[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 982 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.982
One Hundred Sixteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty
An Act
To increase intergovernmental coordination to identify and combat
violent crime within Indian lands and of Indians.
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 ``Not Invisible Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act--
(1) the term ``Commission'' means the Department of the
Interior and the Department of Justice Joint Commission on Reducing
Violent Crime Against Indians under section 4;
(2) the term ``human trafficking'' means act or practice
described in paragraph (9) or paragraph (10) of section 103 of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102);
(3) the term ``Indian'' means a member of an Indian tribe;
(4) the terms ``Indian lands'' and ``Indian tribe'' have the
meanings given the terms in section 3 of the Native American
Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 (25
U.S.C. 4302); and
(5) the terms ``urban centers'' and ``urban Indian
organization'' have the meanings given the terms in section 4 of
the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603).
SEC. 3. COORDINATOR OF FEDERAL EFFORTS TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST
NATIVE PEOPLE.
(a) Coordinator Designation.--The Secretary of the Interior shall
designate an official within the Office of Justice Services in the
Bureau of Indian Affairs who shall--
(1) coordinate prevention efforts, grants, and programs related
to the murder of, trafficking of, and missing Indians across
Federal agencies, including--
(A) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and
(B) the Department of Justice, including--
(i) the Office of Justice Programs;
(ii) the Office on Violence Against Women;
(iii) the Office of Community Oriented Policing
Services;
(iv) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and
(v) the Office of Tribal Justice;
(2) ensure prevention efforts, grants, and programs of Federal
agencies related to the murder of, trafficking of, and missing
Indians consider the unique challenges of combating crime,
violence, and human trafficking of Indians and on Indian lands
faced by Tribal communities, urban centers, the Bureau of Indian
Affairs, Tribal law enforcement, Federal law enforcement, and State
and local law enforcement;
(3) work in cooperation with outside organizations with
expertise in working with Indian tribes and Indian Tribes to
provide victim centered and culturally relevant training to tribal
law enforcement, Indian Health Service health care providers, urban
Indian organizations, Tribal community members and businesses, on
how to effectively identify, respond to and report instances of
missing persons, murder, and trafficking within Indian lands and of
Indians; and
(4) report directly to the Secretary of the Interior.
(b) Report.--The official designated in subsection (a) shall submit
to the Committee on Indian Affairs and the Committee on the Judiciary
of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee
on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report to provide
information on Federal coordination efforts accomplished over the
previous year that includes--
(1) a summary of all coordination activities undertaken in
compliance with this section;
(2) a summary of all trainings completed under subsection
(a)(3); and
(3) recommendations for improving coordination across Federal
agencies and of relevant Federal programs.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR AND THE DEPARTMENT
OF JUSTICE JOINT COMMISSION ON REDUCING VIOLENT CRIME AGAINST INDIANS.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, in coordination
with the Attorney General, shall establish and appoint all members of a
joint commission on violent crime on Indian lands and against Indians.
(b) Membership.--
(1) Composition.--
(A) In general.--The Commission shall be composed of
members who represent diverse experiences and backgrounds that
provide balanced points of view with regard to the duties of
the Commission.
(B) Diversity.--To the greatest extent practicable, the
Secretary of the Interior shall ensure the Commission includes
Tribal representatives from diverse geographic areas and of
diverse sizes.
(2) Appointment.--The Secretary of the Interior, in
coordination with the Attorney General, shall appoint the members
to the Commission, including representatives from--
(A) tribal law enforcement;
(B) the Office of Justice Services of the Bureau of Indian
Affairs;
(C) State and local law enforcement in close proximity to
Indian lands, with a letter of recommendation from a local
Indian Tribe;
(D) the Victim Services Division of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation;
(E) the Department of Justice's Human Trafficking
Prosecution Unit;
(F) the Office of Violence Against Women of the Department
of Justice;
(G) the Office of Victims of Crime of the Department of
Justice;
(H) a United States attorney's office with experience in
cases related to missing persons, murder, or trafficking of
Indians or on Indian land;
(I) the Administration for Native Americans of the Office
of the Administration for Children & Families of the Department
of Health and Human Services;
(J) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services;
(K) a Tribal judge with experience in cases related to
missing persons, murder, or trafficking;
(L) not fewer than 3 Indian Tribes from diverse geographic
areas, including 1 Indian tribe located in Alaska, selected
from nominations submitted by the Indian Tribe;
(M) not fewer than 2 health care and mental health
practitioners and counselors and providers with experience in
working with Indian survivors of trafficking and sexual
assault, with a letter of recommendation from a local tribal
chair or tribal law enforcement officer;
(N) not fewer than 3 national, regional, or urban Indian
organizations focused on violence against women and children on
Indian lands or against Indians;
(O) at least 2 Indian survivors of human trafficking;
(P) at least 2 family members of missing Indian people;
(Q) at least 2 family members of murdered Indian people;
(R) the National Institute of Justice; and
(S) the Indian Health Service.
(3) Periods of appointment.--Members shall be appointed for the
duration of the Commission.
(4) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Commission shall be filled in
the manner in which the original appointment was made and shall not
affect the powers or duties of the Commission.
(5) Compensation.--Commission members shall serve without
compensation.
(6) Travel expenses.--The Secretary of the Interior, in
coordination with the Attorney General, shall consider the
provision of travel expenses, including per diem, to Commission
members when appropriate.
(c) Duties.--
(1) In general.--The Commission may hold such hearings, meet
and act at times and places, take such testimony, and receive such
evidence as the Commission considers to be advisable to carry out
the duties of the Commission under this section.
(2) Recommendations for the department of interior and
department of justice.--
(A) In general.--The Commission shall develop
recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior and Attorney
General on actions the Federal Government can take to help
combat violent crime against Indians and within Indian lands,
including the development and implementation of recommendations
for--
(i) identifying, reporting, and responding to instances
of missing persons, murder, and human trafficking on Indian
lands and of Indians;
(ii) legislative and administrative changes necessary
to use programs, properties, or other resources funded or
operated by the Department of the Interior and Department
of Justice to combat the crisis of missing or murdered
Indians and human trafficking on Indian lands and of
Indians;
(iii) tracking and reporting data on instances of
missing persons, murder, and human trafficking on Indian
lands and of Indians;
(iv) addressing staff shortages and open positions
within relevant law enforcement agencies, including issues
related to the hiring and retention of law enforcement
officers;
(v) coordinating tribal, State, and Federal resources
to increase prosecution of murder and human trafficking
offenses on Indian lands and of Indians; and
(vi) increasing information sharing with tribal
governments on violent crime investigations and
prosecutions in Indian lands that were terminated or
declined.
(B) Submission.--Not later than 18 months after the
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall make publicly
available and submit all recommendations developed under this
paragraph to--
(i) the Secretary of the Interior;
(ii) the Attorney General;
(iii) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
(iv) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate;
(v) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives; and
(vi) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives.
(C) Secretarial response.--Not later than 90 days after the
date on which the Secretary of the Interior and the Attorney
General receive the recommendations under paragraph (2), the
Secretary and the Attorney General shall each make publicly
available and submit a written response to the recommendations
to--
(i) the Commission;
(ii) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
(iii) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate;
(iv) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives; and
(v) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives.
(d) FACA Exemption.--The Commission shall be exempt from the
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).
(e) Sunset.--The Commission shall terminate on the date that is 2
years after the date of enactment of this Act.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.