Providing for Congressional Disapproval Under Chapter 8 of Title United States Code, of the Rule Submitted By the Federal Communications Commission Relating to ``Addressing the Homework Gap Through the E-Rate Program''

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHATZ. Mr. President, this week is Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Awareness Week, and it is a sobering reminder of both the breathtaking scale of this tragedy that has plagued Native communities for generations and how far we still have to go to bring justice and healing to the victims and families affected by it.

This crisis is likely out of view for most Americans, but it stares us in the face. Murder is the third leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls, which is 10 times the national average--10 times the national average. American Indians and Alaska Natives are more than twice as likely to experience violent crimes, including rape and sexual assault, than any other group of people in the United States. In Hawaii, 64 percent of human trafficking survivors are Native Hawaiian.

Even so, we still don't know the true extent of the crisis because for so long, the Federal Government failed to take it seriously. It was more convenient to pretend as if it didn't exist than to dedicate Federal resources to investigating the crimes and prosecuting those responsible. As a result, in far too many instances, justice has not been served and families have not been able to begin the process of healing.

To experience the tragedy of a loved one gone or a neighbor suddenly found dead is horrific in and of itself. But worse, these communities often have to shoulder the burden of finding answers all by themselves while they are grieving. For that to happen anywhere else or to anyone else, we would be rightly outraged.

The fact that it is happening to Native Americans in cities like Anchorage or Albuquerque, on remote reservations, and on Hawaiian homelands should not change our outrage.

After decades of underinvestment, Congress finally took steps to address this crisis when we reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act in 2022. As chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs at the time, I was proud to work with Native leaders and advocates and especially my good friend the vice chair at the time, Lisa Murkowski, to restore Tribal jurisdiction for certain violent crimes and increase Federal resources to keep Native families safe.

No one bill or action is going to remedy generations of neglect and injustice, but it was an important step forward, along with other laws, in turning the tide on this shameful and longstanding problem.

There remains a lot of work to be done to ensure that Native people feel safe in their homes and in their communities. And it is a priority that we continue to advance on the Indian Affairs Committee with the chairman, Lisa Murkowski, and many others. But today we remember the many victims lost to this devastating epidemic of violence and recommit ourselves to helping to find justice and healing for all of those affected.

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