S. 3061 would authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2008 through 2011 for the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, to enhance measures to combat trafficking in persons.
Detailed Summary
William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 - Amends the the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to direct the Secretary of State to establish within the Department of State an Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking. (Current law authorizes such Office's establishment.)
Directs the President to implement an anti-trafficking program monitoring system.
Authorizes the President to establish the Paul D. Wellstone Presidential Award for Extraordinary Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons.
Sets forth protections for aliens who: (1) may be trafficking victims or who may testify against traffickers (including parole entry for certain family members); (2) are work-based nonimmigrants; (3) are domestic workers; or (4) are employees of foreign diplomatic or other government personnel, or employees of international organization personnel.
Sets forth provisions respecting: (1) assistance for trafficking victims, including child victims and U.S. citizens; (2) offenses of trafficking, forced labor, enticement into slavery, sex trafficking of children, and sex tourism.
Directs the Secretary to develop: (1) policies and procedures to ensure that unaccompanied alien children in the United States are safely repatriated to their country of nationality or of last habitual residence; and (2) a safe repatriation pilot program for alien children.
States, with specified exceptions, that the care and custody of unaccompanied alien children in the United States shall be the responsibility of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Sets forth related provisions and authorizations of appropriations.
Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 - Prohibits, with a national interest waiver, funds for specified military and related areas from being made available to the government of a country identified by the Department as having governmental armed forces or government supported armed groups that recruit and use child soldiers.
Authorizes the President to reinstate assistance upon certifying to Congress that a government is implementing: (1) compliance measures; and (2) mechanisms to prohibit future use of child soldiers.
Authorizes the President to provide assistance to a country for international military education and training otherwise prohibited under this Act upon certifying to Congress that such assistance is for implementation of measures to demobilize child soldiers and for programs to support professionalization of the military.
Makes: (1) it a federal crime to recruit or use child soldiers; and (2) such recruitment or use a grounds for an alien's removal from the United States.
Status of the Legislation
Latest Major Action: 7/31/2008: Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on the Judiciary. Date of scheduled consideration. SD-226. 10:00 a.m.
Points in Favor
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Points Against
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Visitor Comments
Ngoc Nguyen
I commend Senator Joseph Biden and others for fighting to protect trafficked victims. But inclusion of the controversial provisions in S. 3061's sister bill, H.R. 3887, will endanger the very people these bills seek to protect.
Under H.R. 3887, trafficked victims risk losing money, legal assistance, and services. The bill negatively changes the definition of what constitutes human trafficking. It proposes changes that would overtax the U.S. Department of Justice’s crime fighting resources. It unconstitutionally federalizes sex crimes. It would impede states’ efforts to fight local sex crimes. And it mislabels all prostitutes as sex trafficked victims.
A paper recently was published by the Heritage Foundation (www.heritagefoundation.org), highlighting the problems of H.R. 3887. www.heritage.org/Research/LegalIssues/lm21.cfm.
I encourage the Senate to oppose the provisions of H.R. 3887 set out in the Heritage.org paper. For future reference, go to TraffickingWatch.com.