[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2473 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2473
To ensure compliance with the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of
2015, to make strides toward eradicating human trafficking, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 16, 2017
Mrs. Wagner introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on
Education and the Workforce, 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 ensure compliance with the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of
2015, to make strides toward eradicating human trafficking, and for
other purposes.
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 ``Enforcing Justice for Victims of
Trafficking Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. TRAINING FOR PROSECUTIONS OF TRAFFICKERS AND SUPPORT FOR STATE
SERVICES FOR VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING.
The Attorney General shall, in coordination with the Secretary of
Health and Human Services, provide training and technical assistance
for Federal, State, and units of local and tribal government, including
Federal, State, local, and tribal prosecutors and law enforcement
officers, in--
(1) investigating, prosecuting, and preventing severe forms
of trafficking in persons through a trauma-informed and victim-
centered approach that provides services and protections for
victims;
(2) facilitating the provision of evidence-based, trauma-
informed care and physical and mental health services to
persons subject to severe forms of trafficking;
(3) ensuring that all victims of trafficking who are United
States citizens, lawful permanent residents, and foreign
nationals are eligible for services;
(4) ensuring that law enforcement officers and prosecutors
make every attempt to determine an individual's participation
in human trafficking is free from force, fraud, or coercion of
any means before arresting or convicting them;
(5) facilitating access for child trafficking victims to
the same type of court procedures and legal protections
accessible to child victims of sexual assault, rape, child
sexual abuse, or incest, including the right to not be treated
as a criminal; and
(6) encouraging States to identify victims where they are
located, including through efforts that utilize internet
outreach, through methods informed by survivors of human
trafficking, and to offer help and services that are responsive
to victims' needs.
SEC. 3. WORKING TO DEVELOP METHODOLOGY TO ASSESS PREVALENCE OF HUMAN
TRAFFICKING.
(a) Working Group.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Director of the National
Institute of Justice shall establish an expert working group to
identify the methodological barriers hampering data collection
on human trafficking, the information that should be collected,
and current practices by agencies, task forces, States, cities,
research institutions, and organizations working on human
trafficking that could be standardized as replicable best
practices.
(2) Pilot testing.--Not later than 3 years after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the National
Institute of Justice shall implement a series of pilot studies
to test promising methodologies studied under paragraph (1).
(b) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Director of the National
Institute of Justice, in consultation with the Secretary of
Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the
Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of the Human
Smuggling and Trafficking Center, shall submit to Congress a
report on the efforts made in developing a comprehensive
national methodology to determine the prevalence of human
trafficking in the United States, recommended examples and best
practices to determine the prevalence of human trafficking, and
the effectiveness of current policies and procedures to address
victims' needs, and identify the varying characteristics of
victims in different regions.
(2) Availability of report.--The report required under
subsection (a) shall be made publicly available on the website
of the Department of Justice.
(3) Input from relevant parties.--In developing the report
under paragraph (1), the Director shall seek input from the
United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, victims of
human trafficking, human trafficking survivor advocates, and
the President's Interagency Task Force on Human Trafficking.
(c) Census.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Director of the National Institute of Justice, in
coordination with Federal, State, local, and tribal governments, and
private organizations, including victim service providers and expert
researchers, shall develop and execute a census of survivors seeking
services in a single 24-hour period throughout the United States, as
pioneered by the domestic violence field, to estimate the prevalence of
human trafficking in the United States. Census results shall be made
publicly available on the website of the Department of Justice.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON PROSECUTORS SEEKING MANDATORY RESTITUTION IN
TRAFFICKING CASES.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report on efforts to
increase mandatory restitution orders and use of asset forfeiture to
provide restitution to victims of trafficking that shall be posted on a
publicly available website, which shall include the following:
(1) Information on the Department of Justice's training
programs on mandatory restitution and the use of asset
forfeiture to provide restitution to victims of trafficking,
and recommendations of necessary additional training to ensure
mandatory restitution is ordered in all relevant human
trafficking cases.
(2) An assessment of obstacles that continue to prevent
Federal prosecutors and Federal courts from ordering
restitution.
(3) An assessment of whether the Justice for Victims of
Trafficking Act's civil asset forfeiture provisions have helped
increase requests to transfer forfeited proceeds for
restitution, including how many requests have been made and how
many of those requests have been approved, and whether
Assistant United States Attorneys Offices are properly informed
about requesting transfers.
(4) An assessment of how establishing trauma-informed,
victim-centered investigative and prosecutorial procedures can
help improve mandatory restitution orders, such as by
encouraging victims to cooperate in criminal cases, to equip
victims with proper assistance during criminal proceedings, and
to help victims secure mandatory restitution.
SEC. 5. ENCOURAGING STATES TO ADOPT PROTECTIONS FOR VICTIMS OF
TRAFFICKING.
Congress recognizes and applauds the State legislative bodies that
have taken tremendous steps to adopt protections and services for
victims of trafficking. Congress encourages States to do the following:
(1) Uphold the basic rights and dignity of human
trafficking survivors.
(2) Implement screening mechanisms for all children
entering child welfare services and the juvenile justice
system, and for unaccompanied children migrating into the
country, to identify child trafficking victims and connect them
with appropriate services.
(3) Ensure that child trafficking victims are provided with
the full range of protections, including access to child
welfare services, trauma-informed programming, and the same
legal rights afforded to other children who experience sexual
abuse, rape, or incest, including ensuring that criminals who
exploit child sex trafficking victims are not given lesser
sentences and penalties than criminals who exploit children
through sexual abuse, rape, or incest; and ensuring that child
trafficking victims are never referred to as ``child
prostitutes'' or ``underage sex workers'' in law or official
documents and proceedings.
(4) Develop a 24-hour emergency response plan to provide
victims of labor and sex trafficking with immediate protection
and support when they are first identified, which may include
physically moving victims of trafficking to a place of safety,
attending to the immediate medical and emotional needs of
survivors, assessing whether survivors are under risk for harm,
retaliation, or intimidation, and directly connecting survivors
with victim advocates, housing, and service providers.
(5) Adopt protections for victims of human trafficking that
include the right--
(A) to be treated as a victim of crime and afforded
justice, respect, and dignity;
(B) to protection if the victim's safety is at risk
or if there is danger of harm, retaliation, or
recapture by the trafficker;
(C) to comprehensive trauma-informed, long-term,
culturally competent care and healing services oriented
toward emotional, physical, psychological, and family
healing;
(D) to evidence-based screening and assessment
tools, treatment plans, and therapy to address
traumatic stress and associated mental health symptoms;
(E) to safe and effective emergency and long-term
housing; education, vocational, and job assistance and
training; mentoring programs; language assistance; drug
and substance abuse services; and legal services;
(F) for child sex trafficking victims to be treated
as children in need of child protective services and to
be served through the child welfare system, where
appropriate, in place of the juvenile justice system;
(G) for all victims of trafficking who are United
States citizens, lawful permanent residents, and
foreign nationals to be eligible for services;
(H) to have convictions and adjudications related
to prostitution and nonviolent offenses vacated and
such records cleared and expunged if offenses were
committed as a direct result of the victim being
trafficked, and protection for foreign nationals from
being removed, being determined to be inadmissible, or
losing any immigration benefit because of such
conviction or arrests;
(I) to the same type of court procedures and legal
protections accessible to victims of sexual assault,
rape, child sexual abuse, or incest, including the
right to not be treated as a criminal;
(J) to be informed and notified in writing of the
survivor's legal rights, including the availability of
victim compensation, mandatory restitution, and a civil
cause of action; the availability of protective orders
and policies related to their enforcement; and the
rights and services available to the victim under
section 2771 of title 18, United States Code; and
(K) to retain all rights regardless of whether the
crime has been reported to law enforcement.
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