I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2473 
To ensure compliance with the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 
2015, to make strides toward eradicating human trafficking, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 16, 2017 
Mrs. WAGNER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education 
and the Workforce, 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 ensure compliance with the Justice for Victims of Traf-
ficking Act of 2015, to make strides toward eradicating 
human trafficking, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Enforcing Justice for 
Victims of Trafficking Act of 2017’’. 
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SEC. 2. TRAINING FOR PROSECUTIONS OF TRAFFICKERS 
AND SUPPORT FOR STATE SERVICES FOR 
VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING. 
The Attorney General shall, in coordination with the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services, provide training 
and technical assistance for Federal, State, and units of 
local and tribal government, including Federal, State, 
local, and tribal prosecutors and law enforcement officers, 
in— 
(1) investigating, prosecuting, and preventing 
severe forms of trafficking in persons through a 
trauma-informed and victim-centered approach that 
provides services and protections for victims; 
(2) facilitating the provision of evidence-based, 
trauma-informed care and physical and mental 
health services to persons subject to severe forms of 
trafficking; 
(3) ensuring that all victims of trafficking who 
are United States citizens, lawful permanent resi-
dents, and foreign nationals are eligible for services; 
(4) ensuring that law enforcement officers and 
prosecutors make every attempt to determine an in-
dividual’s participation in human trafficking is free 
from force, fraud, or coercion of any means before 
arresting or convicting them; 
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(5) facilitating access for child trafficking vic-
tims to the same type of court procedures and legal 
protections accessible to child victims of sexual as-
sault, rape, child sexual abuse, or incest, including 
the right to not be treated as a criminal; and 
(6) encouraging States to identify victims where 
they are located, including through efforts that uti-
lize internet outreach, through methods informed by 
survivors of human trafficking, and to offer help and 
services that are responsive to victims’ needs. 
SEC. 3. WORKING TO DEVELOP METHODOLOGY TO ASSESS 
PREVALENCE OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING. 
(a) WORKING GROUP.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director 
of the National Institute of Justice shall establish an 
expert working group to identify the methodological 
barriers hampering data collection on human traf-
ficking, the information that should be collected, and 
current practices by agencies, task forces, States, 
cities, research institutions, and organizations work-
ing on human trafficking that could be standardized 
as replicable best practices. 
(2) PILOT TESTING.—Not later than 3 years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Di-
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rector of the National Institute of Justice shall im-
plement a series of pilot studies to test promising 
methodologies studied under paragraph (1). 
(b) REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director 
of the National Institute of Justice, in consultation 
with the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services, the Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity, and the Director of the Human Smuggling 
and Trafficking Center, shall submit to Congress a 
report on the efforts made in developing a com-
prehensive national methodology to determine the 
prevalence of human trafficking in the United 
States, recommended examples and best practices to 
determine the prevalence of human trafficking, and 
the effectiveness of current policies and procedures 
to address victims’ needs, and identify the varying 
characteristics of victims in different regions. 
(2) AVAILABILITY OF REPORT.—The report re-
quired under subsection (a) shall be made publicly 
available on the website of the Department of Jus-
tice. 
(3) INPUT FROM RELEVANT PARTIES.—In de-
veloping the report under paragraph (1), the Direc-
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tor shall seek input from the United States Advisory 
Council on Human Trafficking, victims of human 
trafficking, human trafficking survivor advocates, 
and the President’s Interagency Task Force on 
Human Trafficking. 
(c) CENSUS.—Not later than 2 years after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the National 
Institute of Justice, in coordination with Federal, State, 
local, and tribal governments, and private organizations, 
including victim service providers and expert researchers, 
shall develop and execute a census of survivors seeking 
services in a single 24-hour period throughout the United 
States, as pioneered by the domestic violence field, to esti-
mate the prevalence of human trafficking in the United 
States. Census results shall be made publicly available on 
the website of the Department of Justice. 
SEC. 4. REPORT ON PROSECUTORS SEEKING MANDATORY 
RESTITUTION IN TRAFFICKING CASES. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress 
a report on efforts to increase mandatory restitution or-
ders and use of asset forfeiture to provide restitution to 
victims of trafficking that shall be posted on a publicly 
available website, which shall include the following: 
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(1) Information on the Department of Justice’s 
training programs on mandatory restitution and the 
use of asset forfeiture to provide restitution to vic-
tims of trafficking, and recommendations of nec-
essary additional training to ensure mandatory res-
titution is ordered in all relevant human trafficking 
cases. 
(2) An assessment of obstacles that continue to 
prevent Federal prosecutors and Federal courts from 
ordering restitution. 
(3) An assessment of whether the Justice for 
Victims of Trafficking Act’s civil asset forfeiture 
provisions have helped increase requests to transfer 
forfeited proceeds for restitution, including how 
many requests have been made and how many of 
those requests have been approved, and whether As-
sistant United States Attorneys Offices are properly 
informed about requesting transfers. 
(4) An assessment of how establishing trauma- 
informed, victim-centered investigative and prosecu-
torial procedures can help improve mandatory res-
titution orders, such as by encouraging victims to 
cooperate in criminal cases, to equip victims with 
proper assistance during criminal proceedings, and 
to help victims secure mandatory restitution. 
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SEC. 5. ENCOURAGING STATES TO ADOPT PROTECTIONS 
FOR VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING. 
Congress recognizes and applauds the State legisla-
tive bodies that have taken tremendous steps to adopt pro-
tections and services for victims of trafficking. Congress 
encourages States to do the following: 
(1) Uphold the basic rights and dignity of 
human trafficking survivors. 
(2) Implement screening mechanisms for all 
children entering child welfare services and the juve-
nile justice system, and for unaccompanied children 
migrating into the country, to identify child traf-
ficking victims and connect them with appropriate 
services. 
(3) Ensure that child trafficking victims are 
provided with the full range of protections, including 
access to child welfare services, trauma-informed 
programming, and the same legal rights afforded to 
other children who experience sexual abuse, rape, or 
incest, including ensuring that criminals who exploit 
child sex trafficking victims are not given lesser sen-
tences and penalties than criminals who exploit chil-
dren through sexual abuse, rape, or incest; and en-
suring that child trafficking victims are never re-
ferred to as ‘‘child prostitutes’’ or ‘‘underage sex 
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workers’’ in law or official documents and pro-
ceedings. 
(4) Develop a 24-hour emergency response plan 
to provide victims of labor and sex trafficking with 
immediate protection and support when they are 
first identified, which may include physically moving 
victims of trafficking to a place of safety, attending 
to the immediate medical and emotional needs of 
survivors, assessing whether survivors are under risk 
for harm, retaliation, or intimidation, and directly 
connecting survivors with victim advocates, housing, 
and service providers. 
(5) Adopt protections for victims of human 
trafficking that include the right— 
(A) to be treated as a victim of crime and 
afforded justice, respect, and dignity; 
(B) to protection if the victim’s safety is at 
risk or if there is danger of harm, retaliation, 
or recapture by the trafficker; 
(C) to comprehensive trauma-informed, 
long-term, culturally competent care and heal-
ing services oriented toward emotional, physical, 
psychological, and family healing; 
(D) to evidence-based screening and as-
sessment tools, treatment plans, and therapy to 
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address traumatic stress and associated mental 
health symptoms; 
(E) to safe and effective emergency and 
long-term housing; education, vocational, and 
job assistance and training; mentoring pro-
grams; language assistance; drug and substance 
abuse services; and legal services; 
(F) for child sex trafficking victims to be 
treated as children in need of child protective 
services and to be served through the child wel-
fare system, where appropriate, in place of the 
juvenile justice system; 
(G) for all victims of trafficking who are 
United States citizens, lawful permanent resi-
dents, and foreign nationals to be eligible for 
services; 
(H) to have convictions and adjudications 
related to prostitution and nonviolent offenses 
vacated and such records cleared and expunged 
if offenses were committed as a direct result of 
the victim being trafficked, and protection for 
foreign nationals from being removed, being de-
termined to be inadmissible, or losing any im-
migration benefit because of such conviction or 
arrests; 
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(I) to the same type of court procedures 
and legal protections accessible to victims of 
sexual assault, rape, child sexual abuse, or in-
cest, including the right to not be treated as a 
criminal; 
(J) to be informed and notified in writing 
of the survivor’s legal rights, including the 
availability of victim compensation, mandatory 
restitution, and a civil cause of action; the 
availability of protective orders and policies re-
lated to their enforcement; and the rights and 
services available to the victim under section 
2771 of title 18, United States Code; and 
(K) to retain all rights regardless of 
whether the crime has been reported to law en-
forcement. 
Æ 
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