[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 82 (Wednesday, May 12, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H2222-H2225]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  NATIVE AMERICAN CHILD PROTECTION ACT

  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1688) to amend the Indian Child Protection and Family 
Violence Prevention Act.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1688

       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 ``Native American Child 
     Protection Act''.

     SEC. 2. INDIAN CHILD PROTECTION AND FAMILY VIOLENCE 
                   PREVENTION ACT AMENDMENTS.

       The Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention 
     Act (25 U.S.C. 3202 et seq.) is amended as follows:
       (1) By amending section 403(3)(A) (25 U.S.C. 3202(3)(A)) to 
     read as follows:
       ``(A) in any case in which--
       ``(i)(I) a child is dead or exhibits evidence of skin 
     bruising, bleeding, malnutrition, failure to thrive, burns, 
     fracture of any bone, subdural hematoma, soft tissue 
     swelling; and
       ``(II) such condition is not justifiably explained or may 
     not be the product of an accidental occurrence; or
       ``(ii) a child is subjected to sexual assault, sexual 
     molestation, sexual exploitation, sexual contact, or 
     prostitution;''.
       (2) In section 409 (25 U.S.C. 3208)--
       (A) in subsection (a)--
       (i) by striking ``The Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services, acting through the Service and in cooperation with 
     the Bureau'' and inserting ``The Service, in cooperation with 
     the Bureau''; and
       (ii) by striking ``sexual abuse'' and inserting ``abuse or 
     neglect'';
       (B) in subsection (b) through the end of the section, by 
     striking ``Secretary of Health and Human Services'' each 
     place it appears and inserting ``Service'';
       (C) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting after ``Any Indian 
     tribe or intertribal consortium'' the following: ``, on its 
     own or in partnership with an urban Indian organization,'';
       (D) in subsections (b)(2)(B) and (d), by striking ``such 
     Secretary'' each place it appears and inserting ``the 
     Service'';
       (E) by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
       ``(c) Culturally Appropriate Treatment.--In awarding grants 
     under this section, the Service shall encourage the use of 
     culturally appropriate treatment services and programs that 
     respond to the unique cultural values, customs, and 
     traditions of applicant Indian Tribes.'';
       (F) in subsection (d)(2), by striking ``the Secretary'' and 
     inserting ``the Service'';

[[Page H2223]]

       (G) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f);
       (H) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
       ``(e) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
     enactment of the Native American Child Protection Act, the 
     Service shall submit a report to Congress on the award of 
     grants under this section. The report shall contain--
       ``(1) a description of treatment and services for which 
     grantees have used funds awarded under this section; and
       ``(2) any other information that the Service requires.''; 
     and
       (I) by amending subsection (f) (as so redesignated by 
     subparagraph (G) of this paragraph), to read as follows:
       ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
     $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2027.''.
       (3) In section 410 (25 U.S.C. 3209)--
       (A) in the heading--
       (i) by inserting ``national'' before ``indian''; and
       (ii) by striking ``centers'' and inserting ``center'';
       (B) by amending subsections (a) and (b) to read as follows:
       ``(a) Establishment.--Not later than one year after the 
     date of the enactment of the Native American Child Protection 
     Act, the Secretary shall establish a National Indian Child 
     Resource and Family Services Center.
       ``(b) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
     enactment of the Native American Child Protection Act, the 
     Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of 
     Indian Affairs, shall submit a report to Congress on the 
     status of the National Indian Child Resource and Family 
     Services Center.'';
       (C) in subsection (c)--
       (i) by striking ``Each'' and inserting ``The''; and
       (ii) by striking ``multidisciplinary'';
       (D) in subsection (d)--
       (i) in the text before paragraph (1), by striking ``Each'' 
     and inserting ``The'';
       (ii) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and inter-tribal 
     consortia'' and inserting ``inter-tribal consortia, and urban 
     Indian organizations'';
       (iii) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``urban Indian 
     organizations,'' after ``tribal organizations,'';
       (iv) in paragraph (3)--

       (I) by inserting ``and technical assistance'' after 
     training; and
       (II) by striking ``and to tribal organizations'' and 
     inserting ``, Tribal organizations, and urban Indian 
     organizations'';

       (v) in paragraph (4)--

       (I) by inserting ``, State,'' after ``Federal''; and
       (II) by striking ``and tribal'' and inserting ``Tribal, and 
     urban Indian''; and

       (vi) by amending paragraph (5) to read as follows:
       ``(5) develop model intergovernmental agreements between 
     Tribes and States, and other materials that provide examples 
     of how Federal, State, and Tribal governments can develop 
     effective relationships and provide for maximum cooperation 
     in the furtherance of prevention, investigation, treatment, 
     and prosecution of incidents of family violence and child 
     abuse and child neglect involving Indian children and 
     families.''; and
       (E) in subsection (e)--
       (i) in the heading, by striking ``Multidisciplinary Team'' 
     and inserting ``Team'';
       (ii) in the text before paragraph (1), by striking ``Each 
     multidisciplinary'' and inserting ``The''; and
       (F) by amending subsections (f), (g), and (h) to read as 
     follows:
       ``(f) Center Advisory Board.--The Secretary shall establish 
     an advisory board to advise and assist the National Indian 
     Child Resource and Family Services Center in carrying out its 
     activities under this section. The advisory board shall 
     consist of 12 members appointed by the Secretary from Indian 
     Tribes, Tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations 
     with expertise in child abuse and child neglect. Members 
     shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for 
     travel and other expenses while carrying out the duties of 
     the board. The advisory board shall assist the Center in 
     coordinating programs, identifying training and technical 
     assistance materials, and developing intergovernmental 
     agreements relating to family violence, child abuse, and 
     child neglect.
       ``(g) Application of Indian Self-Determination Act to the 
     Center.--The National Indian Child Resource and Family 
     Services Center shall be subject to the provisions of the 
     Indian Self-Determination Act. The Secretary may also 
     contract for the operation of the Center with a nonprofit 
     Indian organization governed by an Indian-controlled board of 
     directors that have substantial experience in child abuse, 
     child neglect, and family violence involving Indian children 
     and families.
       ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
     $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2027.''.
       (4) In section 411 (25 U.S.C. 3210)--
       (A) in subsection (d)--
       (i) in paragraph (1)--

       (I) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``abuse and child 
     neglect'' and inserting ``abuse, neglect, or both'';
       (II) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the end; 
     and
       (III) by inserting after subparagraph (C), the following:

       ``(D) development of agreements between Tribes, States, or 
     private agencies on the coordination of child abuse and 
     neglect prevention, investigation, and treatment services;
       ``(E) child protective services operational costs including 
     transportation, risk and protective factors assessments, 
     family engagement and kinship navigator services, and 
     relative searches, criminal background checks for prospective 
     placements, and home studies; and
       ``(F) development of a Tribal child protection or 
     multidisciplinary team to assist in the prevention and 
     investigation of child abuse and neglect;'';
       (ii) in paragraph (2)--

       (I) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``in culturally 
     appropriate ways'' after ``incidents of family violence''; 
     and
       (II) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``that may include 
     culturally appropriate programs'' after ``training 
     programs''; and

       (iii) in paragraph (3)--

       (I) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``and neglect'' after 
     ``abuse''; and
       (II) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``cases, to the 
     extent practicable,'' and inserting ``and neglect cases'';

       (B) in subsection (f)--
       (i) in paragraph (2), by striking ``develop, in 
     consultation with Indian tribes, appropriate caseload 
     standards and staffing requirements which are comparable to 
     standards developed by the National Association of Social 
     Work, the Child Welfare League of America and other 
     professional associations in the field of social work and 
     child welfare'' and inserting ``develop, not later than one 
     year after the date of the enactment of the Native American 
     Child Protection Act, in consultation with Indian Tribes, 
     appropriate caseload standards and staffing requirements'';
       (ii) in paragraph (3)(D), by striking ``sexual abuse'' and 
     inserting ``abuse and neglect, high incidence of family 
     violence'';
       (iii) by amending paragraph (4) to read as follows:
       ``(4) The formula established pursuant to this subsection 
     shall provide funding necessary to support not less than one 
     child protective services or family violence caseworker, 
     including fringe benefits and support costs, for each Indian 
     Tribe.''; and
       (iv) in paragraph (5), by striking ``tribes'' and inserting 
     ``Indian Tribes'';
       (C) by amending subsection (g) to read as follows:
       ``(g) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
     enactment of the Native American Child Protection Act, the 
     Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of 
     Indian Affairs, shall submit a report to Congress on the 
     award of grants under this section. The report shall 
     contain--
       ``(1) a description of treatment and services for which 
     grantees have used funds awarded under this section; and
       ``(2) any other information that the Secretary of the 
     Interior requires.''; and
       (D) by amending subsection (i) to read as follows:
       ``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
     $60,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2027.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Soto) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 1688, introduced by Representative Ruben Gallego 
from Arizona, our outgoing subcommittee chairman--and I appreciate his 
leadership on that--amends and reauthorizes several programs within the 
Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act in order to 
improve the prevention, investigation, treatment, and prosecution of 
family violence, child abuse, and child neglect involving Native 
American children and families.
  There is an enormous need for family violence prevention and 
treatment resources in Tribal communities. Native children experience 
child abuse and neglect at an elevated rate, which leads many to 
require special education services, to be more likely to be involved in 
the juvenile and criminal justice systems, and to have long-term mental 
health needs.
  Passage of H.R. 1688 will create technical assistance programs in the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, allow for urban Indian organizations to 
partner with

[[Page H2224]]

Tribal governments, and ensure culturally competent care.
  I thank Representative Gallego for introducing and championing this 
vitally important legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 
1688.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 1688 amends the Indian Child Protection and 
Family Violence Prevention Act to reauthorize three programs 
administered by the Department of Health and Human Services and the 
Department of the Interior that are intended to prevent cases within 
Indian communities where child abuse, neglect, family violence, and 
trauma may occur and to provide treatment for victims of Indian child 
sexual abuse.
  The authorization for appropriations for the three programs expired 
in 1997. The bill also makes several technical changes to the 
underlying statute, requiring agencies to report on grant awards.
  Advocates cite the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence 
Prevention Act as the only federally dedicated child abuse prevention 
and victim treatment funding for Tribal governments, but Congress has 
only appropriated approximately $5 million for this program.
  I appreciate the sponsor bringing attention to this important issue 
as abuse, neglect, and violence have no place in any community.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Gallego).
  Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 
1688, the Native American Child Protection Act.
  I first want to thank my friend and the dean of the House, 
Congressman   Don Young, for working with me on this bill to ensure 
Native American and Alaska Native Tribes have the resources they need 
to keep Native children safe from abuse and neglect.
  Last week, I joined my colleagues in recognizing the National Day of 
Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
  When I was chairman of the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the 
United States last Congress, I held the first-ever House committee 
hearing on MMIW, which paved the way for critical bills like the Not 
Invisible Act and Savanna's Act.
  At that hearing, we learned that, in addition to experiencing 
incredibly high murder rates, one in three Native women experience 
domestic violence in their lives. That statistic is even more 
horrifying when we recognize that, in 49 to 70 percent of cases, men 
who abuse their partners also abuse their children.
  Despite this fact, Tribes have never received the resources they need 
to address child abuse and neglect in their communities. My bill 
changes that.
  My bill will improve the prevention, treatment, investigation, and 
prosecution of child abuse and neglect in Indian Country by ensuring 
Tribes have the resources they need to take care of Native children in 
culturally competent ways. It does so by modernizing and reauthorizing 
three programs originally passed as part of the Indian Child Protection 
and Family Violence Prevention Act.
  The Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act became 
law in 1990, after being authored by the late Arizona Senator John 
McCain in response to widespread reports that Native children were 
being physically and sexually abused in BIA-run boarding schools in the 
1980s.
  The original purpose of the law was to identify the scope of the 
underreported child abuse in Indian Country, fill gaps in Tribal child 
welfare services, improve coordination between child welfare and 
domestic violence programs, and provide funds for treatment in Indian 
Country.
  But the horrible truth is that the grant programs created by this law 
in 1990 were never funded, never enacted, and were allowed to expire in 
1997. My bill revives the three grant programs from the original act 
that are still sorely needed in Indian Country because the problems 
identified by Congress in 1990 still exist today.
  Specifically, my bill does: one, provides Tribes with more funding 
for culturally competent child abuse treatment; two, allows Tribes to 
choose to partner with urban Indian organizations or Tribal consortiums 
to identify and treat victims of abuse; three, creates a national child 
resource and family services center to provide technical assistance and 
support to Tribes in maintaining child welfare programs; four, 
authorizes enough funds for every Tribe to hire at least one child 
welfare case manager to help investigate and prosecute instances of 
abuse; and, five, authorizes the only Tribal-specific grant program 
aimed at preventing child abuse in Indian Country.

  A core part of the Federal Government's trust responsibility is 
protecting the most vulnerable members of indigenous communities, 
Native children. Right now, we are failing in that responsibility.
  Passing this bill today allows us to take an important step forward 
in protecting Native children and upholding our trust responsibility to 
Tribes.
  I am proud of the strong bipartisan support this legislation received 
in the Natural Resources Committee last year when it passed and when it 
passed by a voice vote in the House. I urge all of my colleagues in the 
House to join me once again in supporting this important piece of 
legislation.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), the dean of the House and a true 
expert on Tribal issues.
  Mr. YOUNG. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for the compliment. I 
have been called a lot of things on this floor, including dean.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation. I thank 
my friend, Representative Gallego, for introducing it.
  This is a good bill. It improves a bill which I passed 30 years ago, 
and it is long overdue to make sure that it is running right.
  As has been said, it establishes a new National Indian Resource 
Services Center, which was created over 30 years ago. We are 
reauthorizing these programs, making sure they work.
  It is badly needed because of actions across the country with 
indigenous people. We hope the victims will have better service than 
they have in the past.
  I congratulate the author of the legislation. I am a sponsor of the 
legislation also. This is a good bill, and I urge the passage of this 
bill.
  All of my colleagues who understand, let's do the job we were told to 
do when we became trustees of the indigenous people of this great 
Nation of ours.
  Again, I thank the chairman, the author of the legislation, and the 
ranking member for all the work they have done.
  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I urge support of this bill, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  We had extensive hearings on these issues in the Subcommittee for 
Indigenous Peoples of the United States, and it became clear we needed 
resources and technical assistance to protect Native American children 
and families in addition to what they are getting now.
  I thank our outgoing chair, Mr. Gallego, for his leadership on this; 
the dean of the House, Representative   Don Young, for his amazing 
leadership in working together; former Member Cook, who participated in 
these meetings extensively; as well as now-Secretary Deb Haaland, one 
of the first Native American women to serve in the Congress. I thank 
Ranking Member Westerman for helping us get this done in a bipartisan 
fashion.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Soto) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 1688.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

[[Page H2225]]

  

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