For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 18, 2004
Executive Order
Executive Order Amending Executive Order 13257 to Implement the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States of America, including the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) (the "Act"), as
amended by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of
2003 (Public Law 108-193), and section 301 of title 3, United States
Code, it is hereby ordered that Executive Order 13257 of February 13,
2002, is amended as follows:
Section 1. The preamble is amended by: (a) deleting "7103" and
inserting in lieu thereof "7101 et seq."; and (b) after the phrase
"(the "Act")," inserting "and section 301 of title 3, United States
Code,".
Sec. 2. Section 4 is redesignated as section 8.
Sec. 3. After section 3, the following new sections are added:
"Sec. 4. Guidelines, Policies, and Regulations. (a) The Senior
Policy Operating Group (SPOG), described in subsection 105(f) of the
Act, shall (i) establish guidelines and policies to coordinate the
activities of executive branch departments and agencies regarding
policies (including grants and grant policies) involving the
international trafficking in persons and (ii) advise the Secretary of
State what regulations may be necessary to implement section 105 of the
Act, including such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the
sharing of information on all matters relating to grants, grant
policies, or other significant actions regarding the international
trafficking in persons as set forth in subsection 105(f)(4) of the Act,
to the extent permitted by law.
(b) The Secretary of State, in consultation with the members of
the Task Force or their representatives, shall promulgate regulations
to implement section 105 of the Act.
Sec. 5. Enhanced Prevention of Trafficking in Persons. (a) The
Secretary of State, in consultation with the members of the Task Force
or their representatives, shall carry out the functions under
subsection 106(c) and subsection 106(d) of the Act.
(b) The Secretary of State shall have the authority to determine,
under section 106(e)(1) of the Act, foreign destinations where sex
tourism is significant. The Secretary of Homeland Security, in
consultation with the members of the Task Force or their
representatives and appropriate officials of the Departments of
Commerce and Transportation, shall carry out all other functions under
subsection 106(e) of the Act, including promulgation of any appropriate
regulations relating to the distribution of the materials described in
subsection 106(e).
(c) The head of each executive branch agency responsible for the
establishment and conduct of initiatives and programs described in
subsections 106(a) through (e) of the Act shall consult with
appropriate nongovernmental organizations consistent with section
106(f) of the Act.
(d) The Secretary of State shall have responsibility to initiate
appropriate regulatory implementation of the requirements set out in
section 106(g) of the Act with respect to contracts, including
proposing appropriate amendments to the Federal Acquisition
Regulation. Each affected executive branch department or agency shall
implement, within that department or agency, the requirements set out
in section 106(g) of the Act with respect to grants and cooperative
agreements.
Sec. 6. Research on Trafficking in Persons. The entities named in
section 112A of the Act shall carry out the research initiatives
required by section 112A of the Act, and shall award grants according
to such policies and guidelines as may be established by the SPOG
described in section 105(f) of the Act, as well as any applicable
agency rules and regulations.
Sec. 7. Guidance for Exercising Authority and Performing Duties.
In exercising authority delegated by, or performing functions assigned
in, this order, officers of the United States shall ensure that all
actions taken by them are consistent with the President's
constitutional authority to:
(a) conduct the foreign affairs of the United States;
(b) withhold information the disclosure of which could impair the
foreign relations, the national security, the deliberative
processes of the Executive, or the performance of the
Executive's constitutional duties;
(c) recommend for congressional consideration such measures as
the
President may judge necessary or expedient; and
(d) supervise the unitary Executive Branch."
Sec. 4. Judicial Review. This order is not intended to, and does
not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity, by a party against the United States,
its departments, agencies, entities, officers, employees or agents, or
any other person.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 18, 2004.
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