zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Combat Human Trafficking Act of 2015

Amends the federal criminal code, with respect to sex trafficking of children, to: (1) subject to criminal prosecution buyers, as well as sellers, of commercial sex involving sex trafficking victims; (2) provide that in prosecutions of sex trafficking crimes, the government is not required to prove that a sex trafficking defendant knew or recklessly disregarded the fact that a victim was under age 18; (3) equalize the period of supervised release for sex trafficking offenders convicted of conspiracy; (4) expand wiretap authority for investigating crimes related to sex trafficking, including slavery, involuntary servitude, and forced labor; (5) grant crime victims the right to be informed in a timely manner of any plea agreement or deferred prosecution agreement; and (6) require an appellate court to apply ordinary standards of review in reviewing appeals filed by crime victims.   

Requires the Bureau of Justice Statistics in the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prepare and report annually on: (1) the rates of arrests by state law enforcement officers for sex trafficking crimes involving buyers of commercial sex involving sex trafficking victims, and (2) prosecutions and convictions for such crimes in state courts.

Directs the Attorney General to ensure that: (1) DOJ anti-human trafficking training programs, including programs for law enforcement officers, include technical training on effective methods for investigating and prosecuting individuals who obtain, patronize, or solicit a commercial sex act involving a person subject to severe forms of human trafficking and on facilitating the provision of physical and mental health services by health care providers to persons subject to severe forms of human trafficking; (2) federal law enforcement officers are engaged in activities, programs, or operations involving the detection, investigation, and prosecution of such offenses; and (3) DOJ anti-human trafficking programs for U.S. attorneys or other federal prosecutors include training on seeking restitution for peonage, slavery, and human trafficking offenses to ensure that each such attorney, upon obtaining a conviction for such an offense, requests a specific amount of restitution for each victim without regard to whether the victim requests it. Requires the Federal Judicial Center to provide training to judges relating to the application of mandatory restitution provisions regarding ordering restitution for victims of such offenses.

Date: 2015-01-08
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Trafficking Awareness Training for Health Care Act of 2015

Requires the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to award one medical or nursing school a grant to develop best practices for health care professionals to recognize and respond appropriately to victims of severe forms of human trafficking.

Requires the grantee to: (1) develop methods or materials to train health care professionals on best practices, (2) make a subgrant to one entity in each of the 10 administrative regions of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create a pilot program to test the best practices and training, and (3) analyze the results of the pilot programs and determine which best practices are evidence-based.

Directs HHS to disseminate evidence-based best practices on their website and to health care profession schools.

Date: 2015-01-21
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: Health
Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2015

Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) implementation of the United States National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security (NAP) is paramount in improving the lives of women around the world and increasing global stability and prosperity, (2) Congress is committed to advancing NAP principles, and (3) the President should ensure NAP's implementation and coordinate with the international community to reaffirm global commitments to implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325.

States that it is U.S. policy to implement NAP.

 Directs the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development to: (1) integrate gender goals into diplomatic and development efforts, and into agency guidance and contracting; (2) include gender in strategic and budget planning processes; and (3) review existing U.S. policies and programs on women and girls in foreign countries from a gender perspective.

Directs the heads of federal departments and agencies to ensure that NAP's tenets are incorporated into all programs related to: (1) conflict prevention, (2) humanitarian and disaster response, (3) conflict mediation, (4) peacekeeping, (5) post-conflict reconstruction, (6) institution building, and (7) democracy promotion.

Urges the Secretary to promote the inclusion of women in coordination and consultation with international partners.

Directs the Secretary, the Administrator, the Secretary of Defense and representatives of other federal agencies to implement NAP and ensure relevant personnel training.

Directs the Secretary to facilitate the efforts of partner governments to improve women's participation in peace and security processes, conflict prevention, peace-building, transitional processes, and decision making institutions in conflict-affected environments.

Directs the Secretary and the Administrator to establish guidelines for overseas U.S. personnel to consult with specified stakeholders regarding U.S. efforts to: (1) prevent, mitigate, or resolve violent conflict; and (2) enhance the success of mediation and negotiation processes by ensuring women's meaningful participation.

Date: 2015-01-21
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act 

(Sec. 3) This bill authorizes the President to impose U.S. entry and property sanctions against any foreign person (or entity) who:

 is responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against individuals in any foreign country seeking to expose illegal activity carried out by government officials, or to obtain, exercise, or promote human rights and freedoms; acted as an agent of or on behalf of a foreign person in such activities; is a government official or senior associate of such official responsible for, or complicit in, ordering or otherwise directing acts of significant corruption, including the expropriation of private or public assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, bribery, or the facilitation or transfer of the proceeds of corruption to foreign jurisdictions; or has materially assisted or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, such activities. The authority to block and prohibit transactions in property and property interests shall not include the authority to impose sanctions on the importation of goods (any article, natural or man made substance, material, supply or manufactured product, including inspection and test equipment, excluding technical data).

 The President shall, after receiving a request from the chairperson and ranking member of one of the appropriate congressional committees with respect to whether a foreign person has engaged in a prohibited activity:

 determine if the person has engaged in such an activity; and report to the chairperson and ranking member whether or not the President imposed or intends to impose specified sanctions against the person. Sanctions shall not apply to an individual as necessary for law enforcement purposes, or to comply with the Agreement between the United Nations (U.N.) and the United States regarding the U.N. Headquarters or other applicable international obligations of the United States.

The President may terminate sanctions under specified conditions.

The Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor may submit to the Department of State the names of foreign persons who may meet the sanctions criteria.

(Sec. 4) The President shall report to Congress annually regarding each foreign person sanctioned, the type of sanctions imposed, and the reason for their imposition.

Date: 2015-01-28
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
International Human Rights Defense Act of 2015

Directs the Secretary of State to establish in the Department of State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor a Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBT Peoples who shall:

 direct U.S. government efforts regarding the human rights of LGBT people (lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender); represent the United States in diplomatic matters relevant to the human rights of LGBT people, including discrimination and violence against LGBT people; serve as the principal advisor to the Secretary of State regarding human rights for LGBT people; and implement activities regarding support, education, resettlement, and empowerment of LGBT people. Directs the Special Envoy to develop or update annually for five years a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to discrimination and violence against LGBT people.

Authorizes the Secretary and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development to provide assistance to prevent and respond to discrimination and violence against LGBT people.

Date: 2015-01-29
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Combating Human Trafficking Act of 2015

Enhancing Services for Runaway and Homeless Victims of Youth Trafficking Act of 2015

Amends the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act with respect to grants to states, localities, and private entities to carry out research, evaluation, demonstration, and service projects regarding activities designed to increase knowledge concerning, and to improve services for, runaway youth and homeless youth.

Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give priority to proposed projects relating to staff training in:

 the behavioral and emotional effects of severe forms of trafficking in persons and sex trafficking, responding to youth who are showing effects of severe forms of trafficking in persons and sex trafficking, and agency-wide strategies for working with runaway and homeless youth who are victims of trafficking. Extends the Secretary's authority to make grants to nonprofit private agencies for the purpose of providing street-based services to runaway and homeless, and street youth, who have been subjected to, or are at risk of being subjected to, sexual abuse, prostitution, or sexual exploitation. Extends the scope of such grants also to street-based services to runaway and homeless, and street youth, who have been subjected to, or are at risk of being subjected to, severe forms of trafficking in persons and sex trafficking.

Amends the Missing Children's Assistance Act to include among the required uses of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's annual grant to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children operation of a cyber tipline to provide online users and electronic service providers an effective means of reporting Internet-related child sexual exploitation in the area of child sex trafficking, including child prostitution (currently, in the area of child prostitution).

Human Trafficking Prevention and Recovery Act of 2015

Requires the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking to review trafficking in persons in the United States.

Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress on: (1) the efforts of federal and state law enforcement agencies to combat human trafficking in the United States, and (2) each federal grant program one of whose purposes is to combat human trafficking or assist victims of trafficking.

Amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to include programs that provide housing to victims of trafficking among grant-receiving state, local, and tribal service programs for victims of trafficking.

Date: 2015-02-12
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Human Trafficking Detection Act of 2015

 Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to implement a program to: (1) train relevant Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and other DHS personnel on the best way to effectively deter, detect, and disrupt human trafficking and to interdict suspected perpetrators during the course of their primary roles and responsibilities; and (2) ensure that such personnel regularly receive current information on matters related to the detection of human trafficking.

Permits training to be conducted through in-class or virtual learning capabilities. Requires such training to include:

 methods for identifying suspected victims and perpetrators of human trafficking, methods for approaching a suspected victim in a manner that is sensitive to the victim and not likely to alert a perpetrator, training that is most appropriate for a particular location or environment, and a post-training evaluation of trainees. Directs the Secretary: (1) to reassess the training program annually; (2) within one year after enactment of this Act, to submit a certification to the appropriate congressional committees confirming that all such personnel have successfully completed the required training; and (3) to report annually on the overall effectiveness of the training program and on the number of cases reported by DHS personnel in which human trafficking was suspected and the number that were confirmed cases of human trafficking.

Authorizes the Secretary, upon request, to provide training curricula to assist any state, local, or tribal government or private organization to establish a training program to identify human trafficking.

Date: 2015-03-03
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Human Trafficking Survivors Relief and Empowerment Act of 2015

Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to direct the Attorney General to give preferential consideration for a public safety and community policing grant to an applicant in a state that has in effect a law that:

 provides a process by which an individual who is a human trafficking survivor can move to vacate any arrest or conviction records for prostitution or any other non-violent offense committed as a direct result of human trafficking; establishes a rebuttable presumption that any arrest or conviction of an individual for an offense associated with human trafficking is a result of being trafficked, if the individual has been granted nonimmigrant status as a victim of severe form of human trafficking, is the subject of a certification by the Secretary of Health and Human Services as willing to assist in an investigation and prosecution of severe forms of trafficking in persons, or has other similar documentation of trafficking issued by a federal agency; protects the identity of individuals who are human trafficking survivors in public and court records; and does not require an individual who is a human trafficking survivor to provide official documentation as described in this Act in order to receive protection under the law. Authorizes the Legal Services Corporation and the recipients of its funding to provide legal services on behalf a human trafficking survivor applying for a motion to vacate under such a state law.

Date: 2015-03-03
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the Senate reported version is repeated here.)

Syrian War Crimes Accountability Act of 2015 

(Sec. 3) Declares that Congress:

 condemns the ongoing violence, use of chemical weapons, targeting of civilian populations, and systematic gross human rights violations carried out by government of Syria and pro-government forces under the direction of President Bashar al-Assad, as well as abuses committed by extremist groups and other combatants involved in the civil war in Syria; supports the people of Syria seeking democratic change; urges all parties to the conflict to halt attacks on civilians; calls on the President to support efforts in Syria and on the part of the international community to ensure accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the conflict; and calls for a United Nations Security Council investigation into gross violations of human rights and war crimes committed during the Syrian conflict. (Sec. 4) Requires the Department of State to report to Congress regarding war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria, including descriptions of:

 violations of internationally recognized human rights, war crimes, and crimes against humanity perpetrated during the civil war in Syria; and efforts by the Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development to ensure accountability for violations of internationally recognized human rights, international humanitarian law, and crimes against humanity perpetrated in Syria by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, violent extremist groups, and other combatants involved in the conflict.

Date: 2015-03-17
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the Senate on May 21, 2015. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Girls Count Act of 2015

(Sec. 3) This bill states that it is U.S. policy to:

 encourage countries to support the rule of law and ensure girls and boys of all ages are able to fully participate in society, including by providing birth certifications and other official documentation; enhance training and capacity-building in key developing countries, local nongovernmental organizations, and other civil society organizations in the design, implementation, and monitoring of programs to address the needs of birth registries in countries where girls are systematically under counted; and incorporate into the design, implementation, and evaluation of policies and programs measures to evaluate the impact on girls of such policies and programs. (Sec. 4) Authorizes the Secretary and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development to support:

 programs that contribute to improved civil registration and vital statistics systems with a focus on birth registration; programs that build the capacity of developing countries' national and local legal and policy frameworks to prevent discrimination against girls in gaining access to birth certificates; and programs and key ministries to increase property rights, social security, home ownership, land tenure security, inheritance rights, access to education, and economic and entrepreneurial opportunities, particularly for women and girls. Authorizes the Secretary and the Administrator to coordinate with multilateral organizations and private sector and civil society organizations to advocate for the registration and documentation of all girls and boys in developing countries.

(Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary and the Administrator to include in relevant evaluations and reports to Congress the following information:

 a breakdown of U.S. foreign assistance beneficiaries by age, gender, marital status, location, and school enrollment status; a description of how U.S. foreign assistance benefits girls; and specific information on programs that address the particular needs of girls.

Date: 2015-03-19
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
SOAR to Health and Wellness Act of 2015

This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a pilot program, to be known as Stop, Observe, Ask, and Respond to Health and Wellness Training (or SOAR to Health and Wellness Training), to provide training to health care providers and other related providers on human trafficking.

The objectives of the pilot program shall be to provide training to enable such providers to:

 identify potential human trafficking victims; implement proper protocols and procedures for working with law enforcement to report and facilitate communication with victims in accordance with all applicable federal, state, local, and tribal requirements; implement proper protocols and procedures for referring victims to social or victims service agencies or organizations; provide such victims care that is coordinated, victim centered, culturally relevant, comprehensive, evidence based, gender responsive, age appropriate, and trauma informed; and consider the potential for integrating such training with existing training programs for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, child abuse, child neglect, child maltreatment, and child sexual exploitation. Functions of the pilot program shall include the functions of the training program that was operating on the day before this Act's enactment and the following authorized initiatives:

 engaging stakeholders, including human trafficking victims and any federal, state, local, or tribal partners, to develop a flexible training module that achieves such pilot program objectives and that adapts to changing needs, settings,and providers; making grants available to support training in health care sites that represent diversity in geography, the demographics of the population served, the predominate types of human trafficking cases, and health care provider profiles; providing technical assistance for health education programs to implement a nationwide health care protocol, or to develop continuing education training materials, that assist in achieving such objectives; developing a strategy to incentivize the utilization of training materials developed under this Act and the implementation of a nationwide health care protocol; and developing a reliable methodology for collecting and reporting data on the number of human trafficking victims identified and served in health care settings or other related provider settings. The program shall terminate on October 1, 2021.

The bill requires HHS, during each of FY2016-FY2020, to collect data on the number of facilities that were operating under the program, and the total number of health care and related providers trained through the program, during such periods.

Date: 2015-05-21
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: Health
Ensuring the Safety and Security of Iranian Dissidents in Iraq Act of 2015 

This bill directs the Department of State to submit an assessment to Congress of whether or not the government of Iraq is taking sufficient actions to ensure the safety and security of dissidents housed at Camp Liberty, Iraq.

Date: 2015-06-23
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Further Independence of Religion for Security and Tolerance Freedom Act of 2015 or the FIRST Freedom Act

This bill expresses the sense of Congress that:

 the protection and promotion of international human rights, including religious freedom, should be an important U.S. priority; and the United States should pursue new strategies to deter and punish the perpetrators of severe violations of religious freedom, including non-state actors, and to protect the victims of such violations. The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended to authorize the Department of State to designate refugee groups:

 whose resettlement in the United States is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest; and who share common characteristics that identify them as targets of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, or having been so identified share a common need for resettlement. The one-year time limit for filing an asylum claim is eliminated. A two-year window is provided for certain aliens to reopen a claim denied because of failure to file within one year.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is authorized to study: (1) whether immigration officers are engaging in improper conduct, and (2) the impact of interview delays on asylum claims.

The International Religious Freedom Act is amended to authorize appropriations for the Commission through FY2017.

Any alien who was responsible for, or directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom is inadmissible or deportable. (Current law is limited to foreign government officials who commit such acts.)

The federal criminal code is amended to require that any person who outside the United States commits, or attempts or conspires to commit, religious persecution against a U.S. person: (1) be fined, imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or both; and (2) if the death of any person results from the violation, be fined and imprisoned for any term of years or for life.

No person may be prosecuted, tried, or punished for such a violation unless the indictment or the information is filed within 10 years after commission of the offense.

Date: 2015-07-23
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: Immigration
Business Supply Chain Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act of 2015

This bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) legislation is necessary to provide consumers information on products that are free of child labor, forced labor, slavery, and human trafficking; and (2) businesses and consumers, by means of publicly available disclosures, can avoid inadvertently promoting or sanctioning these crimes through production and purchase of raw materials, goods, and finished products that have been tainted in the supply chains.

The bill amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to direct the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), within one year after enactment of this Act, to promulgate regulations requiring any covered issuer of a registered security to include in its mandatory annual report a disclosure of whether the issuer has taken any measures during the year to identify and address conditions of forced labor, slavery, human trafficking, and the worst forms of child labor within the issuer's supply chains. The term "covered issuer" means an issuer that has annual worldwide global receipts in excess of $100 million.

The regulations shall mandate that the required information be disclosed on such issuer's Internet website through a conspicuous and easily understandable link to the relevant information labeled "Global Supply Chain Transparency."

The SEC must make available to the public in a searchable format on its website: (1) a list of covered issuers required to disclose such information, and (2) a compilation of the information disclosed.

Date: 2015-08-05
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the Senate reported version is repeated here.)

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2015

This bill reauthorizes the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) through FY2019.

(Sec. 2) It expresses the sense of Congress that USCIRF: (1) was created to independently assess and accurately describe threats to religious freedom around the world; and (2) should ensure that U.S. efforts to advance religious freedom abroad are timely, appropriate to the circumstances, prudent, and effective.

(Sec. 3) The termination date of USCIRF is extended to September 30, 2019.

(Sec. 4) The Chair and Vice Chair of USCIRF must at least biennially carry out a strategic policy and organizational review and submit a strategic plan to Congress concerning: (1) prioritized actions for USCIRF, (2) any changes it considers necessary with regard to the scope, content, and timing of USCIRF's annual report; (3) any changes USCIRF considers necessary with regard to personnel matters; and (4) USCIRF's funding requirements.

If unanimous agreement is not possible, items for inclusion in the strategic plan may, at the joint discretion of the Chair and Vice Chair, be approved by: (1) a majority of Commissioners appointed by an elected official from the political party of the President, and (2) a majority of Commissioners appointed by an elected official from the political party that is not the party of the President.

The Vice Chair for such purposes must be appointed by an elected official from the political party that is different from the political party of the elected official who appointed the Chair.

USCIRF is authorized to implement provisions related to personnel and the annual report that are included in the strategic plan, notwithstanding USCIRF's annual recommendations on U.S. policy options and a current requirement that a decision to employ or terminate an Executive Director be made by an affirmative vote of at least six of USCIRF's nine members.

USCIRF, upon request, must provide testimony and make information available to Congress.

(Sec. 5) USCIRF is authorized to expend appropriated amounts only if it complies with this Act and submits its annual financial report identifying expenditures for the preceding fiscal year.

Date: 2015-09-24
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2015

This bill reauthorizes the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) through FY2019.

The Chair and Vice Chair of USCIRF must at least biennially carry out a strategic policy and organizational review and submit a strategic plan to Congress concerning: (1) prioritized actions for USCIRF, (2) any changes it considers necessary with regard to the scope, content, and timing of USCIRF's annual report; (3) any changes USCIRF considers necessary with regard to personnel matters; and (4) USCIRF's funding requirements.

If unanimous agreement is not possible, items for inclusion in the strategic plan may, at the joint discretion of the Chair and Vice Chair, be approved by: (1) a majority of Commissioners appointed by an elected official from the political party of the President, and (2) a majority of Commissioners appointed by an elected official from the political party that is not the party of the President.

The Vice Chair for such purposes must be appointed by an elected official from the political party that is different from the political party of the elected official who appointed the Chair.

USCIRF is authorized to implement provisions related to personnel and the annual report that are included in the strategic plan.

Date: 2015-09-24
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
This bill expresses the sense of Congress that the government of the Maldives should release former President Nasheed from prison and release all political prisoners in the country, as well as guarantee due process for and respect the human rights of all of the people of the Maldives.

Date: 2015-11-03
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Vietnam Human Rights Sanctions Act 

This bill requires the President to: (1) impose financial and immigration/entry sanctions on listed nationals of Vietnam who are complicit in human rights abuses committed against nationals of Vietnam or their family members, regardless of whether such abuses occurred in Vietnam; and (2) submit to Congress a publicly available list of individuals determined to be complicit in such human rights abuses.

The President may waive sanctions to comply with international agreements or if in the U.S. national interest.

Sanctions shall be terminated if the President certifies to Congress that the government of Vietnam has: (1) released all political prisoners; (2) ceased its practices of violence, detention, and abuse of citizens of Vietnam engaging in peaceful political activity; and (3) conducted a transparent investigation into the killings, arrest, and abuse of such political activists and prosecuted those responsible.

It is the sense of Congress that: (1) the U.S.-Vietnam relationship cannot progress while the government of Vietnam's human rights record continues to deteriorate, and (2) the Secretary of State should designate Vietnam as a country of particular concern with respect to religious freedom.

Date: 2016-01-19
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2016

This bill states that it is U.S. policy to regard the prevention of mass atrocities and genocide as a core national security interest and a core moral responsibility.

The President may establish an interagency Atrocities Prevention Board, which shall: (1) ensure that atrocities and the risk of atrocities throughout the world are adequately considered and addressed, and (2) oversee the development and execution of policies and tools to enhance the capacity of the United States to prevent and respond to atrocities.

The Foreign Service Act of 1980 is amended to provide for the training of Foreign Service Officers in conflict and atrocity prevention.

The bill establishes in the Treasury the Complex Crises Fund to enable the U.S. Agency for International Development to support programs and activities to prevent or respond to emerging or unforeseen foreign challenges and complex crisis overseas, including potential mass atrocities.

Date: 2016-02-11
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Global Respect Act

The President shall submit to Congress a list of each foreign person that the President determines is responsible, or acted as an agent, for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against an individual in a foreign country based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

A listed foreign person shall be ineligible to enter or be admitted to the United States. Any visa issued for such person is revoked.

The Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security shall waive this prohibition if in U.S. national security interests or if necessary for compliance with the Agreement between the United Nations (U.N.) and the United States regarding the U.N. Headquarters. Congressional notification before any such waiver is required.

The Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor shall designate a senior officer or officers to track violence, criminalization, and restrictions on fundamental freedoms in foreign countries based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended to include information on sexual orientation or gender identity violence or restrictions in the annual country reports on human rights practices.

Date: 2016-03-07
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016

(Sec. 5) This bill allows civil claims or causes of action for the recovery of artwork or certain other property lost between January 1, 1933, and December 31, 1945, because of Nazi persecution to be commenced within six years after the claimant's actual discovery of: (1) the identity and location of the artwork or other property, and (2) a possessory interest in the artwork or property.

Such statutory limitation period of six years after actual discovery preempts any other statutes of limitation or defenses relating to the passage of time.

Preexisting claims known by a claimant before enactment of this bill shall be considered discovered on the date of this bill's enactment if they were barred before, or not barred on, the date of enactment.

This bill applies to claims or actions that are: (1) pending on the date of this bill's enactment, including an action for which the time to file an appeal has not expired; or (2) filed after enactment but before 2027. But the bill does not apply to claims barred on the day before enactment of this bill if: (1) the claimant had knowledge on or after January 1, 1999, and (2) six years have passed from the date such claimant acquired such knowledge and during which time the claim was not barred by a statute of limitations.

Date: 2016-04-07
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: Law
(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on April 28, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Extension Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014 to extend through December 31, 2019, provisions requiring the President to impose sanctions against individuals in Venezuela who are responsible for human rights violations.

Date: 2016-04-25
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the Senate passed version is repeated here.)

(Sec. 1) This bill amends the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 to eliminate the provision that specifies that Department of Health and Human Services national human trafficking hotline grants be funded by amounts made available to the Department of Justice for trafficking victim services grants.

Date: 2016-05-23
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today (JUST) Act of 2016

This bill directs the Department of State, with respect to covered countries, to annually include within either the relevant Annual Country Report on Human Rights, the International Religious Freedom Report, or other appropriate report an assessment of the nature and extent of national laws or enforceable policies regarding the identification, return, or restitution of wrongfully seized or transferred Holocaust era assets and compliance with the goals of the Terezin Declaration on Holocaust Era Assets and Related Issues, including:

 the return to the rightful owner of wrongfully seized or transferred property, including religious or communal property, or the provision of comparable substitute property or the payment of equitable compensation to the rightful owner; the use of the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art and the Terezin Declaration in settling claims involving publicly and privately held movable property; the restitution of heirless property to assist needy Holocaust survivors; and progress on the resolution of claims for U.S. citizen Holocaust survivors and family members. "Covered countries" means signatories to the Terezin Declaration that are determined by the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues to be countries of particular concern with respect to such restitution.

Date: 2016-07-07
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act of 2016

This bill directs the President to instruct the U.S. Executive Director at each international financial institution to use U.S. influence to oppose any loan or other fund use for the government of Nicaragua's benefit, other than for basic human needs or to promote democracy, unless the Department of State certifies that Nicaragua is taking effective steps to: (1) hold elections overseen by credible domestic and international electoral observers, (2) promote democracy and an independent judiciary system and electoral council, (3) strengthen the rule of law, and (4) respect the right to freedom of association and expression.

The President shall direct the U.S. Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States to use U.S. influence to advocate for an Electoral Observation Mission to be sent to Nicaragua in 2016 and 2017.

Date: 2016-09-06
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Burma Strategy Act of 2016

This bill authorizes FY2017 appropriations for assistance to Burma to: (1) support civil society organizations and strengthen anti-corruption efforts, (2) implement a specified democracy and human rights strategy, (3) support refugee-assistance organizations operating in Thailand, (4) promote ethnic reconciliation, and (5) reduce the military's position in the economy.

Funds may not be provided to: (1) the military of Burma or any individual or organization credibly alleged to have committed gross violations of human rights, or (2) any individual or organization that advocates violence against ethnic or religious groups and individuals in Burma. The bill provides for a U.S. national security waiver.

The Department of the Treasury shall instruct the U.S. executive director of each international financial institution to use U.S. influence to support only those projects in Burma that meet specified accountability, social and cultural, environmental and natural resource, and indigenous peoples protections. 

Foreign military sales funds are made available for English language training for Burma's military under the Defense Language Institute English Language Center.

The Department of State may establish an exchange program between military and civilian personnel of Burma and their counterparts in: (1) countries that are strengthening a democratic form of government and demonstrating civilian oversight of the military, or (2) North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries.

The President may designate a private, nonprofit organization as the Win Tin Burma-American Enterprise Fund to receive financial assistance and support under this bill. No military-owned enterprises are eligible for fund participation.

The U.S. Trade Representative is urged to: (1) help Burma achieve eligibility for the generalized system of preferences, and (2) urge other countries to support such eligibility.

The State Department shall submit a strategy to promote transparency and good governance in Burma's jadeite, ruby, and gemstones sector.

Date: 2016-09-13
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Trafficking Survivors Relief Act of 2016

This bill amends the federal criminal code to establish a process to vacate convictions and expunge arrests for criminal offenses committed by trafficking victims that directly result from or relate to having been a trafficking victim.

A trafficking victim may file a motion to: (1) vacate a conviction for a nonviolent offense that does not include a child victim (i.e., under age 18); (2) expunge records of an arrest for a nonviolent offense that does not include a child victim; or (3) expunge records of an arrest for an offense that is violent or that includes a child victim, if the charges are reduced, dismissed, or disposed of.

Date: 2016-09-28
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Combating European Anti-Semitism Act of 2016

This bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) it is in the U.S. national interest to combat anti-Semitism at home and abroad; (2) there is a need to ensure the security of European Jewish communities, including synagogues, schools, and cemeteries; and (3) the United States should continue to emphasize the importance of combating anti-Semitism in multilateral bodies.

The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 is amended to require the Department of State's Annual Report on International Religious Freedom to include, for each European country in which threats or attacks against Jewish persons, schools, and religious institutions are particularly significant, a description of:

 the security challenges and needs of European Jewish communities and European law enforcement agencies; U.S. efforts to partner with European law enforcement agencies and civil society groups to combat anti-Semitic incidents; educational programming and public awareness initiatives that impart values of pluralism and tolerance, showcase the positive contributions of Jews, and pay special attention to population segments that exhibit a high degree of anti-Semitic animus; and efforts by European governments to adopt and apply a working definition of anti-Semitism.

Date: 2016-11-17
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Trafficking In Persons Report Integrity Act

This bill amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to revise provisions regarding the Department of State's determination of whether countries are meeting the minimum standards for elimination of human trafficking, including provisions regarding: (1) the State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report, (2) additional requirements for meeting minimum standards, (3) actions against governments failing to meet minimum standards, (4) the tier ranking process for meeting such standards, and (5) congressional oversight of such process.

The President shall instruct the U.S. executive director of each international financial institution to: (1) support the U.S. policy goal of ending slavery and human trafficking and encourage other nations to adopt similar policies, (2) oppose loans or other programs to Tier 3 and Tier 2 Watch List countries and channel funds from such countries to countries in better compliance with such standards, and (3) propose that other institutions develop anti-human trafficking provisions in their project safeguards and procurement policies.

A Tier 3 country is a country the government of which does not fully meet the minimum standards and is not making significant efforts to do so.

A Tier 2 Watch List country is a country the government of which does not fully meet the minimum standards but is making significant compliance efforts and in which: (1) the number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is very significant or is significantly increasing, (2) there is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year, or (3) the compliance determination was based on the country's commitments to take additional steps over the next year.

Date: 2016-12-08
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Emergency Amateur Radio Interference Protection Act of 2007 - Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to report to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation respecting the interference potential of systems that transmit broadband Internet services over power lines.

Date: 2007-01-12
Topic: Technology (Computers)
Subject: Science, technology, communications
Federal Agency Data Privacy Protection Act - Sets forth requirements: (1) for the use of encryption for sensitive data maintained by the federal government; (2) relating to access by agency personnel to sensitive data; and (3) relating to government contractors and their employees involving sensitive data.

Date: 2007-01-17
Topic: Technology (Computers)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Cyber-Security Enhancement and Consumer Data Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) prohibit accessing or remotely controlling a protected computer to obtain identification information; (2) revise the definition of "protected computer" to include computers affecting interstate or foreign commerce or communication; (3) expand the definition of racketeering to include computer fraud; (4) redefine the crime of computer-related extortion to include threats to access without authorization (or to exceed authorized access of) a protected computer; (5) impose criminal penalties for conspiracy to commit computer fraud; (6) impose a fine and/or five year prison term for failure to notify the U.S. Secret Service or Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of a major security breach (involving a significant risk of identity theft) in a computer system, with the intent to thwart an investigation of such breach; (7) increase to 30 years the maximum term of imprisonment for computer fraud and require forfeiture of property used to commit computer fraud; and (8) impose criminal penalties for damaging 10 or more protected computers during any one-year period. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and amend its guidelines and policy statements to reflect congressional intent to increase criminal penalties for computer fraud. Authorizes additional appropriations in FY2007-FY2011 to the U.S. Secret Service, the Department of Justice, and the FBI to investigate and prosecute criminal activity involving computers.

Date: 2007-02-06
Topic: Technology (Computers)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement