STOP Organ Trafficking Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2121 To combat trafficking in human organs, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 8, 2019 Mr. RESCHENTHALER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To combat trafficking in human organs, 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 ‘‘Strategy To Oppose 4 Predatory Organ Trafficking Act’’ or the ‘‘STOP Organ 5 Trafficking Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress finds the following: 8 (1) The World Health Organization (WHO) es- 9 timates that approximately 10 percent of all trans- 10 planted kidneys worldwide are illegally obtained, 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2121.IH H2121 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2121 IH often bought from vulnerable impoverished persons 1 or in some cases forcibly harvested from prisoners. 2 (2) In 2004, the World Health Assembly passed 3 a resolution urging its member-states to take meas- 4 ures to protect the poorest as well as vulnerable 5 groups from exploitation by organ traffickers. 6 (3) On February 13, 2008, the United Nations 7 Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking 8 (UNGIFT) hosted the ‘‘Vienna Forum to Fight 9 Human Trafficking’’, and subsequently reported 10 that a lack of adequate illicit organ trafficking laws 11 has provided opportunity for the illegal trade to 12 grow. 13 (4) On March 21, 2011, the Council of the Eu- 14 ropean Union adopted rules supplementing the defi- 15 nition of criminal offenses and the level of sanctions 16 in order to strengthen the prevention of organ traf- 17 ficking and the protection of those victims. 18 (5) In 2005, the United States ratified the Pro- 19 tocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in 20 Persons, Especially Women and Children, a supple- 21 ment to the United Nations Convention against 22 Transnational Organized Crime, which includes the 23 removal of organs as a form of exploitation under 24 the definition of ‘‘trafficking in persons’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2121.IH H2121 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2121 IH (6) According to a 2013 United Nations report 1 from the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in per- 2 sons, especially women and children, the economic 3 and social divisions within and among countries is 4 notably reflected in the illicit organ trafficking mar- 5 ket, in which the victims are commonly poor, unem- 6 ployed, and more susceptible to deceit and extortion. 7 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 8 It is the sense of Congress that— 9 (1) the kidnapping or coercion of individuals for 10 the purpose of extracting their organs for profit is 11 in contradiction of the ideals and standards for eth- 12 ical behavior upon which the United States has 13 based its laws; 14 (2) the illegal harvesting of organs from chil- 15 dren is a violation of the human rights of the child 16 and is a breach of internationally accepted medical 17 ethical standards described in WHO Assembly Reso- 18 lution 57.18 (May 22, 2004); 19 (3) the illegal harvesting and trafficking of or- 20 gans violates Article 3 of the Universal Declaration 21 of Human Rights, which states that ‘‘Everyone has 22 the right to life, liberty and security of person.’’, and 23 Article 4, which states that ‘‘No one shall be held in 24 slavery or servitude.’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2121.IH H2121 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2121 IH (4) establishing efficient voluntary organ dona- 1 tion systems with strong enforcement mechanisms is 2 the most effective way to combat trafficking in per- 3 sons for purposes of the removal of organs. 4 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 5 It shall be the policy of the United States to— 6 (1) combat the international trafficking in per- 7 sons for purposes of the removal of organs; 8 (2) promote the establishment of voluntary 9 organ donation systems with effective enforcement 10 mechanisms in bilateral diplomatic meetings, as well 11 as in international health forums; and 12 (3) promote the dignity and security of human 13 life in accordance with the Universal Declaration of 14 Human Rights. 15 SEC. 5. REVOCATION OR DENIAL OF PASSPORTS TO INDI- 16 VIDUALS WHO ARE ORGAN TRAFFICKERS. 17 The Act entitled ‘‘An Act to regulate the issue and 18 validity of passports, and for other purposes’’, approved 19 July 3, 1926 (22 U.S.C. 211a et seq.), commonly known 20 as the ‘‘Passport Act of 1926’’, is amended by adding at 21 the end the following new section: 22 ‘‘SEC. 4. AUTHORITY TO DENY OR REVOKE PASSPORT. 23 ‘‘(a) ISSUANCE.—The Secretary of State may refuse 24 to issue a passport to any individual who has been con- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2121.IH H2121 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2121 IH victed of an offense under section 301 of the National 1 Organ Transplant Act (42 U.S.C. 274e) if such individual 2 used a passport or otherwise crossed an international bor- 3 der in the commission of such an offence. 4 ‘‘(b) REVOCATION.—The Secretary of State may re- 5 voke a passport previously issued to any individual de- 6 scribed in paragraph (1).’’. 7 SEC. 6. AMENDMENTS TO THE TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PRO- 8 TECTION ACT OF 2000. 9 Section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 10 of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102) is amended— 11 (1) in paragraph (11)— 12 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘or’’ 13 after the semicolon at the end; 14 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 15 period at the end and inserting: ‘‘; or’’; and 16 (C) by adding at the end the following new 17 subparagraph: 18 ‘‘(C) trafficking in persons for purposes of 19 the removal of organs (as defined in paragraph 20 (15)).’’; 21 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (15) through 22 (17) as paragraphs (16) through (18), respectively; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2121.IH H2121 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2121 IH (3) by inserting after paragraph (14) the fol- 1 lowing new paragraph: 2 ‘‘(15) TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS FOR PUR- 3 POSES OF THE REMOVAL OF ORGANS.— 4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘trafficking 5 in persons for purposes of the removal of or- 6 gans’ means the recruitment, transportation, 7 transfer, harboring, or receipt of a person for 8 the purpose of removing one or more of such 9 person’s organs, by means of— 10 ‘‘(i) coercion; 11 ‘‘(ii) abduction; 12 ‘‘(iii) deception; 13 ‘‘(iv) fraud; 14 ‘‘(v) abuse of power or a position of 15 vulnerability; or 16 ‘‘(vi) transfer of payments or benefits 17 to achieve the consent of a person having 18 control over a person described in the mat- 19 ter preceding clause (i). 20 ‘‘(B) ORGAN DEFINED.—In subparagraph 21 (A), the term ‘organ’ has the meaning given the 22 term ‘human organ’ in section 301(c)(1) of the 23 National Organ Transplant Act (42 U.S.C. 24 274e(c)(1)).’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2121.IH H2121 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2121 IH SEC. 7. REPORTING. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than two years after the 2 date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter 3 through 2026, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 4 appropriate congressional committees a comprehensive re- 5 port that includes the following information: 6 (1) A description of the sources, practices, 7 methods, facilitators, and recipients of trafficking in 8 persons for purposes of the removal of organs during 9 the period covered by each such report. 10 (2) A description of activities undertaken by the 11 Department of State, either unilaterally or in co- 12 operation with other countries, to address and pre- 13 vent trafficking in persons for purposes of the re- 14 moval of organs. 15 (3) A description of activities undertaken by 16 countries to address and prevent trafficking in per- 17 sons for purposes of the removal of organs. 18 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The reports re- 19 quired under subsection (a) shall include the collection and 20 organization of data from human rights officers at United 21 States diplomatic and consular posts on host country laws 22 against trafficking in persons for purposes of the removal 23 of organs, including enforcement of such laws, or any in- 24 stances of violations of such laws. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2121.IH H2121 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2121 IH (c) ADDITIONAL MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The 1 reports required under subsection (a) may include the fol- 2 lowing: 3 (1) Information provided in meetings with host 4 country officials. 5 (2) Information provided through cooperation 6 with United Nations or World Health Organization 7 agencies. 8 (3) Communications and reports provided by 9 nongovernmental organizations working on the issue 10 of trafficking in persons for purposes of the removal 11 of organs. 12 (4) Any other reports or information sources 13 the Secretary of State determines to be necessary 14 and appropriate. 15 (d) RELATION TO TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS RE- 16 PORT.—The reports required under subsection (a) shall be 17 deemed to satisfy the reporting requirements relating to 18 trafficking in persons for purposes of the removal of or- 19 gans under section 110(b) of the Trafficking Victims Pro- 20 tection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107(b)). 21 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 22 In this Act: 23 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 24 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2121.IH H2121 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2121 IH mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 1 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 2 Foreign Relations of the Senate. 3 (2) ORGAN.—The term ‘‘organ’’ has the mean- 4 ing given the term ‘‘human organ’’ in section 5 301(c)(1) of the National Organ Transplant Act (42 6 U.S.C. 274e(c)(1)). 7 (3) TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS FOR PURPOSES 8 OF THE REMOVAL OF ORGANS.—The term ‘‘traf- 9 ficking in persons for purposes of the removal of or- 10 gans’’ means the recruitment, transportation, trans- 11 fer, harboring, or receipt of a person for the purpose 12 of removing one or more of the person’s organs, by 13 means of— 14 (A) coercion; 15 (B) abduction; 16 (C) deception; 17 (D) fraud; 18 (E) abuse of power or a position of vulner- 19 ability; or 20 (F) transfer of payments or benefits to 21 achieve the consent of a person having control 22 over a person described in the matter preceding 23 subparagraph (A). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2121.IH H2121 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2121 IH SEC. 9. LIMITATION ON FUNDS. 1 No additional funds are authorized to be appro- 2 priated to carry out this Act or any amendment made by 3 this Act. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2121.IH H2121 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS