Human Trafficking Prioritization Act
Latest action · Feb 16, 2017 Referred to the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations.
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.
- IntroducedJan 11, 2017
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Human Trafficking Prioritization Act
This bill expresses the sense of Congress that the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking of the Department of State will be more effective in carrying out duties mandated by Congress in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and can do so without an increase in either personnel or budget, if: (1) the Office's status is changed to that of a Bureau within State; and (2) the Office is headed by an Assistant Secretary with direct access to the Secretary of State, rather than an Ambassador-at-Large.
The bill amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to change the status of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking to that of the Bureau to Combat Trafficking in Persons.
State must submit to Congress a report detailing:
- for each current Assistant Secretary of State position, the exact title and length of designation as Assistant Secretary and whether that designation was legislatively mandated or authorized and, if so, the relevant statutory citation; and
- whether State intends to designate one of the Assistant Secretary of State positions as the Assistant Secretary of State to Combat Trafficking in Persons and the reasons for that decision.
The bill prohibits subsequent inclusion for more than one consecutive year on the special watch list of countries whose compliance with minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking is full, partial, or insignificant of any country that:
- was included on the list for four consecutive years after enactment of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, and
- was subsequently included on the exclusive Tier 3 list of countries not making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with such standards.
No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated for diplomatic and consular programs to carry out this bill.
Cosponsors 2
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 11, 2017 to Oct 4, 2017, with 1 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NY | Grace Meng | Original | Jan 11, 2017 |
| D-AZ | Kyrsten Sinema | Oct 4, 2017 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 16, 2017Referred to the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations.
- Jan 11, 2017Introduced in House
- Jan 11, 2017Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: International Affairs.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 11, 2017Introduced 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.