Sampling of Anti-Human Trafficking Bills – 117th Congress

U.S. House of Representatives


H.R. 233, Exposing the Financing of Human Trafficking Act

Sponsor: Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI)

Co-sponsors: Reps. Madeline Dean (D-PA), Van Taylor (R-TX), Kevin Hern (R-TX), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), Rick Allen (R-GA), Carol Miller (R-WV), Josh Harder (D-CA), John Moolenaar (R-MI), and Diana Harshbarger (R-TN).

Summary: To amend the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to include financial criminal activities associated with the facilitation of severe forms of trafficking in persons within the factors considered as indicia of serious and sustained efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons, and for other purposes.

 Status: 1/6/2021 – Introduced.

1/6/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

4/2/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Global Human Rights.


H.R. 332Reducing the Demand for Human Trafficking Act of 2021

Sponsor: Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL)

Co-sponsors: Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Nikema Williams (D-GA), Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon (R-PR), Greg Stanton (D-AZ), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Burgess Owens (R-UT), Michael Burgess (R-TX), Glenn Grothman (R-WI), Michael Walz (R-FL), Richard Hudson (R-NC), David Valadao (R-CA), Randy Feenstra (R-IA), Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), and Elaine Luria (D-VA).

Summary: This bill modifies the requirements regarding trafficking victim services grants. Specifically, it creates a preference for applicants who use the grant funds to investigate and prosecute individuals who solicit or purchase commercial sex.

 Status: 1/15/2021 – Introduced.

1/15/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Judiciary.

3/5/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.


H.R. 807, Invest in Child Safety Act

Sponsor: Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA)

Co-sponsors: Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (Del -D.C.) and Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX).

Summary: To establish the Office to Enforce and Protect Against Child Sexual Exploitation. 

Status: 2/4/2021 – Introduced.

2/4/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Judiciary, in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, for a period subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. 

4/23/2021 –Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.


H.R. 808, End Banking for Human Traffickers Act of 2021

Sponsor: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) 

Co-sponsors: Reps. William Keating (D-MA), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Susie Lee (D-NV), and Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon (R-PR), and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ).

Summary: This bill 

  • Adds the Secretary of the Treasury as a member of the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking;
  • Requires the Task Force to submit recommendations to Congress for the revision of anti-money laundering programs to specifically target money laundering related to human trafficking;
  • Requires the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council to review and enhance procedures improving the ability of anti-money laundering programs to target human trafficking operations; and
  • Updates the State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report to require a country-by-country assessment of whether foreign governments have established a functioning legal framework to prevent financial transactions involving the proceeds of severe forms of human trafficking.

Status: 2/4/2021 – Introduced. 

2/4/2021 – Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committees concerned. 


H.R. 1021, No Taxpayer Funding for United Nations Human Rights Council Act

Sponsor: Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) 

Co-sponsors: Reps. Thomas Tiffany (R-WI), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Brian Babin (R-TX), Randy Weber Sr. (R-TX), Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), Joe Wilson (R – SC), Barry Moore (R-AL), Gregory Steube (R-FL), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Ronny Jackson (R-TX), Roger Williams (R-TX), David Rouzer (R-NC), Scott Perry (R-PA), Tom McClintock (R-CA), Dan Bishop (R-NC), Ted Budd (R-NC), Nicole Malliotaksis (R-NY), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Jodey Arrington (R_TX) Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Andy Harris (R-MD), Michael Cloud (R-TX), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Kat Cammack (R-FL), Glenn Grothman (R-WI), and Lisa McClain (R-MI).

Summary: This bill would prohibit contributions to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Status: 2/11/2021 – Introduced. 

2/11/2021 – Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.


H.R. 1155, Uyghur Forced Prevention Labor Act

Sponsor: Rep. James McGovern (D-MA) 

Co-sponsors: Reps. Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Thomas Suozzi (D-NY), Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Tom Malinowksi (D-NJ), Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Jennifer Wexton (D-VA). Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-NJ), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Troy Balderson (R-OH), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Young Kim (R-CA), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Louis Gohmert (R-TX), Dean Phillips (D-MN), Joe Wilson (R-SC), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ), Mondaire Jones (D-NY), Eleanor Holmes Norton (Del – D.C.), Theodore Deutch (D-FL), Van Taylor (R-TX), David Trone (D-MD), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Colin Allred (D-TX), Mark Green (R-TN), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Ted Lieu (D-CA), David Cicilline (D-RI), Ronny Jackson (R-TX), Jackie Walorski (R-IN), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), Andy Barr (R-KY), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Dina Titus (D-NV), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Pete Stauber (R-MN), Chris Stewart (R-UT), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Jody Hice (R-GA), Karen Bass (D-CA), Cynthia Axne (D-IA), Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Susan Wild (D-PA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Andre Carson (D-IN), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Lloyd Smucker (R-PA), Kaiali’l Kahele (D-HI), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Marie Newman (D-IL), Mike Levin (D-CA), John Curtis (R-UT), Elaine Luria (D-VA), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Joseph Morelle (D-NY), Mike Thompson (D-CA), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Don Bacon (R-NE), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Conor Lamb (D-PA), Deborah Ross (D-NC), Donald McEachin (D-VA), Andy Levin (D-MI), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Maria Salazar (R-FL), Daniel Kildee (D-MI), Burgess Owens (R-UT), Michael Walz (R-FL), and John Larson (D-CT), Bill Foster (D-IL), Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), Josh Harder (D-CA), Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)., Barbara Lee (D-CA), Lori Trahan (D-MA), Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Thomas Tiffany (R-WI), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Daniel Meuser (R-PA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Blake Moore (R-UT), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Brian Higgins (D-NY), Tony Gonzales (R-TX), Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Bill Johnson (R-OH), Bob Good (R-VA), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Gregory Steube (R-FL), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Nikema Williams (D-GA), and Seth Moulton (D-MA).

Summary: To ensure that goods made with forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China do not enter the United States Market, and for other purposes.

Status: 2/18/2021 – Introduced. 

2/18/2021 – Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, the Judiciary, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

4/21/2021 – Committee on Foreign Affairs Consideration and Mark-up Session held.

4/21/2021 – Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.

4/28/2021 –Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.

12/8/2021 –Mr. Meeks moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.

12/8/2021 –On Motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required: 428-1 (Roll no. 412).


H.R. 1198, End Child Exploitation Act

Sponsor: Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R -OH) 

Co-sponsors: Reps. Ann Kuster (D-NH), Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Lucy McBath (D-GA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), David Joyce (R-OH), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), John Katko (R-NY), Burgess Owens (R-UT), Conor Lamb (D-PA), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Greg Stanton (D-AZ), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Elaine Luria (D-VA), and Val Butler Demings (D-FL).

Summary: To amend title 18, United States Code, to require a provider of the report to the CyberTipline related to online sexual exploitation of children to preserve the contents of such repoft for 180 days, and for other purposes.

Status: 2/22/2021 – Introduced. 

2/21/2021 – Referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

4/28/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.


H.R. 1201, International Human Rights Defense Act  

Sponsor: Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D -CA) 

Co-sponsors: 149 co-sponsors, all Democrats.

Summary: To establish in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, of the Department of State a Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGTBQI Peoples, and for other purposes.

Status: 2/22/2021 – Introduced. 

2/21/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

4/2/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Global Human Rights.


H.R. 1434Stop Predatory Organ Trafficking Act 

Sponsor: Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (D -CA) 

Co-sponsors: Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), Brin Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Tim Burchett (R-TN), Young Kim (R-CA), Matt Cartwright (D-PA), Peter Meijer (R-MI), John Larson (D-CT), and Dean Phillips (D-MN).

Summary: This bill authorizes the imposition of visa-blocking sanctions on a foreign individual who has committed or facilitated the trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal. The Department of State must report to foreign ministries the names of individuals convicted of crimes related to organ purchasing for consideration regarding the issuance of visas to such individuals. The State Department must also submit an annual report to Congress that includes descriptions of (1) the sources, practices, methods, facilitators, and recipients of trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal; and (2) State Department and foreign country activities undertaken to address and prevent such trafficking.

Status: 2/26/2021 – Introduced. 

2/26/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

4/28/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.


H.R. 1527, Homeland Security Investigations Victim Assistance Act of 2021

Sponsor: Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO)

Co-sponsors: Rep. Charles “Chuck” Fleischmann (R-TN), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Blake Moore (R-UT), Gus Bilrakis (R-FL), Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), Scott Franklin (R-FL), Don Bacon (R-NE), Burgess Owens (R-UT), David Joyce (R-OH), David McKinley (R-WV), Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonazlez-Colon (R-PR), Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ), Michael Waltz (R-FL), and Antonio Delgado (D-NY).

Summary: To establish the Homeland Security Investigations victim assistance program, and for other purposes.

Status: 3/2/2021 – Introduced. 

3/2/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

5/18/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

5/18/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship..


H.R. 1592, Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2021

Sponsor: Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ)

Co-sponsors: Reps. Thomas Suozzi (D-NY), Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Brian Babin (R-TX), Lisa McClain (R-MI), Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Gregory Murphy (R-NC), Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Ed Case (D-HI), Jackie Walorski (R-IN), Ken Calvert (R-CA), Maria Salazar (R-FL), Pete Stauber (R-MN), Troy Nehls (R-TX), Rodney Davis (D-IL), Glenn Grothman (R-WI), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Robert Latta (R-OH), Jack Bergman (R-MI), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Glenn Thompson (R-PA), Russ Fulcher (R-ID), Jason Smith (R-MO), Ted Budd (R-NC), Mike Johnson (R-LA), “Rick” Crawford (R-AR), Tom Emmer (R-MN), Andy Biggs (R-AZ) Tim Burchett (R-TN), and Michelle Fischbach (R-MN), Van Taylor (R-TX), and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ).

Summary: To establish the Homeland Security Investigations victim assistance program, and for other purposes.

Status: 3/3/2021 – Introduced. 

3/3/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

5/18/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.


H.R. 1620, Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2021

Sponsor: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)

Co-sponsors: 186 co-sponsors, all Democrats.

Summary: Various provisions – see attached.

Status: 3/8/2021 – Introduced. 

3/8/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, Ways and Means, Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce, Veterans' Affairs, and Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

3/17/2021 – On Passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 244-172 (Roll No. 86).

3/18/2021 – Received in the Senate.

10/5/2021 – Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Hearings held.


H.R. 1630Uyghur Human Rights Protection Act

Sponsor: Rep. Theodore Deutch (D-FL

Co-sponsors: Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Jennifer Wexton (D-VA,) Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (Del – D.C.) Steve Cohen (D-TN), David Trone (D-MD), Young Kim (D-CA), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Thomas Suozzi (D-NY), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Karen Bass (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Marilyn Strickland (D-WA), Dina Titus (D-NV), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), and Ami Beri (D-CA), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), and James McGovern (D-MA), Daniel Kildee (D-MI), Jared Huffman (D-CA), and Mike Quigley (D-IL).

Summary: To provide Priority 2 Refugee status for ethnic Uyghurs and others who are suffering from arbitrary arrest, mass detention, and political and religious persecution by the Chinese government.

Status: 3/8/2021 – Introduced. 

3/8/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

5/18/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.


H.R. 1892, Violence Against Women Extension Act of 2021

Sponsor: Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY)

Co-sponsors: 80 co-sponsors.

Summary: To reauthorize U.S. Department of Justice programs that combat violence against women, and for other purposes.

Status: 3/12/2021 – Introduced. 

3/12/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

5/18/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.


H.R. 1958, Protection of Children Act of 2021

Sponsor: Rep. John Carter (R-TX)

Summary: To amend the Wilber Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to provide for the expedited removal of unaccompanied alien children who are not a victim of a severe form of human trafficking in persons and who do not have a fear of returning to their country of nationality or last habitual residence, and for other purposes. 

Status: 3/17/2021 – Introduced

3/12/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.


H.R. 2072, Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act

Summary: To amend the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 to require issuers to make certain disclosures relating to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and for other purposes. 

Sponsor: Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) 

Co-sponsors: Brad Sherman (D-CA), Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Theodore Deutch (D-FL), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Eleanor Holmes Norton (Del. D.C.), David Cicilline (D-RI), Thomas Suozzi (D-NY), Elaine Luria (D-VA), Alcee Hasting (D-FL) and Andre Carson (D-IN).

Status: 3/18/2021 – Introduced 

3/18/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services. 


H.R. 2332, Debt Bondage Repair Act

Summary: To prohibit consumer reporting agencies from furnishing a consumer report containing any adverse item of information about a consumer if such consumer is a victim of trafficking, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC).

Co-sponsors: Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), Van Taylor (R-TX), and French Hill (R-AR).

Status: 4/1/2021 – Introduced 

4/1/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

6/15/2021 – Passed under Suspension of the Rules.

6/16/2021 – Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.


H.R. 2710, Banking Transparency for Sanctioned Persons Act of 2021

Summary: To increase transparency with respect to financial services benefiting state sponsors of terrorism, human rights abusers, and corrupt officials, and for other purposes. 

Sponsor: Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) 

Co-sponsors: Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA).

Status: 4/20/2021 – Introduced 

4/20/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.


H.R. 2795, DHS Blue Campaign Enhancement Act

Summary: To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to enhance the Blue Campaign of the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI)

Co-sponsors: Reps. Luis Correa (D-CA), John Katko (R-NY), David Joyce (R-OH), John Moolenaar (R-MI), Ann Wagner (R-MO), and Jason Crow (D-CO).

Status: 4/22/2021 – Introduced 

4/22/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

4/23/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Oversight, Management, and Accountability.

5/18/2021 – Subcommittee on Oversight, Management, and Accountability Discharged.

5/18/2021 – Committee on Homeland Security Committee Consideration and Mark-Up Held.

5/18/2021 – Committee on Homeland Security Committee Ordered to be Reported (Amended).

7/20/2021 – Passed under suspension of the rules.

7/21/2021 – Received in the Senate and Read Twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.


H.R. 2864, Clean Slate Act 

Summary: To automatically seal federal arrest records for individuals not convicted and records for individuals convicted of simple drug possession after successfully completing their sentence. The bill would also establish new procedures to allow individuals to petition to seal records for other nonviolent offenses that are not automatically sealed.

Sponsor: Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D – DE).

Co-sponsors: Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (D-PA), Rodney Davis (R-IL), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Stephanie Bice (R-OK), Karen Bass (D-CA), David Trone (D-MD), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), and Val Butler Demings (R-FL).

Status: 4/28/2021 – Introduced 

4/28/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

10/19/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.


H.R. 3073, Save Our Girls From Sex Trafficking Act of 2021

Summary: To combat child human trafficking, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep. Frederica S. Wilson (D – DE). 

Status: 5/7/2021 – Introduced 

5/7/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce, and Financial Services for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

5/10/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.


H.R. 3075, Illegal Fishing and Forced Labor Prevention Act 

Sponsor: Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA)

Co-sponsors: Reps. Garret Graves (R-LA), Steven Palazzo (R-MS), Ed Case (D-HI), Del. Eleanor Holmes (Del.- D.C.), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Nanette Diaz Barragan (D-CA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Barry Moore (R-AL), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Dina Titus (D-NV), Gregorio Sablan (Del.-MP), Deborah Ross (D-NC), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Mike Quigley (D-IL), and Derek Kilmer (D-WA).

Summary: This bill would

  • Expand the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) to all species; increase data requirements for SIMP, including consideration of labor conditions; improve detection of imports at risk of IUU fishing and labor violations; and increase interagency coordination and data sharing.
  • Establish seafood traceability and labelling requirements; increase outreach on seafood safety and fraud; and improve seafood inspections and federal enforcement of seafood fraud.
  • Strengthen international fisheries management, including expanding U.S. authority to revoke port privileges for fishing vessels associated with IUU fishing and expanding IUU determination criteria to include human trafficking, forced labor, and other labor rights violations.
  • Update the responsibilities of the IUU Interagency Working Group.
  • Authorize funding for new Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) on vessels and amend requirements for where AIS must be used by U.S. vessels in federal waters and on the high seas.

Status: 5/11/2021 – Introduced 

5/11/2021 – Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Transportation and Infrastructure, Agriculture, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

5/12/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.

7/1/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Production.

7/29/2021 – Subcommittee Hearings Held.

10/13/2021 – Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Discharged.

10/13/2021 – Committee on Natural Resources. Committee Consideration and Mark-Up Session Held.

10/13/2021 – Committee on Natural Resources. Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.


H.R. 3094, Treasury Human Trafficking Coordinator Act

Sponsor: Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA)

Co-sponsors: Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI). 

Summary: To amend title 31, United States Code, to require the Secretary of the Treasury to designate a Coordinator for Human Trafficking Issues within the Department of the Treasury, and for other purposes.

Status: 5/11/2021 – Introduced 

5/11/2021 – Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.


H.R. 3306, Uyghur Stop Oppressive Sterilizations (SOS) Act

Sponsor: Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO)

Co-sponsors: Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-NY), Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Bill Johnson (R-OH), Ronny Jackson (R-TX), James McGovern (D-MA), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Del. Elenaor Holmes Norton (Del. – D.C.), Russ Fulcher (R-ID), Jackie Walkorski (R-IN), Michael Waltz (R-FL), Trent Kelly (R-MS), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Lisa McClain (R-MI), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Glenn Grothman (R-WI), Liz Cheney (R-WY), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Gus Bilrakis (R-FL), Susan Wild (D-PA), Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ), Tim Burchett (R-TN), Michelle Steel (R-CA), Mark Green (R-TN), Maria Salazar (R-FL), August Pfluger (R-TX), and Andy Barr (R-KY).

Summary: Require the president to submit to Congress a strategy describing the steps taken to tangibly address the genocide in Xinjiang province and a strategy for ending those crimes; directs the U.S. Secretary of State to provide all appropriate assistance in the Xinjiang region who have experienced sexual violence, torture, forced sterilizations, and forced abortions; and sanction individuals responsible for or complicit in forced sterilizations, forced abortions, or other sexual violence.

Status: 5/18/2021 – Introduced 

5/18/2021 – Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.


H.R. 3524, EAGLE Act

Sponsor: Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY).

Summary: This bill would among other things, include the Uyghur Human Rights Protection Act of 2020. The provisions would require the U.S. State Department of report on the scope of the Chinese government crackdown on Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

Status: 5/25/2021 – Introduced 

6/30/2021 – House Committee on Foreign Affairs Committee Consideration and Mark-Up Held.

7/1/2021 – House Committee on Foreign Affairs Committee Consideration and Mark-Up Held.

7/13/2021 – House Committee on Foreign Affairs Committee Consideration and Mark-Up Held.

7/15/2021 – House Committee on Foreign Affairs Committee Consideration and Mark-Up Held.

7/15/2021 – Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of the Substitute (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 26-22.


H.R. 3848, Critical Supply Chains Commission Act

Sponsor: Rep. Tim Ryan (D-PA).

Co-sponsors: Reps. Bill Posey (R-FL), Ed Case (D-HI), Frank Mrvan (D-IN), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), Tom Reed (R-NY), Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (Del. -D.C.), Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Cynthia Axne (D-IA), Kathy Manning (D-NC), and Michael Doyle (D-PA).

Summary: To establish the National Commission on Critical Supply Chains, and for other purposes.

Status: 6/11/2021 – Introduced 

6/11/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

6/14/2021– Referred to the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.


H.R. 3891, Trafficking Survivors Housing Act of 2021

Sponsor: Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH).

Co-sponsors: Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO).

Summary: This bill would require the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness to commission a study and report in partnership with federal agencies, survivors, and the organizations that serve them on the availability and accessibility of homelessness and housing services for survivors of trafficking.

The study would:

  • Review the effectiveness of current policy and procedures and report on the impact of such policies on the ability to provide sustainable, affordable, and safe housing options for survivors of trafficking, including families of minor victims and youth in foster care;
  • Build on trauma-informed and evidence-based frameworks to assess the capacity of mainstream housing services to meet the distinct and specialized needs of both labor and sex trafficking survivors, including survivors disability-related needs; and
  • Identify barriers to and best practices for meeting the housing and service needs of survivors of trafficking.

Status: 6/15/2021 – Introduced 

6/15/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.


H.R. 3957, Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act

Sponsor: Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI).

Co-sponsors: Del. Gregorio Killili Camacho Sablan (Del-MP), Alma Adams (D-NC), and Steven Haley (D-MI).

Summary: This bill directs the U.S. Secretary of Labor to train certain Department of Labor personnel on how to effectively detect and assist law enforcement in preventing human trafficking.

H.R. 4456 would establish a program to train U.S. Department of Labor personnel as part of their official duties on methods to aid law enforcement spot human trafficking victims. The legislation would require such training to include methods for identifying suspected victims of human trafficking, and where appropriate, perpetrators of human trafficking, and a clear course of action for referring potential victims of human trafficking to the U.S. Department of Justice and other authorities. 

In addition, the bill would require the U.S. Secretary of Labor to submit a report to Congress on an annual basis to measure the training program’s effectiveness.

Status: 6/16/2021 – Introduced 

6/16/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor. 


H.R. 4070, Study to Observe and Prevent (STOP) Human Trafficking Act of 2021

Sponsor: Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL)

Co-sponsors: Reps. Theodore Deutch (D-FL), Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), Scott Franklin (R-FL), Darren Soto (D-FL), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Ronny Jackson (R-TX), August Pfluger (R-TX), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Randy K. Weber Sr. (R-TX), Josh Harder (D-CA), Lucy McBath (D-GA), Burgess Owens (R-UT), Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), David Valadao (R-CA), Elaine Luria (D-VA), and Ann Wagner (R-MO), Anthony Gonzalez (D-OH), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), and Roger Williams (R-TX).

Summary: To direct the Attorney General, in coordination with the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, to study the prevalence and instances of human trafficking at adult entertainment clubs in the United States, and for other purposes.

Status: 6/22/2021 – Introduced 

6/22/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Judiciary. 


H.R. 4350, National Defense Authorization Act of 2022 

Sponsor: Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA)

Co-sponsor: Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL)

Summary: Amendment by Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA) adopted hat would no later than 180 days after the date of enactment, designate an office in the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence that would coordinate efforts to combat the illicit financing of human trafficking.

Status: 7/2/2021 – Introduced 

9/10/2021 – Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Armed Services. H. Rept. 117-118.

9/17/2021 – Supplemental report filed by the Committee on Armed Services. H. Rept. 117-118, Part II.

9/23/2021 – Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 316-203. Roll no. 293).

10/18/2021 – Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders, Calendar No. 144.

12/2/2021- Considered by the Senate.


H.R. 4476, DHS Trade and Economic Security Council Act of 2021

Sponsor: Rep. Peter Meijer (R-WI).

Co-sponsors: Rep. John Katko (R-NY) Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Elaine Luria (D-VA).

Summary: The bill would

  • Solidify economic security efforts at DHS by codifying two existing entities within the Department that are already focused on these issues: (1) the DHS Trade and Economic Security Council, and (2) the position of Assistant Secretary for Trade and Economic Security within the Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans.
  • The Council would provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary related to the economic security of the homeland, which would include identifying concentrated risks for economic security, setting priorities for securing the nation’s economic security, coordinating Department-wide activity on economic security matters, and proposing statutory and regulatory changes impacting economic security.
  • The Council would be chaired by the Assistant Secretary for Trade and Economic Security and consist of members appointed by the Chair from at least nine specific DHS components or offices, along with advisory members from other components as determined by the Chair. 
  • The Council would be required to meet at least quarterly and provide regular briefings to Congress. The Assistant Secretary would advise the Secretary regarding matters relating to U.S. critical economic security domains, oversee related activities within the Department, and coordinate with relevant stakeholders across the government and private sector.

Status: 7/16/2021 – Introduced 

7/16/2021 – Referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. 

10/26/2021 – Committee on Homeland Security consideration and mark-up held.

10/26/2021 – Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.


H.R. 4717, Global Migration Agreement Act

Sponsor: Rep. Ilhar Oman (D-MN)

Summary: The bill would

Require the Secretary of State, the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and other officials of the Department of State shall use the voice, vote, and influence of United States in bilateral relationships and multilateral organizations to promote the adoption of a binding Global Migration Agreement that should—

(1) address the root causes of migration, the vulnerabilities faced by migrants, and integration of migrants into their new countries;

(2) centralize the human rights of migrants, including their rights to health;

(3) recognize the particular vulnerabilities of marginalized groups, including—

(A) women;

(B) members of the LGBTQIA+ commu- nity;

(C) racial, ethnic, and religious minorities; and

(D) indigenous people;

(4) establish clear, ambitious quantitative and qualitative benchmarks according to each country’s capacity and need;

(5) provide global funding for crisis response in- volving migrants at risk, whether their migration is internal or cross-border;

(6) establish clear reporting requirements for countries on their progress in achieving the bench- marks specified in this subsection;

(7) establish mechanisms for support, including funding, for countries and localities taking on a disproportionate burden of forced migration;

(8) expand and revise existing categorizations and definitions of migrants to incorporate classes of vulnerable migrants who are currently unprotected by international norms and laws; and

 (9) establish clear consensus on the due process rights of migrants, regardless of their motivations for migrating.

No later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and every 180 days thereafter, the Secretary of State would submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on progress made toward adopting the Global Migration Agreement.

Status: 7/27/2021 – Introduced 

7/27/2021 – Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

8/4/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia and Nonproliferation.


H.R. 4785, Uyghur Policy Act of 2021

Sponsor: Rep. Young Kim (D-MN)

Co-sponsors: Reps. Ami Beri (D-CA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Val Butler Demings (D-FL), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), Ronny Jackson (R-TX), David Cicciline (D-RI), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Dina Titus (D-NV), Bill Johnson (R-OH), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Kathy Manning (D-NC), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Tom Rice (R-SC), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Daniel Meuser (D-PA), Maria Salazar (R-FL), and Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Burgess Owens (R-UT), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), Glenn Thompson (R-PA), Andy Barr (R-KY), Gregory Murphy (R-NC), Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ), Joe Wilson (R-SC), David Valadao (R-CA), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Mark Green (R-TN), Peter Meijer (R-MI), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Michelle Steel (R-CA), John Rutherford (R-FL), Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), Nicole Mallotakis (R-NY), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Susan Wild (D-PA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), William Keating (D-MA), Elaine Luria (D-VA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Lori Trahan (D-MA), Dan Crenshaw (D-TX), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Carlos A. Gimenez (R-FL), Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), Fred Keller (R-PA), French Hill (R-AR), and Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), Troy Balderson (R-OH), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Antonio Delgado (D-NY), Dean Phillips (D-MN), and Ed Case (D-HI).

Summary: The bill would

  • Create a Special Coordinator for Uyghur Issues within the State Department; 
  • Direct the U.S. Agency for Global Media to disseminate information concerning Uyghurs and other minority groups in the XUAR to Islamic majority countries; 
  • Require the State Department to offer Uyghur language training to Foreign Service Officers and to assign a Uyghur-fluent officer to a U.S. diplomatic or consular mission in China; 
  • Call on the U.S. Government to develop a strategy, in coordination with like-minded countries, to pressure the PRC to close all detention facilities and push for the immediate release of those detained; and, 
  • Support U.S. efforts to raise Uyghur issues at the United Nations, including by supporting the appointment of a special rapporteur for the XUAR for human rights violations and abuses.

Status: 7/29/2021 – Introduced 

7/29/2021 – Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

8/4/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia and Nonproliferation.

9/30/2021 – Committee Consideration and Mark-Up Session held.

9/30/2021 – Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (amended) by Voice Vote.


H.R. 4989, Human Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Act

Sponsor: Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL)

Co-sponsor: Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL)

Summary: The bill would create a grant program within the Office of Trafficking in Persons under the Department of Health and Human Services to provide training for students, teachers and other school personnel on the warning signs of human trafficking. These grants would be issued to nonprofit organizations that have shown expertise in creating and teaching human trafficking and exploitation prevention curricula. The bill would also prioritize funding for nonprofits serving geographic areas with the highest prevalence of human trafficking. The bill would authorize $75 million in funding for the program over a five-year period.

Status: 8/10/2021 – Introduced 

8/10/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.


H.R. 5150, Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2021

Sponsor: Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ)

Co-sponsors: Reps. Karen Bass (D-NJ), Susan Wild (D-PA), Brian Fitzpatrick (D-PA), Andre Carson (D-IN), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Burgess Owens (R-UT), Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Joseph Morelle (D-NY), and Ann Wagner (R-MO), Jim Costa (D-CA), Jahana Hayes (D-CT), Cynthia Axne (D-IA), Scott Peters (D-CA), David Valadao (R-CA), Mike Levin (D-CA), Maria Salazar (R-FL), Blake Moore (R-UT), Daniel Meuser (R-PA), Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Liz Cheney (R-WY0, Jason Crow (D-CO), Ken Calvert (R-CA), and Rick Crawford (R-AR).

Summary: The bill would provide $1.6 billion over five years to combat forms of modern-day slavery in the United States and around the world.

The bill would:

  • Provide resources for Survivor Employment and Education program that includes wraparound social services, case management, life skills training, education, employment and college scholarships.
  • Strengthen the elementary and secondary school prevention education grants —which will be known as “Frederick Douglass Prevention Education grants”—to prevent online grooming and trafficking of children through linguistically accessible, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed approaches and scalable programs;
  • Reauthorize and strengthen International Megan’s Law to track convicted sex offenders living abroad and returning to the U.S. after living in foreign countries;
  • Add accountability for the U.S. Federal and foreign governments, hotels, and airlines through anti-trafficking training and codes of conduct for their staff, as well as transparency in anti-trafficking expenditures;
  • Permanently incorporate the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking as part of the U.S. government commitment to survivor-informed policies; and 
  • Highlight the delinquency of reporting by state child welfare agencies and the Department of Justice in reporting missing and abducted children at-risk of being trafficked.

Status: 9/3/2021 – Introduced 

9/3/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Ways and Means, Oversight and Reform, Education and Labor, Transportation and Infrastructure, Energy and Commerce, Armed Services, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

9/7/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Aviation, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.


H.R. 5286, Protecting Americans from Corporate Human Rights Abusers Act

Sponsor: Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA)

Summary: The bill would establish a Chinese Corporate Human Rights Abuser List.

Status: 9/17/2021 – Introduced 

9/17/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

10/12/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, and Nonproliferation.


H.R. 5479, Supply CHAIN Act 

Sponsor: Rep. Carolyn Bordeaux (D-GA)

Co-sponsors: Reps. Robin Kelly (D-IL) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL)

Summary: The Supply CHAIN Act would create a new Office of Supply Chain Resiliency and Crisis Response at the Department of Commerce to promote resilient supply chains and plan for and respond to supply chain shocks in critical industries.

The Office would be responsible for mapping and monitoring critical supply chains to identify vulnerabilities and opportunities as well as creating coordination groups which may include private sector partners to ensure operational sustainability and avoid significant supply chain disruptions. $500 million per year would be authorized for FY 2022-2027 to support the office.

The Act would:

  • Create an Office of Supply Chain Resiliency and Crisis Response at the Department of Commerce, headed by an Under Secretary of Commerce.

o Goals of the office:

  • Promote the leadership of the United State in critical industries and supply

Chains

  • Encourage partnerships and collaboration between the Federal

Government and industry, labor organizations, and state and local

governments; and

  • Monitor the resilience, diversity, security, and strength of supply chains

and critical industries

o The office could advance these goals by, among other things:

  • Identifying opportunities to reduce supply chain gaps and vulnerabilities
  • Establishing a coordination group (and appropriate subgroups) with

private sector partners to plan for and respond to supply chain shocks and

support the resiliency, diversity, security, and strength of supply chains

  • Working with existing authorities at the Department of Commerce and in

coordination with the Department of State and the United States Trade

Representative to promote diversified and resilient supply chains

o The office would be responsible for issuing a quadrennial National Strategic Plan for Manufacturing and Industrial Innovation which would include:

  • Insights and recommendations to improve the security and resiliency of supply chains and to support the creation of jobs through the growth of American manufacturing
  • Guidance to relevant agencies with respect to critical goods and services, equipment, and technologies which should be prioritized
  • Reviews and recommendations for expanding the sourcing of critical goods and services, equipment, and technology from allies or key partners of the United States.

Status: 10/5/2021 – Introduced 

10/5/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

10/6/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.


H.R. 5557, Denying Earnings to the Military Oligarchy in Cuba and Restricting Activities of the Cuban Intelligence Apparatus (DEMOCRACIA) Act

Sponsor: Byron Donalds (R-FL)

Co-sponsors: Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Alexander Mooney (R-WV), Maria Salazar (R-FL), Brian Babin (R-TX), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), and Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon (Del. – PR).

Summary:

  • Authorizes the President to impose sanctions—blocking assets and denying entry into the United States—on a foreign person if the President determines that the person knowingly engages in an activity with Cuba’s defense sector, security sector, intelligence sector, or any other sector involved in carrying out human rights abuses or providing support for international terrorism

o A foreign person or senior official that provides significant financial, material or technological support to, or engages in a significant transaction with Cuba’s defense, security or intelligence sector or any entity or individual affiliated with that sector (including their immediate adult family member)

o Any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 25% or more by one or more designated persons are also subject to sanctions

o Any foreign person that is a military contractor, mercenary or paramilitary force knowingly operating in a military, security, or intelligence capacity for or on behalf of the Cuban regime

o Authorizes the President to impose sanctions with respect to human rights abuse and corruption in Cuba including:

  • Members of the Communist Party of Cuba, to include the Office of Religious Affairs and members of the Politburo and the Central Committee
  • Members of the Council of State and the Council of Ministers
  • Ministry of the Interior of Cuba, to include, the National Revolutionary Police Force
  • members of the committee for the Defense of the Revolution
  • The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba
  • Office of the President of Cuba
  • Any official of the Cuban regime who works with the Ministry of Justice or the Office of the Attorney General and who violates due process rights of an individual in Cuba
  • The spouse and children of any of these blocked individuals are also subject to these sanctions
  • Authorizes the President to terminate these sanctions only if he certifies to Congress that the Government of Cuba:
  • Has released all political prisoners,
  • Legalized all political parties,
  • Establishes a free press, and
  • Free, fair, multiparty internationally observed elections are scheduled in a timely manner
  • Authorizes the President to immediately use all means possible to provide unrestricted, reliable internet service to the people of Cuba that is not censored or blocked by the Cuban regime
  • Requires the President to establish a taskforce to develop long-term solutions for providing reliable internet service to the people of Cuba that is not censored or blocked by the Cuban regime

Status: 10/12/2021 – Introduced 

10/12/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.


H.R. 5863, End Palm Oil Deforestation Act

Sponsor: Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA)

Summary: To strengthen enforcement actions against unlawfully sourced palm oil and deforestation in developing countries.

Status: 11/4/2021 – Introduced 

11/4/2021 – Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Foreign Affairs, Financial Services, and Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

11/30/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture.


H.R. 5882, SHELTER Act

Sponsor: Rep. David Price (D-NC)

Co-sponsors: Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA).

Summary: To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to improve the process for awarding grants under Section 235 of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protecting Reauthorization Act of 2008 with respect to opening or funding shelter facilities for unaccompanied alien children.

Status: 11/4/2021 – Introduced 

11/4/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Judiciary.

11/30/2021 – Referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture.


H.R. 5884, Child RESCUE Act

Sponsor: Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA).

Co-sponsors: Reps. Ben Cline (R-VA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) Burgess Owens (R-UT), and Debbie Wasserman Schulz (D-FL), Ed Case (D-HI), and Ann Kuster (D-NH), Ann Wagner (R-MO), and Ted Lieu (D-CA).

Summary: To direct the Attorney General to convene a national working group to study proactive strategies and needed resources for the identification and rescue of children from sexual exploitation and abuse.

Status: 11/4/2021 – Introduced 

11/4/2021 – Referred to the House Committee on Judiciary.


U.S. Senate

Bills

65, Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act

Summary: To ensure that goods made with forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China do not enter the United States Market, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)

Co-sponsors: Jeff Merkley (D-OR), James Risch (R-ID), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Margaret Hassan (D-NH), Susan Collins (R-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Steve Daines (R-MT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Mark Warner (D-VA), James Lankford (R-OK), Tina Smith (D-MN), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Rick Scott (R-FL), Edward Markey (D-MA), John Thune (R-SD), John Boozman (R-AR), Mike Braun (R-IN), Ben Sasse (R-NE),Todd Young (R-IN), Christopher Coons (D-DE), Ben Cardin (D-MD) , Ted Cruz (R-TX), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Angus King Jr. (I-ME), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Jon Tester (D-MT), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Tammy Duckworth (D -IL), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Tim Scott (R-SC), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Richard Durbin (D-IL), and Patty Murray (D-WA).

Status:

1/27/2021 – Introduced.

1/27/2021 – Read twice and Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

6/24/2021 – Committee on Foreign Relations. Ordered to be Reported with an amendment favorably.

6/24/2021 – Committee on Foreign Relations. Reported by Senator Menendez with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.

6/24/2021 – Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar Under General Orders. Calendar No. 87.

7/14/2021 – Passed Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote.

7/15/2021 – Message on Senate action sent to the House.

7/16/2021 – Received in the House.

7/16/2021 – Held at the desk.


223, Invest in Child Safety Act

Summary: To establish the Office to Enforce and Protect Against Child Sexual Exploitation.

Sponsor: Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)

Co-sponsors: Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI).

Status:

2/4/2021 – Introduced.

2/4/2021 – Read twice and Referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.


365END Child Exploitation Act

Sponsor: Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R -TN) 

Co-sponsors: Sens. Catherine Cortez Mastro (D-NV), Margaret Wood Hassan (D-NH), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Thom Tillis (R-NC).

Summary: To amend title 18, United States Code, to require a provider of the report to the CyberTipline related to online sexual exploitation of children to preserve the contents of such repoft for 180 days, and for other purposes.

Status: 2/23/2021 – Introduced. 

2/23/2021– Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.


424,International Human Rights Defense Act

Sponsor: Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA)

Co-sponsors: Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Robert Casey Jr. (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Durbin (D -IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Christopher Murphy (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Charles Schumer (D-NY) Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Krysten Sinema (D-AZ), Tina Smith (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR). 

Summary: To establish in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, of the Department of State a Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGTBQI Peoples, and for other purposes.

Status: 2/24/2021 – Introduced.

2/24/2021 – Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. 


734,Jenna Quinn Law

Sponsor: Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)

Co-sponsors: Sens. Margaret Wood Hassan (D-NH), Mike Braun (R-IN), and Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM).

Summary: To authorize federal grants to eligible entities for increasing evidence-based or informed-training on sexual abuse prevention education and reporting to teachers and school employees, students, caregivers, and other adults who work with children.

Status: 3/11/2021 – Introduced. 

3/11/2021 – Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. 


895,Human Trafficking Survivor Tax Relief Act

Sponsor: Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)

Co-sponsors: Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Rob Portman (R-OH), Tom Carper (D- DE), Tim Scott (R-SC), James Lankford (R-OK), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Krysten Sinema (D-AZ), and James Inhofe (R-OK).

Description: This bill modifies the requirements for calculating taxable income to exclude from gross income civil damages, restitution, or other monetary awards (including compensatory or statutory damages and restitution imposed in a criminal matter) awarded to victims of peonage, slavery, or human trafficking.

Status: 3/23/2021 – Introduced.

3/23/2021 – Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.


1048,Federal Acquisitions and Contracting Transparency (FACT) Act 

Sponsor: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)

Description: This bill would require federal contractors to disclose any existing contracts with the Chinese Government and Communist Party, military, or Chinese state-controlled or -directed entity. Contractors would also be required to disclose any new contracts with entities of concern throughout the duration of their contract with the federal government. No later than 180 days after the date of the enactment the Administrator of General Services would be required to establish and maintain a public database containing the information about contracts with covered entities.

Status: 3/25/2021 – Introduced.

3/25/2021 – Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.


1062, Keep China Out of Solar Energy Act of 2021

Sponsor: Sen. Rick Scott (F-FL)

Co-sponsors: Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Kennedy (R-LA), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and John Barroso (R-WY).

Summary: To prohibit the procurement of solar panels manufactured or assembled in the People’s Republic of China.

Status: 3/25/2021 – Introduced.

3/25/2021 – Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.


1080Uyghur Human Rights Protection Act

Sponsor: Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE).

Co-sponsors: Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Thom Tillis (R-NC).

Summary: To provide Priority 2 Refugee status for ethnic Uyghurs and others who are suffering from arbitrary arrest, mass detention, and political and religious persecution by the Chinese government.

Status: 4/13/2021 – Introduced. 

4/13/2021 – Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.


1260, United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021

Sponsor: Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

Co-sponsors: Sens. Todd Young (R-IN), Margaret Wood Hassan (D-NH), Susan Collins (R-ME), Rob Portman (R-OH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Gary Peters (D-MI), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Steve Daines (R-MT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mitt Romney (R-UT), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ).

Summary: Among other things, this bill would:

  • Establish a Forced Labor Division within the Office of Trade of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The Forced Labor Division would prioritize investigations and work closely with the Bureau of International Labor Affairs.
  • Require the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to issue regulations regarding the verification of seafood imports to ensure that no seafood or seafood product harvested or produced using forced labor is entered into the United States in violation of section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307). 
  • Provide a Sense of Congress that the Federal Government not engage in research, partnerships, contracts, or other agreements with any entity (including any country or institution of higher education) that has any affiliation with a country that engages in forced labor.
  • Add an amendment to the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 to require the imposition of sanctions against individuals responsible for forced labor in Xinjiang.
  • Require the president to submit to the appropriate congressional committees no later than a year after enactment, a report that assesses whether and to what extent state-owned enterprises in the People’s Republic of China are engaged in or knowingly facilitating—the commission of serious human rights abuses, including toward religious or ethnic minorities in the People’s Republic of China, including in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; the use of forced or child labor, including forced or child labor involving ethnic minorities in the People’s Republic of China; and any actions that erode or undermine the autonomy of Hong Kong from the People’s Republic of China, as established in the Basic Law of Hong Kong and the Joint Declaration, and as further described in the Hong Kong Autonomy Act (Public Law 116–149; 22 U.S.C. 5701 note)
  • Authorize appropriations to carry out Section 409 of the Asia Reassurance Initiative, and require the Assistant Secretary of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor to consult with the appropriate congressional committees and representatives of civil society regarding—strengthening the capacity of the organizations protecting members of the groups who have been targeted for arrest, harassment, forced sterilizations, coercive abortions, forced labor, or intimidation, including members residing outside of the People’s Republic of China; and messaging efforts to reach the broadest possible audiences within the People’s Republic of China about United States Government efforts to protect freedom of association, expression, assembly, and the rights of ethnic minorities.

Status: 4/20/2021 – Introduced 

5/13/2021 – Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cantwell with an amendment in the nature of the substitute. Without written report.

6/8/2021 – Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate, under the order of 5/28/21, having achieved 60 votes in the affirmative, with an amendment by Yea-Nay Vote. 68-32. Record Vote: 226.


2016, Surface Transportation Investment Act of 2021

Sponsor: Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA).

Co-sponsor: Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS).

Summary: This bill would among other things, allow the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration funding to support the recognition, prevention, and reporting of human trafficking, as well as the detection of and enforcement of laws relating to such criminal conduct.

Status: 6/10/2021 – Introduced 

6/10/2021 – Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

6/16/2021 – Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported favorably with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.


2040, Debt Bondage Repair Act

Sponsor: Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)

Co-sponsors: Sens. Ben Lujan (D-NM), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and Catherine Cortez-Mastro (D-NV),

Summary: To prohibit consumer reporting agencies from furnishing a consumer report containing any adverse item of information about a consumer if such consumer is a victim of trafficking, and for other purposes.

Status: 6/14/2021 – Introduced.

6/14/2021 – Read twice and referred to Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.


2049,Trafficking Survivors Housing Act of 2021

Sponsor: Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

Co-sponsors: Sens. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Richard Durbin (D-IL).

Summary: This bill would require the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness to commission a study and report in partnership with federal agencies, survivors, and the organizations that serve them on the availability and accessibility of homelessness and housing services for survivors of trafficking.

The study would:

  • Review the effectiveness of current policy and procedures and report on the impact of such policies on the ability to provide sustainable, affordable, and safe housing options for survivors of trafficking, including families of minor victims and youth in foster care;
  • Build on trauma-informed and evidence-based frameworks to assess the capacity of mainstream housing services to meet the distinct and specialized needs of both labor and sex trafficking survivors, including survivors disability-related needs; and
  • Identify barriers to and best practices for meeting the housing and service needs of survivors of trafficking.

Status: 6/15/2021 – Introduced 

6/15/2021 – Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

6/24/2021 – Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Hearings held.


2104, Global Labor Support Act

Sponsor: Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ).

Summary:

The bill would among other things,

  • Establish the Global Labor Rights Fund to support entities whose main purpose is to protect and promote labor rights, and authorizethe appropriation of $30 million annually for the Fund for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2028.
  • Authorize the appropriation of an additional $30 million for separate labor rights programming for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2028.
  • Extend the Global Labor Program for an additional five years and authorize the appropriation of not less than $13 million for the Program for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2028.
  • Establish the position of Ambassador-at-Large for Global Labor Rights to lead and coordinate the U.S. Government’s diplomatic engagement with foreign governments on the promotion and protection of internationally recognized labor rights.
  • Require the imposition of Global Magnitsky and 7031(c) sanctions on those responsible for gross violations of human rights of workers.
  • Require the Secretary of State to submit an annual public report on the country-by-country status of internationally recognized labor rights and requires that a senior labor attaché position be created at U.S. missions in countries with consistently poor records on labor rights.
  • Authorize the appropriation of not less than $3 million for programming that supports labor unions in order to promote labor rights in Bangladesh for each of fiscal years 2022 through 202. 
  • Require the president to work with the Government of Bangladesh to update that government’s previous commitments regarding labor rights and worker safety.
  • Require the deployment of a senior labor attaché to Embassy Dhaka.

Status: 6/17/2021 – Introduced 

6/17/2021 – Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.


2136, Human Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Act of 2021

Sponsor: Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)

Co-sponsors: Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Jon Tester (D-MT).

Summary:

This legislation would:

  • Authorize the Director of the Office of Trafficking in Persons in the Administration of Children and Families (ACF) to establish a demonstration project to issue grants to non-profit organizations and schools to develop and implement age-appropriate, culturally competent, and gender-responsive curriculum for training students, parents, teachers, and school and youth development personnel to understand, recognize, prevent, and respond to signs of human trafficking.
  • Instruct the Director to give priority to eligible entities serving geographic areas with the highest prevalence of human trafficking, and areas with the highest prevalence of at-risk, vulnerable, or underserved populations including homeless youth, foster youth, youth involved in the child welfare system and runaways.
  • Set forth important data collection on the human trafficking / exploitation of children and strict, privacy-protected reporting requirements for the program.

Status: 6/17/2021 – Introduced 

6/17/2021 – Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.


2138, Combating Trafficking of Cuban Doctors Act of 2021

Summary: A bill to respond to the international trafficking of Cuban medical professionals by the Government of Cuba, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ).

Co-sponsors: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL).

Status:

6/17/2021 – Introduced.

6/17/2021 – Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.


Senate Amendment toH.R. 3684, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 

Summary: A bill to authorize funds for federal highways, highway safety programs, and transit programs, and for other purposes.

Section 23003. Combating Human Trafficking

This bill would among other things, allow the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration funding to support the recognition, prevention, and reporting of human trafficking, as well as the detection of and enforcement of laws relating to such criminal conduct.

Section 23020. Report on Human Trafficking Violations Involving Commercial Vehicle Motors

  • No later than 3 years after the date of enactment, and every 3 years thereafter, the Secretary, acting through the Department of Transportation Advisory Committee on Human Trafficking established under 20 section 5(a) of the Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act (Public Law 115–99; 131 Stat. 22 2243), would coordinate with the Attorney General to prepare and submit to Congress a report relating to human trafficking violations involving commercial motor vehicles, which would include recommendations for countering human trafficking, including an assessment of previous best practices by transportation stakeholders.

Section 27002. Coordination Regarding Forced Labor

  • The Secretary would coordinate with the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to ensure that no illegal products or materials produced with forced labor are procured with funding made available under this Act.

Section 40436. Study on Impact of Forced Labor in China in the Electric Vehicle Supply Chain

  • No later than 120 days after the date of enactment, the Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce, would study the impact of forced labor in China on the electric 20 vehicle supply chain.

Sponsor: Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Status:

8/16/2021 – Message on Senate action sent to the House.

9/27/2021 – Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res 601, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) moved that the House agree to the Senate amendment to H.R. 3684.

10/1/2021 – POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS = Pursuant to clause 1(c) of the rule XIX, further consideration of the motion to concur in the Senate amendment to H.R. 3684 is postponed.

11/5/2021 – On motion that the House agree to the Senate amendment Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 228-206 (Roll no. 369).

11/5/2021 –Kelly (IL) moved to reconsider the vote.

11/5/2021– Mr. Horsford moved to table the motion to reconsider the vote.

11/5/2021– On motion to table the motion to reconsider Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 228-205 (Roll no. 370).

11/5/2021–Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

11/8/2021– Presented to President.

11/15/2021 –Signed by President.

11/15/2021– Became Public Law No: 117-58.


2989, DHS Blue Campaign Enhancement Act

Summary: To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to enhance the Blue Campaign of the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI)

Co-sponsors: Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH).

Status:

10/18/2021 – Introduced.

10/18/2021 – Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.


2990, DEMOCRACIA Act

Sponsor: Sen. Rick Scott (R – FL).

Co-sponsors: Sens. Mike Braun (R-IN), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Roger Marshall (R-KS).

Summary:

  • Authorizes the President to impose sanctions—blocking assets and denying entry into the United States—on a foreign person if the President determines that the person knowingly engages in an activity with Cuba’s defense sector, security sector, intelligence sector, or any other sector involved in carrying out human rights abuses or providing support for international terrorism

Status:

10/18/2021 – Introduced.

10/18/2021 – Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.


2991, Countering Human Trafficking Act of 2021

Summary: The bill would make permanent the CHHT, which oversees DHS’s efforts to combat human trafficking and the importation of products that are made with forced labor. The bill would also allow the CHHT to build out their permanent staff with Special Agents, criminal analysts, and others. It would allow the Center to modernize their systems and operations to support worldwide investigations on human trafficking and forced labor in supply chains, and bolster efforts to protect human trafficking victims. The legislation would expand and improve national public awareness and law enforcement training initiatives to boost efforts to counter trafficking.

Sponsor: Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI)

Co-sponsors: Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH).

Status:

10/18/2021 – Introduced.

10/18/2021 – Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.