Any upgrade at this juncture would thus be a hollow victory of form over substance.

It seems to me that it at least confidentially should be transmitted to Congress to understand the deliberations that took place.

I would urge you and the ranking member to at least send a letter immediately to seek preservation of all such documents.

So simply offering amendments before they ever passed, before they are introduced, before they become part of the law, even before implementation, you are trying to suggest that is significant?

Did the TIP office recommend that either Malaysia or Cuba stay on Tier 3, as Reuters suggests?

My interest as a United States Senator is to protect the integrity of the Trafficking in Persons Report.

So the upgrade was partially based on actions that have not been implemented, that were not even passed, that were outside of the reporting period, but you did not take into account the discovery of the mass graves found in May.

the integrity of this year's report has been called into question, and that means our Nation's commitment to our most fundamental principles has been called into question.

Malaysia got what they wanted. They got to Tier 2, which just happens to allow them to continue TPP negotiations.

There is certainly a perception out there that politics played a role in some of these determinations.

I do not know that we did not pervert the lofty goal by a report that clearly seems to me has been politicized in a way that is not justifiable and cannot be justified.

The Department has included Cuba in the annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report since 2003.