[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