[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 982 Reported in Senate (RS)]

<DOC>





                                                       Calendar No. 417
116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                 S. 982

                          [Report No. 116-214]

   To increase intergovernmental coordination to identify and combat 
           violent crime within Indian lands and of Indians.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 2, 2019

 Ms. Cortez Masto (for herself, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Tester, Ms. Smith, 
    Mr. Moran, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Daines, Ms. Rosen, and Mr. Udall) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                      Committee on Indian Affairs

                           February 11, 2020

               Reported by Mr. Hoeven, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   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,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Not Invisible Act of 
2019''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Congress finds that--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) the National Institute of Justice reports more 
        than 80 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native men and 
        women have experienced violence in their lifetimes and more 
        than 34 percent have experienced violence in the last 
        year;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) the National Institute of Justice also 
        estimates that 56 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native 
        women experience sexual violence in their lifetimes;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) murder is the third leading cause of death 
        among American Indian and Alaska Native women;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) populations that experience chronic 
        unemployment, homelessness, substance abuse, severe poverty, 
        and high rates of sexual violence and other crimes are at a 
        higher risk of trafficking;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) American Indian and Alaska Native women and 
        girls disproportionately experience the above risk 
        factors;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) historical trauma has increased the 
        vulnerability of American Indians and Alaska Natives to 
        trafficking and other forms of violent crime;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) the Department of Justice has identified 
        combating human trafficking as a priority; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) reliable data on the prevalence of missing 
        Native people, murdered Native people, and human trafficking 
        within Indian lands and of American Indians and Alaska Natives 
        is not available.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    In this Act--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) the term ``Committee'' means the Department of 
        the Interior and the Department of Justice Joint Advisory 
        Committee on Reducing Violent Crime Against Native People 
        established under section 5;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) the term ``Indian'' means a member of an 
        Indian tribe; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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).</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. COORDINATOR OF FEDERAL EFFORTS TO COMBAT VIOLENCE 
              AGAINST NATIVE PEOPLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    The Secretary of the Interior shall designate an official 
within the Office of Justice Services in the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
who shall--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) coordinate prevention efforts, grants, and 
        programs across offices within the Bureau of Indian Affairs and 
        with the Department of Justice related to the murder of, 
        trafficking of, and missing Indians, including the Office of 
        Justice Programs, the Office on Violence Against Women, the 
        Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, the Office of 
        Tribal Justice, and other agencies of the Federal 
        Government;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) in coordinating efforts, take into account the 
        unique challenges of combating crime, violence, and human 
        trafficking faced by tribal communities, tribal law 
        enforcement, Federal law enforcement, and State and local law 
        enforcement;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) work in cooperation with outside organizations 
        with expertise in working with Indian tribes to provide victim 
        centered and culturally relevant training to tribal law 
        enforcement, Indian Health Service health care providers, 
        tribal community members and businesses, on how to effectively 
        identify, respond to and report instances of violent crime 
        within Indian lands and of Indians; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) report directly to the Secretary of the 
        Interior.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR AND THE 
              DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE JOINT ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON 
              REDUCING VIOLENT CRIME AGAINST NATIVE PEOPLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (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 an advisory committee on violent crime within Indian lands 
and of Indians.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Membership.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Composition.--The Committee shall be composed 
        of members whose diverse experience and backgrounds enable them 
        to provide balanced points of view with regard to the duties of 
        the Committee.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Selection.--The Secretary of the Interior, in 
        coordination with the Attorney General, shall appoint the 
        members to the Committee, including representatives from--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) tribal law enforcement;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the Office of Justice Services of the 
                Bureau of Indian Affairs;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) State and local law enforcement in 
                close proximity to Indian lands, with a letter of 
                recommendation from a local tribal chair or tribal law 
                enforcement officer;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) the Federal Bureau of Investigation's 
                victim services division;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) the Department of Justice's Human 
                Trafficking Prosecution Unit;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (F) the Office of Native American Programs 
                of the Department of Housing and Urban 
                Development;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (G) the Family Violence Prevention and 
                Services Program of the Department of Health and Human 
                Services;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (H) a Federal public defender within 
                Indian lands with a letter of recommendation from a 
                local tribal chair or tribal law enforcement 
                officer;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (I) a tribal judge with experience in 
                cases related to missing persons, murder, trafficking, 
                or related cases;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (J) not fewer than 3 elected leaders of 
                federally recognized Indian tribes, including 1 elected 
                leader from a federally recognized Indian tribe located 
                in Alaska;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (K) 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;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (L) Indian advocacy organizations whose 
                primary clients are Indians, focused on violence 
                against women and children specifically in Indian 
                lands;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (M) at least 1 Indian survivor of human 
                trafficking;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (N) at least 1 family member of a missing 
                Indian person;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (O) at least 1 family member of a murdered 
                Indian person;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (P) the National Institute of Justice; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (Q) the Indian Health Service.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Periods of appointment.--Members shall be 
        appointed for the life of the Committee.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Committee shall 
        be filled in the manner in which the original appointment was 
        made and shall not affect the powers or duties of the 
        Committee.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) Compensation.--Committee members shall serve 
        without compensation.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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 Committee members when appropriate.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Duties.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Recommendations for the department of interior 
        and department of justice.--Not later than 18 months after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, the Committee shall make 
        recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior and Attorney 
        General on actions the departments can take to help combat 
        violent crime against Indians and within Indian lands, 
        including the development and implementation of--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) successful strategies for identifying, 
                reporting, and responding to instances of missing 
                persons, murder, and human trafficking in Indian lands 
                and of Indians;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) recommendations for 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 and murdered 
                Indian people and human trafficking in Indian lands and 
                of Indians;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) recommendations for tracking and 
                reporting data on instances of missing persons, murder, 
                and human trafficking in Indian lands and of 
                Indians;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) recommendations for addressing staff 
                shortages and open positions within relevant law 
                enforcement agencies, including issues related to the 
                hiring and retention of law enforcement officers; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) recommendations for coordinating 
                tribal, State, and Federal resources to increase 
                prosecution of violent crime, including murder and 
                human trafficking offenses and increase information 
                sharing with tribal governments on violent crime 
                investigations and prosecutions in Indian lands that 
                were terminated or declined.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Best practices and recommendations.--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--The Committee shall 
                develop recommended best practices for Indian tribes 
                and Federal, State, and local law enforcement officials 
                in close proximity to Indian lands to follow--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) in combatting violent crime, 
                        including missing persons, murder, and human 
                        trafficking within Indian lands and of Indians; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) to address any gaps in 
                        services for Indian victims of violent 
                        crime.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Development.--The best practices shall 
                be based on multidisciplinary and culturally relevant 
                research, evidence-based models and programs and should 
                consider the societal, economic, and other factors that 
                contribute to violent crime within Indian lands and of 
                Indians.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) Content.--The best practices shall be 
                user-friendly, culturally responsive in form and 
                delivery, and include the following:</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) Sample training 
                        materials.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) Sample guidelines and 
                        recommendations, including--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (I) strategies to collect, 
                                document, and share information across 
                                systems and agencies;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (II) strategies to help 
                                agencies better understand the types of 
                                violent crime, the prevalence of 
                                violent crime in Indian lands and of 
                                Indians, and the degree of victim and 
                                family interaction with multiple 
                                systems; and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (III) strategies to 
                                improve coordination between law 
                                enforcement, victim service providers, 
                                victim advocates, and Indian 
                                communities to utilize their positions 
                                and resources in educating critical 
                                stakeholder groups and assisting 
                                victims and families.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) Secretarial response.--The Attorney 
                General and the Secretary of the Interior shall submit 
                a written response to the recommendations developed by 
                the Committee to--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) the Committee;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) the Committee on the 
                        Judiciary of the Senate;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) the Committee on Indian 
                        Affairs of the Senate;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) the Committee on Natural 
                        Resources of the House of Representatives; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (v) the Committee on the Judiciary 
                        of the House of Representatives.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Reports.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Committee shall--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) submit a report on the action of the Committee 
        described in subsection (c) that includes the responses of the 
        Department of the Interior and the Department of Justice to the 
        recommendations of the Committee to--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the 
                Senate;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the Committee on Natural Resources of 
                the House of Representatives;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
                Senate; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
                House of Representatives; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) make the report under paragraph (1) publicly 
        available both in a hard copy and online.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (e) FACA Exemption.--The Committee shall be exempt from 
the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).</DELETED>

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.
                                                       Calendar No. 417

116th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                 S. 982

                          [Report No. 116-214]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

   To increase intergovernmental coordination to identify and combat 
           violent crime within Indian lands and of Indians.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           February 11, 2020

                       Reported with an amendment