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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2737 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2737

  To provide United States assistance for the purpose of eradicating 
       trafficking in children in eligible countries through the 
  implementation of Child Protection Compacts, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 4, 2009

   Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. Burton of 
 Indiana, Mr. LaTourette, Mrs. Myrick, Mr. Paulsen, Mr. Perriello, Mr. 
  Platts, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Upton, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. McDermott, and Mr. 
    Kirk) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To provide United States assistance for the purpose of eradicating 
       trafficking in children in eligible countries through the 
  implementation of Child Protection Compacts, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as ``Child Protection Compact Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the United Nations Children's Fund 
        (UNICEF), an estimated 158,000,000 children aged 5-14 are 
        engaged in child labor.
            (2) The International Labor Organizations' (ILO) Convention 
        Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the 
        Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor, which the United 
        States ratified in February 1999, defines ``worst forms of 
        child labour'' as--
                    (A) all forms of slavery or practices similar to 
                slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, 
                debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory 
                labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of 
                children for use in armed conflict;
                    (B) the use, procuring or offering of a child for 
                prostitution, for the production of pornography or for 
                pornographic performances;
                    (C) the use, procuring or offering of a child for 
                illicit activities, in particular for the production 
                and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant 
                international treaties; and
                    (D) work which, by its nature or the circumstances 
                in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the 
                health, safety or morals of children.
            (3) The sexual exploitation of minors is a global 
        phenomenon. The International Labour Organization estimates 
        that 1,800,000 children worldwide are exploited each year 
        through prostitution and pornography.
            (4) Many countries with a high prevalence of trafficking in 
        children lack financial resources, legal expertise, technical 
        capacity, and other resources to appropriately protect and 
        rescue these children, despite a demonstrated political will to 
        do so.
            (5) Article 8 of the ILO Convention Concerning the 
        Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the 
        Worst Forms of Child Labor calls on Members to ``take 
        appropriate steps to assist one another in giving effect to the 
        provisions of this Convention through enhanced international 
        cooperation and/or assistance ... .''.
            (6) As a States Party to the Optional Protocol to the 
        Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, 
        Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, the United States is 
        obligated pursuant to Article 10 to, among other things, take 
        all necessary steps to strengthen international cooperation by 
        multilateral, regional, and bilateral arrangements for the 
        prevention and detection of those responsible for acts 
        involving the sale of children, child prostitution, child 
        pornography and child sex tourism. The United States also is 
        required to promote international cooperation and coordination 
        authorities of other States Parties to the Convention, national 
        and international nongovernmental organizations and 
        international organizations to achieve these objectives.
            (7) Article 10 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention 
        on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child 
        Prostitution and Child Pornography further mandates that the 
        United States and other States Parties in a position to do so 
        to provide financial, technical, or other assistance through 
        existing multilateral, regional, bilateral or other programs.
    (b) Declaration of Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to protect 
and rescue children from trafficking by the establishment of Child 
Protection Compacts between the United States and select, eligible 
countries with a significant prevalence of trafficking in children, in 
order to--
            (1) address institutional weaknesses within the government 
        that result in the failure to protect vulnerable children and 
        to rescue and properly rehabilitate victims;
            (2) address other legal, political, and societal 
        vulnerabilities for children within the country; and
            (3) ensure transparency and accountability in achieving the 
        goals stipulated in the Compact over the course of its three-
        year implementation.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--Except as 
        otherwise provided, the term ``appropriate congressional 
        committees'' means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 
        House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations 
        of the Senate.
            (2) Compact.--The term ``Child Protection Compact'' or 
        ``Compact'' means a Child Protection Compact described in 
        section 6.
            (3) Ambassador.--The term ``Ambassador'' means the 
        Ambassador-at-Large of the Department of State's Office to 
        Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.
            (4) Minor.--The term ``minor'' means an individual who has 
        not attained the age of 18 years.
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of State.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Assistance.--The Secretary, acting through the Ambassador, is 
authorized to provide assistance under this section for each country 
that enters into a Compact with the United States pursuant to section 6 
to support policies and programs that assist the country to eradicate 
the trafficking of children and are in furtherance of the purposes of 
this Act.
    (b) Form of Assistance.--Assistance under this section may be 
provided in the form of grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts to 
or with eligible entities described in subsection (c). Assistance under 
this section may not be provided in the form of loans.
    (c) Eligible Entities.--An eligible entity referred to in 
subsection (b) is--
            (1) the national government of the eligible country;
            (2) regional or local governmental units of the country; or
            (3) a nongovernmental organization or a private entity with 
        expertise in the protection of vulnerable children, the 
        investigation and prosecution of those who engage in or benefit 
        from child trafficking, or rescue of child victims of 
        trafficking.
    (d) Number and Amount of Compacts.--Subject to the availability of 
appropriations, the Secretary shall determine the number of Compacts 
based on the established need of the countries determined to be most 
eligible based on the criteria described in section 5. The amount of 
any single Compact shall not exceed a total of $15,000,000.
    (e) Annual Disbursements.--Disbursements shall be made to the 
eligible entities on an annual basis pursuant to the terms of the 
respective Compacts.

SEC. 5. ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES.

    (a) Determination by the Secretary.--The Secretary shall select a 
country for purposes of entering into a Compact based on whether the 
country meets the initial criteria listed in subsection (b) and the 
selection criteria listed in subsection (c). The determination pursuant 
to subsection (c) shall be based, to the maximum extent possible, upon 
objective, documented, and quantifiable indicators.
    (b) Initial Criteria.--
            (1) In general.--A country may be considered for a Compact 
        if--
                    (A) the country is eligible for assistance from the 
                International Development Association, and the per 
                capita income of the country is equal to or less than 
                the historical ceiling of the International Development 
                Association, as defined by the International Bank for 
                Reconstruction and Development; and
                    (B) subject to paragraph (2), the country is not 
                ineligible to receive United States economic assistance 
                under part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 by 
                reason of the application of any provision of the 
                Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 or any other provision 
                of law.
            (2) Rule of construction.--For the purposes of determining 
        whether a country is eligible for receiving assistance under 
        paragraph (1), the exercise by the President, the Secretary of 
        State, or any other officer or employee of the United States of 
        any waiver or suspension of any provision of law referred to in 
        such paragraph, and notification to the appropriate 
        congressional committees in accordance with such provision of 
        law, shall be construed as satisfying the requirement of such 
        paragraph.
    (c) Selection Criteria.--A country should be selected on the basis 
of--
            (1) a documented high prevalence of trafficking of children 
        within the country;
            (2) demonstrated political will and sustained commitment by 
        the government to undertake meaningful measures to address the 
        trafficking of children, including--
                    (A) enactment and enforcement of laws criminalizing 
                trafficking in children with punishments commensurate 
                with the crime, including, when necessary, against 
                complicit government officials;
                    (B) cooperation with local and international non-
                governmental organizations with demonstrated expertise 
                in combating the trafficking in children; and
                    (C) the treatment of child trafficking victims in 
                accordance with Article 6(3) of the Protocol to 
                Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, 
                Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United 
                Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized 
                Crime;
            (3) the capacity of the host country government and 
        relevant actors within civil society to effectively utilize 
        additional resources;
            (4) United States Government in-country presence;
            (5) an identifiable impact that will result from 
        implementation of a Compact; and
            (6) assurances that the measures to be undertaken will have 
        a continued, sustainable impact once the Compact period is 
        completed.

SEC. 6. CHILD PROTECTION COMPACT.

    (a) Compact.--The Secretary, acting through the Ambassador, may 
provide assistance for a country only if the country enters into an 
agreement with the United States, to be known as a ``Child Protection 
Compact'', that establishes a 3-year plan for achieving shared 
objectives in furtherance of the purposes of this Act.
    (b) Elements.--The Compact should take into account the national 
child protection strategy of the country and shall contain--
            (1) the specific objectives that the country and the United 
        States expect to achieve during the term of the Compact;
            (2) the responsibilities of the country and the United 
        States in the achievement of such objectives;
            (3) the particular programs or initiatives to be undertaken 
        in the achievement of such objectives and the amount of funding 
        to be allocated to each program or initiative;
            (4) regular benchmarks to measure, where appropriate, 
        progress toward achieving such objectives, including benchmarks 
        for each program or initiative;
            (5) a multi-year financial plan, including the estimated 
        amount of contributions by the United States and the country, 
        if any, and proposed mechanisms to implement the plan and 
        provide oversight, that describes how the requirements of 
        paragraphs (1) through (4) will be met, including identifying 
        the role of civil society in the achievement of such 
        requirements;
            (6) where appropriate, a description of the current and 
        potential participation of other donors in the achievement of 
        such objectives;
            (7) a plan to ensure appropriate fiscal accountability for 
        the use of assistance provided under section 4;
            (8) where appropriate, a process or processes for 
        consideration of solicited proposals under the Compact as well 
        as a process for consideration of unsolicited proposals by the 
        Secretary and national, regional, or local units of government;
            (9) a requirement that open, fair, and competitive 
        procedures are used in a transparent manner in the 
        administration of grants or cooperative agreements or the 
        procurement of goods and services for the accomplishment of 
        objectives under the Compact; and
            (10) the strategy of the country to sustain progress made 
        toward achieving such objectives after expiration of the 
        Compact.
    (c) Assistance for Development of Compact.--Notwithstanding 
subsection (a), the Secretary may enter into contracts or make grants 
for any eligible country for the purpose of facilitating the 
development and implementation of the Compact between the United States 
and the country.
    (d) Definitions.--In this subsection:
            (1) National child protection strategy.--The term 
        ``national child protection strategy'' means any strategy to 
        eliminate the trafficking in children that has been developed 
        by the government of the country in consultation with a variety 
        of nongovernmental organizations involved in the protection of 
        vulnerable children, the prosecution of those who engage in or 
        benefit from child trafficking, or rescue child victims of 
        trafficking.
            (2) Program or initiative.--The term ``program or 
        initiative'' may include the following:
                    (A) Evaluation of legal standards and practices and 
                recommendations for improvements that will increase the 
                likelihood of successful prosecutions.
                    (B) Training anti-trafficking police and 
                investigators.
                    (C) Building the capacity of domestic non-
                governmental organizations to educate vulnerable 
                populations about the danger of trafficking and to work 
                with law enforcement to identify and rescue victims.
                    (D) Creation of victim-friendly courts.
                    (E) Development of appropriate after-care 
                facilities for rescued victims.
                    (F) Development and maintenance of data collection 
                systems.
                    (G) Development of regional cooperative plans with 
                neighboring countries to prevent cross-border 
                trafficking of children and child sex tourism.

SEC. 7. SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION OF ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Suspension and Termination of Assistance.--The Secretary may 
suspend or terminate assistance in whole or in part for a country or 
entity under section 4 if the Secretary determines that--
            (1) the country or entity is engaged in activities which 
        are contrary to the national security interests of the United 
        States;
            (2) the country or entity has engaged in a pattern of 
        actions inconsistent with the criteria used to determine the 
        eligibility of the country or entity, as the case may be; or
            (3) the country or entity has failed to adhere to its 
        responsibilities under the Compact.
    (b) Reinstatement.--The Secretary may reinstate assistance for a 
country or entity under section 4 only if the Secretary determines that 
the country or entity has demonstrated a commitment to correcting each 
condition for which assistance was suspended or terminated under 
subsection (a).
    (c) Congressional Notification.--Not later than 3 days after the 
date on which the Secretary suspends or terminates assistance under 
subsection (a) for a country or entity, or reinstates assistance under 
subsection (b) for a country or entity, the Secretary shall submit to 
the appropriate congressional committees a report that contains the 
determination of the Secretary under subsection (a) or subsection (b), 
as the case may be.
    (d) Rule of Construction.--The authority to suspend or terminate 
assistance under this section includes the authority to suspend or 
terminate obligations and sub-obligations.

SEC. 8. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION AND ANNUAL REPORT.

    (a) Congressional Consultation Prior to Compact Negotiations.--Not 
later than 15 days prior to the start of negotiations of a Compact with 
a country, the Ambassador--
            (1) shall consult with the appropriate congressional 
        committees with respect to the proposed Compact negotiation; 
        and
            (2) shall identify the objectives and mechanisms to be used 
        for the negotiation of the Compact.
    (b) Congressional Notification After Entering Into a Compact.--Not 
later than 10 days after entering into a Compact with a country, the 
Ambassador shall provide notification of the Compact to the appropriate 
congressional committees, including a detailed summary of the Compact 
and a copy of the text of the Compact.
    (c) Annual Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
        President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional 
        committees a report on the assistance provided under section 4 
        during the prior fiscal year.
            (2) Matters to be included.--The report shall include the 
        following:
                    (A) The amount of obligations and expenditures for 
                assistance provided to each eligible country during the 
                prior fiscal year.
                    (B) For each country, an assessment of--
                            (i) the progress made during each year by 
                        the country toward achieving the objectives set 
                        out in the Compact entered into by the country; 
                        and
                            (ii) the extent to which assistance 
                        provided under section 4 has been effective in 
                        helping the country to achieve such objectives.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the 
Secretary $50,000,000 for the 3-year period beginning on October 1, 
2010, to carry out the purposes of this Act.
    (b) Availability of Funds.--Amounts authorized to be appropriated 
under subsection (a) are authorized to remain available until expended, 
but not later than the date of the termination of the Compacts.
    (c) Allocation of Funds.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary may allocate or transfer to 
        any agency of the United States Government any of the funds 
        available for carrying out this Act. Such funds shall be 
        available for obligation and expenditure for the purposes for 
        which the funds were authorized, in accordance with authority 
        granted in this Act or under authority governing the activities 
        of the United States Government agency to which such funds are 
        allocated or transferred.
            (2) Notification.--The Secretary shall notify the 
        appropriate congressional committees not less than 15 days 
        prior to an allocation or transfer of funds pursuant to 
        paragraph (1).
                                 <all>
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