Bill Summary
The "Collecting Official Measurements and Baselines to Assess Trafficking Act of 2019" (COMBAT Act) is a bill that seeks to amend the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. The bill aims to provide a comprehensive study on human trafficking in the United States. This study will be conducted by the Secretary of Homeland Security with the help of other federal agencies and state/local government entities. The study will determine the extent of human trafficking in the US, including the number of victims and in which industries the practice is most prevalent. The results of the study will be reported to Congress, along with other relevant information. The purpose of this legislation is to gather more accurate data on human trafficking in order to better combat this form of modern-day slavery.
Possible Impacts
1. Potential victims of human trafficking may feel more supported and protected with the passing of this legislation, as it requires the government to conduct a comprehensive study on the extent of human trafficking in the United States. This could lead to better resources and services for victims.
2. The bill may also put pressure on industries that are found to have a high prevalence of human trafficking, as they could face more scrutiny and potential consequences. This could potentially lead to changes in business practices and a decrease in human trafficking in those industries.
3. The passing of this legislation could also lead to increased cooperation and communication between federal agencies and state and local governments in regards to reporting and sharing information on human trafficking. This could improve overall data collection and make it easier to identify and address human trafficking cases.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4581 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4581
To amend the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to provide for
a comprehensive domestic human trafficking estimate, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 27, 2019
Mr. Yoho (for himself and Mr. Van Drew) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to provide for
a comprehensive domestic human trafficking estimate, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Collecting Official Measurements and
Baselines to Assess Trafficking Act of 2019'' or the ``COMBAT Act''.
SEC. 2. COMPREHENSIVE STUDY ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
Section 112A of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Comprehensive Study on Human Trafficking.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
conduct a comprehensive study to determine the extent of human
trafficking in the United States, consistent with the
conclusions of the consultation under paragraph (2).
``(2) Consultation.--In the year prior to commencing the
study the Secretary shall, in consultation with such Federal
agencies and State and local government entities as the
Secretary determines appropriate--
``(A) determine the appropriate time period for the
study to consider;
``(B) determine what information regarding
incidence of human trafficking is necessary to complete
the study;
``(C) from among information under subparagraph
(B), determine what information is already reported to
any other Federal agency, and the availability of such
information;
``(D) take such actions as may be appropriate to
arrange for other agencies having custody of such
information to make it available to the Secretary, and,
where such actions are not, to promptly report to
Congress thereon; and
``(E) enter into agreements with State and local
governments providing for the reporting of such
information.
``(3) Report.--The Secretary shall report the results of
the comprehensive study under paragraph (1) to Congress,
including--
``(A) the estimated number of victims disaggregated
by--
``(i) whether the victim was trafficked
within a State; and
``(ii) whether the victim was trafficked in
interstate commerce;
``(B) what industries the practice of human
trafficking is most prevalent in;
``(C) estimated number of victims disaggregated
by--
``(i) whether the victim was sex
trafficked; and
``(ii) whether the victim was trafficked
for labor; and
``(D) any other information the Secretary deems
appropriate.''.
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