[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 34 (Monday, February 26, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H1233-H1234]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ASHLYNNE MIKE AMBER ALERT IN INDIAN COUNTRY ACT
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(S. 772) to amend the PROTECT Act to make Indian tribes eligible for
AMBER Alert grants, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 772
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 ``Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in
Indian Country Act''.
SEC. 2. AMBER ALERT GRANTS FOR INDIAN TRIBES.
Section 304 of the PROTECT Act (34 U.S.C. 20504) is
amended--
(1) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
``(a) Program Required.--The Attorney General shall carry
out a program to provide grants to States and Indian tribes
for--
``(1) the development or enhancement of programs and
activities for the support of AMBER Alert communications
plans; and
``(2) the integration of tribal AMBER Alert systems into
State AMBER Alert systems.'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5); and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
``(4) the integration of State or regional AMBER Alert
communication plans with an Indian tribe; and'';
(3) in subsection (c)--
(A) by striking ``The Federal'' and inserting the
following:
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
Federal''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Waiver of federal share.--If the Attorney General
determines that an Indian tribe does not have sufficient
funds available to comply with the Federal share requirement
under paragraph (1) for the cost of activities funded by a
grant for the purpose described in subsection (b)(4), the
Attorney General may increase the Federal share of the costs
for such activities to the extent the Attorney General
determines necessary.'';
(4) in subsection (e), by striking ``for grants under'' and
inserting ``and standards to improve accountability and
transparency for grants awarded under'';
(5) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g);
(6) by inserting after subsection (e) the following:
``(f) Definition of Indian Tribe.--In this section, the
term `Indian tribe' means a federally recognized Indian tribe
or a Native village, Regional Corporation, or Village
Corporation (as those terms are defined in section 3 of the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602)).''; and
(7) in subsection (g)(1), as so redesignated--
(A) by striking ``2004'' each place it appears and
inserting ``2019''; and
(B) by striking ``subsection (b)(3)'' and inserting
``paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection (b)''.
SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Attorney General shall submit a report evaluating
the readiness, education, and training needs, technological
challenges, and specific obstacles encountered by Indian
tribes in the integration of State or regional AMBER Alert
communication plans to--
(1) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate;
(2) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
(3) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives; and
(4) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arizona (Mr. Biggs) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona.
General Leave
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on S. 772, currently under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arizona?
There was no objection.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am honored to be a sponsor of the AMBER Alert in
Indian Country Act, in memory of the life of Ashlynne Mike.
I want to thank the House leadership and Chairman Goodlatte for
bringing this bill before the House for consideration.
Eleven-year-old Ashlynne lived in the Navajo Nation, the largest
Indian reservation in the United States, located in four States:
Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. Her favorite color was yellow,
and she enjoyed playing music for her friends and family. She was a
kindhearted young girl who had enormous potential.
After school on Monday, May 2, 2016, while Ashlynne and her 9-year-
old brother Ian waited and played near the local bus stop, a stranger
approached and lured them into his vehicle by offering them a ride
home.
He abducted the children and took them to a remote part of the
reservation, where he abused Ashlynne, slaughtered her, and left her
brother to fend for himself in the desert. Ashlynne died alone.
Ashlynne had been abducted around 4 p.m. Her father filed a missing
person report at 6:53 p.m., within 3 hours. Unfortunately, authorities
did not send an AMBER Alert until 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, almost 10 hours
after Ashlynne went missing.
According to law enforcement records, Tom Begay, Jr., Ashlynne's
perpetrator, admitted that Ashlynne was alive when he left her stranded
in the desert.
Mr. Speaker, had Indian Country been included as partners in the
AMBER Alert plans, law enforcement might have rescued Ashlynne in time.
She might still be alive and with us today.
When a child is abducted, action in those first hours is crucial to
their safe return. The AMBER Alert program has proven effective at
instantly providing information to the public to assist in the effort.
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children,
of the AMBER Alerts issued in 2016, 94 percent of the recovered
children were found within the first 72 hours, including 47 percent who
were found within the first 3 hours.
Between 1997 and February 2017, the AMBER Alert program has been
credited with the safe recovery of 868 children. AMBER Alerts save
lives.
Today, we have the opportunity to ensure all children may benefit
from the AMBER Alert program if necessary, no matter where they reside.
This bill will reauthorize the Department of Justice grant program
that assists State and local governments in developing and implementing
AMBER Alert communications plans. It will explicitly require the
Department of Justice to perform a needs assessment of AMBER Alert
capabilities on Indian reservations.
It will also, for the first time, require funds be used to integrate
Tribal AMBER Alert systems with those of neighboring jurisdictions to
ensure that AMBER Alerts reach as many people as swiftly as possible.
Mr. Speaker, I again thank House leadership and Chairman Goodlatte
for bringing this bill forward and acknowledging the importance of
filling a gap in our AMBER Alert system that might have prevented the
death of Ashlynne.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. If enacted,
this bill will help to build a truly national and cohesive network of
AMBER Alert.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 772, the AMBER Alert in
Indian Country Act. I strongly favor this important legislation because
it will provide Indian Tribes with the ability to respond quickly to
child abductions, thereby increasing the chances that we can avert
catastrophe.
Through the grant program reauthorized by S. 772, Tribal law
enforcement agencies would develop the capacity to immediately initiate
their own AMBER Alerts and allow Tribal alert systems to be integrated
with the more advanced AMBER Alert communications plans of State and
regional law enforcement.
The AMBER Alert program is a powerful tool that engages
geographically targeted networks of law enforcement, broadcast and
transparency agencies, digital signage companies, internet service
providers, and the wireless industry to issue urgent notifications in
[[Page H1234]]
the most serious cases of child abduction. Such alerts can instantly
galvanize an entire community in the search for an abducted and
endangered child.
From its inception through January of 2018, the AMBER Alert program
has directly led to the rescue of more than 900 children. Presently,
the AMBER Alert program is used in all 50 States, here in the District
of Columbia, in Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
AMBER Alert systems have evolved to utilize all available technology
in notifying the public of a child abduction. Native American Tribal
communities, however, are unable to take full advantage of this
lifesaving program. Currently, Tribal law enforcement must rely on
State or regional law enforcement agencies off-reservation to issue the
complete AMBER Alert on their behalf. This is unfortunate, and indeed
it is notable because the rate of child abduction is reportedly down
across the country with the sole exception of Indian Country.
As we all know, time is of the essence when a child is abducted or
goes missing. AMBER Alert plans provide comprehensive, rapid-response
system, which is critical to success in such cases. Statistics show
that roughly 74 percent of abducted children who are murdered are
killed within the first 3 hours of their abduction.
The time spent to coordinate with State or regional law enforcement
before issuing an AMBER Alert can be lengthy and can have a dire
consequence.
In 2003, the PROTECT Act established a grant program to be
administered by the attorney general for the States, with the goals of
strengthening AMBER Alert communications plans nationwide and
developing a seamless network through the Nation, which dramatically
increases the likelihood that abducted children will be recovered
swiftly and safely.
S. 772 would reauthorize $10 million for the program and would make
Indian Tribal communities eligible to receive grant funds for the very
first time. With this funding, Tribes will be able to develop and
implement AMBER Alert communications plans of their own, and also
integrate their AMBER Alert systems into and with State and regional
communications plans.
Awarded funds may also be used for education, training, and law
enforcement tools and equipment related to the AMBER Alert plans.
If enacted, this legislation will help build a truly national and
cohesive network of AMBER Alert systems. Tribal law enforcement will
have the ability to directly issue AMBER Alerts without having to rely
on outside law enforcement, while outside agencies will be available to
fill in any gaps when necessary through the improved coordination.
Mr. Speaker, accordingly, I encourage my colleagues to join us in
supporting this crucial piece of bipartisan legislation.
S. 772 was introduced in response to a fatal abduction that occurred
on the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. Eleven-year-old Ashlynne Mike was
kidnapped after school, along with her brother. Her brother escaped,
and, alas, she did not.
That case focused attention on gaps in communication and coordination
between Tribal and off-reservation law enforcement.
In the past, the Navajo Tribe has relied on New Mexico, Arizona, and
Utah to activate AMBER Alerts. Before an alert issued, Tribal officers
have been required to meet a list of requirements to establish a case.
If the criteria are met, the officers may only then begin the process
of requesting States to issue the AMBER Alert.
Based on several accounts of this case, the AMBER Alert was issued 10
or more hours after Ashlynne was abducted.
Her abductor confessed to brutalizing her and leaving her alive to
fend for herself in the desert. It was too late for Ashlynne when she
was found dead a day later.
Children are precious to us, and they deserve our protection wherever
they may live, either on reservations or off reservations.
Mr. Speaker, because we should do everything that we can to ensure
that appropriate resources are allocated to efforts to recover missing
or abducted children, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague from across the aisle. This
bill is truly a bipartisan effort, worked on by Members of both
parties. It is because of its importance.
The particular case that both of us have cited today does focus the
attention on the massive hole where there are more than 500 Indian
Tribes that do not have access to the AMBER Alert system. It is the
only part of this Nation and its territories that is not covered by the
AMBER Alert system. This will solve that problem.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Judiciary and
Homeland Security Committees and as founder and co-chair of the
Congressional Children's Caucus I rise in strong support of S. 772,
``AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act of 2017.''
This bill ensures that Native American tribes would be eligible for
Justice Department grants to establish AMBER Alert systems, authorizing
a $10 million grant program.
The bill would allow grants to cover costs associated with
integrating tribal AMBER Alert systems into state and regional plans to
ensure broader distribution of alerts involving Indian children.
This legislation provides crucial infrastructure to keep children and
adults safe in all of America, whether they live on a reservation or
not.
The Justice Department will be able to waive their 50 percent funds
matching cap if any Native American Tribe is not able to fully fund
their nonfederal share of the project.
Law enforcement agencies use the AMBER Alert system through radio,
television, phones, email, and road alerts to alert the public of child
abductions.
This system is responsible for the successful return of over 800
missing children.
The lack of coordination between tribal and state authorities, and
the resulting delays in broadcasting an AMBER Alert, were blamed for
the 2016 death of Ashlynne Mike, an 11-year-old Navajo girl.
More than 7,500 Native American children are listed as missing in the
United States. This legislation will reduce that number.
This legislation facilitates coordination between tribal and state
authorities, resulting in faster unification of families of abducted
children.
Mr. Speaker, this bill will make a difference and deserves the
overwhelming support of this body.
The sheer volume of abduction of love ones is enough to support this
legislation.
I urge all of my colleagues to join me in protecting our children and
those suffering from abuse by supporting S. 772.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, S. 772, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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