119th CONGRESS 1st Session
To reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES · February 7, 2025 · Sponsor: Mr. Smith of New Jersey
This Act may be cited as the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2025.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
- (a) Amendments to authorities to prevent trafficking
- Section 106(b)(2) of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 () is amended— 22 U.S.C. 7104(b)
- in the heading, by striking and inserting ;
- in subparagraph (B)—
- in the matter preceding clause (i), by inserting after ; and
- in clause (ii), by inserting after ;
- in the heading of subparagraph (C), by inserting after ;
- (D) Priority
- In awarding Frederick Douglass Human Trafficking Prevention Education Grants under this paragraph, the Secretary shall—
- (i) give priority to local educational agencies serving a high-intensity child sex trafficking area or an area with significant child labor trafficking;
- (ii) give additional priority to local educational agencies that partner with non-profit organizations specializing in human trafficking prevention education, which partner with law enforcement and technology or social media companies, to assist in training efforts to protect children from labor trafficking and sexual exploitation and abuse including grooming, materials depicting the sexual abuse of children, and human trafficking transmitted through technology; and
- (iii) consult, as appropriate, with the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Labor, and the Attorney General, to identify the geographic areas in the United States with the highest prevalence of at-risk populations for child trafficking, including children who are members of a racial or ethnic minority, homeless youth, foster youth, youth involved in the child welfare system, and children and youth who run away from home or an out-of-home placement.
- by amending subparagraph (D) to read as follows:
- (E) Criteria for selection
- Grantees should be selected based on their demonstrated ability to—
- (i) engage stakeholders, including survivors of human trafficking, and Federal, State, local, or Tribal partners, to develop the programs;
- (ii) train the trainers, guardians, K–12 students, teachers, and other school personnel in a linguistically accessible, culturally responsive, age-appropriate, and trauma-informed fashion; and
- (iii) create a scalable, repeatable program to prevent child labor trafficking and sexual exploitation and abuse including grooming, child sexual abuse materials, and trafficking transmitted through technology that—
- uses evidence-based (as such term is defined in section 8101(21)(A) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ()) best practices; and 20 U.S.C. 7801(21)(A)
- employs appropriate technological tools and methodologies, including linguistically accessible, culturally responsive, age-appropriate, and trauma-informed approaches for trainers, guardians, educators, and K–12 students.
- (a) In general
- The Secretary of Health and Human Services may carry out a Frederick Douglass Human Trafficking Survivors Employment and Education Program to prevent the re-exploitation of eligible individuals who have been victims of trafficking, by assisting such individuals to integrate or reintegrate into society through social services support for the attainment of life-skills, employment, and education necessary to achieve self-sufficiency.
- (b) Services provided
- Services offered, provided, and funded by the Program shall include (as relevant to the victim of trafficking)—
- enrollment and participation in—
- basic education, including literacy education and English as a second language education;
- job-related skills training;
- vocational and certificate programs; and
- programs for attaining a regular high school diploma or its recognized equivalent;
- life-skill training programs, including management of personal finances, self-care, and parenting classes;
- résumé creation and review;
- interview coaching and counseling;
- assistance with expungement of criminal records when such records are for nonviolent crimes that were committed as a consequence of the eligible individual’s victimization, including assistance with credit repair;
- assistance with enrollment in college or technical school;
- scholarship assistance for attending college or technical school;
- professional coaching or professional development classes;
- case management to develop an individualized plan with each victim of trafficking, based on each person’s needs and goals; and
- assistance with obtaining victim compensation, direct victim assistance, or other funds for mental health care.
- (c) Service period
- Eligible individuals may receive services through the Program for a cumulative period of 5 years.
- (d) Cooperative agreements
- Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary shall enter into cooperative agreements with one or more eligible organizations to carry out this section.
- (e) Definitions
- In this section:
- The term
eligible individual means a domestic or foreign victim of trafficking who—
- The may include a nongovernmental organization and means a service provider that meets the following criteria:
eligible organization
- The term
Program means the Frederick Douglass Human Trafficking Survivors Employment and Education Program established under this section.
- The term
Secretary means the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
- (a) In general
- Section 1298 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2017 () is amended as follows: 22 U.S.C. 7114
- In subsection (g)(2), by striking and inserting .
- In subsection (h)(1), by striking
Not later than September 30, 2018, and September 30, 2020and inserting Not later than September 30, 2025, and September 30, 2029.
- (b) Award of funds
- All grants awarded under the authority provided by section 1298 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2017, as amended by subsection (a), shall be—
- awarded on a competitive basis; and
- subject to the regular congressional notification procedures applicable with respect to grants made available under section 1298(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2017 (). 22 U.S.C. 7114(b)
- (a) Modifications to tier 2 watch list
- Subsection (b)(2) of section 110 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 () is amended— 22 U.S.C. 7107
- in the heading, by striking and inserting ; and
- (A) Submission of list
- Not later than the date on which the determinations described in subsections (c) and (d) are submitted to the appropriate congressional committees in accordance with such subsections, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a list of countries that the Secretary determines require special scrutiny during the following year. The list shall be composed of countries that have been listed pursuant to paragraph (1)(B) pursuant to the current annual report because—
- (i) the estimated number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is very significant or is significantly increasing and the country is not taking proportional concrete actions; or
- (ii) there is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year, including increased investigations, prosecutions and convictions of trafficking crimes, increased assistance to victims, and decreasing evidence of complicity in severe forms of trafficking by government officials.
- by amending subparagraph (A) to read as follows:
- (b) Modification to special rule for downgraded and reinstated countries
- Subsection (b)(2)(F) of such section 110 () is amended— 22 U.S.C. 7107
- in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking
the special watch listand all that follows through and inserting the country—;
- in clause (i), in the matter preceding subclause (I), by striking
the special watch list described in subparagraph (A)(iii)and inserting the Tier 2 watch list described in subparagraph (A); and
- in clause (ii), by inserting before the period at the end.
- (c) Conforming amendments to the trafficking victims protection act of 2000
- Subsection (b) of such section 110 () is amended as follows: 22 U.S.C. 7107
- In paragraph (2), as amended by subsection (a)—
- in subparagraph (B), by striking
special watch listand inserting Tier 2 watch list;
- in subparagraph (C), by striking
special watch listand inserting Tier 2 watch list; and
- in subparagraph (D)—
- (i) in the heading, by striking and inserting ; and
- (ii) in clause (i), by striking
special watch listand inserting Tier 2 watch list.
- In paragraph (3)(B), in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking .
The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 () is amended— 22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.
- in section 102(b)(4) ()— 22 U.S.C. 2151–1(b)(4)
- in subparagraph (F), by striking
and at the end;
- in subparagraph (G), by striking the period at the end and inserting
; and; and
- effective counter-trafficking in persons policies and programs.
- by adding at the end the following:
- in section 492(d)(1) ()— 22 U.S.C. 2292a(d)(1)
- by striking the period at the end and inserting ;
- by striking and inserting the following:—
- that—
- the funds
- in carrying out the provisions of this chapter, the President shall, to the greatest extent possible—
- (i) ensure that assistance made available under this section does not create or contribute to conditions that can be reasonably expected to result in an increase in trafficking in persons who are in conditions of heightened vulnerability as a result of natural and manmade disasters; and
- (ii) incorporate appropriate protections into the planning and execution of activities authorized under this chapter.
- by adding at the end the following:
- (a) Clarification of scope of withheld assistance
- Section 110(d)(1)(A) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 () is amended to read as follows: 22 U.S.C. 7107(d)(1)(A)
- the United States will not provide nonhumanitarian, nontrade-related foreign assistance to the central government of the country, or any funding to facilitate the participation by officials or employees of such central government in educational and cultural exchange programs, before the end of the first fiscal year beginning after such government complies with the minimum standards or makes significant efforts to bring itself into compliance; and
- (b) Definition of nonhumanitarian, nontrade-Related assistance
- Section 103(10) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 () is amended to read as follows: 22 U.S.C. 7102(10)
- (10) Nonhumanitarian, nontrade-related foreign assistance
- (A) In general
- The term
nonhumanitarian, nontrade-related foreign assistance means—
- (i) United States foreign assistance, other than—
- with respect to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961—
- assistance for international narcotics and law enforcement under chapter 8 of part I of such Act (); 22 U.S.C. 2291 et seq.
- assistance for International Disaster Assistance under subsections (b) and (c) of section 491 of such Act (); 22 U.S.C. 2292
- antiterrorism assistance under chapter 8 of part II of such Act (); and 22 U.S.C. 2349aa et seq.
- health programs under chapters 1 and 10 of part I and chapter 4 of part II of such Act (); 22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.
- assistance under the Food for Peace Act (); 7 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.
- assistance under subsections (a), (b), and (c) of section 2 of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 (–(c)) to meet refugee and migration needs; 22 U.S.C. 2601(a)
- any form of United States foreign assistance provided through nongovernmental organizations, international organizations, or private sector partners—
- to combat human and wildlife trafficking;
- to promote food security;
- to respond to emergencies;
- to provide humanitarian assistance;
- to address basic human needs, including for education;
- to advance global health security; or
- to promote trade; and
- any other form of United States foreign assistance that the President determines, by not later than October 1 of each fiscal year, is necessary to advance the security, economic, humanitarian, or global health interests of the United States without compromising the steadfast United States commitment to combatting human trafficking globally; or
- (ii) sales, or financing on any terms, under the Arms Export Control Act (), other than sales or financing provided for narcotics-related purposes following notification in accordance with the prior notification procedures applicable to reprogrammings pursuant to section 634A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (). 22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.; 22 U.S.C. 2394–1
Section 110(b)(1) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 () is amended— 22 U.S.C. 7107(b)(1)
- in subparagraph (G), by striking
and at the end;
- in subparagraph (H), by striking the period at the end and inserting
; and; and
- information about the trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal, including cases and steps governments are undertaking to prevent, identify, and eliminate such trafficking.
- by inserting after subparagraph (H) the following:
Section 106(b)(6) of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (; ) is amended— Public Law 114–26; 19 U.S.C. 4205(b)(6)
- by striking subparagraph (C); and
- by redesignating subparagraphs (D) and (E) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively.
Sections 202(b) and 205 and the amendments made by those sections take effect on the date that is the first day of the first full reporting period for the report required by section 110(b)(1) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (), as so amended, after the date of the enactment of this Act. 22 U.S.C. 7107(b)(1)
Section 107(c) of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 ( note; ; 122 Stat. 5050) is amended— 22 U.S.C. 7107; Public Law 110–457
- in paragraph (1), by striking
and at the end;
- in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and inserting
; and
- ensure that a printed hardcopy format of the annual report submitted under section 110(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 () is made available to the public. 22 U.S.C. 7107(b)
- by adding the following new paragraph:
Section 113 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 () is amended— 22 U.S.C. 7110
- in subsection (a), by striking
for each of the fiscal years 2018 through 2021, striking3,822,000and inserting for each of the fiscal years 2025 through 2029, 3,000,000;
- in subsection (b)(1)—
- by striking
To carry out the purposes of sections 106(b) and 107(b),and inserting To carry out the purposes of sections 106(b) and 107(b) of this Act and sections 101 and 102 of the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2023,; and
- by striking
striking9,500,000and all that follows, and inserting $30,755,000 for each of the fiscal years 2025 through 2029, of which $5,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated in each fiscal year for the National Human Trafficking Hotline and for cybersecurity and public education campaigns, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, for identifying and responding as needed to cases of human trafficking.;
- in subsection (c)(1)—
- in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking
2018 through 2021, $65,000,000and inserting 2025 through 2029, inserting11,000,000;
- (3) Programs to end modern slavery
- Of the amounts authorized by paragraph (1) to be appropriated for a fiscal year, not more than $37,500,000 may be made available to fund programs to end modern slavery.
- in subsection (c) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
- in subsection (d)(1), by striking
2018 through 2021and inserting 2025 through 2029, of which $35,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year for the Office of Victims of Crime Housing Assistance Grants for Victims of Human Trafficking.
Section 11 of the International Megan’s Law to Prevent Child Exploitation and Other Sexual Crimes Through Advanced Notification of Traveling Sex Offenders () is amended by striking 2018 through 2021and inserting 2025 through 2029. 34 U.S.C. 21509