essential to en5 sure compliance with the requirements of this 

6 Act. 

7 (e) EVALUATION.—The Assistant Attorney General 

8 shall, in consultation with the Comptroller General of the 

9 United States, enter into a contract with an academic or 

10 non-profit organization that has experience in sex traf11 ficking issues and evaluation of grant programs to conduct 

12 an annual evaluation of grants made under this section 

13 to determine the impact and effectiveness of programs 

14 funded with grants awarded under subsection (b). 

15 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For fis16 cal years 2011 through 2014, there are authorized to be 

17 appropriated, to carry out the provisions of this section, 

18 the following sums: 

19 (1) $45,000,000 to fund grants awarded under 

20 subsection (b). 

21 (2) $1,500,000 to conduct the evaluation under 

22 subsection (e). 

23 (3) $3,500,000 to the Attorney General, to de24 sign and implement improvements to the NCIC 

25 database. 


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1 SEC. 5. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

2 (a) REPORTING REQUIREMENT FOR STATE CHILD

3 WELFARE AGENCIES.— 

4 (1) REQUIREMENT FOR STATE CHILD WELFARE

5 AGENCIES TO REPORT CHILDREN MISSING OR AB6 DUCTED.—Section 471(a) of the Social Security Act 

7 (42 U.S.C. 671(a)) is amended— 

8 (A) in paragraph (32), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

9 after the semicolon; 

10 (B) in paragraph (33), by striking the pe11 riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

12 (C) by inserting after paragraph (33) the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(34) provides that the State has in effect pro15 cedures that require the State agency to promptly 

16 report information on missing or abducted children 

17 to the law enforcement authorities for entry into the 

18 National Crime Information Center (NCIC) data19 base.’’. 

20 (2) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Health 

21 and Human Services shall promulgate regulations 

22 implementing the amendment made by paragraph 

23 (1). The regulations promulgated under this sub24 section shall include provisions to withhold Federal 

25 funds to any State that fails to substantially comply 


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1 with the requirement imposed under the amendment 

2 made by paragraph (1). 

3 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

4 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on October 1, 

5 2010, without regard to whether final regulations re6 quired under paragraph (2) have been promulgated 

7 by that date. 

8 (b) ANNUAL STATISTICAL SUMMARY.—Section 

9 3701(c) of the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

10 5779(c)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, that includes the total 

11 number of reports received and the total number of entries 

12 made to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) 

13 database’’ after ‘‘of this title’’. 

14 (c) STATE REPORTING.—Section 3702 of the Crime 

15 Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 5780) is amended in para16 graph (4)— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘(3)’’; 

18 (2) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘, and a 

19 photograph taken within the previous 180 days’’ 

20 after ‘‘dental records’’; 

21 (3) in subparagraph (B), by striking the ‘‘and’’ 

22 after the semicolon; 

23 (4) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub24 paragraph (D); and 


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1 (5) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(C) notify the National Center for Miss4 ing and Exploited Children of each report re5 ceived relating to a child reported missing from 

6 a foster care family home or childcare institu7 tion; and’’. 

Æ 


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