[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 11, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1708-S1709]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                             SAVANNA'S ACT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 407, S. 227.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 227) to direct the Attorney General to review, 
     revise, and develop law enforcement and justice protocols 
     appropriate to address missing and murdered Indians, and for 
     other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, 
which had been reported from the Committee on Indian Affairs, with an 
amendment to strike all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as ``Savanna's Act''.

     SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

       The purposes of this Act are--
       (1) to clarify the responsibilities of Federal, State, 
     Tribal, and local law enforcement agencies with respect to 
     responding to cases of missing or murdered Indians;
       (2) to increase coordination and communication among 
     Federal, State, Tribal, and local law enforcement agencies, 
     including medical examiner and coroner offices;
       (3) to empower Tribal governments with the resources and 
     information necessary to effectively respond to cases of 
     missing or murdered Indians; and
       (4) to increase the collection of data related to missing 
     or murdered Indian men, women, and children, regardless of 
     where they reside, and the sharing of information among 
     Federal, State, and Tribal officials responsible for 
     responding to and investigating cases of missing or murdered 
     Indians.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Confer.--The term ``confer'' has the meaning given the 
     term in section 514 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act 
     (25 U.S.C. 1660d).
       (2) Databases.--The term ``databases'' means--
       (A) the National Crime Information Center database;
       (B) the Combined DNA Index System;
       (C) the Next Generation Identification System; and
       (D) any other database relevant to responding to cases of 
     missing or murdered Indians, including that under the Violent 
     Criminal Apprehension Program and the National Missing and 
     Unidentified Persons System.
       (3) Indian.--The term ``Indian'' means a member of an 
     Indian Tribe.
       (4) Indian country.--The term ``Indian country'' has the 
     meaning given the term in section 1151 of title 18, United 
     States Code.
       (5) Indian land.--The term ``Indian land'' means Indian 
     lands, as defined in section 3 of the Native American 
     Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 
     2000 (25 U.S.C. 4302).
       (6) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the 
     meaning given the term ``Indian tribe'' in section 4 of the 
     Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 
     U.S.C. 5304).
       (7) Law enforcement agency.--The term ``law enforcement 
     agency'' means a Tribal, Federal, State, or local law 
     enforcement agency.

     SEC. 4. IMPROVING TRIBAL ACCESS TO DATABASES.

       (a) Tribal Enrollment Information.--The Attorney General 
     shall provide training to law enforcement agencies regarding 
     how to record the Tribal enrollment information or 
     affiliation, as appropriate, of a victim in Federal 
     databases.
       (b) Consultation.--
       (1) Consultation.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in 
     cooperation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall 
     complete a formal consultation with Indian Tribes on how to 
     further improve Tribal data relevance and access to 
     databases.
       (2) Initial confer.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in 
     coordination with the Secretary of the Interior, shall confer 
     with Tribal organizations and urban Indian organizations on 
     how to further improve American Indian and Alaska Native data 
     relevance and access to databases.
       (3) Annual consultation.--Section 903(b) of the Violence 
     Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act 
     of 2005 (34 U.S.C. 20126) is amended--
       (A) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
       ``(2) enhancing the safety of Indian women from domestic 
     violence, dating violence, sexual assault, homicide, 
     stalking, and sex trafficking;'';
       (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(4) improving access to local, regional, State, and 
     Federal crime information databases and criminal justice 
     information systems.''.
       (c) Notification.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall--
       (1) develop and implement a dissemination strategy to 
     educate the public of the National Missing and Unidentified 
     Persons System; and
       (2) conduct specific outreach to Indian Tribes, Tribal 
     organizations, and urban Indian organizations regarding the 
     ability to publicly enter information, through the National 
     Missing and Unidentified Persons System or other non-law 
     enforcement sensitive portal, regarding missing persons, 
     which may include family members and other known 
     acquaintances.

     SEC. 5. GUIDELINES FOR RESPONDING TO CASES OF MISSING OR 
                   MURDERED INDIANS.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after the date on 
     which the consultation described in section 4(b)(1) is 
     completed, the Attorney General shall direct United States 
     attorneys to develop regionally appropriate guidelines to 
     respond to cases of missing or murdered Indians that shall 
     include--
       (1) guidelines on inter-jurisdictional cooperation among 
     law enforcement agencies at the Tribal, Federal, State, and 
     local levels, including inter-jurisdictional enforcement of 
     protection orders and detailing specific responsibilities of 
     each law enforcement agency;
       (2) best practices in conducting searches for missing 
     persons on and off Indian land;
       (3) standards on the collection, reporting, and analysis of 
     data and information on missing persons and unidentified 
     human remains, and information on culturally appropriate 
     identification and handling of human remains identified as 
     Indian, including guidance stating that all appropriate 
     information related to missing or murdered Indians be entered 
     in a timely manner into applicable databases;
       (4) guidance on which law enforcement agency is responsible 
     for inputting information into appropriate databases under 
     paragraph (3) if the Tribal law enforcement agency does not 
     have access to those appropriate databases;
       (5) guidelines on improving law enforcement agency response 
     rates and follow-up responses to cases of missing or murdered 
     Indians; and
       (6) guidelines on ensuring access to culturally appropriate 
     victim services for victims and their families.
       (b) Consultation.--United States attorneys shall develop 
     the guidelines required under subsection (a) in consultation 
     with Indian Tribes and other relevant partners, including--
       (1) the Department of Justice;
       (2) the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
       (3) the Department of the Interior;
       (4) the Bureau of Indian Affairs;
       (5) Tribal, State, and local law enforcement agencies;
       (6) medical examiners;
       (7) coroners;
       (8) Tribal, State, and local organizations that provide 
     victim services; and
       (9) national, regional, or urban Indian organizations with 
     relevant expertise.
       (c) Compliance.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the United States attorneys shall 
     implement, by incorporating into office policies and 
     procedures, the guidelines developed under subsection (a).
       (2) Modification.--Each Federal law enforcement agency 
     shall modify the guidelines, policies, and protocols of the 
     agency to incorporate the guidelines developed under 
     subsection (a).
       (3) Determination.--Not later than the end of each fiscal 
     year beginning after the date the guidelines are established 
     under this section and incorporated under this subsection, 
     upon the request of a Tribal, State, or local law enforcement 
     agency, the Attorney General shall determine whether the 
     Tribal, State, or local law enforcement agency seeking 
     recognition of compliance has incorporated guidelines into 
     their respective guidelines, policies, and protocols.
       (d) Accountability.--Not later than 30 days after 
     compliance determinations are made each fiscal year in 
     accordance with subsection (c)(3), the Attorney General 
     shall--
       (1) disclose and publish, including on the website of the 
     Department of Justice, the name of each Tribal, State, or 
     local law enforcement agency that the Attorney General has 
     determined has incorporated guidelines in accordance with 
     subsection (c)(3);
       (2) disclose and publish, including on the website of the 
     Department of Justice, the name of each Tribal, State, or 
     local law enforcement agency that has requested a 
     determination in accordance with subsection (c)(3) that is 
     pending;
       (3) collect the guidelines into a resource of examples and 
     best practices that can be used by other law enforcement 
     agencies seeking to create and implement such guidelines.
       (e) Training and Technical Assistance.--The Attorney 
     General shall use the National Indian Country Training 
     Initiative to provide training and technical assistance to 
     Indian Tribes and law enforcement agencies on--
       (1) implementing the guidelines developed under subsection 
     (a) or developing and implementing locally specific 
     guidelines or protocols for responding to cases of missing or 
     murdered Indians; and
       (2) using the National Missing and Unidentified Persons 
     System and accessing program services that will assist Indian 
     Tribes with responding to cases of missing or murdered 
     Indians.
       (f) Guidelines From Indian Tribes.--
       (1) In general.--Indian Tribes may submit their own 
     guidelines to respond to cases of missing or murdered Indians 
     to the Attorney General.
       (2) Publication.--Upon receipt of any guidelines from an 
     Indian Tribe, the Attorney General shall publish the 
     guidelines on the website of the Department of Justice in 1 
     centralized location to make the guidelines available as a 
     resource to any Federal agency, State, or Tribal government.

     SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

       (a) Annual Reporting.--Beginning in the first fiscal year 
     after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 
     shall include in its annual Indian Country Investigations and 
     Prosecutions report to Congress information that--
       (1) includes known statistics on missing Indians in the 
     United States, available to the Department of Justice, 
     including--

[[Page S1709]]

       (A) age;
       (B) gender;
       (C) Tribal enrollment information or affiliation, if 
     available;
       (D) the current number of open cases per State;
       (E) the total number of closed cases per State each 
     calendar year, from the most recent 10 calendar years; and
       (F) other relevant information the Attorney General 
     determines is appropriate;
       (2) includes known statistics on murdered Indians in the 
     United States, available to the Department of Justice, 
     including--
       (A) age;
       (B) gender;
       (C) Tribal enrollment information or affiliation, if 
     available;
       (D) the current number of open cases per State;
       (E) the total number of closed cases per State each 
     calendar year, from the most recent 10 calendar years; and
       (F) other relevant information the Attorney General 
     determines is appropriate;
       (3) maintains victim privacy to the greatest extent 
     possible by excluding information that can be used on its own 
     or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a 
     single person, or to identify an individual in context; and
       (4) includes--
       (A) an explanation of why the statistics described in 
     paragraph (1) may not be comprehensive; and
       (B) recommendations on how data collection on missing or 
     murdered Indians may be improved.
       (b) Compliance.--
       (1) In general.--Beginning in the first fiscal year after 
     the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 
     for the purpose of compiling accurate data for the annual 
     report required under subsection (a), the Attorney General 
     shall request all Tribal, State, and local law enforcement 
     agencies to submit to the Department of Justice, to the 
     fullest extent possible, all relevant information pertaining 
     to missing or murdered Indians collected by the Tribal, 
     State, and local law enforcement agency, and in a format 
     provided by the Department of Justice that ensures the 
     streamlining of data reporting.
       (2) Disclosure.--The Attorney General shall disclose and 
     publish annually, including on the website of the Department 
     of Justice, the name of each Tribal, State, or local law 
     enforcement agency that the Attorney General has determined 
     has submitted the information requested under paragraph (1) 
     for the fiscal year in which the report was published.
       (c) Inclusion of Gender in Missing and Unidentified Persons 
     Statistics.--Beginning in the first calendar year after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
     Federal Bureau of Investigation shall include gender in its 
     annual statistics on missing and unidentified persons 
     published on its public website.

     SEC. 7. IMPLEMENTATION AND INCENTIVE.

       (a) Grant Authority.--Section 2101(b) of the Omnibus Crime 
     Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10461(b)) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(23) To develop, strengthen, and implement policies, 
     protocols, and training for law enforcement regarding cases 
     of missing or murdered Indians, as described in section 5 of 
     Savanna's Act.
       ``(24) To compile and annually report data to the Attorney 
     General related to missing or murdered Indians, as described 
     in section 6 of Savanna's Act.''.
       (b) Grants to Indian Tribal Governments.--Section 2015 of 
     the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 
     U.S.C. 10452(a)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (9), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (2) in paragraph (10), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting a semicolon; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(11) develop, strengthen, and implement policies, 
     protocols, and training for law enforcement regarding cases 
     of missing or murdered Indians, as described in section 5 of 
     Savanna's Act; and
       ``(12) compile and annually report data to the Attorney 
     General related to missing or murdered Indians, as described 
     in section 6 of Savanna's Act.''.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported 
substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered 
read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be 
considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee-reported amendment in the nature of a substitute was 
agreed to.
  The bill (S. 227), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a 
third reading, was read the third time and passed.

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