[CTC] Senators slam State’s trafficking report

[Arthur Stamoulis]

POLITICO

Senators slam State’s trafficking report

8/6/15 10:57 AM EDT
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle today joined in criticizing a number of country upgrades on the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report <http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2015/index.htm> as being driven by politics rather than substance.

“If it is true that the administrations politicized this report, there are questions about why they chose to significantly diminish a tool that has been effective in fighting slavery around the world,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker said during a hearing of his panel.

“There are upgrades in this report that are hard to understand, and I put Malaysia No. 1 on the list,” said Sen. Ben Cardin, the committee’s top Democrat.

The State Department last week elevated Malaysia from the third and lowest tier of the report to the “Tier 2 Watch List.” Lawmakers criticized the move, accusing the administration of changing status to avoid complicating the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks in which Malaysia is participating.

“You sort of threw the trafficking piece under the bus to ensure that you were successful with TPP,” said Corker.

Cardin questioned whether Congress needs to have more oversight over decisions to upgrade countries on the list.

Sen. Robert Menendez secured language in trade promotion authority legislation that would deny fast track treatment to any trade deals with countries in the lowest tier of the State Department’s annual list. He said today that the administration was “under exceptional pressure to shape the rankings to meet political demands.”

— Adam Behsudi

 
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