DOJ Opposition to Proposed Trafficking Victim Grant Provisions in House Bill

oS DOJ also opposes subsection (b). Since the passage of the TVPA, DOJ has been one of the principal agencies conducting trainings for a multitude of audiences, including task forces and Federal, state, and local law enforcement, on the issue of trafficking in persons. The Department also has experience in conducting training on juvenile victims through the Innocence Lost National Initiative. Effective efforts to combat trafficking must mobilize the expertise of HAS, DHS, and DOJ. DOJ also notes a misspelling in the new subsection (F)(ii)— “edibility” instead of “eligibility”. 16. Section 214 Section 214 of the bill authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to assist victims of severe forms of trafficking up to $2.5 million in 2008, increasing to $15 million in 2011. The Department of Justice already has authority to make grants for the provision of services for crime victims and does so at a level in excess of $250 million a year. Also, the authorization of yet another grant program runs counter to the Administration’s proposal in the 2008 Budget to consolidate DOJ’s more than 70 grant programs, Moreover, any provision purporting to expand or alter definitions of individuals of qualifying for victim benefits must include the requirement that a Federal law enforcement agent must declare the individual to be a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons, and that the victim agree to cooperate in the investigation and prosecution, or that the victim be under the age of 18, DOJ opposes the consultation requirement in subsection (a}(1) with the Secretary of State for establishing programs to serve domestic, U.S. citizen trafficking victims. Such domestic authority falls outside of the mission and expertise of the Department of State. DOJ also opposes the mandatory consultation with non-government organizations (NGOs) regarding the provision of services, This creates a conflict of interest since many of the NGOs will apply for and could receive grants under the program. Finally, any section regarding the provision of victim services must also contain language that includes organizations that provide services to “juveniles subjected to trafficking, as defined in section 203(g) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005,” which would ensure that the funds authorized to the Attorney General for establishment of grants will go toward the work and development of the Innocence Lost Task Forces. DOJ opposes subsection (b) because it provides Victims of Crime Act of 1984 funds to prostitutes implicated in violations of the Mann Act (criminalizing transportation of prostitutes in interstate commerce), Such persons do not meet the legal definition of “victim” as that term is defined in the law, unless the person prostituted is under the age of 18 at the time the crime was committed or the petson, through the application of another Federal statute or regulation, satisfies the legal definition of a victim. Such persons are already eligibie under the Crime Victims Fund Act to receive benefits. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_012378