Not Invisible Act of 2019
Floor Speech
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Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 982) to increase intergovernmental coordination to identify and combat violent crime within Indian lands and of Indians.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: S. 982
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 ``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.
S. 982, the Not Invisible Act of 2019, introduced by Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and passed by the Senate last March, addresses the crisis of violence and sexual violence committed against American Indian and Alaska Native men and women in two concrete ways, by directing the appointment within the Bureau of Indian Affairs of a coordinator of Federal efforts to combat violence against Native people and by establishing a commission on reducing violent crime against Indians.
I commend my colleague, Representative Debra Haaland from New Mexico, for introducing the companion bill here in the House and for her efforts in advancing this important legislation.
For decades, Native American and Alaska Native communities have struggled with high rates of assault, abduction, and murder of women. Community advocates describe the crisis as a legacy of generations of government policies promoting forced removal, land seizures, and violence inflicted on Native peoples.
Advocates and victims' families also complain, and rightly so, that the investigation and monitoring of disappearances and killings of members of their communities have gotten lost in bureaucratic gaps generated by a system that lacks clarity on whether local or Federal agencies should investigate. The Federal Government must do something to address these problems.
The statistics on violence in Native American communities are staggering. More than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime, including 56.1 percent who have experienced sexual violence. American Indian and Alaska Native men also have high victimization rates, with 81.6 percent having experienced violence in their lifetime. This problem is, in large part, the result of decades of neglect by the Federal Government.
This crisis has particularly affected Native American women, scores of whom have gone missing and have been found murdered. Recently, these women's stories have begun to be told to a wider audience. But these stories are not new, and it is long overdue that we address them.
The Not Invisible Act of 2019 is an important step for the Federal Government in finding an adequate response to the problem of violence against Native Americans. By making a permanent position within the Bureau of Indian Affairs that reports directly to the Secretary of the Interior and who will submit an annual report to Congress, we will greatly improve the Federal response to combating violence in Native communities.
Significantly, this bill also directs the BIA coordinator to take into consideration the unique challenges faced by Native American communities, both on and off Tribal lands, and to work in cooperation with outside organizations to train Tribal law enforcement, Indian Health Service care providers, and other Tribal community members on identifying, responding to, and reporting on cases of missing persons, murder, and human trafficking.
For 2 years, a joint commission on reducing violent crimes against Indians will be tasked with preparing recommendations on concrete actions the Department of the Interior and the Department of Justice can take to help combat violent crimes against Native Americans and on Native American lands. These include the development and implementation of strategies for identifying, reporting, and responding to instances of missing persons, murder, and human trafficking; tracking and reporting relevant data; and increasing prosecutions in this neglected arena. These are long-overdue critical measures.
It is well past the time to help rectify these problems, and I am pleased that the Not Invisible Act will go a long way in that process. Therefore, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in support of this bill today.
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Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, the Not Invisible Act does precisely what its title aims to do. It ensures that the Federal Government dedicates proper attention and gives visibility to the crisis of violence and sexual violence committed against American Indian and Alaska Native men and women. Indeed, these communities have been subjected to invisibility and neglect for far too long.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important bipartisan legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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