The United States Senate has passed Congressman Chris Smith’s (R-Hamilton) Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, clearing the way for President Bush to sign the legislation into law.

    Smith’s bill, HR 2620, will significantly enhance the ability of the United States to prosecute traffickers and protect the victims, who are primarily women and children. The law strengthens and expands measures proscribed in the landmark Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, which Smith also authored.

    “Over the past three years, the United States has led the world in prosecuting those who profit from the capture and sale of human beings, most of whom are women and children.  When he addressed the United Nations in September, President Bush urged the global community to follow our lead so we can eliminate this tragic activity once and for all.  This legislation will help expand and enhance our efforts so we can continue to lead by example,” Smith said.

    “In addition to providing new tools to help investigate and prosecute traffickers, HR 2620 authorizes about $212 million over two years for programs to assist victims, improve training for law enforcement, and aid countries that are struggling to meet minimum counter-trafficking standards,” Smith added.

    Major enhancements in HR 2620 include adding human trafficking to the list of racketeering offenses covered under the federal RICO Statute; allowing trafficking victims to sue their captors in U.S. courts; and prohibiting any U.S. funds authorized to fight trafficking from being used to promote, support, or advocate prostitution or efforts to legalize prostitution.

    HR 2620 allows the U.S. government to terminate international contracts of any company or employee found to be engaging in trafficking or sex with trafficked persons, or found to be using forced labor to execute the contract.  It also provides increased support to help victims rebuild their lives, and requires the Administration to provide information on our nation’s laws against sex tourism to airline passengers headed to certain destinations where sex tourism flourishes.
Additionally, it provides for the creation of a “watch list” to aggressively monitor countries that are borderline and working to improve their record on trafficking.

    The original trafficking law set landmark benchmarks for international efforts to combat human trafficking, causing numerous nations to pass tough laws, train police forces and border guards, initiate public information campaigns and provide increased protection for trafficking victims. It delineated new standards within the United States for the compassionate treatment of those rescued from the traffickers and the initiation of more aggressive anti-trafficking law enforcement procedures. 

    The law also mandated that each year, the U.S. State Department issue a report on what foreign nations are doing to crackdown on human trafficking.  The report evaluates the nations’ law enforcement and prosecution initiatives, education campaigns to prevent people from falling victim to trafficking, and healthcare and support services made available to help victims rebuild their lives.

    The law also gives the President the authority to sanction nations that fail to address trafficking by withholding all U.S. non-humanitarian aid dollars.  So far three countries have been slapped with sanctions. 

    “I look forward to aggressively overseeing the implementation of this new law which will help the U.S. and our global allies eliminate the scourge of human trafficking,” Smith said.

    Below is a summary of the legislation: 
 

HR 2620: Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act
 

Prevention of Human Trafficking

The TVPRA will enhance the prevention of human trafficking by:

• requiring that U.S. Government contracts relating to international affairs contain clauses authorizing termination by the United States if the contractor engages in human trafficking or commercial sexual services while the contract is in force;
   
• promoting innovative trafficking prevention initiatives, such as border guard training and border interdiction programs; and
  
• alerting airline passengers that sex tourism is illegal, will be prosecuted in the United States (even if the act takes place in a foreign country), and is dangerous to those involved.  

Protection of Trafficking Victims

The TVPRA will enhance protection for trafficking victims by:

• allowing trafficking victims to sue their traffickers in U.S. courts;
  
• eliminating the requirement that a victim of trafficking between the ages of 15 and 18 must cooperate with the investigation and prosecution of his or her trafficker in order to be eligible for a T-visa; and
  
• allowing benefits and services available to victims of trafficking to be available for their family members legally entitled to join them in the United States. 

Prosecution of Traffickers

The TVPRA will enhance the prosecution of trafficking-related crimes by encouraging the use of International Law Enforcement Academies to train foreign law enforcement authorities, prosecutors and members of the judiciary regarding human trafficking.
 

Improving the U. S. Government’s Response to Trafficking

The TVPRA will improve the ability of the U.S. to fight trafficking by: 

• encouraging critical research initiatives;

   

• designating that the Director of the State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking shall have the rank of Ambassador-at-Large;
  
• prohibiting the use of funds to promote, support or advocate the legalization or practice of prostitution.  

FY 2004 and 2005 Appropriations

The TVPRA would reauthorize the following appropriations for each of FY 2004 and 2005:

• $5 million to the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking;
  
• $15 million to the Department of Health and Human Services to fund programs that help trafficking victims;
  
• $10 million to the Department of State to provide assistance to victims in other countries; $10 million for programs to improve law enforcement and prosecution; and $10 million for trafficking prevention initiatives;
  
• $15 million to the Department of Justice for assistance to victims in the United States and $250,000 for anti-trafficking training activities at the International Law Enforcement Academies;
  
• $15 million to the President for foreign victim assistance (prevention activities); $15 million for assistance to foreign countries to meet the minimum standards to combat trafficking; and $300,000 for research; and
  
• $10 million to the Department of Labor to initiate programs that fight forced-labor trafficking.