Title: End Banking for Human Traffickers Act of 2019
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
End Banking for Human Traffickers Act of 2019
This bill establishes requirements related to the use of financial transactions in human trafficking. The bill adds the Secretary of the Treasury as a member of the President's Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking. The task force must submit to Congress recommendations for the revision of anti-money laundering programs specifically targeting severe forms of human trafficking.
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council must review procedures to improve the capability of specified programs to target financial transactions relating to severe forms of human trafficking.
The Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence must coordinate with other specified agencies to combat the illicit financing relating to severe forms of human trafficking.
The bill provides additional criteria to be considered by the State Department to indicate a country's serious and sustained efforts to eliminate human trafficking. Specifically, the bill adds criteria regarding whether a country has taken or is taking steps to implement a framework for preventing financial transactions involving severe forms of human trafficking.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 295 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 295

   To increase the role of the financial industry in combating human 
                              trafficking.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 8, 2019

Mr. Fitzpatrick (for himself, Mr. Keating, Mr. McCaul, and Mrs. Carolyn 
   B. Maloney of New York) introduced the following bill; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the 
   Committee on Financial Services, 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 increase the role of the financial industry in combating human 
                              trafficking.

    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 the ``End Banking for Human Traffickers 
Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. INCREASING THE ROLE OF THE FINANCIAL INDUSTRY IN COMBATING 
              HUMAN TRAFFICKING.

    (a) Treasury as a Member of the President's Interagency Task Force 
To Monitor and Combat Trafficking.--Section 105(b) of the Victims of 
Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7103(b)) is 
amended by inserting ``the Secretary of the Treasury,'' after ``the 
Secretary of Education,''.
    (b) Required Review of Procedures.--Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Financial Institutions 
Examination Council, in consultation with the Secretary of the 
Treasury, the private sector, victims of severe forms of trafficking in 
persons, advocates of persons at risk of becoming victims of severe 
forms of trafficking in persons, and appropriate law enforcement 
agencies, shall--
            (1) review and enhance training and examinations procedures 
        to improve the capabilities of anti-money laundering and 
        countering the financing of terrorism programs to detect 
        financial transactions relating to severe forms of trafficking 
        in persons;
            (2) review and enhance procedures for referring potential 
        cases relating to severe forms of trafficking in persons to the 
        appropriate law enforcement agency; and
            (3) determine, as appropriate, whether requirements for 
        financial institutions are sufficient to detect and deter money 
        laundering relating to severe forms of trafficking in persons.
    (c) Interagency Task Force Recommendations Targeting Money 
Laundering Related to Human Trafficking.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 270 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Interagency Task Force To 
        Monitor and Combat Trafficking shall submit to the Committee on 
        Financial Services and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
        House of Representatives, the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
        and Urban Affairs and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
        Senate, and the head of each appropriate Federal banking 
        agency--
                    (A) an analysis of anti-money laundering efforts of 
                the United States Government and United States 
                financial institutions relating to severe forms of 
                trafficking in persons; and
                    (B) appropriate legislative, administrative, and 
                other recommendations to strengthen efforts against 
                money laundering relating to severe forms of 
                trafficking in persons.
            (2) Required recommendations.--The recommendations under 
        paragraph (1) shall include--
                    (A) feedback from financial institutions on best 
                practices of successful programs to combat severe forms 
                of trafficking in persons currently in place that may 
                be suitable for broader adoption by similarly situated 
                financial institutions;
                    (B) feedback from stakeholders, including victims 
                of severe forms of trafficking in persons, advocates of 
                persons at risk of becoming victims of severe forms of 
                trafficking in persons, and financial institutions, on 
                policy proposals derived from the analysis conducted by 
                the task force referred to in paragraph (1) that would 
                enhance the efforts and programs of financial 
                institutions to detect and deter money laundering 
                relating to severe forms of trafficking in persons, 
                including any recommended changes to internal policies, 
                procedures, and controls relating to severe forms of 
                trafficking in persons;
                    (C) any recommended changes to training programs at 
                financial institutions to better equip employees to 
                deter and detect money laundering relating to severe 
                forms of trafficking in persons;
                    (D) any recommended changes to expand information 
                sharing relating to severe forms of trafficking in 
                persons among financial institutions and between such 
                financial institutions, appropriate law enforcement 
                agencies, and appropriate Federal agencies; and
                    (E) recommended changes, if necessary, to existing 
                statutory law to more effectively detect and deter 
                money laundering relating to severe forms of 
                trafficking in persons, where such money laundering 
                involves the use of emerging technologies and virtual 
                currencies.
    (d) Limitation.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to--
            (1) grant rulemaking authority to the Interagency Task 
        Force To Monitor and Combat Trafficking; or
            (2) encourage financial institutions to deny services to 
        victims of trafficking, victims of severe forms of trafficking 
        in persons, or individuals not responsible for promoting severe 
        forms of trafficking in persons.
    (e) Definitions.--As used in this section--
            (1) the term ``appropriate Federal banking agency'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 3(q) of the Federal Deposit 
        Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(q));
            (2) the term ``severe forms of trafficking in persons'' has 
        the meaning given such term in section 103 of the Trafficking 
        Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102);
            (3) the term ``Interagency Task Force To Monitor and Combat 
        Trafficking'' means the Interagency Task Force To Monitor and 
        Combat Trafficking established by the President pursuant to 
        section 105 of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence 
        Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7103); and
            (4) the term ``law enforcement agency'' means an agency of 
        the United States, a State, or a political subdivision of a 
        State, authorized by law or by a government agency to engage in 
        or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or 
        prosecution of any violation of criminal or civil law.

SEC. 3. COORDINATION OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING ISSUES BY THE OFFICE OF 
              TERRORISM AND FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

    (a) Functions.--Section 312(a)(4) of title 31, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (E), (F), and (G) as 
        subparagraphs (F), (G), and (H), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following:
                    ``(E) combating illicit financing relating to 
                severe forms of trafficking in persons;''.
    (b) Interagency Coordination.--Section 312(a) of title 31, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(8) Interagency coordination.--The Secretary of the 
        Treasury, after consultation with the Undersecretary for 
        Terrorism and Financial Crimes, shall designate an office 
        within the OTFI that shall coordinate efforts to combat the 
        illicit financing of severe forms of trafficking in persons 
        with--
                    ``(A) other offices of the Department of the 
                Treasury;
                    ``(B) other Federal agencies, including--
                            ``(i) the Office To Monitor and Combat 
                        Trafficking in Persons of the Department of 
                        State; and
                            ``(ii) the Interagency Task Force To 
                        Monitor and Combat Trafficking;
                    ``(C) State and local law enforcement agencies; and
                    ``(D) foreign governments.''.
    (c) Definition.--Section 312(a) of title 31, United States Code, as 
amended by this section, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following:
            ``(9) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `severe 
        forms of trafficking in persons' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 
        of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102).''.

SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL REPORTING REQUIREMENT UNDER THE TRAFFICKING VICTIMS 
              PROTECTION ACT OF 2000.

    Section 105(d)(7) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 
(22 U.S.C. 7103(d)(7)) is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)--
                    (A) by inserting ``the Committee on Financial 
                Services,'' after ``the Committee on Foreign 
                Affairs,''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``the Committee on Banking, 
                Housing, and Urban Affairs,'' after ``the Committee on 
                Foreign Relations,'';
            (2) in subparagraph (Q)(vii), by striking ``; and'' and 
        inserting a semicolon;
            (3) in subparagraph (R), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(S) the efforts of the United States to eliminate 
                money laundering relating to severe forms of 
                trafficking in persons and the number of 
                investigations, arrests, indictments, and convictions 
                in money laundering cases with a nexus to severe forms 
                of trafficking in persons.''.

SEC. 5. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR THE ELIMINATION OF TRAFFICKING.

    Section 108(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 
(22 U.S.C. 7106(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
            ``(13) Whether the government of the country, consistent 
        with the capacity of the country, has in effect a framework to 
        prevent financial transactions involving the proceeds of severe 
        forms of trafficking in persons, and is taking steps to 
        implement such a framework, including by investigating, 
        prosecuting, convicting, and sentencing individuals who attempt 
        or conduct such transactions.''.
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