PUBLIC LAW 109-164 -- January 10, 2006

REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2005

Section-by-section analysis

1. Short Title

Sec. 2. Findings

• recognizes U.S. leadership in combating human trafficking;
• notes current estimates of people trafficked each year internationally;
• notes U.S. efforts to combat trafficking have focused primarily on the international trafficking of persons;
• notes trafficking also occurs within the borders of a country, including in the United States;
• notes no known studies exist that quantify the trafficking of children for commercial sexual exploitation in the United States, but there are estimates of numbers of children at risk;
• notes the vulnerability of runaway and homeless children in the United States to internal (domestic) trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation;
• notes the increased activity of traffickers in post-conflict settings and during humanitarian emergencies;
• notes there is a need for further integrated programs and strategies in USG agencies to combat trafficking in post-conflict environments and humanitarian emergencies;
• acknowledges there is a documented correlation between peacekeeping deployments and sex trafficking in post-conflict regions;
• calls for new measures to ensure that U.S Government employees, military service members, or contractors are held accountable for involvement with acts of trafficking.

TITLE I – COMBATTING INTERNATIONAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

Sec. 101. Prevention of trafficking in conjunction with post-conflict and humanitarian assistance

• 101(a) Requires U.S. assistance programs for post-conflict and humanitarian emergencies to include anti-trafficking measures: Amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7104) to state that USAID, the Department of State and the Department of Defense shall incorporate anti-trafficking and protection measures into post-conflict and humanitarian emergency assistance activities.
• 101(b) Study and Report: Requires State Department and USAID, with the concurrence of DOD, to issue a report with recommendations for incorporating anti-trafficking and protection measures for vulnerable populations into post-conflict and humanitarian emergency aid programs administered by federal agencies.

Sec. 102. Protection of victims of trafficking in persons

• 102(a) Increased access to information: to the extent practicable, victims of severe forms of trafficking shall have access to information about federally funded or administered anti-trafficking programs that provide services to victims.
• 102(b) Pilot program of residential rehabilitation facilities in foreign countries: requiresUSAID to conduct a study of best practices for rehabilitating trafficking victims in group residential facilities. After completion of the study, USAID will establish a pilot program of residential treatment facilities in 2 sites, through grants to experienced trafficking victim service providers. Authorizes the appropriation of $2,500,000 for each of FY06 and FY07.

Sec. 103. Enhancing prosecutions of trafficking offenses

• 103(a) Criminal jurisdiction over U.S. Government employees abroad: provides U.S. courts jurisdiction over Federal government employees and those accompanying them (including contractors and subcontractors) for the prosecution of trafficking offenses committed abroad. Such jurisdiction already exists for DoD contractors and other Federal contractors operating abroad in support of a DoD mission, but does not currently extend to non-DoD related contractors.
• 103(b) Amendment of money laundering statutes: Expands the ability to prosecute traffickers for violations of money laundering offenses. This section was requested by DOJ.
• 103(c) Definition of racketeering activity: Expands the ability to prosecute traffickers for violations of racketeering statutes. This section was requested by DOJ.
• 103(d) Civil and Criminal Forfeitures : Expands the ability to prosecute traffickers for violations of civil and criminal forfeiture statutes. This section was requested by DOJ.

Sec. 104. Enhancing United States Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons

• 104(a) Membership on Interagency Task Force to Combat Trafficking: adds the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security to the Task Force. Replaces the Director of Central Intelligence with the new Director of National Intelligence.
• 104(b) Minimum Standards: Amends existing criteria for determining, in the context of the annual Trafficking in Persons Report, whether a government is making “serious and sustained efforts” to eliminate trafficking by adding:
• whether the government is implementing measures to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts [which fuels the demand for sex trafficking], to prevent its nationals from participating in sex tourism, to ensure that its peacekeeping troops do not engage in TIP or exploit TIP victims, to prevent the use of forced labor or child labor in violation of international standards; and
• whether the government vigorously investigates, prosecutes, convicts and sentences its peacekeepers who engage in or facilitate trafficking or exploit victims of trafficking.
• 104(c) Research: Adds to the list of research subjects directed by the TVPRA03, to include research on trafficking and terrorism (to be carried out by the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center and reported to Congress within 1 year); trafficking and HIV/AIDS; quantifying the number of victims of trafficking; and trafficking of child soldiers.
• 104(d) Foreign Service Officer Training: Amends the Foreign Service Act to require that human rights training for Foreign Service Officers include training on trafficking in persons.

• 104(e) Preventing Trafficking by Peacekeepers: Requires that the State Department include in the annual TIP report, information on steps taken by international organizations (UN, OSCE, NATO, and possibly others) to prevent involvement of personnel with trafficking.

Requires the Secretary of State, before endorsing a new or reauthorized international peacekeeping mission, to report on the measures taken by the organization to prevent peacekeepers in the mission from being involved with trafficking or exploiting victims of trafficking and to hold accountable any who do engage in such acts, and to include an analysis of the effectiveness of these measures.

Sec. 105. Activities to Monitor and Combat Forced Labor and Child Labor

• 105(a) Activities of the Department of State: Sense of Congress provision that the State Department’s Director of Trafficking in Persons should intensify the focus of the Office on forced labor in countries where it is a serious human rights concern.

• 105(b)Activities of the Department of Labor: Directs the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) at the Department of Labor to:

• monitor the use of forced labor and prohibited forms of child labor internationally,
• share information on trafficking in forced labor with the Trafficking Office at the State Dept.,
• develop a list of goods that ILAB believes are produced by forced/child labor,
• work with the producers of such goods to reduce the likelihood of forced/child labor from being used, and
• consult with other agencies to prevent products made by forced/child labor from entering the U.S.

TITLE II – COMBATING DOMESTIC TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

Sec. 201. Preventing domestic trafficking in persons:

• 201(a) requires the Attorney General to perform a study and issue two reports to Congress on the prevalence of severe forms of trafficking and sex trafficking in the United States and the approach to combating these crimes by law enforcement. The study that addresses “sex trafficking and unlawful commercial sex acts in the United States,” is intended to include data on commercial sex acts that are not unlawful in those areas of the country where prostitution and/or the purchase and sale of sex acts is legal, i.e., several counties in Nevada. Sec. 201(c) authorizes $5m for each of FY 2006 and 2007 for these reports.

Authorizes a conference to present the findings of the study and to develop strategies to train law enforcement in best practices for combating severe forms of trafficking in persons and reducing the demand for commercial sex acts, which feeds the demand for trafficking into prostitution. Sec. 201(c) authorizes $1 million for each of FY 2006 and 2007 for this conference.

Requires HHS and the Attorney General to prepare reports on best practices for reducing the demand for commercial sex acts, which feeds the demand for trafficking into prostitution. The reports shall be posted on the websites of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice, respectively.

• 201(b) Involvement of U.S. Government Contractors in Trafficking: requires that all U.S. Government grants, contracts or cooperative agreements with private entities contain a clause authorizing termination if the grantee, subgrantee, contractor or subcontractor (a) engages in severe forms of trafficking in persons or has procured a commercial sex act during the period of time that the grant, contract or cooperative agreement is in effect, or (b) uses forced labor in the performance of the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement. The TVPRA03 created a similar requirement for international grants, contracts and cooperative agreements.

Sec. 202. Establishment of Grant Program to Develop, Expand, and Strengthen Victim Service Programs for Victims of Domestic Trafficking

• Establishes a grants program administered by HHS for victim service providers to assist American citizens and nationals who are the subject of sex trafficking or severe forms of trafficking within the United States; authorizes $10 million each in FY06 and FY07.

Sec. 203. Protection of Victims of Juvenile Trafficking in Persons.

• 203(a) Directs HHS to establish a pilot program to create long-term residential treatment facilities for juveniles subjected to trafficking; authorizes $5 million each in FY06 and FY07.

Sec. 204. Enhancing State and Local Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons

• 204 (a) Establishes a grants program for states and local law enforcement to improve programs:

(a) to investigate and prosecute acts of severe forms of trafficking in persons, and related offenses (e.g.. money laundering and tax violations), that occur within the United States and involve U.S. citizens or persons admitted for permanent residence,

(b) to investigate and prosecute persons who engage in the purchase of commercial sex acts;

(c) to educate persons charged with, or convicted of, purchasing or attempting to purchase commercial sex acts;

(d) to train law enforcement personnel in how to establish trust of persons subjected to trafficking and encourage cooperation with prosecution efforts.

• Requires grantees to work collaboratively with victim service providers and other NGOs, including faith-based organizations.

• Authorizes $25m for each of FY06 and FY07.

TITLE III – AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS

Total authorizations : $360,106,000 over two years

• Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking:

$5.5 million for FY06, $5.5 million for FY07

• HHS: $15 million for FY06, $15 million for FY07

• State Dept.:
• Prevention: $10 million for FY06, $10 million for FY07
• Protection: $10 million for FY06, $10 for FY07
• Prosecution and meeting minimum standards: $10 million for FY06, $10 million for FY07

• Attorney General:
• Victims in the U.S.: $15 million for FY06, $15 million for FY07
• Training at International Law Enforcement Academies: $250,000 for FY06, $250,000 for FY07

• President:
• Foreign victim assistance: $15 million for FY06, $15 million for FY07
• Assistance to foreign countries to meet minimum standards: $15 million for FY06, $15 million for FY07
• Research: $300,000 for FY06, $300,000 for FY07

• Labor: $10 million for FY06, and $10 million for FY07

• FBI: $15 million for FY06

• Homeland Security : $18 million for each of FY06 and FY07

Text of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-1640 [.pdf]