H. R. 3244—4
have the same coercive effects on victims as direct threats
to inflict such harm.
(8) Trafficking in persons is increasingly perpetrated by
organized, sophisticated criminal enterprises. Such trafficking
is the fastest growing source of profits for organized criminal
enterprises worldwide. Profits from the trafficking industry
contribute to the expansion of organized crime in the United
States and worldwide. Trafficking in persons is often aided
by official corruption in countries of origin, transit, and destina-
tion, thereby threatening the rule of law.
(9) Trafficking includes all the elements of the crime of
forcible rape when it involves the involuntary participation
of another person in sex acts by means of fraud, force, or
coercion.
(10) Trafficking also involves violations of other laws,
including labor and immigration codes and laws against kidnap-
ping, slavery, false imprisonment, assault, battery, pandering,
fraud, and extortion.
(11) Trafficking exposes victims to serious health risks.
Women and children trafficked in the sex industry are exposed
to deadly diseases, including HIV and AIDS. Trafficking victims
are sometimes worked or physically brutalized to death.
(12) Trafficking in persons substantially affects interstate
and foreign commerce. Trafficking for such purposes as involun-
tary servitude, peonage, and other forms of forced labor has
an impact on the nationwide employment network and labor
market. Within the context of slavery, servitude, and labor
or services which are obtained or maintained through coercive
conduct that amounts to a condition of servitude, victims are
subjected to a range of violations.
(13) Involuntary servitude statutes are intended to reach
cases in which persons are held in a condition of servitude
through nonviolent coercion. In United States v. Kozminski,
487 U.S. 931 (1988), the Supreme Court found that section
1584 of title 18, United States Code, should be narrowly inter-
preted, absent a definition of involuntary servitude by Congress.
As a result, that section was interpreted to criminalize only
servitude that is brought about through use or threatened
use of physical or legal coercion, and to exclude other conduct
that can have the same purpose and effect.
(14) Existing legislation and law enforcement in the United
States and other countries are inadequate to deter trafficking
and bring traffickers to justice, failing to reflect the gravity
of the offenses involved. No comprehensive law exists in the
United States that penalizes the range of offenses involved
in the trafficking scheme. Instead, even the most brutal
instances of trafficking in the sex industry are often punished
under laws that also apply to lesser offenses, so that traffickers
typically escape deserved punishment.
(15) In the United States, the seriousness of this crime
and its components is not reflected in current sentencing guide-
lines, resulting in weak penalties for convicted traffickers.
(16) In some countries, enforcement against traffickers is
also hindered by official indifference, by corruption, and some-
times even by official participation in trafficking.
H. R. 3244—5
(17) Existing laws often fail to protect victims of trafficking,
and because victims are often illegal immigrants in the destina-
tion country, they are repeatedly punished more harshly than
the traffickers themselves.
(18) Additionally, adequate services and facilities do not
exist to meet victims’ needs regarding health care, housing,
education, and legal assistance, which safely reintegrate traf-
ficking victims into their home countries.
(19) Victims of severe forms of trafficking should not be
inappropriately incarcerated, fined, or otherwise penalized
solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being
trafficked, such as using false documents, entering the country
without documentation, or working without documentation.
(20) Because victims of trafficking are frequently unfamiliar
with the laws, cultures, and languages of the countries into
which they have been trafficked, because they are often sub-
jected to coercion and intimidation including physical detention
and debt bondage, and because they often fear retribution and
forcible removal to countries in which they will face retribution
or other hardship, these victims often find it difficult or impos-
sible to report the crimes committed against them or to assist
in the investigation and prosecution of such crimes.
(21) Trafficking of persons is an evil requiring concerted
and vigorous action by countries of origin, transit or destination,
and by international organizations.
(22) One of the founding documents of the United States,
the Declaration of Independence, recognizes the inherent dig-
nity and worth of all people. It states that all men are created
equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights. The right to be free from slavery and invol-
untary servitude is among those unalienable rights. Acknowl-
edging this fact, the United States outlawed slavery and invol-
untary servitude in 1865, recognizing them as evil institutions
that must be abolished. Current practices of sexual slavery
and trafficking of women and children are similarly abhorrent
to the principles upon which the United States was founded.
(23) The United States and the international community
agree that trafficking in persons involves grave violations of
human rights and is a matter of pressing international concern.
The international community has repeatedly condemned slavery
and involuntary servitude, violence against women, and other
elements of trafficking, through declarations, treaties, and
United Nations resolutions and reports, including the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights; the 1956 Supplementary Conven-
tion on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institu-
tions and Practices Similar to Slavery; the 1948 American
Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man; the 1957 Abolition
of Forced Labor Convention; the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights; the Convention Against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;
United Nations General Assembly Resolutions 50/167, 51/66,
and 52/98; the Final Report of the World Congress against
Sexual Exploitation of Children (Stockholm, 1996); the Fourth
World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995); and the 1991
Moscow Document of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe.
H. R. 3244—6
(24) Trafficking in persons is a transnational crime with
national implications. To deter international trafficking and
bring its perpetrators to justice, nations including the United
States must recognize that trafficking is a serious offense.
This is done by prescribing appropriate punishment, giving
priority to the prosecution of trafficking offenses, and protecting
rather than punishing the victims of such offenses. The United
States must work bilaterally and multilaterally to abolish the
trafficking industry by taking steps to promote cooperation
among countries linked together by international trafficking
routes. The United States must also urge the international
community to take strong action in multilateral fora to engage
recalcitrant countries in serious and sustained efforts to elimi-
nate trafficking and protect trafficking victims.
SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS.
In this division:
(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The term
‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ means the Committee
on Foreign Relations and the Committee on the Judiciary of
the Senate and the Committee on International Relations and
the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representa-
tives.
(2) COERCION.—The term ‘‘coercion’’ means—
(A) threats of serious harm to or physical restraint
against any person;
(B) any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause
a person to believe that failure to perform an act would
result in serious harm to or physical restraint against
any person; or
(C) the abuse or threatened abuse of the legal process.
(3) COMMERCIAL SEX ACT.—The term ‘‘commercial sex act’’
means any sex act on account of which anything of value
is given to or received by any person.
(4) DEBT BONDAGE.—The term ‘‘debt bondage’’ means the
status or condition of a debtor arising from a pledge by the
debtor of his or her personal services or of those of a person
under his or her control as a security for debt, if the value
of those services as reasonably assessed is not applied toward
the liquidation of the debt or the length and nature of those
services are not respectively limited and defined.
(5) INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE.—The term ‘‘involuntary ser-
vitude’’ includes a condition of servitude induced by means
of—
(A) any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause
a person to believe that, if the person did not enter into
or continue in such condition, that person or another person
would suffer serious harm or physical restraint; or
(B) the abuse or threatened abuse of the legal process.
(6) MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR THE ELIMINATION OF TRAF-
FICKING.—The term ‘‘minimum standards for the elimination
of trafficking’’ means the standards set forth in section 108.
(7) 
NONHUMANITARIAN, 
NONTRADE-RELATED
FOREIGN
ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘nonhumanitarian, nontrade-related
foreign assistance’’ means—
(A) any assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961, other than—
H. R. 3244—7
(i) assistance under chapter 4 of part II of that
Act that is made available for any program, project,
or activity eligible for assistance under chapter 1 of
part I of that Act;
(ii) assistance under chapter 8 of part I of that
Act;
(iii) any other narcotics-related assistance under
part I of that Act or under chapter 4 or 5 part II
of that Act, but any such assistance provided under
this clause shall be subject to the prior notification
procedures applicable to reprogrammings pursuant to
section 634A of that Act;
(iv) disaster relief assistance, including any assist-
ance under chapter 9 of part I of that Act;
(v) antiterrorism assistance under chapter 8 of
part II of that Act;
(vi) assistance for refugees;
(vii) humanitarian and other development assist-
ance in support of programs of nongovernmental
organizations under chapters 1 and 10 of that Act;
(viii) programs under title IV of chapter 2 of part
I of that Act, relating to the Overseas Private Invest-
ment Corporation; and
(ix) other programs involving trade-related or
humanitarian assistance; and
(B) sales, or financing on any terms, under the Arms
Export Control Act, other than sales or financing provided
for narcotics-related purposes following notification in
accordance with the prior notification procedures applicable
to reprogrammings pursuant to section 634A of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961.
(8) SEVERE FORMS OF TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS.—The term
‘‘severe forms of trafficking in persons’’ means—
(A) sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is
induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person
induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years
of age; or
(B) the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provi-
sion, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through
the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjec-
tion to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or
slavery.
(9) SEX TRAFFICKING.—The term ‘‘sex trafficking’’ means
the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or
obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex
act.
(10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several
States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin
Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, and territories and possessions of
the United States.
(11) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘‘Task Force’’ means the Inter-
agency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking estab-
lished under section 105.
(12) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United States’’ means the
fifty States of the United States, the District of Columbia,
H. R. 3244—8
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American
Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, and the territories and possessions of the United
States.
(13) VICTIM OF A SEVERE FORM OF TRAFFICKING.—The term
‘‘victim of a severe form of trafficking’’ means a person subject
to an act or practice described in paragraph (8).
(14) VICTIM OF TRAFFICKING.—The term ‘‘victim of traf-
ficking’’ means a person subjected to an act or practice described
in paragraph (8) or (9).
SEC. 104. ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES.
(a) COUNTRIES
RECEIVING
ECONOMIC
ASSISTANCE.—Section
116(f ) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151(f ))
is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(f )(1) The report required by subsection (d) shall include the
following:
‘‘(A) A description of the nature and extent of severe forms
of trafficking in persons, as defined in section 103 of the Traf-
ficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, in each foreign country.
‘‘(B) With respect to each country that is a country of
origin, transit, or destination for victims of severe forms of
trafficking in persons, an assessment of the efforts by the
government of that country to combat such trafficking. The
assessment shall address the following:
‘‘(i) Whether government authorities in that country
participate in, facilitate, or condone such trafficking.
‘‘(ii) Which government authorities in that country are
involved in activities to combat such trafficking.
‘‘(iii) What steps the government of that country has
taken to prohibit government officials from participating
in, facilitating, or condoning such trafficking, including the
investigation, prosecution, and conviction of such officials.
‘‘(iv) What steps the government of that country has
taken to prohibit other individuals from participating in
such trafficking, including the investigation, prosecution,
and conviction of individuals involved in severe forms of
trafficking in persons, the criminal and civil penalties for
such trafficking, and the efficacy of those penalties in elimi-
nating or reducing such trafficking.
‘‘(v) What steps the government of that country has
taken to assist victims of such trafficking, including efforts
to prevent victims from being further victimized by traf-
fickers, government officials, or others, grants of relief from
deportation, and provision of humanitarian relief, including
provision of mental and physical health care and shelter.
‘‘(vi) Whether the government of that country is cooper-
ating with governments of other countries to extradite traf-
fickers when requested, or, to the extent that such coopera-
tion would be inconsistent with the laws of such country
or with extradition treaties to which such country is a
party, whether the government of that country is taking
all appropriate measures to modify or replace such laws
and treaties so as to permit such cooperation.
‘‘(vii) Whether the government of that country is
assisting in international investigations of transnational
H. R. 3244—9
trafficking networks and in other cooperative efforts to
combat severe forms of trafficking in persons.
‘‘(viii) Whether the government of that country refrains
from prosecuting victims of severe forms of trafficking in
persons due to such victims having been trafficked, and
refrains from other discriminatory treatment of such vic-
tims.
‘‘(ix) Whether the government of that country recog-
nizes the rights of victims of severe forms of trafficking
in persons and ensures their access to justice.
‘‘(C) Such other information relating to trafficking in per-
sons as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
‘‘(2) In compiling data and making assessments for the purposes
of paragraph (1), United States diplomatic mission personnel shall
consult with human rights organizations and other appropriate
nongovernmental organizations.’’.
(b) COUNTRIES RECEIVING SECURITY ASSISTANCE.—Section 502B
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304) is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(h)(1) The report required by subsection (b) shall include the
following:
‘‘(A) A description of the nature and extent of severe forms
of trafficking in persons, as defined in section 103 of the Traf-
ficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, in each foreign country.
‘‘(B) With respect to each country that is a country of
origin, transit, or destination for victims of severe forms of
trafficking in persons, an assessment of the efforts by the
government of that country to combat such trafficking. The
assessment shall address the following:
‘‘(i) Whether government authorities in that country
participate in, facilitate, or condone such trafficking.
‘‘(ii) Which government authorities in that country are
involved in activities to combat such trafficking.
‘‘(iii) What steps the government of that country has
taken to prohibit government officials from participating
in, facilitating, or condoning such trafficking, including the
investigation, prosecution, and conviction of such officials.
‘‘(iv) What steps the government of that country has
taken to prohibit other individuals from participating in
such trafficking, including the investigation, prosecution,
and conviction of individuals involved in severe forms of
trafficking in persons, the criminal and civil penalties for
such trafficking, and the efficacy of those penalties in elimi-
nating or reducing such trafficking.
‘‘(v) What steps the government of that country has
taken to assist victims of such trafficking, including efforts
to prevent victims from being further victimized by traf-
fickers, government officials, or others, grants of relief from
deportation, and provision of humanitarian relief, including
provision of mental and physical health care and shelter.
‘‘(vi) Whether the government of that country is cooper-
ating with governments of other countries to extradite traf-
fickers when requested, or, to the extent that such coopera-
tion would be inconsistent with the laws of such country
or with extradition treaties to which such country is a
party, whether the government of that country is taking
H. R. 3244—10
all appropriate measures to modify or replace such laws
and treaties so as to permit such cooperation.
‘‘(vii) Whether the government of that country is
assisting in international investigations of transnational
trafficking networks and in other cooperative efforts to
combat severe forms of trafficking in persons.
‘‘(viii) Whether the government of that country refrains
from prosecuting victims of severe forms of trafficking in
persons due to such victims having been trafficked, and
refrains from other discriminatory treatment of such vic-
tims.
‘‘(ix) Whether the government of that country recog-
nizes the rights of victims of severe forms of trafficking
in persons and ensures their access to justice.
‘‘(C) Such other information relating to trafficking in per-
sons as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
‘‘(2) In compiling data and making assessments for the purposes
of paragraph (1), United States diplomatic mission personnel shall
consult with human rights organizations and other appropriate
nongovernmental organizations.’’.
SEC. 105. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE TO MONITOR AND COMBAT TRAF-
FICKING.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish an Inter-
agency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking.
(b) APPOINTMENT.—The President shall appoint the members
of the Task Force, which shall include the Secretary of State,
the Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor, the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Director of Central
Intelligence, and such other officials as may be designated by the
President.
(c) CHAIRMAN.—The Task Force shall be chaired by the Sec-
retary of State.
(d) ACTIVITIES
OF
THE TASK FORCE.—The Task Force shall
carry out the following activities:
(1) Coordinate the implementation of this division.
(2) Measure and evaluate progress of the United States
and other countries in the areas of trafficking prevention,
protection, and assistance to victims of trafficking, and prosecu-
tion and enforcement against traffickers, including the role
of public corruption in facilitating trafficking. The Task Force
shall have primary responsibility for assisting the Secretary
of State in the preparation of the reports described in section
110.
(3) Expand interagency procedures to collect and organize
data, including significant research and resource information
on domestic and international trafficking. Any data collection
procedures established under this subsection shall respect the
confidentiality of victims of trafficking.
(4) Engage in efforts to facilitate cooperation among coun-
tries of origin, transit, and destination. Such efforts shall aim
to strengthen local and regional capacities to prevent traf-
ficking, prosecute traffickers and assist trafficking victims, and
shall include initiatives to enhance cooperative efforts between
destination countries and countries of origin and assist in the
appropriate reintegration of stateless victims of trafficking.
H. R. 3244—11
(5) Examine the role of the international ‘‘sex tourism’’
industry in the trafficking of persons and in the sexual exploi-
tation of women and children around the world.
(6) Engage in consultation and advocacy with governmental
and nongovernmental organizations, among other entities, to
advance the purposes of this division.
(e) SUPPORT FOR THE TASK FORCE.—The Secretary of State
is authorized to establish within the Department of State an Office
to Monitor and Combat Trafficking, which shall provide assistance
to the Task Force. Any such Office shall be headed by a Director.
The Director shall have the primary responsibility for assisting
the Secretary of State in carrying out the purposes of this division
and may have additional responsibilities as determined by the
Secretary. The Director shall consult with nongovernmental
organizations and multilateral organizations, and with trafficking
victims or other affected persons. The Director shall have the
authority to take evidence in public hearings or by other means.
The agencies represented on the Task Force are authorized to
provide staff to the Office on a nonreimbursable basis.
SEC. 106. PREVENTION OF TRAFFICKING.
(a) ECONOMIC ALTERNATIVES TO PREVENT AND DETER TRAF-
FICKING.—The President shall establish and carry out international
initiatives to enhance economic opportunity for potential victims
of trafficking as a method to deter trafficking. Such initiatives
may include—
(1) microcredit lending programs, training in business
development, skills training, and job counseling;
(2) programs to promote women’s participation in economic
decisionmaking;
(3) programs to keep children, especially girls, in
elementary and secondary schools, and to educate persons who
have been victims of trafficking;
(4) development of educational curricula regarding the dan-
gers of trafficking; and
(5) grants to nongovernmental organizations to accelerate
and advance the political, economic, social, and educational
roles and capacities of women in their countries.
(b) PUBLIC AWARENESS
AND INFORMATION.—The President,
acting through the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health
and Human Services, the Attorney General, and the Secretary
of State, shall establish and carry out programs to increase public
awareness, particularly among potential victims of trafficking, of
the dangers of trafficking and the protections that are available
for victims of trafficking.
(c) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.—The President shall consult
with appropriate nongovernmental organizations with respect to
the establishment and conduct of initiatives described in subsections
(a) and (b).
SEC. 107. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF TRAF-
FICKING.
(a) ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS IN OTHER COUNTRIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State and the Adminis-
trator of the United States Agency for International Develop-
ment, in consultation with appropriate nongovernmental
organizations, shall establish and carry out programs and ini-
tiatives in foreign countries to assist in the safe integration,
H. R. 3244—30
(A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘FILING’’ and inserting
‘‘AND PROTECTION ORDERS’’ after ‘‘CHARGES’’;
(B) in subsection (a)—
(i) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(1) certifies that its laws, policies, and practices do not
require, in connection with the prosecution of any misdemeanor
or felony domestic violence offense, or in connection with the
filing, issuance, registration, or service of a protection order,
or a petition for a protection order, to protect a victim of
domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault, that the victim
bear the costs associated with the filing of criminal charges
against the offender, or the costs associated with the filing,
issuance, registration, or service of a warrant, protection order,
petition for a protection order, or witness subpoena, whether
issued inside or outside the State, tribal, or local jurisdiction;
or’’; and
(ii) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘2 years’’ and
inserting ‘‘2 years after the date of the enactment
of the Violence Against Women Act of 2000’’; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘protection order’
has the meaning given the term in section 2266 of title 18, United
States Code.’’.
(2) ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS TO ENCOURAGE ARREST POLI-
CIES.—Section 2101 of part U of title I of the Omnibus Crime
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796hh) is
amended—
(A) in subsection (c), by striking paragraph (4) and
inserting the following:
‘‘(4) certify that their laws, policies, and practices do not
require, in connection with the prosecution of any misdemeanor
or felony domestic violence offense, or in connection with the
filing, issuance, registration, or service of a protection order,
or a petition for a protection order, to protect a victim of
domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault, that the victim
bear the costs associated with the filing of criminal charges
against the offender, or the costs associated with the filing,
issuance, registration, or service of a warrant, protection order,
petition for a protection order, or witness subpoena, whether
issued inside or outside the State, tribal, or local jurisdiction.’’;
and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘protection order’
has the meaning given the term in section 2266 of title 18, United
States Code.’’.
(3) APPLICATION FOR GRANTS TO ENCOURAGE ARREST POLI-
CIES.—Section 2102(a)(1)(B) of part U of title I of the Omnibus
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796hh–
1(a)(1)(B)) is amended by inserting before the semicolon the
following: ‘‘or, in the case of the condition set forth in subsection
2101(c)(4), the expiration of the 2-year period beginning on
the date the of the enactment of the Violence Against Women
Act of 2000’’.
(4) REGISTRATION FOR PROTECTION ORDERS.—Section 2265
of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the
end the following: