[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1836 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1836

To enhance training and cooperation between law enforcement officers to 
 respond to and prevent domestic violence and sexual assault in Indian 
country, to swiftly bring perpetrators to justice, to commission a GAO 
                     study, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 6, 2013

  Mrs. Noem introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Natural 
 Resources, 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 enhance training and cooperation between law enforcement officers to 
 respond to and prevent domestic violence and sexual assault in Indian 
country, to swiftly bring perpetrators to justice, to commission a GAO 
                     study, 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 ``Protect our Native Women Act of 
2013''.

SEC. 2. ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TRIBAL 
              LIAISONS.

    Section 13(b) of the Indian Law Enforcement Reform Act (25 U.S.C. 
2810(b)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph (10); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following:
            ``(9) Serving as domestic violence tribal liaison by doing 
        the following:
                    ``(A) Encouraging and assisting in arrests and 
                Federal prosecution for crimes, including misdemeanor 
                crimes, of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
                assault, and stalking that occur in Indian country.
                    ``(B) Conducting training sessions for law 
                enforcement officers and other individuals and entities 
                responsible for responding to crimes in Indian country 
                to ensure that such officers, individuals, and 
                entities--
                            ``(i) understand their arrest authority 
                        over offenders; and
                            ``(ii) are prepared to respond to victims 
                        of such crimes.
                    ``(C) Developing multidisciplinary teams to combat 
                domestic and sexual violence offenses against Indians.
                    ``(D) Consulting and coordinating with tribal 
                justice officials and victims' advocates to address any 
                backlog in the prosecution of crimes, including 
                misdemeanor crimes, of domestic violence, dating 
                violence, sexual assault, and stalking that occur in 
                Indian country.
                    ``(E) Developing working relationships and 
                maintaining communication with tribal leaders, tribal 
                community and victims' advocates, and tribal justice 
                officials to gather information from, and share 
                appropriate information with, tribal justice 
                officials.''.

SEC. 3. SPECIAL ATTORNEYS.

    Section 543(a) of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``, including'' and all that follows 
        through ``Indian country''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following: ``The Attorney 
        General shall appoint qualified tribal prosecutors and other 
        qualified attorneys to assist in prosecuting Federal offenses 
        committed in the Indian country of no fewer than 10 federally 
        recognized tribes, with a preference given to those tribes with 
        the highest rates of domestic violence and sexual assault, 
        compared to other federally recognized tribes.''.

SEC. 4. GAO STUDY.

    The Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the 
Congress a report on--
            (1) the prevalence of domestic violence and sexual assault 
        in Indian Country;
            (2) the efforts of Federal law enforcement agencies, 
        including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of 
        Indian Affairs, to investigate these crimes; and
            (3) Federal initiatives, such as grants, training, and 
        technical assistance, to help address and prevent such 
        violence.
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