H.R. 7234

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7234 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7234

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

January 22, 2026

Mr. Valadao (for himself, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, and Mr. Davis of 
North Carolina) 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 2026''.

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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