Human Trafficking Accountability Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 509 To require the Attorney General to designate Human Trafficking Coordinators for Federal judicial districts, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 11, 2019 Mrs. BEATTY (for herself and Mrs. WAGNER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To require the Attorney General to designate Human Traf- ficking Coordinators for Federal judicial districts, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Human Trafficking 4 Accountability Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. HUMAN TRAFFICKING COORDINATORS. 6 Section 606 of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking 7 Act of 2015 (34 U.S.C. 20711) is amended— 8 (1) in subsection (b)(1)— 9 (A) by striking subparagraph (B); and 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jan 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H509.IH H509 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 509 IH (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 1 and (D) as subparagraphs (B) and (C), respec- 2 tively; and 3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 4 ‘‘(c) HUMAN TRAFFICKING JUSTICE COORDINA- 5 TORS.—The Attorney General shall designate in each Fed- 6 eral judicial district not less than 1 Assistant United 7 States Attorney to serve as the Human Trafficking Coor- 8 dinator for the district, who, in addition to any other re- 9 sponsibilities, shall be responsible for— 10 ‘‘(1) implementing the National Strategy with 11 respect to all forms of human trafficking, including 12 labor trafficking and sex trafficking; 13 ‘‘(2) prosecuting or assisting in the prosecution 14 of human trafficking cases; 15 ‘‘(3) conducting public outreach and awareness 16 activities relating to human trafficking; 17 ‘‘(4) ensuring the collection of data related to 18 human trafficking required by law to be collected; 19 ‘‘(5) coordinating with other Federal agencies, 20 State, Tribal, and local law enforcement agencies, 21 and victim service providers to build partnerships on 22 activities relating to human trafficking; and 23 ‘‘(6) taking appropriate steps and, when nec- 24 essary, legal action to collect restitution for victims 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jan 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H509.IH H509 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 509 IH as required to be ordered under section 1593 of title 1 18, United States Code, or under any other restitu- 2 tion order issued by a Federal court to be paid to 3 a victim in a human trafficking case. 4 ‘‘(d) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE COORDINATOR.— 5 Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this 6 subsection, the Attorney General shall designate a Deputy 7 Assistant Attorney General who is a career appointee (as 8 that term is defined in section 3132(a) of title 5, United 9 States Code) as the National Human Trafficking Coordi- 10 nator within the Department of Justice, who, in addition 11 to any other responsibilities, shall be responsible for— 12 ‘‘(1) coordinating, promoting, and supporting 13 the work of the Department of Justice relating to 14 human trafficking, including investigation, prosecu- 15 tion, training, outreach, victim support, grant-mak- 16 ing, and policy activities; 17 ‘‘(2) reviewing data collected by Human Traf- 18 ficking Justice Coordinators in the Federal judicial 19 districts and, when necessary, communicating with 20 the Coordinators to discuss such data; 21 ‘‘(3) making recommendations to the Deputy 22 Attorney General on where resources should be allo- 23 cated to combat human trafficking; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jan 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H509.IH H509 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 509 IH ‘‘(4) in consultation with survivors of human 1 trafficking, or anti-human trafficking organizations, 2 producing, and disseminating, including making 3 publicly available, when possible, replication guides 4 and training materials for law enforcement officers, 5 prosecutors, judges, emergency responders, individ- 6 uals working in crime victim services, schools and 7 school systems, adult and child protective services, 8 social services, and public safety, medical personnel, 9 mental health personnel, financial services personnel, 10 and any other individuals whose work may bring 11 them in contact with human trafficking regarding 12 how to— 13 ‘‘(A) identify signs of human trafficking; 14 ‘‘(B) conduct investigations in human traf- 15 ficking cases; 16 ‘‘(C) address evidentiary issues and other 17 legal issues in human trafficking cases; and 18 ‘‘(D) appropriately assess, respond to, and 19 interact with victims and witnesses in human 20 trafficking cases, including in administrative, 21 civil, and criminal judicial proceedings; and 22 ‘‘(5) carrying out such other duties as the At- 23 torney General determines necessary in connection 24 with enhancing the understanding, prevention, detec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jan 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H509.IH H509 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 509 IH tion, investigation, and prosecution of, and response 1 to, human trafficking.’’. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jan 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H509.IH H509 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS