Senate Bill S 29991 "Countering Human Trafficking Act of 2021" 18 Pages

II
Calendar No. 272

117TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
S. 2991
[Report No. 117–73]
To establish a Department of Homeland Security Center for Countering

Human Trafficking, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 18, 2021
Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mr. PORTMAN) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Secu-
rity and Governmental Affairs
FEBRUARY 14, 2022

Reported by Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mr. PORTMAN), with an
amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
A BILL
To establish a Department of Homeland Security Center
for Countering Human Trafficking, and for other purposes.
1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-

2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Countering Human

5 Trafficking Act of 2021’’.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:23 Feb 15, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2991.RS S2991
2
1 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
2 It is the sense of Congress that—

3 (1) the victim-centered approach must become
4 universally understood, adopted, and practiced;
5 (2) criminal justice efforts must increase the
6 focus on, and adeptness at, investigating and pros-
7 ecuting forced labor cases;
8 (3) corporations must eradicate forced labor
9 from their supply chains;
10 (4) the Department of Homeland Security must
11 lead by example—
12 (A) by ensuring that its government supply
13 chain of contracts and procurement are not
14 tainted by forced labor; and
15 (B) by leveraging all of its authorities
16 against the importation of goods produced with
17 forced labor; and
18 (5) human trafficking training, awareness, iden-
19 tification, and screening efforts—
20 (A) are a necessary first step for preven-
21 tion, protection, and enforcement; and
22 (B) should be evidence-based to be most
23 effective.
24 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER
25 FOR COUNTERING HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
26 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
•S 2991 RS
3
1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland
2 Security shall operate, within U.S. Immigration and
3 Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Inves-
4 tigations, the Center for Countering Human Traf-
5 ficking (referred to in this Act as ‘‘CCHT’’).
6 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of CCHT shall be
7 to serve at the forefront of the Department of
8 Homeland Security’s unified global efforts to
9 counter human trafficking through law enforcement
10 operations and victim protection, prevention, and
11 awareness programs.
12 (3) ADMINISTRATION.—Homeland Security In-
13 vestigations shall—
14 (A) maintain a concept of operations that
15 identifies CCHT participants, funding, core
16 functions, and personnel; and
17 (B) update such concept of operations, as
18 needed, to accommodate its mission and the
19 threats to such mission.
20 (4) PERSONNEL.—
21 (A) DIRECTOR.—The Secretary of Home-
22 land Security shall appoint a CCHT Director,
23 who shall—
24 (i) be a member of the Senior Execu-
25 tive Service; and
•S 2991 RS
4
1 (ii) serve as the Department of Home-
2 land Security’s representative on human
3 trafficking.
4 (B) MINIMUM CORE PERSONNEL REQUIRE-
5 MENTS.—Subject to appropriations, the Sec-

6 retary of Homeland Security shall ensure that
7 CCHT is staffed with at least 45 employees in
8 order to maintain continuity of effort, subject
9 matter expertise, and necessary support to the
10 Department of Homeland Security, including—
11 (i) employees who are responsible for
12 the Continued Presence Program and
13 other victim protection duties;
14 (ii) employees who are responsible for
15 training, including curriculum develop-
16 ment;
17 (iii) employees who are responsible for
18 stakeholder engagement, Federal inter-
19 agency coordination, multilateral partner-
20 ships, and policy;
21 (iv) employees who are responsible for
22 public relations, human resources, evalua-
23 tion, data analysis and reporting, and in-
24 formation technology;
•S 2991 RS
5
1 (v) special agents and criminal ana-
2 lysts necessary to accomplish its mission of
3 combating human trafficking and the im-
4 portation of goods produced with forced
5 labor; and
6 (vi) managers.
7 (b) OPERATIONS UNIT.—The CCHT Director shall
8 operate, within CCHT, an Operations Unit, which shall,
9 at a minimum—
10 (1) support criminal investigations of human
11 trafficking (including sex trafficking and forced
12 labor)—
13 (A) by developing, tracking, and coordi-
14 nating leads; and
15 (B) by providing subject matter expertise;
16 (2) augment the enforcement of the prohibition
17 on the importation of goods produced with forced
18 labor through civil and criminal authorities;
19 (3) coordinate a Department-wide effort to con-
20 duct procurement audits and enforcement actions,
21 including suspension and debarment, in order to
22 mitigate the risk of human trafficking throughout
23 Department acquisitions and contracts; and
24 (4) support all CCHT enforcement efforts with
25 intelligence by conducting lead development, lead
•S 2991 RS
6
1 validation, case support, strategic analysis, and data
2 analytics.
3 (c) PROTECTION AND AWARENESS PROGRAMS
4 UNIT.—The CCHT Director shall operate, within CCHT,
5 a Protection and Awareness Programs Unit, which shall—
6 (1) incorporate a victim-centered approach
7 throughout Department of Homeland Security poli-
8 cies, training, and practices;
9 (2) operate a comprehensive Continued Pres-
10 ence program;
11 (3) conduct, review, and assist with Department
12 of Homeland Security human trafficking training,
13 screening, and identification tools and efforts;
14 (4) operate the Blue Campaign’s nationwide
15 public awareness effort and any other awareness ef-
16 forts needed—
17 (A) to encourage victim identification and
18 reporting to law enforcement; and
19 (B) to prevent human trafficking; and
20 (5) coordinate external engagement, including
21 training and events, regarding human trafficking
22 with critical partners, including survivors, non-
23 governmental organizations, corporations, multilat-
24 eral entities, law enforcement agencies, and other in-
25 terested parties.
•S 2991 RS
7
1 SEC. 4. SPECIALIZED INITIATIVES.
2 (a) HUMAN TRAFFICKING INFORMATION MOD-

3 ERNIZATION INITIATIVE.—The CCHT Director, in con-
4 junction with the Science and Technology Directorate Of-
5 fice of Science and Engineering, shall develop a strategy
6 and proposal to modify systems and processes throughout
7 the Department of Homeland Security that are related to
8 CCHT’s mission in order to—
9 (1) decrease the response time to access victim
10 protections;
11 (2) accelerate lead development;
12 (3) advance the identification of human traf-
13 ficking characteristics and trends;
14 (4) fortify the security and protection of sen-
15 sitive information;
16 (5) apply analytics to automate manual proc-
17 esses; and
18 (6) provide artificial intelligence and machine
19 learning to increase system capabilities and enhance
20 data availability, reliability, comparability, and
21 verifiability.
22 (b) SUBMISSION OF PLAN.—Upon the completion of
23 the strategy and proposal under subsection (a), the Sec-
24 retary of Homeland Security shall submit a summary of
25 the strategy and plan for executing the strategy to—
•S 2991 RS
8
1 (1) the Committee on Homeland Security and
2 Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and
3 (2) the Committee on Homeland Security of the
4 House of Representatives.
5 SEC. 5. REPORTS.
6 (a) INFORMATION SHARING TO FACILITATE RE-

7 PORTS AND ANALYSIS.—Each subagency of the Depart-
8 ment of Homeland Security shall share with CCHT—
9 (1) any information needed by CCHT to de-
10 velop the strategy and proposal required under sec-
11 tion 5(a); and
12 (2) any additional data analysis to help CCHT
13 better understand the issues surrounding human
14 trafficking.
15 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year
16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the CCHT
17 Director shall submit a report to Congress that identifies
18 any legislation that is needed to facilitate the Department
19 of Homeland Security’s mission to end human trafficking.
20 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
21 In addition to amounts otherwise authorized to be ap-

22 propriated, there is authorized to be appropriated to the
23 Secretary of Homeland Security to carry out this Act
24 $14,000,000, which shall remain available until expended.
•S 2991 RS
9
1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Countering Human

3 Trafficking Act of 2021’’.
4 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
5 It is the sense of Congress that—

6 (1) the victim-centered approach must become
7 universally understood, adopted, and practiced;
8 (2) criminal justice efforts must increase the
9 focus on, and adeptness at, investigating and pros-
10 ecuting forced labor cases;
11 (3) corporations must eradicate forced labor from
12 their supply chains;
13 (4) the Department of Homeland Security must
14 lead by example—
15 (A) by ensuring that its government supply
16 chain of contracts and procurement are not
17 tainted by forced labor; and
18 (B) by leveraging all of its authorities
19 against the importation of goods produced with
20 forced labor; and
21 (5) human trafficking training, awareness, iden-
22 tification, and screening efforts—
23 (A) are a necessary first step for prevention,
24 protection, and enforcement; and
25 (B) should be evidence-based to be most ef-

26 fective.
•S 2991 RS
10
1 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER
2 FOR COUNTERING HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland
5 Security shall operate, within U.S. Immigration and
6 Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investiga-
7 tions, the Center for Countering Human Trafficking
8 (referred to in this Act as ‘‘CCHT’’).
9 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of CCHT shall be to
10 serve at the forefront of the Department of Homeland
11 Security’s unified global efforts to counter human
12 trafficking through law enforcement operations and
13 victim protection, prevention, and awareness pro-
14 grams.
15 (3) ADMINISTRATION.—Homeland Security In-
16 vestigations shall—
17 (A) maintain a concept of operations that
18 identifies CCHT participants, funding, core
19 functions, and personnel; and
20 (B) update such concept of operations, as
21 needed, to accommodate its mission and the
22 threats to such mission.
23 (4) PERSONNEL.—
24 (A) DIRECTOR.—The Secretary of Home-
25 land Security shall appoint a CCHT Director,

26 who shall—
•S 2991 RS
11
1 (i) be a member of the Senior Execu-
2 tive Service; and
3 (ii) serve as the Department of Home-
4 land Security’s representative on human
5 trafficking.
6 (B) MINIMUM CORE PERSONNEL REQUIRE-
7 MENTS.—Subject to appropriations, the Sec-

8 retary of Homeland Security shall ensure that
9 CCHT is staffed with at least 45 employees in
10 order to maintain continuity of effort, subject
11 matter expertise, and necessary support to the
12 Department of Homeland Security, including—
13 (i) employees who are responsible for
14 the Continued Presence Program and other
15 victim protection duties;
16 (ii) employees who are responsible for
17 training, including curriculum develop-
18 ment, and public awareness and education;
19 (iii) employees who are responsible for
20 stakeholder engagement, Federal interagency
21 coordination, multilateral partnerships, and
22 policy;
23 (iv) employees who are responsible for
24 public relations, human resources, evalua-
•S 2991 RS
12
1 tion, data analysis and reporting, and in-
2 formation technology;
3 (v) special agents and criminal ana-
4 lysts necessary to accomplish its mission of
5 combating human trafficking and the im-
6 portation of goods produced with forced
7 labor; and
8 (vi) managers.
9 (b) OPERATIONS UNIT.—The CCHT Director shall op-
10 erate, within CCHT, an Operations Unit, which shall, at
11 a minimum—
12 (1) support criminal investigations of human
13 trafficking (including sex trafficking and forced
14 labor)—
15 (A) by developing, tracking, and coordi-
16 nating leads; and
17 (B) by providing subject matter expertise;
18 (2) augment the enforcement of the prohibition
19 on the importation of goods produced with forced
20 labor through civil and criminal authorities;
21 (3) coordinate a Department-wide effort to con-
22 duct procurement audits and enforcement actions, in-
23 cluding suspension and debarment, in order to miti-
24 gate the risk of human trafficking throughout Depart-
25 ment acquisitions and contracts; and
•S 2991 RS
13
1 (4) support all CCHT enforcement efforts with
2 intelligence by conducting lead development, lead val-
3 idation, case support, strategic analysis, and data
4 analytics.
5 (c) PROTECTION AND AWARENESS PROGRAMS UNIT.—
6 The CCHT Director shall operate, within CCHT, a Protec-
7 tion and Awareness Programs Unit, which shall—
8 (1) incorporate a victim-centered approach
9 throughout Department of Homeland Security poli-
10 cies, training, and practices;
11 (2) operate a comprehensive Continued Presence
12 program;
13 (3) conduct, review, and assist with Department
14 of Homeland Security human trafficking training,
15 screening, and identification tools and efforts;
16 (4) operate the Blue Campaign’s nationwide
17 public awareness effort and any other awareness ef-
18 forts needed to encourage victim identification and re-
19 porting to law enforcement and to prevent human
20 trafficking; and
21 (5) coordinate external engagement, including
22 training and events, regarding human trafficking
23 with critical partners, including survivors, non-
24 governmental organizations, corporations, multilat-
•S 2991 RS
14
1 eral entities, law enforcement agencies, and other in-
2 terested parties.
3 SEC. 4. SPECIALIZED INITIATIVES.
4 (a) HUMAN TRAFFICKING INFORMATION MODERNIZA-

5 TION INITIATIVE.—The CCHT Director, in conjunction
6 with the Science and Technology Directorate Office of
7 Science and Engineering, shall develop a strategy and pro-
8 posal to modify systems and processes throughout the De-
9 partment of Homeland Security that are related to CCHT’s
10 mission in order to—
11 (1) decrease the response time to access victim
12 protections;
13 (2) accelerate lead development;
14 (3) advance the identification of human traf-
15 ficking characteristics and trends;
16 (4) fortify the security and protection of sensitive
17 information;
18 (5) apply analytics to automate manual proc-
19 esses; and
20 (6) provide artificial intelligence and machine
21 learning to increase system capabilities and enhance
22 data availability, reliability, comparability, and
23 verifiability.
24 (b) SUBMISSION PLAN.—Upon the completion of
OF
25 the strategy and proposal under subsection (a), the Sec-
•S 2991 RS
15
1 retary of Homeland Security shall submit a summary of
2 the strategy and plan for executing the strategy to—
3 (1) the Committee on Homeland Security and
4 Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and
5 (2) the Committee on Homeland Security of the
6 House of Representatives.
7 SEC. 5. REPORTS.
8 (a) INFORMATION SHARING TO FACILITATE REPORTS

9 AND ANALYSIS.—Each subagency of the Department of
10 Homeland Security shall share with CCHT—
11 (1) any information needed by CCHT to develop
12 the strategy and proposal required under section 4(a);
13 and
14 (2) any additional data analysis to help CCHT
15 better understand the issues surrounding human traf-
16 ficking.
17 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year
18 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the CCHT Direc-
19 tor shall submit a report to Congress that identifies any
20 legislation that is needed to facilitate the Department of
21 Homeland Security’s mission to end human trafficking.
22 SEC. 6. TRANSFER OF OTHER FUNCTIONS RELATED TO
23 HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
24 (a) BLUE CAMPAIGN.—The functions and resources of

25 the Blue Campaign located within the Office of Partnership
•S 2991 RS
16
1 and Engagement on the day before the date of the enactment
2 of this Act are hereby transferred to CCHT.
3 (b) OTHER TRANSFER.—
4 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—Not later than 180 days
5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
6 retary of Homeland Security may transfer the func-
7 tions and resources of any component, directorate, or
8 other office of the Department of Homeland Security
9 related to combating human trafficking to the CCHT.
10 (2) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 30 days be-
11 fore executing any transfer authorized under para-
12 graph (1), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall
13 notify the Committee on Homeland Security and
14 Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Com-
15 mittee on Homeland Security of the House of Rep-
16 resentatives of such planned transfer.
17 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
18 In addition to amounts otherwise authorized to be ap-

19 propriated, there is authorized to be appropriated to the
20 Secretary of Homeland Security to carry out this Act
21 $14,000,000, which shall remain available until expended.
•S 2991 RS
Calendar No. 272
117TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION S. 2991
[Report No. 117–73]
S2991
A BILL
E:\BILLS\S2991.RS
To establish a Department of Homeland Security
Center for Countering Human Trafficking, and
for other purposes.
Sfmt 6651
FEBRUARY 14, 2022
Reported with an amendment
Fmt 6651
Frm 00018
PO 00000
Jkt 029200
01:23 Feb 15, 2022
VerDate Sep 11 2014

Senate Bill S 29991 "Countering Human Trafficking Act of 2021" 18 Pages

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Senate Bill S 29991 "Countering Human Trafficking Act of 2021" 18 Pages

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Senate Bill S 29991 "Countering Human Trafficking Act of 2021" 18 Pages

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

II

Calendar No. 272

To establish a Department of Homeland Security Center for Countering

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Countering Human

2 It is the sense of Congress that—

25 FOR COUNTERING HUMAN TRAFFICKING.

25 tive Service; and

5 MENTS.—Subject to appropriations, the Sec-

25 intelligence by conducting lead development, lead

2 (a) HUMAN TRAFFICKING INFORMATION MOD-

25 the strategy and plan for executing the strategy to—

6 (a) INFORMATION SHARING TO FACILITATE RE-

21 In addition to amounts otherwise authorized to be ap-

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Countering Human

5 It is the sense of Congress that—

25 (B) should be evidence-based to be most ef-

2 FOR COUNTERING HUMAN TRAFFICKING.

25 land Security shall appoint a CCHT Director,

7 MENTS.—Subject to appropriations, the Sec-

25 ment acquisitions and contracts; and

4 (a) HUMAN TRAFFICKING INFORMATION MODERNIZA-

25 the strategy and proposal under subsection (a), the Sec-

8 (a) INFORMATION SHARING TO FACILITATE REPORTS

24 (a) BLUE CAMPAIGN.—The functions and resources of

25 the Blue Campaign located within the Office of Partnership

18 In addition to amounts otherwise authorized to be ap-

You might also like