Date: 2016-02-01
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of H.R. 400. the Trafficking Prevention In Foreign Affairs Contracting Act. I support this legislation because it enforces the implementation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. H.R. 400 requires the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to submit reports on definitions of placement and recruitment fees for purposes of enabling compliance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. Indeed. the office of the Inspector General reported that a significant majority of the Department of States foreign workers in certain Middle Eastern countries paid substantial fees to recruiters. According to the Inspector General. "approximately onehalf of the workers were charged recruitment fees equaling more than six months salary." Moreover. "more than a quarter of the workers reported fees greater than one years salary and . . . fees that could not be paid off in two years." The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that USAID. the Department of State (DOS). and the Defense Department (DOD) should enhance and strengthen their oversight of contractors in order to better protect against trafficking in persons. The agencies should develop more precise definitions of recruitment fees. and have stronger implementation strategies towards contracting officials in areas where the risk of trafficking in persons is high. Indeed. out of the three agencies previously addressed. only the DOD committed to definitional recruitment fees and concurred with the United States GAOs definitional recommendation. A proposed Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rule that prohibits charging any recruitment fees to employees was noted by both the Department of State and USAID. However. both the Department of State and USAID lacked an explicit definition for what constitutes a prohibited recruitment fee. Without an explicit definition of the components of recruitment fees. the risk of debt bondages increase. prohibited fees are more likely to be renamed and passed. and other conditions that contribute to trafficking are more likely to occur. I support this legislation because no later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. both the Secretary of State and the Administrator of USAID shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that includes a proposed definition of placement and recruitment fees for purposes of complying with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. Both entities will also include a description of what fee components and amounts are prohibited or are permissible for contractors or their agents to charge workers. An explanation of how the definition provided will be incorporated into grants. contracts. cooperative agreements. and contracting practices will be required. Both the 180day period preceding the date of submission and the one year following the date of submission require a report of the description of actions taken. Indeed. acknowledging the actions executed during the time periods provided ensure that officials responsible for grants. contracts. and cooperative agreements and contracting practices include the prevention of trafficking in persons in plans and processes. These include agreements and contracting practices that relate to areas of the world in which the risk of trafficking in persons is high. In a 2011 CNN report. we learned about a federal agency filing a large human trafficking lawsuit. The article discussed Thai workers who made their way to the nonprofit agency. Some were approached by a labor contractor who offered what is said to be a lucrative job on a farm in the United States. but the would be workers unfortunately found themselves owing thousands of dollars in recruiting fees instead. I support this legislation because it facilitates. establishes and monitors a strong system for submitting reports pertaining to explicit definitions of placement and recruitment fees. so foreign workers recruited from developing countries are not vulnerable to a variety of traffickingrelated abuses.