The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2013 () is a bill that would

authorize Authorization or authorisation (see spelling differences) is the function of specifying access rights/privileges to resources, which is related to general information security and computer security, and to access control in particular. More fo ...

the appropriation of $25 million annually over the 2015-2019 period for the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

(DOJ) to provide grants to states and other recipients aimed at improving the enforcement of laws against human trafficking and to assist victims of such crimes. According to newspaper '' The Hill'', the bill would "impose an additional fine of $5,000 on any person convicted of crimes related to sex trafficking, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation of children or human smuggling." The bill was introduced into the

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during the

113th United States Congress The 113th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015, during the fifth and sixth years of Barack Obama's presidency. It was composed of the ...

Background

The

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

has estimated that between 14,000-175,000 people annually are trafficked for sex, labor, or other types of exploitation into the United States. Other experts say that there are as many as 300,000 cases of sex trafficking in the United States a year, with potentially 25 percent of them having a connection to Texas in some manner. Rep. Poe, who introduced this bill, represents Texas.

Provisions of the bill

''This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the

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, a

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source.'' The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2013 would amend the federal criminal code to impose an additional penalty of $5,000 on any person or entity convicted of crimes relating to: (1)

peonage Peon ( English , from the Spanish ''peón'' ) usually refers to a person subject to peonage: any form of wage labor, financial exploitation, coercive economic practice, or policy in which the victim or a laborer (peon) has little control over em ...

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, and trafficking in persons; (2) sexual abuse; (3) sexual exploitation and other abuse of children; (4) transportation for illegal sexual activity; or (5) human smuggling in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Establishes in the Treasury the Domestic Trafficking Victims' Fund into which such penalties shall be deposited and which shall be used in FY2015-FY2019 to award grants or enhance victims' programming under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, the

Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

, and the

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. Allots funds to provide services for

child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a ...

victims. The bill would amend the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to direct the

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(HHS) to make a determination, based on credible evidence, that a covered individual (i.e., a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident) has been a victim of a severe form of trafficking. The bill would amend the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 to authorize the

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to award block grants to develop, improve, or expand comprehensive domestic child trafficking deterrence programs to rescue and restore the lives of trafficking victims, while investigating and prosecuting offenses involving child trafficking. The bill would amend the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 to include human trafficking and the production of child pornography within the definition of child abuse for purposes of such Act. The bill would amend the federal criminal code to: (1) increase restitution for victims of human trafficking; (2) set forth provisions for combating aggravated human trafficking racketeering; (3) allow state and local prosecutors to obtain wiretap warrants in state courts for investigations into human trafficking, child sexual exploitation, and child pornography production; (4) increase penalties for offenses involving enticement into slavery, sex trafficking of children, child exploitation, and repeat sex offenders; and (5) revise the definition of the crime of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct to facilitate prosecutions of such crime. The bill would direct the Attorney General to ensure that all task forces and working groups within the Innocence Lost National Initiative engage in activities, programs, or operations to increase the investigative capabilities of law enforcement personnel in the detection, investigation, and prosecution of persons who patronize or solicit children for sex. The bill would require the Attorney General to audit grants awarded under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005. Imposes limits on the use of Department of Justice (DOJ) funds for DOJ conferences involving more than $20,000.

Congressional Budget Office report

''This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the

Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the United States Congress, legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress. Ins ...

, as ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on April 30, 2014. This is a

source.'' H.R. 3530 would

the appropriation of $25 million annually over the 2015-2019 period for the

(DOJ) to provide grants to states and other recipients aimed at improving the enforcement of laws against human trafficking and to assist victims of such crimes. The bill also would establish levels of funding for 2016 through 2020 for DOJ's Crime Victims Fund. Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, the

(CBO) estimates that implementing H.R. 3530 would cost $125 million over the 2015-2024 period. We estimate that enacting the bill would not change total direct spending over the 2015-2024 period; it would reduce such spending during the 2016-2021 period and increase it over the subsequent years. We also estimate that bill would have an insignificant effect on revenues.

Pay-as-you-go Pay as you go or PAYG may refer to: Finance * Pay-as-you-go tax, or pay-as-you-earn tax * Pay-as-you-go pension plan * PAYGO, the practice in the US of financing expenditures with current funds rather than borrowing * PAUG, a structured financia ...

procedures apply because enacting the legislation would affect direct spending and revenues. H.R. 3530 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA''(pdf)https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-1995-title2/html/USCODE-1995-title2-chap25.htm (text)] restricts the federal government of the United States, federal imposition of unfunded mandates on ...

Procedural history

The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2013 was introduced into the

on November 19, 2013 by Ted Poe, Rep. Ted Poe (R, TX-2). The bill was referred to the

United States House Committee on the Judiciary The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administra ...

and the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations. On May 15, 2014, it was reported (amended) by the committee alongsid
House Report 113-450
It was scheduled to be voted on in the House on May 20, 2014 under a

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Debate and discussion

The organization

Shared Hope International Shared Hope International (SHI) is a non-profit, non-governmental, Christian organization that exists to prevent sex trafficking and restore and bring justice to women and children who have been victimized through sex trafficking. SHI is part o ...

supported the bill, referring to it as "crucial legislation" in a letter they wrote for citizens to send to their representatives. In the letter, they argued that the bill "clarifies current law and codifies court decisions that the conduct of buyers who "solicit" and "patronize" commercial sex with a child are committing the crime of sex trafficking. Buyers of sex acts with children fuel the sex trafficking markets; without demand, traffickers will lose their profits and countless children will be spared the horrors of sexual exploitation." The organization also supported the bill for enabling state and local law enforcement to get wiretaps in state court for cases related to sex trafficking and improved on reporting systems.

References

External links

Library of Congress - Thomas H.R. 3530beta.congress.gov H.R. 3530GovTrack.us H.R. 3530OpenCongress.org H.R. 3530Congressional Budget Office's report on H.R. 3530House Report 113-450 on H.R. 3530
{{DEFAULTSORT:Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2013 (H.R. 3530 113th Congress) Proposed legislation of the 113th United States Congress Human trafficking in the United States