[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8974 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8974
To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a Blue
Campaign Certification Program to encourage employers in covered
industries to encourage employees to complete training to recognize and
respond to suspected human trafficking, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 9, 2024
Mr. Valadao (for himself and Mr. Carter of Louisiana) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary,
and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a Blue
Campaign Certification Program to encourage employers in covered
industries to encourage employees to complete training to recognize and
respond to suspected human trafficking, 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 ``Human Trafficking Awareness Training
Recognition Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. AWARD.
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231 et seq.) is amended
by inserting after section 434 the following:
``SEC. 434A. BLUE CAMPAIGN CERTIFICATION PROGRAM.
``(a) Program Established.--Not later than one year after the date
of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of Homeland Security
shall establish a Blue Campaign Certification Program (in this section
referred to as the `Program') to encourage efforts by employers in
covered industries to encourage employees to complete training to
recognize and respond to suspected human trafficking. The Secretary
shall provide a certificate of completion to eligible employers.
``(b) Application Process.--
``(1) Solicitation of applications.--During each year in
which the Secretary provides a certificate of completion, the
Secretary shall solicit applications, beginning not later than
January 31 and ending not earlier than April 30, from employers
to consider whether such employers should receive such
certificate.
``(2) Review of applications.--The Secretary, in
consultation with the Director of Homeland Security
Investigations, shall review each application received in a
year.
``(3) Contents of applications.--The Secretary shall
require each employer who submits an application to provide in
such application--
``(A) information about the training to recognize
and respond to suspected human trafficking that such
employer provided to the employees of such employer;
and
``(B) any other information the Secretary
determines appropriate.
``(c) Recognition of Recipients.--
``(1) Issuance of awards.--The Secretary shall provide a
certificate of completion to each employer whom the Secretary
determines is eligible. The certificate of completion shall
state that the recipient may display such certificate for a 1-
year period beginning on the date on which such certificate is
provided.
``(2) Notice in federal register.--The Secretary shall
recognize each such recipient through publication in the
Federal Register.
``(d) Prohibited Display.--It is prohibited for any employer to
publicly display a Blue Campaign Certification of Completion--
``(1) for the purpose of conveying, or in a manner
reasonably calculated to convey, a false impression that the
employer completed the Blue Campaign Certification Program, if
such employer did not complete such Program; or
``(2) for the purpose of conveying, or in a manner
reasonably calculated to convey, a false impression that the
employer received a certificate of completion through the Blue
Campaign Certification Program for a year for which such
employer did not receive such certificate.
``(e) Reports.--During each year beginning not later than two years
after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall
submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate, a report on the Program, including--
``(1) the number of employers who submitted an application
for Blue Campaign Certification in the prior year;
``(2) the fees collected under subsection (f) from such
employers, and any changes in fees to be proposed in the
present year;
``(3) the number of Blue Campaign Certifications of
Completion provided in the prior year, including the name of
each employer to whom a Blue Campaign Certification of
Completion was awarded;
``(4) the cost of administering the Program in the prior
year; and
``(5) any other matter the Secretary determines
appropriate.
``(f) Authorization for Application Fees.--The Secretary is
authorized to establish a reasonable fee to be imposed on employers
submitting applications for a Blue Campaign Certification of Completion
to cover the cost of carrying out the Program.
``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Covered industry.--The term `covered industry' means
any industry that the Secretary has determined--
``(A) has a relatively high prevalence of human
trafficking; and
``(B) that human trafficking awareness training
could have a significant impact.
``(2) Employer.--The term `employer' has the meaning given
such term in section 3 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
(29 U.S.C. 203), except that such term does not include a
public agency (as defined in such section 3).
``(3) Human trafficking.--The term `human trafficking' has
the meaning given the term `severe forms of trafficking in
person' in section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection
Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102).
``(4) Secretary of homeland security.--The term `Secretary
of Homeland Security' means the Secretary of Homeland Security,
acting through the Director of the Blue Campaign.
``(5) Training.--The term `training' means the training to
recognize and respond to suspected human trafficking.''.
SEC. 3. BLUE CAMPAIGN.
Section 434(e) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C.
242(e)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (7), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) by redesignating paragraph (8) as paragraph (9); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following:
``(8) increased coordination with experts from the private
sector, academic institutions, and other covered industries (as
such term is defined in section 434A).''.
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