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Extracted Text (OCR)
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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 eligible under the Crime
Victims Fund Act to receive benefits.
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