S. 3061 (110th): William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008

Introduced:
May 22, 2008 (110th Congress, 2007–2009)
Sponsor:
Sen. Joseph Biden Jr. [D-DE]
Status:
Died (Reported by Committee)
See Instead:

H.R. 7311 (same title)
Signed by the President — Dec 23, 2008

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. S. stands for Senate bill.

(About Ads | Go Ad-Free for $5)
Status

This bill was introduced on July 31, 2008, in a previous session of Congress, but was not enacted.

Progress
Introduced May 22, 2008
Referred to Committee May 22, 2008
Reported by Committee Jul 31, 2008
Cosponsors
6 cosponsors (4D, 2R) (show)
Committees

Senate Judiciary

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

A bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2008 through 2011 for the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, to enhance measures to combat trafficking in persons, and for other purposes.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated Sep 08, 2008.
122 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

GovTrack gets most information from THOMAS, which is updated generally one day after events occur. Activity since the last update may not be reflected here.

Citation

Click a format for a citation suggestion:

GovTrack’s Bill Summary

We don’t have a summary available yet.

Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

9/8/2008.
Title I - Combating International Trafficking in Persons
Section 101 -
Amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) to include the Secretary of Education on the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking.
Section 102 -
Directs the Secretary of State (Secretary) to establish within the Department of State an Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking. (Current law authorizes such Office's establishment.) Revises responsibilities of the Director of the Office.
Section 104 -
Requires, both in the United States and abroad, that solicitations of grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts for anti-trafficking programs be made publicly available and on a competitive basis. Directs the President to: (1) establish an anti-trafficking program monitoring system; and (2) provide U.S. assistance consistent with annual reporting priorities and country assessments. Obligates specified FY2008-FY2011 funds for activities under this section.
Section 106 -
States that a country included on the special watch list for three consecutive years shall be included on the list of countries with governments not in full compliance with standards to eliminate trafficking and not making significant efforts to be in compliance. Requires translation of the Department's annual trafficking report into the principal languages of as many countries as possible and publication on appropriate websites.
Section 107 -
Requires the establishment of an integrated database relating to trafficking trends.
Section 108 -
Authorizes: (1) the President to establish the Paul D. Wellstone Presidential Award for Extraordinary Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons; and (2) FY2008-FY2011 appropriations.
Section 109 -
Directs the Secretary of Labor to report to the appropriate congressional committees regarding Department of Labor activities to monitor and combat forced labor and child labor.
Title II - Combating Trafficking of Persons in the United States
Subtitle A - Ensuring Availability of Possible Witnesses and Informants
Section 201 -
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) with respect to nonimmigrant T-visas (victims of severe form of trafficking in persons) to authorize aliens to apply for such visas who are:
(1) brought into the country for investigations or as witnesses;
(2) unable to participate in a law enforcement interview because of physical or psychological trauma; or
(3) parents or siblings who face retaliation as a result of their family member's escape from trafficking or cooperation with law enforcement.
Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to:
(1) extend the period of T-visa and U-visa (victims of certain crimes) status;
(2) consider when determining extreme hardship whether the country to which the alien is likely to be removed can address security concerns and the alien's mental and physical health needs; and
(3) waive the disqualification for lack of good moral character for T-visa holders applying for adjustment to permanent resident status if the disqualification is caused by or incident to the trafficking.
Section 202 -
Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and distribute an information pamphlet on legal rights and resources for aliens applying for employment- or education-based nonimmigrant visas, which shall include information respecting:
(1) nonimmigrant visa application processes;
(2) the illegality of slavery, peonage, trafficking in persons, sexual assault, extortion, blackmail, and worker exploitation in the United States;
(3) legal rights and services for trafficking victims and worker exploitation in the United States; and
(4) the legal rights of employment-based nonimmigrants.
Section 203 -
Directs the Secretary to develop and make available an information pamphlet on legal rights and resources for aliens applying for an A-3 visa (nonimmigrant employees of foreign government officials) or a G-5 visa (nonimmigrant employees of foreign employees of, or representatives to, international organizations).
Prohibits A-3 or G-5 visa issuance unless an employment contact has been signed.
Suspends visa issuance if a diplomatic mission or its employees are found to have a record of exploiting such visa holders.
Section 204 -
Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to grant a stay of removal or deportation to a T-visa applicant whose application sets forth a prima facie case of approval until the application is adjudicated.
Section 205 -
Amends TVPA to authorize:
(1) the Secretary, upon application from a federal law enforcement official, to permit an alien trafficking victim's continued presence in the United States in order to effectuate investigation and prosecution of the traffickers; and
(2) law enforcement officials to request the parole entry of specified relatives of such an alien.
Directs the Secretary to permit such alien's continued presence if the alien has filed a civil action against the traffickers.
Amends INA to provide for the parole entry of specified relatives of trafficking victims.
Sets forth parole entry duration.
Section 206 -
Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to issue interim regulations for T-visa adjustment to permanent resident status.
Subtitle B - Assistance for Trafficking Victims
Section 211 -
Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to make an alien who has had approved, or has pending, a petition that sets forth a prima facie case for T-visa status eligible for public benefits.
Section 212 -
Amends TVPA to direct: (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services, upon credible information that a child has been a trafficking victim, to provide 90-day interim assistance to the child and determine eligibility for long-term assistance; (2) federal and state and local officials to notify the Secretary within 24 hours and 48 hours, respectively, of learning of such a child; and (3) the Secretary and the Attorney General to provide appropriate training for state and local officials.
Section 213 -
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to establish an assistance program for U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who are victims of severe forms of trafficking. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to make grants to states, Indian tribes, local government, and nonprofit victims' service organizations to develop and expand victim service programs. Authorizes FY2008-FY2011 appropriations.
Subtitle C - Penalties Against Traffickers and Other Related Offenses
Section 221 -
Amends the federal criminal code with respect to restitution of forfeited assets in instances of severe trafficking of persons.
Section 222 -
Sets forth provisions regarding offenses of trafficking, forced labor, enticement into slavery, sex trafficking of children, and sex tourism.
Section 223 -
Provides U.S. courts with additional extraterritorial jurisdiction in certain trafficking, slavery, and peonage offenses if: (1) the alleged offender or victim is a U.S. national or lawful permanent resident; or (2) the alleged offender, irrespective of nationality, is present in the United States. Prohibits such an action if the offense has been prosecuted or is being prosecuted in another country unless the Attorney General approves.
Section 224 -
States that the Secretary shall:
(1) not issue a passport to an individual who is convicted of a federal sex offense during a certain period if the individual used a passport or otherwise crossed an international border in committing such offense; and
(2) revoke a passport issued to such an individual before the date on which the individual was convicted of the federal sex offense.
Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to place an alien convicted of a sex offense in removal proceedings.
Amends INA to make conviction of sexual abuse of a minor grounds for deportation and inadmissibility.
Subtitle D - Activities of the United States Government
Section 231 -
Amends TVPA to require that the Attorney General's annual report include information on: (1) Department of Defense (DOD) activities to combat trafficking in persons; and (2) federal actions taken to enforce policies against government contractors who engage in trafficking or related activities.
Section 232 -
Requires the Defense Contract Audit Agency to conduct an audit of all DOD contractors and subcontractors implementing contracts abroad where there is substantial evidence to suggest trafficking in persons.
Section 234 -
Amends INA to add the Secretary and the Secretary of Homeland Security to the list of those who may prohibit the entry of traffickers into the United States.
Section 235 -
Directs the Secretary to:
(1) develop policies and procedures to ensure that unaccompanied alien children in the United States are safely repatriated to their country of nationality or of last habitual residence;
(2) develop a safe repatriation pilot program for alien children; and
(3) negotiate child repatriation agreements between the United States and countries contiguous to the United States designed to protect children from severe forms of trafficking in persons.
States, with specified exceptions, that the care and custody of unaccompanied alien children in the United States shall be the responsibility of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Sets forth related provisions respecting:
(1) notification of, and transfer to, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS);
(2) age determinations;
(3) safe placement;
(4) legal and child advocate access;
(5) immigration status adjustment and asylum protections; and
(6) assistance eligibility.
Section 236 -
Directs the Secretary to temporarily increase the fee for processing machine-readable: (1) nonimmigrant visas; and (2) combined border crossing and identification cards and nonimmigrant visas.
Title III - Authorization of Appropriations
Section 301 -
Amends TVPA to authorize appropriations through FY2011 for:
(1) the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking;
(2) the Senior Policy Operating Group;
(3) actions against governments that do not meet minimum standards against trafficking;
(4) the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking, including amounts for additional personnel;
(5) the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General for assistance to trafficking victims in the United States;
(6) the Secretary for bilateral assistance to combat trafficking;
(7) training for law enforcement, prosecutors, and the judiciary;
(8) the President for foreign victim assistance, assistance to foreign countries, and research;
(9) the Secretary of Labor;
(10) the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and
(11) the Secretary of Homeland Security.
Section 302 -
Amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 to authorize appropriations through FY2011 for:
(1) the pilot program for residential rehabilitative facilities for trafficking victims;
(2) research, reports and an annual conference on trafficking;
(3) a grant program to strengthen assistance for certain trafficking victims;
(4) the pilot program for U.S. residential treatment facilities for juvenile trafficking victims; and
(5) grants for state and local anti-trafficking programs.
Title IV - Child Soldiers Prevention and Accountability
Child Soldiers Prevention and Accountability Act of 2008 -
Section 403 -
Prohibits, with a national interest waiver, funds for specified military and related areas from being made available to the government of a country identified by the Secretary as having governmental armed forces or government supported armed groups that recruit or use child soldiers.
Authorizes the President to reinstate such assistance upon certifying to Congress that a government is implementing:
(1) compliance measures; and
(2) mechanisms to prohibit future use of child soldiers.
Authorizes the President to provide assistance to a country for international military education and training otherwise prohibited under this Act upon certifying to Congress that such assistance is for measures to demobilize child soldiers and for programs to professionalize the military.
Section 404 -
Requires that U.S. missions abroad investigate reports on child soldiers. Directs the Secretary to include in the annual country reports on human rights practices a description of the use of child soldiers.
Section 405 -
Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to require Foreign Service instruction relating to child soldiers and the substance of the Child Soldiers Prevention and Accountability Act of 2008.
Section 406 -
Amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to recruit or use child soldiers. Amends INA to make such recruitment or use grounds for an alien's removal from the United States.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

No summary available.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.

So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.

We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.

The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

Slip Laws

Slip laws refer to enacted bills and joint resolutions in their original form as enacted by Congress, that is, before other laws amend them. Slip laws are cited as “Public Law XXX-YYY”, where XXX is the number of the Congress in which the bill or resolution was introduced.

United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)

Statutes at Large

The United States Statutes at Large is the compilation of all laws enacted by Congress.

  • 110 Stat. 3009

Other Citations

  • 18 U.S.C. Chapter 117
  • 18 U.S.C. Chapter 118
  • 18 U.S.C. Chapter 213
  • 18 U.S.C. Chapter 77