I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9217 
To amend title 5, United States Code, to establish a priority for accommoda-
tion in places with policies relating to severe forms of human trafficking, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 21, 2022 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Oversight and Reform 
A BILL 
To amend title 5, United States Code, to establish a priority 
for accommodation in places with policies relating to 
severe forms of human trafficking, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 ‘‘Halting Of Trafficking 
and Exploitation in Lodging Act of 2022’’ or the 
‘‘HOTEL Act of 2022’’. 
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SEC. 2. PRIORITY FOR ACCOMMODATION IN PLACES WITH 
POLICIES RELATING TO SEVERE FORMS OF 
HUMAN TRAFFICKING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 
5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘§ 5712. Priority for accommodation in places with 
certain policies relating to severe forms 
of human trafficking 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of making pay-
ments under this chapter for lodging expenses, each agen-
cy shall ensure that, to the greatest extent practicable, 
commercial-lodging room nights in the United States for 
employees of that agency are booked in a preferred place 
of accommodation. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY AS A PREFERRED PLACE OF AC-
COMMODATION.—To be considered a preferred place of ac-
commodation for the purposes of this section, a hotel or 
motel shall— 
‘‘(1) enforce a zero-tolerance policy regarding 
severe forms of trafficking in persons (as defined in 
section 103(11) of the Trafficking Victims Protec-
tion Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102(11))) made avail-
able by the Administrator of General Services under 
subsection (c)(1), or a similar zero-tolerance policy 
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developed by the place of accommodation, dem-
onstrated by— 
‘‘(A) posting such policy in a nonpublic 
space within the place of accommodation that is 
accessible by all employees; or 
‘‘(B) including such policy in the employee 
handbook; 
‘‘(2) have procedures in place, not later than 
180 days after the date of the enactment of this sec-
tion, for employees to identify and report any such 
exploitation according to protocol identified in the 
employee training based on training materials devel-
oped under subsection (c)(3) to the appropriate law 
enforcement authorities, management of the pre-
ferred accommodation, or the National Human Traf-
ficking Hotline; 
‘‘(3) post the informational materials made 
available under subsection (c)(3) in an appropriate 
nonpublic space within the place of accommodation 
that is accessible by all employees; 
‘‘(4) review and update, as necessary, the zero- 
tolerance policy, procedures, and informational mate-
rials at least every two years prior to the due date 
for self-certifications; 
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‘‘(5) require each employee who is physically lo-
cated at the place of accommodation and who is like-
ly to interact with guests, including security, front 
desk, housekeeping, room service, and bell staff, to 
complete the training developed under subsection 
(c)(2), or a training developed pursuant to sub-
section (d), that shall— 
‘‘(A) take place not later than 90 days 
after the starting date of the new employee, or 
in the case of an employee hired before the ef-
fective date of this section, not later than 90 
days after the date of enactment of this section; 
‘‘(B) include refresher trainings every two 
years; and 
‘‘(C) include training on the identification 
of possible cases of sexual exploitation of chil-
dren and procedures to report suspected abuse 
to the appropriate authorities; 
‘‘(6) include a notice to all independent contrac-
tors in any agreement affecting a property in the 
United States negotiated or renewed on or after the 
date of enactment of this section that states the fol-
lowing: ‘Federal law prohibits the trafficking of hu-
mans under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 
(22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.).’; and 
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‘‘(7) ensure that the place of accommodation 
does not retaliate against employees for reporting 
suspected cases of such exploitation if reported ac-
cording to protocol identified in the employee train-
ing. 
‘‘(c) GSA REQUIREMENTS.—The Administrator of 
General Services shall— 
‘‘(1) make available on the website of the Gen-
eral Services Administration, an up-to-date model 
zero tolerance policy for places of accommodation re-
garding severe forms of trafficking in persons (as 
defined in section 103(11) of the Trafficking Victims 
Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. (11))), including 
informational materials regarding such policy to be 
posted in places of accommodation in nonpublic 
spaces; 
‘‘(2) make available on the website of the Gen-
eral Services Administration an up-to-date list of 
Department of Homeland Security, Department of 
Justice, and Department of State and privately pro-
duced training programs that address the identifica-
tion of severe forms of human trafficking and re-
porting to law enforcement authorities or the Na-
tional Human Trafficking Hotline; 
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‘‘(3) in coordination with the Secretary of 
Homeland Security’s Blue Campaign, make available 
up-to-date training materials on preventing severe 
forms of human trafficking and informational mate-
rials to be posted in nonpublic spaces in places of 
accommodation on spotting the signs of severe forms 
of 
human 
trafficking 
and 
reporting 
possible 
incidences of such exploitation, except that the Ad-
ministrator shall permit the use of substantially 
similar training materials or informational materials 
required by State or local law on identifying the 
signs of human trafficking and reporting possible 
incidences of such exploitation in lieu of materials 
developed under this paragraph; and 
‘‘(4) maintain a list of each preferred place of 
accommodation that meets the requirements of sub-
section (b), beginning by examining places of accom-
modation that are— 
‘‘(A) participating in government lodging 
programs such as FedRooms (or successor sys-
tem); 
‘‘(B) included on the FEMA Fire Safe 
List; or 
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‘‘(C) otherwise known to have received gov-
ernment travel business in the 2 years prior to 
enactment of this section. 
‘‘(d) TRAINING PROGRAMS.—A place of accommoda-
tion or lodging company may use a training program de-
veloped or acquired by such place of accommodation or 
company to satisfy the requirements of subsection (b)(4) 
if such training program— 
‘‘(1) focuses on identifying and reporting sus-
pected cases of severe forms of human trafficking; 
and 
‘‘(2) was developed in consultation with State 
governments, survivor leaders, survivor-led anti-traf-
ficking organization, or a nationally recognized orga-
nization with expertise in anti-trafficking initiatives. 
‘‘(e) PREVIOUSLY TRAINED EMPLOYEES.— 
‘‘(1) TRAINING PRIOR TO EFFECTIVE DATE.— 
Any employee of a place of accommodation who has 
been trained to identify and report potential cases of 
severe forms of human trafficking during the 2-year 
period ending on the date of the enactment of this 
section shall be considered to have met the training 
requirement in subsection (b)(4) with respect to any 
employment at that place of accommodation or at 
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any other place of accommodation managed by the 
same entity. 
‘‘(2) TRAINING PRIOR TO A TRANSFER OF EM-
PLOYMENT.—Any employee of a place of accommo-
dation who has met the training requirements under 
subsection (b)(4) shall be considered to have met 
such requirements with respect to any employment 
at a place of accommodation managed by the same 
entity if such training occurred during the 2-year 
period ending on the date of the enactment of this 
section. 
‘‘(f) PROPERTY-BY-PROPERTY IMPLEMENTATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each preferred place of ac-
commodation shall self-certify (in writing) to the Ad-
ministrator of General Services that such place is in 
compliance with the requirements of this section. 
Such self-certification shall occur every 2 years be-
ginning on the date of the enactment of this section. 
The Administrator shall— 
‘‘(A) provide notice to each place of accom-
modation regarding any self-certification re-
quired under this subsection not later than the 
date that is 90 days before the due date of such 
self-certification; and 
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‘‘(B) report to the Committee on Oversight 
and Reform of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, not later 
than 2 years after the date of the enactment of 
this section and every two years thereafter— 
‘‘(i) each preferred places of accom-
modation that submitted and did not sub-
mit their self-certifications in the preceding 
2 years; and 
‘‘(ii) the corresponding total numbers 
of nights the government paid for Federal 
employees in self-certified preferred places 
of accommodation compared to preferred 
places of accommodation that did not re-
port self-certification to the Administrator 
of General Services. 
‘‘(2) GROUP CERTIFICATION.—A person or enti-
ty that manages or franchises multiple places of ac-
commodation may provide a single notice with re-
spect to self-certification under subsection (a) that 
each such place is in compliance with this section. 
‘‘(g) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—No provision in 
this section that applies to an employee of a place of ac-
commodation shall be construed to apply to an individual 
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who is an independent contractor or otherwise not directly 
employed by a place of accommodation, unless the con-
tract is for housekeeping, security, front desk, room serv-
ice, or bell staff, in which case it shall be the responsibility 
of the service provider to ensure compliance with the re-
quirements set forth in this section. 
‘‘(h) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—The Administrator 
of General Services shall issue such regulations as are nec-
essary to carry out this section.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 5712(a) of title 5, 
United States Code (as added by subsection (a)), shall 
take effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
item: 
‘‘5712. Priority for accommodation in places with certain policies relating to se-
vere forms of human trafficking.’’. 
Æ 
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