[Senate Report 116-206]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 407

116th Congress  }                                           {  Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session     }                                           {  116-206

======================================================================

 
   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

                                _______
                                

                January 15, 2020.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

           Mr. Hoeven, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 227]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the 
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, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and recommends 
the bill, as amended, do pass.

                              PURPOSE

    This bill is intended to improve law enforcement efforts to 
address cases involving missing or murdered Native Americans by 
(1) improving tribal access to Federal criminal databases; (2) 
requiring data collection and reports to Congress; and, (3) 
directing the Attorney General to review, revise, and develop 
law enforcement and justice guidelines with greater input from 
Tribal, state, and local governments.

                               BACKGROUND

    The bill, S. 227, is named for Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, 
a 22-year old member of the Spirit Lake Tribe of North Dakota 
who disappeared from her home near Fargo, North Dakota, on 
August 19, 2017. Eight days later, her body was found wrapped 
in plastic in the Red River. While Savanna's tragic death 
became widespread news, many other Native Americans go missing 
or are murdered each year. Yet the Department of Justice and 
the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Office of Justice Services 
testified before the Committee that many of those cases go 
unreported or unresolved.\1\
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    \1\Missing & Murdered: Confronting the Silent Crisis in Indian 
Country: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on Indian Affairs, 115th Cong. 
(2018) (statements of Dir. Gerald LaPorte, Office of Investigative & 
Forensic Sciences, Nat'l Inst. of Justice, U.S. Dep't of Justice, and 
Dir. Charles Addington, Office of Justice Services, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, U.S. Dep't of the Interior).
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                          NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Information on the number of missing Native Americans in 
the United States is limited. A 2016 report from Department of 
Justice reveals that violence against American Indians and 
Alaska Natives is higher than other racial and ethnic 
groups.\2\ According to that report, more than four in five 
American Indian and Alaska Native women and men experience 
violence in their lifetimes. American Indian and Alaska Native 
women are also two times more likely than other groups to 
experience rape or sexual assault, and two and a half times 
more likely than others to experience violent crimes in their 
lifetimes. Tribal and Administration witnesses testified before 
the Committee that increased coordination and communication 
between Federal, State, Tribal, and local law enforcement 
agencies, as outlined in S. 227, will improve the response to 
cases of missing or murdered American Indian and Alaska 
Natives.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ Andre B. Rosay, Nat'l Inst. Of Justice, U.S. Dep't of Justice, 
Violence Against American Indian And Alaska Native Women And Men 2010 
Findings From The National Intimate Partner And Sexual Violence Survey 
(2016).
    \3\Hearing on S. 1870, S. 1953, and S. 1942 Before the S. Comm. on 
Indian Affairs, 115th Cong. 1 (2017); Missing & Murdered: Confronting 
the Silent Crisis in Indian Country: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on 
Indian Affairs, 115th Cong. 2 (2018); Hearing on S. 227, S. 228, S. 
290, S. 982, and S. 1853 Before the S. Comm. on Indian Affairs, 116th 
Cong. 1 (2019).
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                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    On January 25, 2019, Senators Murkowski, Cortez Masto, 
Cantwell, Sullivan, Coons, Cramer, Udall, Tester, Heinrich, 
Tester, Tillis, Merkley, and Hoeven introduced S. 227. The 
Senate referred the bill to the Committee on Indian Affairs. 
Senators Capito, Daines, Wyden, Gillibrand, Smith, Murray, 
Klobuchar, Rosen, Harris, Schatz, McSally, Sinema, Baldwin, 
Risch, Crapo, Warren, and Sanders joined the bill as co-
sponsors at various points after its referral.
    On June 19, 2019, the Committee held a legislative hearing 
on the bill where the following witnesses testified in support 
of the bill:
     Mr. Tracy Toulou, Director, Office of Tribal 
Justice, U.S. Department of Justice;
     The Honorable Michelle Demmert, Chief Justice, 
Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska; and
     The Honorable Lynn Malerba, Secretary, United 
South & Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund.
    On November 20, 2019, the Committee held a duly called 
business meeting to consider two bills, including S. 227. Based 
on comments and technical assistance received from the 
Administration, hearing witnesses, tribal organizations, and 
other stakeholders, Senator Murkowski filed a timely amendment 
in the nature of a substitute for Committee consideration, co-
sponsored by Senator Cortez Masto. At the business meeting, the 
Committee passed the amendment in the nature of a substitute by 
voice vote and the bill, as amended, by a roll call vote of 12-
0, with 1 not voting. The Committee ordered S. 227, as amended, 
reported favorably.
    Representatives Torres, Haaland, Newhouse, Gallego, Davids, 
Gianforte, Cole, Armstrong, McCollum, Mullin, Young, Kuster, 
Bass, Maloney, Bonamici, Moore, Ruiz, DelBene, Stanton, Cook, 
and Sewell introduced a House companion bill, H.R. 2733, on May 
14, 2019. The bill was jointly referred to the House of 
Representatives Committees on Judiciary and the Natural 
Resources. The Committee on Natural Resources referred the bill 
to the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States 
on June 3, 2019, and the Committee on the Judiciary referred 
the bill to its Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland 
Security on June 26, 2019. After its introduction, 
Representatives McNerney, DeFazio, Kilmer, LaMalfa, Johnson of 
South Dakota, Radewagen, Stewart, Torres Small, Calvert, Bacon, 
O'Halleran, Lujan, Gonzalez, Herrera Beutler, Blunt Rochester, 
Fulcher, Cox, Peterson, Simpson, and Stauber joined the bill as 
co-sponsors. No further action has been taken on H.R. 2733.
    During the 115th Congress, Senators Heitkamp, Tester, 
Franken, Heinrich, Merkley, and Warren introduced a predecessor 
bill, S. 1942 on October 5, 2017. Senators Cantwell, Collins, 
Cortez Masto, Gillibrand, Klobuchar, Murkowski, Murray, Schatz, 
Smith, Tillis, Udall, and Wyden also co-sponsored this bill 
after its introduction.
    On October 25, 2017, the Committee held a legislative 
hearing on the bill. At this hearing, the Honorable R. Trent 
Shores, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma, 
U.S. Department of Justice, testified in support of the goals 
of S. 1942. The Honorable Dave Flute, Chairman, Sisseton 
Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation, and Ms. Carmen 
O'Leary, Director, Native Women's Society of the Great Plains, 
both testified in support of S. 1942.
    On November 14, 2018, the Committee held a duly called 
business meeting to consider S. 1942. Senator Heitkamp 
submitted a timely amendment in the nature of a substitute for 
consideration. The amendment incorporated changes based on 
testimony received at the legislative hearing and comments 
provided by Tribes, tribal organizations, and stakeholders. The 
Committee passed both the amendment in the nature of a 
substitute and S. 1942, as amended. The Committee ordered the 
bill, as amended, reported favorably by voice vote. The Senate 
passed S. 1942 on December 6, 2018. The bill was sent to the 
House and held at the desk. However, no further action was 
taken on S. 1942.
    On November 29, 2017, Representatives Torres, Cole, 
Grijalva, Hanabusa, Jayapal, Khanna, Moore, Amata, and 
Radewagen introduced a companion bill, H.R. 4485, in the House 
of Representatives. The House of Representatives jointly 
referred H.R. 4485 to the Committees on Judiciary and Natural 
Resources. The Committee on the Judiciary then referred the 
bill to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security 
and Investigations, and the Committee on Natural Resources 
referred the bill to the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular, and 
Alaska Native Affairs. Seventeen additional Representatives 
joined the bill as co-sponsors after its introduction. However, 
no further action was taken on H.R. 4485.

                       SUMMARY OF THE BILL

    Savanna's Act will require the Department of Justice to--
     review, revise, and develop law enforcement and 
justice protocols to address cases of missing or murdered 
Native Americans;
     train law enforcement on how to record the tribal 
enrollment information of victims in Federal databases;
     consult with Indian Tribes on how to improve 
relevance of data in and tribal access to Federal criminal 
databases for cases of missing or murdered Native Americans;
     develop and implement a strategy to notify 
citizens of the National Missing and Unidentified Persons 
System;
     create standardized, regionally-appropriate 
guidelines for responding to cases of missing or murdered 
Native Americans that are developed in consultation with Indian 
Tribes and that include guidance on inter-jurisdictional 
cooperation among Indian Tribes and Federal, State, and local 
law enforcement agencies; and
     include data on missing or murdered Native 
Americans and recommendations on how to improve data collection 
in an annual report to Congress.

           SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF S. 227, AS AMENDED

Section 1. Short title

    This section provides the short title for S. 227 to be 
cited as ``Savanna's Act.''

Section 2. Purposes

    This section states the purposes of Savanna's Act, which 
are to:
     clarify the responsibilities of Federal, State, 
Tribal, and local law enforcement agencies;
     increase coordination and communication among law 
enforcement;
     empower tribal governments with the resources and 
information necessary to respond to cases of missing or 
murdered Indians; and
     increase the collection of data related to missing 
and murdered Indians.

Section 3. Definitions

    This section provides for definitions used throughout the 
bill.

Section 4. Improving tribal access to databases

    This section requires the Attorney General to--
     provide training to law enforcement agencies 
regarding how to record the tribal enrollment information or 
affiliation of victims in Federal databases;
     complete formal consultation with Indian Tribes 
and confer with tribal organizations and urban Indian 
organizations within 180 days of enactment of Savanna's Act on 
how to further improve tribal data relevance and access to 
databases;
     incorporate additional topics into annual 
consultations with Indian Tribes required by the Violence 
Against Women Act and develop and implement a strategy to 
educate the public about the National Missing and Unidentified 
Persons System; and
     conduct outreach to Indian Tribes, tribal 
organizations, and urban Indian organizations on the National 
Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

Section 5. Guidelines for responding to cases of missing and murdered 
        indians

    This section requires the Attorney General to--
     direct United States Attorneys to develop, in 
consultation with Indian Tribes and relevant partners, 
regionally appropriate guidelines to respond to cases of 
murdered and missing Indians, including:
           guidelines on--
                  D inter-jurisdictional cooperation among law 
                enforcement agencies (LEA);
                  D the input of information related to missing 
                or murdered Indians in a timely manner into 
                applicable databases;
                  D the appropriate LEA responsible for 
                inputting information into databases, 
                guidelines on improving LEA response rates, and 
                follow-up to cases of missing and murdered 
                Indians; and
                  D ensuring access to culturally appropriate 
                victim services;
           best practices in conducting searches 
        for missing persons; and
           standards on the collection, reporting, 
        and analysis of data and information on--
                  D missing persons and unidentified human 
                remains, and
                  D culturally appropriate identification and 
                handling of human remains identified as Indian; 
                and
     list publicly the LEA that incorporate the 
guidelines and collect the implemented guidelines as a resource 
for best practices that can be used by other LEAs.
    This section also allows Indian Tribes to submit their own 
guidelines to respond to cases of missing or murdered Indians 
to the Attorney General. The Attorney General would collect and 
publish these guidelines in one centralized location as a 
resource for any Federal agency, State or Tribal government.

Section 6. Annual reporting requirements

    This section requires the Attorney General to--
     collect and make public annual data on missing and 
murdered Indians in the United States in its Indian Country 
Investigations and Prosecutions report to Congress; and
     list publicly the LEAs that have provided such 
data.
    Additionally, this section requires the Federal Bureau of 
Investigations to include information on missing and 
unidentified persons by gender in its annual statistics 
published on its website.

Section 7. Implementation and incentive

    This section adds two new purpose areas to two U.S. 
Department of Justice grant programs, which allows grantees to 
use funds to implement policies, protocols, and training for 
law enforcement regarding cases of missing or murdered Indians, 
and to compile and report data to the Attorney General.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following cost estimate, as provided by the 
Congressional Budget Office, dated December 20, 2019, was 
prepared for S. 227:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                                 Congressional Budget Office,
                                 Washington, DC, December 20, 2019.
Hon. John Hoeven,
Chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 227, the Savanna's 
Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jon Sperl.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                  Director.
    Enclosure.

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    

    S. 227 would direct the Department of Justice (DOJ) to 
provide training to state, local, and tribal law enforcement 
agencies on how to record information about tribal affiliation 
in federal crime databases with respect to Indians who are 
victims of crimes. The bill also would require DOJ to create 
guidelines and best practices for law enforcement and criminal 
investigations occurring on Indian lands and reservations to 
improve responses to cases of missing or murdered Indians. 
(Some reservation lands are under the jurisdiction of the 
federal government.)
    Using information from DOJ about the efforts needed to 
implement S. 227, CBO estimates that the bill would cost $14 
million over the 2020-2024 period, assuming appropriation of 
the estimated amounts. Most of those costs would be incurred by 
DOJ attorneys and staff to consult with interested parties, 
travel, develop guidance, and disseminate information to law 
enforcement partners.
    The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall 
within budget function 450 (community and regional 
development).

                 TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION UNDER S. 227
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             2020        2021        2022        2023        2024      2020-2024
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Estimated Authorization.................           7           5           2           *           *          14
Estimated Outlays.......................           6           6           2           *           *          14
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* = between zero and $500,000.

    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jon Sperl. The 
estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

               REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT

    Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the 
Senate requires each report accompanying a bill to evaluate the 
regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in 
carrying out the bill. The Committee believes that S. 227 will 
have minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The Committee has received no communications from the 
Executive Branch regarding S. 227.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    On February 6, 2019, the Committee unanimously approved a 
motion by Chairman John Hoeven to waive subsection 12 of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate. In the opinion of the 
Committee, it is necessary to dispense with subsection 12 of 
rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate to expedite the 
business of the Senate.

                            [all]