SPEAKERS CONTENTS INSERTS
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2003
APPROVAL OF COMPACT OF FREE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE U.S. AND THE FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA AND THE U.S. AND THE REPUBLIC OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS; TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PROTECTION REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2003; AND TORTURE VICTIMS RELIEF REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2003
MARKUP
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
H.J. Res. 63, H.R. 2620 and H.R. 1813
JULY 23, 2003
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Serial No. 108–45
Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.house.gov/international—relations
COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois, Chairman
JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa
DOUG BEREUTER, Nebraska
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey,
Vice Chairman
DAN BURTON, Indiana
ELTON GALLEGLY, California
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida
CASS BALLENGER, North Carolina
DANA ROHRABACHER, California
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California
PETER T. KING, New York
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio
AMO HOUGHTON, New York
JOHN M. McHUGH, New York
THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado
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RON PAUL, Texas
NICK SMITH, Michigan
JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania
JEFF FLAKE, Arizona
JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia
MARK GREEN, Wisconsin
JERRY WELLER, Illinois
MIKE PENCE, Indiana
THADDEUS G. McCOTTER, Michigan
WILLIAM J. JANKLOW, South Dakota
KATHERINE HARRIS, Florida
TOM LANTOS, California
HOWARD L. BERMAN, California
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American Samoa
DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio
BRAD SHERMAN, California
ROBERT WEXLER, Florida
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts
GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
BARBARA LEE, California
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JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York
JOSEPH M. HOEFFEL, Pennsylvania
EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon
SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada
GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California
ADAM B. SCHIFF, California
DIANE E. WATSON, California
ADAM SMITH, Washington
BETTY McCOLLUM, Minnesota
CHRIS BELL, Texas
THOMAS E. MOONEY, SR., Staff Director/General Counsel
ROBERT R. KING, Democratic Staff Director
DANIEL FREEMAN, Counsel/Parliamentarian
LIBERTY DUNN, Staff Associate
C O N T E N T S
MARKUP OF:
H.J. Res. 63, To approve the ''Compact of Free Association, as amended between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Federated States of Micronesia'', and the ''Compact of Free Association, as amended between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands'', and otherwise to amend Public Law 99–239, and to appropriate for the purposes of amended Public Law 99–239 for fiscal years ending on or before September 30, 2023, and for other purposes (as adopted by the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific)
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H.R. 2620, To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2004 and 2005 for the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, and for other purposes
Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 2620 offered by Mr. Smith of New Jersey
H.R. 1813, To amend the Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998 to authorize appropriations to provide assistance for domestic and foreign centers and programs for the treatment of victims of torture, and for other purposes
LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING
The Honorable James A. Leach, a Representative in Congress from the State of Iowa: Prepared statement on H.J. Res. 63
The Honorable Christopher H. Smith, a Representative in Congress from the State of New Jersey, and Vice Chairman, Committee on International Relations: Prepared statement on H.R. 2620
The Honorable Tom Lantos, a Representative in Congress from the State of California: Prepared statement on H.R. 2620
The Honorable Tom Lantos: Prepared statement on H.R. 1813
APPENDIX
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The Honorable Diane E. Watson, a Representative in Congress from the State of California: Prepared statement on H.J. Res. 63
APPROVAL OF COMPACT OF FREE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE U.S. AND THE FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA AND THE U.S. AND THE REPUBLIC OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS; TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PROTECTION REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2003; AND TORTURE VICTIMS RELIEF REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2003
WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2003
House of Representatives,
Committee on International Relations,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 11:30 a.m. In Room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Christopher H. Smith [Vice Chairman of the Committee] presiding.
Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. [Presiding.] The Committee will come to order. Pursuant to notice, I now call up H.J. Res. 63, the Compact of Association Amendments Act of 2003. Without objection, the resolution will be considered as read and open for open amendment at any point, and the amendment in the nature of a substitute which the Members have before them will be considered as read and be considered as the original text for purposes of amendment.
[H.J. Res. 63 follows:]
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Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Iowa, the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific Chairman for a motion.
Mr. LEACH. Mr. Chairman, the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific reports favorably the resolution H.J. Res. 63 with the single amendment in the nature of a substitute and moves its favorable recommendation to the full House.
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Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Mr. Leach is recognized to explain the bill.
Mr. LEACH. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As my colleagues may be aware, the economic assistance provisions of the current Compact of Free Association with the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands expired in 2001 but were extended for 2 years while the U.S. renegotiated the expired provisions with the islands, also known as the Freely Associated States. However, these negotiations were only completed late this spring, leaving Congress with little time to act before these authorities expire on September 30 of this year. Hence the need for expeditious action on the legislation.
In this regard the Subcommittee held a hearing on the newly renegotiated Compacts on June 18, receiving extensive testimony from the Department of State and Interior, the General Accounting Office, as well as testimony for the record from the Governments of the FSM and RMI.
Most recently, on July 18, the Subcommittee marked up H.J. Res. 63 and reported it favorably to the Committee with several modest technical amendments. By background, the United States has shared a uniquely close and mutually beneficial relationship with the peoples of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. For nearly 40 years after the Second World War, the U.S. administered both islands as United Nations trust territories. In 1986, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands chose to become sovereign states and entered into a Compact of Free Association with the United States. The Compact was intended to ensure self-government for the new island nations, to assist them in their economic development toward self-sufficiency, and to advance certain mutual security objectives.
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It is my strong view that the interests of the peoples of the United States and these Pacific Islands have been well served by the Compact. Our former trust territories have emerged as sovereign democracies. America's strategic interest in the Western Pacific has been protected, and the bonds of friendship forged during World War II have only strengthened with the passage of time.
The passage of time, however, also revealed a number of deficiencies in the first Compact, particularly concerning management of funds, planning and oversight. Fortunately, however, drawing on the work of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, under the leadership of the former Chairman, Doug Bereuter, and extensive work by the General Accounting Office, the new agreement completely redesigns the way Compact funds are used, thereby significantly strengthening these agreements.
The amended Compacts and related agreements address a number of issues. They preserve the United States defense veto and assure continued United States military access to Kwajalein Atoll defense sites until at least 2066, and possibly 2086, at the United States option.
The amended Compact also strengthens one key additional area—immigration—by adding new restrictions and clarifying the applicability of the Immigration Nationality Act to Compact migrants.
The amended Compacts are complex and should be generally supportable by Congress. There are, however, two areas of concerns that the Committee may well want to address further or clarify as the legislation advances. One relates to the proposed termination of FEMA's role in providing disaster assistance under the amended Compacts and the future of educational assistance, such as Pell grants, provided by the Freely Associated States outside of the Compact and its related agreements. Here I would like to inform Members that all of the relevant authorizing Committees, on a bipartisan, bicameral basis, are working together with the Administration to talk through these complex substantive and jurisdictional issues in a timely manner.
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It is my strong hope and intent to gain further clarification on several of these questions by the time this legislation is considered by the full House. Nevertheless, recognizing that further clarifications and minor adjustments in language may still be contemplated, I feel comfortable in bringing this Compact as negotiated by the Administration with the FSM and RMI to the Committee for approval.
I thank the Chair.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Leach follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE JAMES A. LEACH, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF IOWA
H.J. RES. 63
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
As my colleagues may be aware, the economic assistance provisions of the current Compact of Free Association with the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) expired in 2001, but were extended for two years while the U.S. renegotiated the expiring provisions with the islands—also known as the Freely Associated States. However, those negotiations were only completed late this Spring, leaving Congress with little time to act before those authorities expire on September 30th of this year. Hence the need for expeditious action on this legislation.
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In this regard, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the newly renegotiated Compacts on June 18, receiving extensive testimony from the Departments of State and Interior, the General Accounting Office, as well as testimony for the record from the governments of the FSM and RMI. Most recently, on July 18 the Subcommittee marked up H.J. Res. 63 and reported it favorably to the Committee with several modest technical amendments.
By background, the U.S. has shared a uniquely close and mutually beneficial relationship with the peoples of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. For nearly forty years after the Second World War, the U.S. administered both islands as United Nations Trust Territories. In 1986, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands chose to become sovereign states and entered into a Compact of Free Association with the United States. The compact was intended to ensure self-government for the new island nations, to assist them in their economic development toward self-sufficiency and to advance certain mutual security objectives.
It is my strong view that the interests of the peoples of the U.S. and these Pacific islands have been well-served by the Compact. Our former trust territories have emerged as sovereign democracies; America's strategic interests in the Western Pacific have been protected; and the bonds of friendship forged during World War Two have only strengthened with the passage of time.
The passage of time, however, revealed a number of deficiencies in the first Compact, particularly concerning management of funds, planning, and oversight. Fortunately, however, drawing on the work of the Asia Subcommittee under the leadership of former Chairman Bereuter and extensive work by the General Accounting Office, the new agreement completely redesigns the way Compact funds are used, thereby significantly strengthening these agreements.
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Here I would like to draw the Committee's attention to the impressive new accountability provisions of the amended Compacts. According to the GAO, the amended Compacts include enhanced reporting and monitoring measures that should substantially improve accountability if fully implemented. For example, assistance under the amended Compacts will be provided through grants targeted to priority areas, including health and education, with specific terms and conditions attached. Annual reporting and consultation requirements will be expanded and funds could be withheld for noncompliance with Compact terms and conditions.
More broadly, the amended Compacts of Free Association with the FSM and RMI to renew expiring assistance would require about $3.5 billion in funding over the next 20 years, with a larger amount being possible if the U.S. exercises its option to extend military use rights on Kwajalein Atoll. The amended Compacts would provide decreasing levels of annual aid over a 20-year term, with U.S. grant assistance expiring at the end of that period. At the same time, the Compacts would require the capitalization of a trust fund for each country to generate annual interest earnings that would replace U.S. grant assistance in 2023.
The amended Compacts and related agreements address other key issues. They preserve the U.S. ''defense veto'' and assure continued U.S. military access to Kwajalein Atoll defense sites until at least 2066, and possibly to 2086 at the U.S. option. The amended Compact also strengthens one key additional area, immigration, by adding new restrictions and clarifying the applicability of the Immigration and Nationality Act to Compact migrants.
The amended Compacts are complex and should be generally supportable by Congress. There are, however, two areas of ongoing concern that the Committee may well want to address further or clarify as the legislation advances: the proposed termination of FEMA's role in providing disaster assistance under the amended Compacts, and the future of educational assistance, such as Pell Grants, provided to the Freely Associated States outside of the Compact and its related agreements.
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Here I would like to inform Members that all of the relevant authorizing Committees, on a bipartisan and bicameral basis, are working together with the Administration to talk through these complex substantive and jurisdictional issues in a timely manner. It is my strong hope and intent to gain further clarification on several of these questions by the time this legislation is considered by the full House.
Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. I thank the Chairman for his comments. The Chair recognizes Mr. Faleomavaega.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. The gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Chairman I want to thank our distinguished Chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, Mr. Leach, for his leadership and also for his sensitivity to some of the concerns that I have indicated earlier during the course of the hearings that were held in this Committee and in the Committee on Resources.
These special Compacts that we have had with the Republic of the Marshall Islands and also with the Federated States of Micronesia, Mr. Chairman, points out a very unique political relationship with these Micronesian entities. At the height of the Cold War, I don't know if many of our colleagues quite well remember, our total testing program, nuclear testing program, took place in the Marshall Islands. Some 67 nuclear devices were detonated, including the first hydrogen bomb that was also tested in the Marshall Islands.
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We also have in the Marshall Islands the Kwajalein missile range facility which over the years has facilitated our ICBMs being fired from Vandenberg Air Force Base. It really is a tremendous contribution not only to our national security, but is something that our country should also be very appreciative of: the sacrifices and the contributions that our Micronesian friends have given to our Nation.
Given the fact of the closures of Subic Naval Station and Clark Air Force Base, the Department of Defense has given even greater importance to these Micronesian Islands. I should call it ''front,'' as a way to understand how important they are as part of our strategic umbrella in this part of the world, especially in the Pacific.
As Mr. Leach had indicated earlier, I do appreciate the gentleman's poignant concerns, because it was my intention to introduce some amendments, especially on the question of FEMA and the educational programs that have been questioned and are not being made available for the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
My concern, Mr. Chairman, is given the fact that when the Compact was first implemented 15 years ago, these Micronesian entities had no infrastructure whatsoever. They had no educational system in place. I just feel very, very strongly that we ought to continue giving these programs so that at least it will give them a better opportunity, especially for the younger generation of the Micronesians to pursue higher education, not only with the community colleges that are now established but also for transferring their college education to universities throughout the United States.
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It is my understanding also that with Chairman Leach and the members of the staff that we will be working to provide for some of these areas that I have expressed concerns about and that Chairman Leach had indicated earlier.
With that, Mr. Chairman, I——
Mr. LEACH. Will the gentleman yield briefly?
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I gladly yield my time.
Mr. LEACH. Let me say to the gentleman, first, the Committee ought to be aware that the gentleman has really brought distinguished leadership to the Committee on these issues. And I am personally very appreciative of his thoughtful judgment and extraordinary knowledge. And I would be very hopeful that we can make it clear by the end of this process that educational opportunity will be provided in a credible way. I think it is in the strong interest of the people of the islands and also deeply in the interest of the United States and our friendship in the region.
I also am very concerned about the disaster potential that could develop in terms of the kinds of storms that the islands are susceptible to. And so hopefully there will be some understandings that can be developed as this process continues.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I thank the gentleman for his comments. Given the fact that there is also the desire on the part of the Administration to cooperate with U.S., to work closely in seeing that we make some improvements to address the concerns that the Members of our Committee had given earlier, especially from the good lady from California, who is our former Ambassador to FSM.
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But I do want to thank Chairman Leach for his concerns and accepting my offer to continue working on this as we go through the process. And with that Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Are there any other Members wishing to be heard? Mrs. Napolitano.
Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I join my colleagues in supporting this legislation and urge my other colleagues to do so as well.
Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased that our Committee is moving forward today with the renewal of the Compacts of Free Association with the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. With the approval of these Compacts, the United States will further solidify our relationship with the Western Pacific Nations, both of which are close allies and are making an ongoing contribution to our national defense.
To understand the importance of renewing the Compacts, we must remember our Nation's history in the region. During World War II, American soldiers liberated the Pacific, island by island, in the brutal bloody battles that were held, that happened in those islands. And after the war, the United States administered Micronesia and the Marshalls, maintaining a vitally important base in the atoll.
In the '40s and '50s, the United States conducted both underwater and atmospheric nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands. The Marshallese people were dramatically affected by these nuclear tests, and some entire islands still to this day remain uninhabitable. Since the independence of the Marshall Islands and Micronesia in 1986, the ties between our Nations have grown even stronger, and when this Committee approved the Compact in 1986 we received a good bargain. Funds would flow to the Island Nations in return for the strategic denial and defense veto.
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The Kwajalein Army Base is vitally important to American missile test and as a listening post to the world. I have heard that not only from the Committee reports but also from my good friend, former Ambassador to Micronesia, Senator Watson. And while we undoubtedly further our Nation's security interest with approval of the Compact, the U.S. insufficiently monitored expenditures of the funds and did little to promote economic development in those islands.
These Compacts before us ensure that the funds provided to those two will be better spent in the future and will promote sound economic development and will focus on education and health care. This also will establish the trust fund for both nations to ensure that they can work toward becoming self-sufficient in the next 20 years.
And as Congress moved forwards with this legislation, Mr. Chair, as we work with our relevant Committees in the House and Senate, I will also work to ensure that various U.S. educational programs will operate in both nations and can be fully preserved.
Mr. Chairman, this legislation before us promotes our Nation's national security interest, furthers our relationship with the Marshalls and Micronesia, and protects American taxpayer dollars, and I urge its approval.
Thank you, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you.
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Any other Member wishing to be heard? If not, are there any amendments to the pending legislation? If not, the question occurs on the amendment.
All those in favor will say aye. Opposed, say no.
The question occurs on the amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without objection, the previous question is ordered and further proceedings are postponed.
The next item on the agenda is H.R. 2620, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 for purposes of markup and move its favorable recommendation to the House. Without objection, the bill will be considered as read and open for amendment at any point.
[H.R. 2620 follows:]
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Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. And the Chair yields himself 5 minutes to explain this piece of legislation. Let me just make the point to my colleagues that back in 2000 we passed landmark legislation that established a comprehensive reaction, and really with a number of proactive elements to it, to try to mitigate this modern-day slavery that we call human trafficking. It was a bipartisan bill. Mr. Davidson, Mr. Lantos and I—and many of us worked night after night. It took almost 2 years to enact that legislation.
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Its desire was to protect the victims, the women who have been trafficked, or the men—but most of them are women—to provide very serious sanctions and criminal penalties and civil penalties on those who traffic. It focuses on the governments around the world that are complicit or acquiescing to this horrific problem called human trafficking.
That legislation has made a difference. But we are now at the point of a need to reauthorize many of the money aspects, although much of it was permanent law. And what you have before you today is a comprehensive reauthorization. Mr. Lantos is the principal cosponsor. I have introduced the bill, Mr. Pitts is a cosponsor, and we have a very broad bipartisan group of individuals in an attempt to make a good piece of legislation even better.
The legislation has a number of very serious components. We have discovered, as in any piece of legislation, there are always glitches, something you miss the first time around. These are fixed and remedied with the pending legislation before you and I would hope that every Member can support this.
I yield to Mr. Lantos.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Smith follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, AND VICE CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
H.R. 2620
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Chairman Hyde, I thank you for taking up this reauthorization legislation as a priority matter. Your leadership and the leadership of this Committee in passing the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, and generally being champions for victims of trafficking, has made the difference in U.S. law and in the countless lives of those victimized through this modern-day slavery.
Mr. Chairman, I introduced the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003, H.R. 2620, along with my good friends Mr. Lantos and Mr. Pitts, because our work in fighting the scourge of human trafficking did not end when the President signed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act in October 2000. We have not yet eradicated modern-day slavery and, until that day comes, all governments must continuously reinforce their efforts to end this endemic violation of human rights and human dignity.
As a result of the TVPA, and our government's resulting allocation of resources to combat trafficking, federal prosecutors initiated prosecutions of 79 traffickers in the past two years. That is three times as many as in the two previous years. Nearly 400 survivors of trafficking in the United States have received assistance through the Department of Health and Human Services to begin recovering from their trauma and to rebuild their shattered lives. Thanks to the efforts of the State Department, USAID, and the spotlight put on the issue through the annual TIP Report, governments worldwide are also taking action against human trafficking.
But, despite these inroads, countless people continue to be bought and sold for exploitation every day. Victims are facing unintended obstacles in the process of securing needed assistance, including the ''T visa.'' Law enforcement officials have not yet seriously addressed trafficking in persons as an organized crime activity. We haven't yet targeted sex tourism as a contributing factor in the demand for trafficked persons in prostitution. And more specialized, objective research is needed to effectively counter the phenomenon of trafficking. H.R. 2620 would address these and other areas of concern, as well as authorizing funding to continue the U.S. Government's efforts against trafficking.
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H.R. 2620 is the product of months of consultation with the nongovernmental organizations and U.S. Government officials implementing the TVPA. It has five operative sections.
First, H.R. 2620 would expand the U.S. Government's trafficking prevention activities by directing the President to create programs that train trafficking survivors to educate border and law enforcement officials to identify traffickers and victims of trafficking, and the appropriate manner in which to treat such victims. It also directs the creation of media programs to inform vulnerable populations and the general public about the human rights abuses involved in trafficking.
The bill would address the involvement of U.S. Government contractors in trafficking. This issue was raised with the Committee last year during a hearing about DynCorp contractors' complicity in human trafficking while working on U.S. Government contracts in Bosnia. H.R. 2620 ensures that trafficking will be a matter of discussion between U.S. Government agencies and contractors by requiring that grants, contracts or cooperative agreements must contain a clause allowing the U.S. Government to terminate the grant, contract or cooperative agreement if the grantee or contractor (a) engages in severe forms of trafficking in persons or procures a commercial sex act while the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement is in effect, or (b) uses forced labor in the performance of the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement.
H.R. 2620 also seeks to discourage U.S. citizens and others in the U.S. from creating a demand for trafficking through sex tourism. Under the bill, airlines organized under U.S. law, or operating in the U.S., would be required to develop and disseminate materials alerting travelers that sex tourism is illegal and will be prosecuted under U.S. law. Much to the dismay of NGOs that have offered to work with U.S. airlines on such a program, U.S. carriers have not been willing to do so voluntarily. Air France, on the other hand, has been disseminating such material for some time.
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In its second operative section—section number 4 in the bill—H.R. 2620 would enhance protections for trafficking victims by urging the U.S. Government to facilitate contact between foreign governments and NGOs, with a view to improving public-private cooperation in protecting victims. The remainder of this section addresses issues beyond this Committee's jurisdiction, such as improvements to the TVPA that overcome obstacles to obtaining T-visas and other benefits to which victims are entitled. The bill would also make changes to immigration laws to better fulfill the TVPA's intention to treat victims of trafficking similarly to refugees.
Likewise the third operative section of H.R. 2620, section number 5, falls outside this committee's jurisdiction, but is designed to increase prosecutions of traffickers by expanding the jurisdictional basis for prosecuting acts of sex trafficking and by add the trafficking offenses created by the TVPA to the list of ''racketeering activities'' for purposes of the Federal RICO statute.
Fourth, H.R. 2620 would improve U.S. efforts to combat trafficking. To accomplish this, the Interagency Task Force would be required, for the next two years, to report on federal trafficking programs and initiatives. The bill would give the Director of the State Department's Anti-Trafficking Office the rank of ''Ambassador-at-Large.'' The bill would require the establishment of a Senior Policy Operating Group to coordinate international trafficking in persons activities of Federal departments and agencies. H.R. 2620 also directs the President, through various departments and agencies, to conduct specialized research in the area of trafficking in persons. Perhaps most significantly, H.R. 2620 would clarify one of the TVPA criteria for determining whether a foreign government is meeting minimum standards to combat trafficking by requiring that the State Department must consider foreign government's records on convictions and sentences for acts of trafficking, in addition to investigations and prosecutions as the TVPA currently provides.
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Finally, the bill authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 2004 and 2005 to continue our government's efforts in this area. In fiscal year 2002, the U.S. Government allocated $68.2 million to combat trafficking. H.R. 2620 authorizes $105.85 million for each of fiscal years 2004 and 2005. The bill also creates a new proviso that no funds may be used to promote, support, or advocate the legalization or practice of prostitution. Any organization receiving funds must state in a grant application and/or agreement that it does not promote, support, or advocate the legalization or practice of prostitution.
Mr. Chairman, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 enjoyed broad, bi-partisan support in both Houses of Congress. We are making progress in our battle against modern day slavery, but clearly there is still much work to be done by government authorities, by civil society, by our faith communities, and by all men and women of good will. As lawmakers, we have the opportunity to make our contribution to this endeavor. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this commonsense reauthorization bill to support and enhance the good work which has been undertaken.
Mr. LANTOS. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Let me first pay public tribute to you for your extraordinary leadership on this issue which all of us on both sides of the aisle have admired. I would like to ask permission to place my prepared statement in the record for the benefit of saving some time; also my prepared statement on the other issues that we are considering.
I also want to commend my good friends, Mr. Leach and Mr. Faleomavaega on their work with respect to the previous legislation. And if I may, Mr. Chairman, I want to recognize three members of the Democratic staff for their excellent work on these three bills: David Abramowitz on trafficking and torture victims; Hans Hogrfe on torture victims; and Peter Yeo on the Compact of Free Association.
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And I yield back the balance of my time.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Lantos follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE TOM LANTOS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
H.R. 2620
Mr. Chairman, I am proud to co-sponsor H.R. 2620, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2003, with my good friend from New Jersey, the Vice-Chairman of the Committee. And I would like to congratulate him for his continuing dedication to the critical issue of trafficking in persons.
Mr. Chairman, in the 106th Congress, Mr. Smith and our former colleague, Sam Gejdenson of Connecticut, expended enormous energy to pass the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. At that time, thousands of men and women were being forced to labor in our fields without pay, to work endless hours in sweatshops, and to serve in sexual slavery in cities across this country. U.S. prosecution of traffickers faltered because attorneys in our Department of Justice did not have the right tools to pursue the new forms of trafficking, which often relied on threats, not chains, and on document fraud, not bills of sale.
Overseas, millions of people were being used as chattel, and the brothels of Bombay and Bangkok were overflowing with prostitutes, many young girls, who were forced to provide sex. Governments were barely aware of what was happening to their own people, and where they were, they usually blamed the victims and forgot about them.
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Today the picture is visibly brighter. Because of the enactment of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, the Attorney General is prosecuting cases from American Samoa to New Jersey.
Victims are coming forward because of the federal benefits we are offering to them, treating them like the refugees that they are. The naming of countries that are not making significant efforts to combat trafficking and the threat of sanctions against them are forcing measurable changes in the way that governments around the world are facing this modern day form of slavery. Modern day slavery is under assault from all directions.
But Mr. Speaker, we need to do more. In the two-and-a-half years since the enactment of the trafficking legislation, we have learned much more about the phenomena of trafficking and how to combat it. The legislation before us today, the Trafficking Victims Reauthorization Act of 2003, implements these new lessons.
Drawing from the conference earlier this year held by the Department of State, this bill authorizes new strategies for prevention, including using trafficking victims to identify traffickers at the borders and deterring sex tourism, which is part of the fuel of sex slavery around the world.
It increases protection by making measured expansions of the visa category for trafficking victims and related provisions to better enable cooperation, particularly with respect to state and local trafficking prosecutions, which are increasingly the front line of law enforcement in this area. And it enhances prosecution of traffickers by, for example, ensuring that trafficking is treated like the organized crime that it is.
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Perhaps most critically, it demonstrates Congressional commitment to fighting this scourge by authorizing additional funds for U.S. agencies to combat this human rights crisis around the world.
Mr. Chairman, this is a good bipartisan bill and I urge all my colleagues to support it.
Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. I thank you. Without objection, your full statement, Mr. Lantos, and that of all Members will be made a part of the record, and that goes for mine as well.
Let me just—I do have an amendment in the nature of a substitute at the desk and the clerk will designate.
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The CLERK. Amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by Mr. Smith: Strike all after the enacting clause——
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Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Without objection, the amendment in the nature of a substitute will be considered as read. And just very briefly, this is a comprehensive substitute that again as we worked through the original text in a bipartisan way with Mr. Lantos and his staff and my staff as well, and the Committee staff. And we have produced a product, I think, that makes major changes in a number of areas to make a good bill, a good law, even better.
And would anybody want to be heard on the pending amendment?
Mr. SMITH OF MICHIGAN. Mr. Chairman, could you give us just the highlights between the original bill and the changes of the substitute?
Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Okay. What we're doing is we have a number of pieces of provisions in this to make the T visa, which was that visa that we established for the traffic victims, much more usable. We have found that the 15- to 18-year-olds, for example, were not getting the T visa in a timely fashion because of some glitches in the law that were unattended. That's fixed in a technical fashion in this legislation.
We have made better language dealing with sex tourism. We know for a fact and it's already current law that sex tourism is illegal and has a very significant penalty for those who engage in it. Our new provision in the law makes it better by requiring the airlines, either through pamphlets or some other means, to make their passengers aware that this is illegal. This is really an alert system, so that we can mitigate that kind of activity we will.
I think if more people are informed. The bill would also enhance protections for trafficking victims by urging the U.S. Government to facilitate contact between foreign governments and NGOs. We have found over the last 3 years that has not happened often enough.
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This amendment seeks—and the underlying bill did it as well—but this does it in a more comprehensive fashion. One of the provisions that we have in the bill and in the amendment in the nature of a substitute is to make the Anti-Trafficking Office—right now, John Miller, our former colleague is the head of that office. This amendment would raise or elevate his position to Ambassador at Large. And that is a very important, we think, recognition of the work not only that he is doing individually, but what the office ought to be all about.
If this is as a high of a priority issue that we claim it is, and it is—just like religious persecution, we have an Ambassador at Large, John Hanford who works on religious persecution issues—trafficking ought to be similar, horizontally important in terms of its stature, Ambassador at Large doing this work as well.
So again, it is a bill filled with tweaks, changes, upgrades, and the amendment in the nature of a substitute simply further works with it in a multiple of areas. There is no real divergence from the original pending legislation.
Mr. SMITH OF MICHIGAN. Thank you.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Will the Chairman yield just for further verification?
Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Mr. Faleomavaega.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Just for further clarification. I certainly would appreciate the Chairman's assistance again on the issue of T visas, by way of making sure that there is no abuse of the use of the T visa to the extent that people pretend like they are subjected to human trafficking when they jump into the T visa program, when in fact they really are not affected or are not in any way subjected to the things that we are trying to protect them from, like being forced labor and all of that.
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I wanted to ask the Chairman if the T visa program is structured in such a way that we don't have abuse in its use.
Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. I want to assure the gentleman, Mr. Faleomavaega, that if anything, the T visa has been too narrowly construed by the Department. What we are trying to do is to make sure that every trafficked person—and again we are talking mostly about women—is given the opportunity not to be returned to that cycle of violence that they have now just recently escaped from.
As you know, prior to the trafficking legislation in the year 2000, the customary way of dealing with someone who was rescued from a brothel and had been trafficked was to put them on a plane and send them back to Kiev or Saint Petersburg or some other point where the cycle of violence would continue afresh. The legislation has changed that. But now we have found that there have been some gaps and we are trying to close those gaps.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Thank you.
Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. So I don't think of any of our immigration or asylum or any protection programs, this one probably more than just about any other is less likely to lend itself to exploitation and abuse.
Are there any amendments to the pending amendment in the nature of a substitute?
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Mr. TANCREDO. No amendment, Mr. Chairman, but I do have a question.
Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Go ahead.
Mr. TANCREDO. Mr. Chairman, just to follow on with Mr. Faleomavaega's question to you, are there provisions in the bill that are still there, or were they weakened by your amendment to the bill, that change the way in which people have to go about proving their status as a trafficked person?
Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. No, nothing is weakend. Nothing has changed in that regard. What we found—here was one of the glitches that we fix in this legislation. Those who are under 18 who are found to have been trafficked, there is a presumption that they don't have to prove force or fraud or coercion by reason of their minor status.
Unfortunately, when it came to the T visa, the 15 to 18 year-olds had to participate in and be involved in the prosecution, putting an onerous burden on a 15-year-old to be part of a prosecution against a trafficker. Even though the standard is they don't have to be the chief witness, but we believe that if we are going to provide them with this ability to find safe haven here, we ought not to put that additional burden of being part of a prosecution. They can do so voluntarily, but they don't have to do it as a prerequisite of getting the T visa, and that was a major oversight in the original legislation.
We heard back from many of the NGOs who deal with asylum seekers, and especially women who have been exploited in this way, and it was especially for a young teenager too much of a wall for them to climb, to be part of a prosecution in that way. Again, voluntarily they can do it, but there is no mandatory aspect to it.
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Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Will the Chairman yield further?
Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Sure.
Mr. TANCREDO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I'm sorry to ask so many questions, but I think on the basis of my presumption that the human trafficking issues are probably worse in the Asian Pacific region simply because of the numbers, and probably more, I was just curious if there was any provision in the proposed substitute where there is better identification in the region to make sure that they are addressed properly and in a more forceful fashion.
In other words, my concern is that if the trafficking is occurring in the Asian Pacific 10 times worse than it is in other parts of the world, I would hope that some provision is given that the resources obviously ought to be emphasized in the areas where it is most common.
And here again, I make this presumption that I think human trafficking in the Asian Pacific region occurs a lot more often and there are probably greater abuses there than in other regions of the world. I just wondered if the Chairman has given any provisions to address the concern that there is a priority, a sense of emergency, to really address those areas where it is most prevalent.
Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. I appreciate the question and your point is very well taken. We have a provision in the bill, and it is in the amendment in the nature of a substitute, that requires better analysis and study. What we have found is that we are still dealing, even now, 3 years later, with a dearth of information with regards to what is really going on. I mean, the State Department this year put out its third report, the Trafficking in Persons Report. It is the best of each of the reports that have been put out, but it still lacks a lot of basic information that we need to know.
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And you know, just to get back to what are some of the changes that we made in this bill—and maybe I should have gone through my 10-minute speech. What we found in the original bill, we talked about the importance in judging nations, whether or not they are serious about mitigating and ending trafficking, as to whether or not they get investigations and prosecutions.
Well, we didn't take it the step further and say convictions and sentencing, and it turned out that that's one of the games that we think is being played. You can arrest somebody and then nothing happens. We want to know how many people went to jail, especially the ring leaders in these trafficking operations, and use that as a better criteria.
But in terms of regional we are—and your point will be well taken I think with the Administration. They need to look in your part of the world as well, to make sure that it is adequately covered.
We also have an increase in the authorization from 68.2 million to 105.8 million because we have recognized that the resources still are not enough. This is a war. This is human slavery. And it seems to me if we are serious about it, we need to match with enhanced authorizations and appropriations that need. So your point was very well taken.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Thank you.
Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Are there any amendments by my colleagues? If not, the question occurs on the amendment in the nature of a substitute.
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All those in favor say aye. Those opposed say no.
The ayes have it. Without objection, the previous question, we will take this as ordered and we will take this up later in the day.
Let me now present to the Committee the third item on our agenda, and it is H.R. 1813, the Torture Victims Relief Authorization Act of 2003 for purposes of markup and move its favorable recommendation to the House. Without objection, the bill will be considered as read and open for amendment at any point.
[H.R. 1813 follows:]
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Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. I recognize myself for my opening statement. And let me just make a couple of very brief opening points. This legislation builds on two previous Torture Victims Relief Acts which have been signed into law. It is a necessary reauthorization because the authorizations are running out.
It increases the amount of money, modestly, for the foreign programs, as Mr. Lantos, who is the prime cosponsor of this and I have worked on this very, very diligently. As a result of torture by despotic countries all over the world we have a world filled with walking wounded, and that's no less of a case here in the United States. The estimates are that upwards of 500,000 people in America have been the victims of torture, and there are torture victims relief centers throughout this country, about 23, 24 strong that are funded by the United States Government. We reauthorized it in this bill, although Energy and Commerce has jurisdiction over that part and will take that up shortly. But the purpose is to try to help those people who are suffering the nightmare of torture and to give them help.
The most common problem is post-traumatic stress disorder, and we have found that with the right regimen—and we have had at this witness table frequently, witnesses who have gone through this horror, and they have spoken in superlatives about what happens when they are given the opportunity and the right psychiatric and medical regimen to come to a healing.
That's what this legislation is all about. And again, like I said, it just modestly increases the amount of money under our jurisdiction to $11 million for 2004, $12 million for 2005 and $13 million for 2006, a very modest increase from the current $10 million. And again this money is well spent.
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I have visited myself these centers abroad, most recently in Romania. And when you talk to the clientele, the people who suffered under Nicolae Ceaucescu and were in his prison camps and suffered the cruel lash of the Securitate, they are on the road to recovery and to healing as a direct result of this legislation. So I would hope my colleagues could support it.
And I would like to yield to Mr. Lantos, the principal cosponsor and a very strong supporter of this entire effort.
Mr. LANTOS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I ask unanimous consent that my written statement be introduced in the record.
Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Without objection, sir.
Mr. LANTOS. I want to pay tribute to you for your strong leadership on this most important issue for many years. And I want to pay tribute to a lady who is not here, a Danish physician, my very dear friend, Doctor Inga Genefke, who 29 years ago began this international movement of assisting victims of torture in Copenhagen, Denmark and has continued with her husband, also a physician, without any interruption for 3 decades now. She is really the founding mother of a movement globally to assist victims of torture, and I want to be certain that the record reflects our admiration and support for her work, and I yield back the balance of my time.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Lantos follows:]
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PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE TOM LANTOS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
H.R. 1813
Mr. Chairman, I strongly support this legislation, and urge my colleagues to do so as well.
The Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act of 2003 is a testament to the outstanding national and international efforts our nation is undertaking to combat the most despicable of all human rights violations, the increased use of torture around the world.
As the main Democratic sponsor of this measure, I would like to commend the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Smith, for his longstanding leadership on this issue, and congratulate him for all of his work to support heroic endeavors around the world to treat the victims of torture.
Mr. Chairman, governments worldwide constantly fail to defend the basic human rights of their citizens, including the obligation to refrain from torture. Although exact figures are difficult to discern, Amnesty International estimates that 117 countries worldwide still practice torture. Pakistan, Guatemala, Zimbabwe, and China consistently rank high on this list of governments who employ torture as a means of controlling their citizens.
The ramifications of torture practices are beyond the realm of our comprehension. Torture leaves no victim unscarred; it shapes the remainder of their lives. Torture survivors need psychological and physical therapy to cope with the post-traumatic stress that afflicts them daily. Recovering from torture is a long-term process; it can take years before torture survivors can once again feel emotionally stable and comfortable in society.
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Mr. Chairman, it sometimes just takes one person to stand strong against the darkness of human rights violations. The torture victims treatment center community is fortunate enough to have such a person in my good friend, Dr. Inge Genefke. Dr. Genefke started her work for torture victims as co-founder of the Danish Medical Group of Amnesty International in 1974. Dr. Genefke, a medical doctor, observed that during the treatment of torture victims, the physical wounds of those lucky enough to survive the torture ordeal heal with time, but the trauma of her clients remain much longer. For decades, Dr. Genefke has promoted a multi-disciplinary treatment approach, integrating physical and psychological care, and has been an international leader on this critically-important subject.
An estimated 500,000 foreign torture survivors reside in the United States and as many as 100 million exist worldwide. More than 250 treatment centers operate internationally with the sole purpose of providing crucial services to torture survivors. In the U.S., the Center for Victims of Torture in Minnesota was the first of its kind in the United States and the third torture victim's center in the world.
Those centers are among those funded through the Torture Victims Relief Act, and their work is the only hope for people who have been tortured.
Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to strongly support this bill, and I again thank you for marking it up today.
Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. I thank my good friend for his comments and for his very strong support. Are there any other Members who would like to be heard on this legislation. Are there any amendments to it? If not—Mrs. Napolitano, please.
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Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Chair, thank you. I'd like unanimous consent to introduce my remarks into the record. And I fully support the thrust of this legislation and commend you for looking at what can eventually be the assistance to bring people together, make them whole and working members of our society, which we sometimes neglect to do. And so I thank you all for your part in this and yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Without objection, your statement and that of any other Member who would like to be heard on this will be made part of the record, and those who went to lunch because they thought this might have been put off until later on today.
As you know, the time of this markup was changed a couple of times. We will be meeting later on today, and I would hope that Members could make that so we could get the requisite quorum to report these bills out.
Without objection, the previous question is ordered and further proceedings are postponed. And, as I said, the Committee will stand in recess.
We will reconvene in H–139 to vote on final passage on these three bills. We will alert Members as soon as possible about that. It will obviously be contingent on the Floor schedule. I want to thank Members for being here and again, I want to thank Mr. Lantos for his support.
[Whereupon, at 12:15 p.m, the Committee recessed, to reconvene in Room H–139 at 4:35 p.m., the same day.]
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Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. [Presiding.] The Chair notes the presence of a reporting quorum. And the question occurs on the motion to report the following bills favorably to the House, as amended, upon which the previous question was ordered: H.J. Res. 63, to approve the Compact of Free Association; H.R. 1813, the Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act of 2003; and H.R. 2620, Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003.
All those in favor, signify by saying aye.
Opposed, no.
The ayes have it and the motion is agreed to. And I thank you all.
Without objection, the Chairman is authorized to move to go to conference pursuant to House rule 22.
Without objection, the staff is directed to make technical and conforming changes. Thank you.
[Whereupon, at 4:36 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
Material Submitted for the Hearing Record
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PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE DIANE E. WATSON, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
H.J. RES. 63
Mr. Chairman,
I join my colleague Rep. Faleomavaega on the issue of Education. I am deeply concerned by a message sent by this Congress to the Freely Associated States. Although the issues were considered in another committee, the recent elimination of IDEA and Head Start assistance shocks me. This action coupled with threatened Pell Grant eligibility next year, could cripple the ability of the FAS to cultivate education. The RMI and FSM children have only just begun to benefit from the establishment of an integrated education system.
Head Start is the cornerstone of education in the islands. In my years teaching, I have witnessed the impact of early structured education. Young students are much better equipped to enter the educational system, and they are exposed to the importance of their education at an early age.
Changing focus to the older students, the elimination of Pell Grant assistance would decimate the college system in the FAS altogether. A large portion of the funds to run the College of Micronesia are obtained through Pell Grants. Not only would the college collapse, but many officials feel that island suicide is directly connected with educational opportunities. The College of Micronesia is the only higher education facility in the FSM.
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In conclusion, I am pleased with the overall progress of the new Compact of Free Association. With a few minor adjustments, such as the reinstatement of FEMA assistance, this Congress can produce a Compact to be proud of. I urge my colleagues to understand the importance of the FAS. This unique relationship is entrusted to the International Relations Committee. Please give proper consideration to a significant Foreign Policy decision that will affect the US–FAS relations for years to come.