Human Trafficking Fraud Enforcement Act of 2015
Latest action · Mar 31, 2015 Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 4, 2015
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Human Trafficking Fraud Enforcement Act of 2015
Directs the Department of the Treasury to establish within the Internal Revenue Service an office to investigate and prosecute violations of internal revenue laws by persons that appear to be engaged in violations of specified federal laws prohibiting forced labor, trafficking of individuals, and transportation of minors or aliens for immoral purposes and of state or territorial laws prohibiting the promotion of prostitution or of any commercial sex act. Directs such office to cooperate with the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Department of Justice and the Innocence Lost National Initiative of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Allows victims of human trafficking crimes to claim awards allowed for whistleblowing.
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase civil and criminal penalties for tax evasion attributable to income derived from human trafficking and commercial sex acts. Makes it a felony to fail to file a tax return including income derived from human trafficking or commercial sex acts. Appropriates to the Crime Victims Fund additional funds equal to the increase in receipts from increased civil and criminal penalties provided by this Act.
Cosponsors 2
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 4, 2015 to Jun 21, 2016; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-TX | Ted Poe | Original | Mar 4, 2015 |
| D-NY | Nydia M. Velázquez | Jun 21, 2016 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Ways and Means Committee | Referred Mar 4, 2015 |
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Mar 4, 2015 |
| Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Subcommittee | Referred Mar 31, 2015 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 31, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
- Mar 4, 2015Introduced in House
- Mar 4, 2015Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E309)
- Mar 4, 2015Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, 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.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E309 | Carolyn B. Maloney D-NY | Mar 4, 2015 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 161, no. 37, March 4, 2015, page H1617.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R44007 | Sex Trafficking: Proposals in the 114th Congress to Amend Federal Criminal Law | Report | Jun 9, 2015 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 889 | Human Trafficking Fraud Enforcement Act of 2017 | Reintroduced Bill | Feb 6, 2017 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To provide for the establishment of an office within the Internal Revenue Service to focus on violations of the internal revenue laws by persons who are under investigation for conduct relating to the promotion of commercial sex acts and trafficking in persons crimes, and to increase the criminal monetary penalty limitations for the underpayment or overpayment of tax due to fraud.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Human Trafficking Fraud Enforcement Act of 2015
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Taxation.
- Crime victims
- Crimes against children
- Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
- Department of the Treasury
- Executive agency funding and structure
- Fraud offenses and financial crimes
- Human trafficking
- Law enforcement administration and funding
- Sex offenses
- Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
- Taxation
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 4, 2015Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
