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‘‘(A) upon— 
‘‘(i) motion by the covered prisoner; 
or 
‘‘(ii) the court’s own motion; 
‘‘(B) after notice to the Government; 
‘‘(C) after considering— 
‘‘(i) the factors set forth in section 
3553(a); 
‘‘(ii) the nature and seriousness of the 
danger to any person, if applicable; and 
‘‘(iii) the community, or any crime 
victims; and 
‘‘(D) if the court finds, by a preponderance 
of the evidence, that the covered prisoner com-
mitted the offense as a direct result of the cov-
ered prisoner having been a victim of traf-
ficking. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—Any proceeding under 
this subsection shall be subject to section 3771. 
‘‘(3) PARTICULARIZED INQUIRY.—For any mo-
tion under paragraph (1), the Government shall con-
duct a particularized inquiry of the facts and cir-
cumstances of the original sentencing of the covered 
prisoner in order to assess whether a reduction in 
sentence would be consistent with this section. 
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‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL ACTIONS BY COURT.—The court 
shall, upon granting a motion under this section, take any 
additional action necessary to grant the movant full relief. 
‘‘(g) NO FEES.—A person may not be required to pay 
a filing fee, service charge, copay fee, processing fee, or 
any other charge for filing a motion under this section. 
‘‘(h) CONFIDENTIALITY OF MOVANT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A motion under this sec-
tion and any documents, pleadings, or orders relat-
ing to the motion shall be filed under seal. 
‘‘(2) INFORMATION NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUB-
LIC INSPECTION.—An officer or employee may not 
make available for public inspection any report, 
paper, picture, photograph, court file, or other docu-
ment, in the custody or possession of the officer or 
employee, that identifies the movant. 
‘‘(i) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply to any 
conviction or arrest occurring before, on, or after the date 
of enactment of this section.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 
The table of sections of chapter 237 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘3771A. Motion to vacate; expungement; mitigating factors.’’. 
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SEC. 3. REPORTS. 
(a) UNITED
STATES
ATTORNEY
MOTIONS
FOR 
VACATUR
OR EXPUNGEMENT.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, each United States 
attorney shall submit to the Attorney General a report 
that details— 
(1) the number of motions for vacatur or 
expungement filed under section 3771A of title 18, 
United States Code, as added by section 2, in the 
district of the United States attorney; and 
(2) for each motion described in paragraph 
(1)— 
(A) the underlying offense; 
(B) the response of the United States at-
torney to the motion; and 
(C) the final determination of the court 
with respect to the motion. 
(b) UNITED
STATES
ATTORNEY
TRAINING
ON 
HUMAN TRAFFICKING INDICATORS.—Not later than 1 
year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 
General shall submit to Congress a report that details all 
professional training received by United States attorneys 
on indicators of human trafficking during the preceding 
12-month period. 
(c) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.—Not 
later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 
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the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit 
to Congress a report that— 
(1) assesses the impact of the enactment of sec-
tion 3771A of title 18, United States Code, as added 
by section 2; and 
(2) includes— 
(A) the number of human trafficking sur-
vivors who have filed motions for vacatur or 
expungement under such section 3771A; 
(B) the final determination of each court 
that adjudicated a motion described in subpara-
graph (A); 
(C) recommendations to increase access to 
post-conviction relief for human trafficking sur-
vivors with Federal criminal records; and 
(D) recommendations for improving the 
implementation and tracking of professional 
training of United States attorneys on indica-
tors of human trafficking. 
SEC. 4. USE OF GRANTS FOR POST-CONVICTION RELIEF 
REPRESENTATION. 
The Office of Justice Programs or the Office on Vio-
lence Against Women, in awarding a grant that may be 
used for legal representation, may not prohibit a recipient 
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from using the grant for legal representation for post-con-
viction relief. 
SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) this Act is a first step to address the chang-
ing tactics of human traffickers, who are using 
forced criminality as a form of force, fraud, and co-
ercion in their human trafficking enterprises; and 
(2) Congress is committed to continuing to find 
solutions as needed to thwart human traffickers and 
protect survivors of human trafficking. 
SEC. 6. HUMAN TRAFFICKING DEFENSE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 28. Human trafficking defense 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘covered Federal offense’ means 
a level A offense or level B offense, as those terms 
are defined in section 3771A; and 
‘‘(2) the term ‘victim of trafficking’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 103 of the Traf-
ficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 
7102). 
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‘‘(b) DURESS.—In a prosecution for a covered Fed-
eral offense, a defendant may establish duress by dem-
onstrating that the defendant was a victim of trafficking 
at the time at which the defendant committed the offense. 
‘‘(c) RECORD OR PROCEEDING UNDER SEAL.—In 
any proceeding in which a defense under subsection (b) 
is raised, any record or part of the proceeding related to 
the defense shall, on motion, be placed under seal until 
such time as a conviction is entered for the offense. 
‘‘(d) POST-CONVICTION RELIEF.—A failure to assert, 
or failed assertion of, a defense under subsection (b) by 
an individual who is convicted of a covered Federal offense 
may not preclude the individual from asserting as a miti-
gating factor, at sentencing or in a proceeding for any 
post-conviction relief, that at the time of the commission 
of the offense, the defendant was a victim of trafficking 
and committed the offense under duress. 
‘‘(e) FEDERAL AID.—A failure to assert, or failed as-
sertion of, a defense under subsection (b) by an individual 
who is convicted of a covered Federal offense may not be 
used for the purpose of disqualifying the individual from 
participating in any federally funded program that aids 
victims of trafficking.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 
The table of sections for chapter 1 of title 18, United 
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States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘28. Human trafficking defense.’’. 
SEC. 7. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 
Section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 
of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (16), by striking ‘‘(9)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘(11)’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (17), by striking ‘‘(9) or (10)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘(11) or (12)’’. 
SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this 
Act, may be construed to conflict with any of the crime 
victims’ rights described in section 3771 of title 18, United 
States Code. 
Passed the House of Representatives December 1, 
2025. 
Attest: 
KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 
Clerk. 
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