What This Bill Does
This bill requires federal law enforcement agencies to improve how they track, report, and investigate cases involving missing or murdered Native Americans. The law creates new positions to coordinate information sharing, establishes grant programs to help tribes respond to these cases, and requires studies on law enforcement staffing and evidence handling in Indian country (tribal lands under federal jurisdiction).
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Who It Affects
- Federal law enforcement agencies (FBI, Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services, and others with jurisdiction in Indian country)
- Indian tribes and tribal organizations
- State and local law enforcement agencies working in Indian country
- Native Americans and their families
- Law enforcement officers in Indian country
- Medical examiners and coroners working on these cases
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Key Provisions
- The Attorney General appoints one or more tribal facilitators to coordinate reporting of missing persons cases, unclaimed human remains, and unidentified remains involving Native Americans to a national tracking system (Sec. 101)
- The Attorney General must report annually to Congress on the number of federal employees assigned to investigate crimes in Indian country, how much time they spend on these cases, staff turnover rates, and vacant positions (Sec. 102(b)(2))
- States and tribes can receive grants to establish centers that document missing persons cases, sexual violence cases, and death investigations involving Native Americans, and to share this information with national databases (Sec. 202(c))
- The Government Accountability Office (an independent federal auditing agency) must study how federal law enforcement collects and processes evidence in Indian country cases and report findings within 18 months (Sec. 203)
- The Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General must coordinate to make mental health and wellness programs available to law enforcement officers working in tribal areas (Sec. 204)
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What Changes
Federal law enforcement must establish new tracking and coordination systems for missing and murdered Native American cases. Tribes and states can now apply for federal grants to create regional centers that document these cases and share information with national crime databases. The federal government must begin reporting annually on how many agents work on Indian country cases. A new position of tribal facilitator will coordinate between federal agencies and tribes on case reporting. Law enforcement officers in Indian country will have access to coordinated mental health resources.
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Important Definitions
- **Death investigation of interest to Indian Tribes:** A case involving the death of a Native American or a person found on, in, or adjacent to Indian land or an Alaska Native village
- **Missing persons case of interest to Indian Tribes:** A case involving a missing Native American or a missing person whose last known location is believed to be on or near Indian land or an Alaska Native village
- **Indian country:** Land defined in federal law as tribal reservations, dependent Indian communities, and restricted individual Native American allotments (land held in trust)
- **Federal law enforcement agency:** The Office of Justice Services of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the FBI, and other federal agencies with jurisdiction over crimes in Indian country or that investigate missing persons or death cases involving Native Americans
- **Relevant Tribal organization:** A tribal organization, urban Indian organization, or national or regional organization that represents Native Americans and has expertise in human trafficking, violence against Native Americans, missing or murdered Indigenous persons, or tribal justice systems
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
118TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
S. 465
AN ACT
To require Federal law enforcement agencies to report on
cases of missing or murdered Indians, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
2
† S 465 ES
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
1
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
2
‘‘Bridging Agency Data Gaps and Ensuring Safety for
3
Native Communities Act’’ or the ‘‘BADGES for Native
4
Communities Act’’.
5
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for
6
this Act is as follows:
7
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
TITLE I—BRIDGING AGENCY DATA GAPS
Sec. 101. National Missing and Unidentified Persons System Tribal facilitator.
Sec. 102. Report on Indian country law enforcement personnel resources and
need.
TITLE II—ENSURING SAFETY FOR NATIVE COMMUNITIES
Sec. 201. Demonstration program on Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement
employment background checks.
Sec. 202. Missing or murdered response coordination grant program.
Sec. 203. GAO study on Federal law enforcement agency evidence collection,
handling, and processing.
Sec. 204. Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal law enforcement officer coun-
seling resources interdepartmental coordination.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
8
In this Act:
9
(1) DEATH INVESTIGATION.—The term ‘‘death
10
investigation’’ has the meaning determined by the
11
Attorney General.
12
(2) DEATH
INVESTIGATION
OF
INTEREST
TO
13
INDIAN TRIBES.—The term ‘‘death investigation of
14
interest to Indian Tribes’’ means a case involving—
15
(A) a death investigation into the death of
16
an Indian; or
17
3
† S 465 ES
(B) a death investigation of a person found
1
on, in, or adjacent to Indian land or a Village.
2
(3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means
3
the Deputy Bureau Director of the Office of Justice
4
Services of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
5
(4) FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.—
6
The term ‘‘Federal law enforcement agency’’ means
7
the Office of Justice Services of the Bureau of In-
8
dian Affairs, the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
9
and any other Federal law enforcement agency
10
that—
11
(A) has jurisdiction over crimes in Indian
12
country; or
13
(B) investigates missing persons cases of
14
interest to Indian Tribes, death investigations
15
of interest to Indian Tribes, unclaimed human
16
remains cases of interest to Indian Tribes, or
17
unidentified remains cases of interest to Indian
18
Tribes.
19
(5) INDIAN.—The term ‘‘Indian’’ has the mean-
20
ing given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
21
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25
22
U.S.C. 5304).
23
4
† S 465 ES
(6) INDIAN COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘Indian coun-
1
try’’ has the meaning given the term in section 1151
2
of title 18, United States Code.
3
(7) INDIAN
LAND.—The term ‘‘Indian land’’
4
has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian lands’’ in
5
section 3 of the Native American Business Develop-
6
ment, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000
7
(25 U.S.C. 4302).
8
(8) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’
9
has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the
10
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance
11
Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
12
(9) MISSING PERSONS CASE OF INTEREST TO
13
INDIAN TRIBES.—The term ‘‘missing persons case of
14
interest to Indian Tribes’’ means a case involving—
15
(A) a missing Indian; or
16
(B) a missing person whose last known lo-
17
cation is believed to be on, in, or adjacent to In-
18
dian land or a Village.
19
(10) NATIONAL
CRIME
INFORMATION
DATA-
20
BASES.—The term ‘‘national crime information
21
databases’’ has the meaning given the term in sec-
22
tion 534(f)(3) of title 28, United States Code.
23
5
† S 465 ES
(11) RELEVANT TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The
1
term ‘‘relevant Tribal organization’’ means, as appli-
2
cable—
3
(A) a Tribal organization or an urban In-
4
dian organization; and
5
(B) a national or regional organization
6
that—
7
(i) represents a substantial Indian
8
constituency; and
9
(ii) has expertise in the fields of—
10
(I) human trafficking of Indians;
11
(II) human trafficking on Indian
12
land or in a Village;
13
(III) violence against Indians;
14
(IV) missing or murdered Indige-
15
nous persons; or
16
(V) Tribal justice systems.
17
(12)
SECRETARY.—The
term
‘‘Secretary’’
18
means the Secretary of the Interior.
19
(13) SEXUAL VIOLENCE CASE OF INTEREST TO
20
INDIAN TRIBES.—The term ‘‘sexual violence case of
21
interest to Indian Tribes’’ means a case involving an
22
allegation of sexual violence (as defined in section
23
204(a) of Public Law 90–284 (25 U.S.C. 1304(a))).
24
6
† S 465 ES
(14) TRIBAL
JUSTICE
OFFICIAL.—The term
1
‘‘Tribal justice official’’ has the meaning given the
2
term ‘‘tribal justice official’’ in section 2 of the In-
3
dian Law Enforcement Reform Act (25 U.S.C.
4
2801).
5
(15) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Trib-
6
al organization’’ has the meaning given the term in
7
section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu-
8
cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
9
(16) UNCLAIMED HUMAN REMAINS CASE OF IN-
10
TEREST TO INDIAN TRIBES.—The term ‘‘unclaimed
11
human remains case of interest to Indian Tribes’’
12
means a case involving—
13
(A) unclaimed Indian remains identified by
14
Federal, Tribal, State, or local law enforcement;
15
or
16
(B) unclaimed human remains found on,
17
in, or adjacent to Indian land or a Village.
18
(17) UNIDENTIFIED REMAINS CASE OF INTER-
19
EST TO INDIAN TRIBES.—The term ‘‘unidentified re-
20
mains case of interest to Indian Tribes’’ means a
21
case involving—
22
(A) unidentified Indian remains; or
23
(B) unidentified remains found on, in, or
24
adjacent to Indian land or a Village.
25
7
† S 465 ES
(18) URBAN INDIAN ORGANIZATION.—The term
1
‘‘urban Indian organization’’ has the meaning given
2
the term in section 4 of the Indian Health Care Im-
3
provement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603).
4
(19) VILLAGE.—The term ‘‘Village’’ means the
5
Alaska Native Village Statistical Area covering all or
6
any portion of a Native village (as defined in section
7
3 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43
8
U.S.C. 1602)), as depicted on the applicable Tribal
9
Statistical Area Program Verification Map of the
10
Bureau of the Census.
11
TITLE I—BRIDGING AGENCY
12
DATA GAPS
13
SEC. 101. NATIONAL MISSING AND UNIDENTIFIED PERSONS
14
SYSTEM TRIBAL FACILITATOR.
15
(a) APPOINTMENT.—The Attorney General shall ap-
16
point 1 or more Tribal facilitators for the National Miss-
17
ing and Unidentified Persons System.
18
(b) DUTIES.—The duties of a Tribal facilitator ap-
19
pointed under subsection (a) shall include—
20
(1) coordinating the reporting of information
21
relating to missing persons cases of interest to In-
22
dian Tribes, unclaimed human remains cases of in-
23
terest to Indian Tribes, and unidentified remains
24
cases of interest to Indian Tribes;
25
8
† S 465 ES
(2) consulting and coordinating with Indian
1
Tribes and relevant Tribal organizations to address
2
the reporting, documentation, and tracking of miss-
3
ing persons cases of interest to Indian Tribes, un-
4
claimed human remains cases of Interest to Indian
5
Tribes, and unidentified remains cases of interest to
6
Indian Tribes;
7
(3) developing working relationships, and main-
8
taining communication, with Indian Tribes and rel-
9
evant Tribal organizations;
10
(4) providing technical assistance and training
11
to Indian Tribes and relevant Tribal organizations,
12
victim service advocates, medical examiners, coro-
13
ners, and Tribal justice officials regarding—
14
(A) the gathering and reporting of infor-
15
mation to the National Missing and Unidenti-
16
fied Persons System; and
17
(B) working with non-Tribal law enforce-
18
ment agencies to encourage missing persons
19
cases of interest to Indian Tribes, unclaimed
20
human remains cases of interest to Indian
21
Tribes, and unidentified remains cases of inter-
22
est to Indian Tribes are reported to the Na-
23
tional Missing and Unidentified Persons Sys-
24
tem;
25
9
† S 465 ES
(5) coordinating with the Office of Tribal Jus-
1
tice, the Office of Justice Services of the Bureau of
2
Indian Affairs, the Executive Office for United
3
States Attorneys, the Federal Bureau of Investiga-
4
tion, State law enforcement agencies, and the Na-
5
tional Indian Country Training Initiative, as nec-
6
essary; and
7
(6) conducting other training, information gath-
8
ering, and outreach activities to improve resolution
9
of missing persons cases of interest to Indian Tribes,
10
unclaimed human remains cases of interest to Indian
11
Tribes, and unidentified remains cases of interest to
12
Indian Tribes.
13
(c) REPORTING AND TRANSPARENCY.—
14
(1) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—During
15
the 3-year-period beginning on the date of enact-
16
ment of this Act, the Attorney General, acting
17
through the Director of the National Institute of
18
Justice, shall submit to the Committees on Indian
19
Affairs, the Judiciary, and Appropriations of the
20
Senate and the Committees on Natural Resources,
21
the Judiciary, and Appropriations of the House of
22
Representatives an annual report describing the ac-
23
tivities
and
accomplishments
of
the
Tribal
24
10
† S 465 ES
facilitators appointed under subsection (a) during
1
the 1-year period preceding the date of the report.
2
(2) PUBLIC TRANSPARENCY.—Annually, the At-
3
torney General, acting through the Director of the
4
National Institute of Justice, shall publish on a
5
website publicly accessible information describing the
6
activities
and
accomplishments
of
the
Tribal
7
facilitators appointed under subsection (a) during
8
the 1-year period preceding the date of the publica-
9
tion.
10
SEC. 102. REPORT ON INDIAN COUNTRY LAW ENFORCE-
11
MENT PERSONNEL RESOURCES AND NEED.
12
(a) OFFICE OF JUSTICE SERVICES OF THE BUREAU
13
OF INDIAN AFFAIRS.—Section 3(c)(16) of the Indian Law
14
Enforcement Reform Act (25 U.S.C. 2802(c)(16)) is
15
amended by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the
16
following:
17
‘‘(C) a list of the unmet—
18
‘‘(i) staffing needs of law enforcement,
19
corrections, and court personnel, including
20
criminal investigators, medical examiners,
21
coroners, forensic technicians, indigent de-
22
fense staff, crime victim services staff, and
23
prosecution staff, at Tribal and Bureau
24
justice agencies, including the Missing and
25
11
† S 465 ES
Murdered Unit of the Office of Justice
1
Services of the Bureau;
2
‘‘(ii) replacement and repair needs of
3
Tribal and Bureau corrections facilities;
4
‘‘(iii) infrastructure and capital needs
5
for Tribal police and court facilities, in-
6
cluding evidence storage and processing;
7
and
8
‘‘(iv) public safety and emergency
9
communications and technology needs, in-
10
cluding equipment and internet capacity
11
needs; and’’.
12
(b) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.—
13
(1) DEFINITION OF DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
14
LAW
ENFORCEMENT
AGENCY.—In this subsection,
15
the term ‘‘Department of Justice law enforcement
16
agency’’ means each of—
17
(A) the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
18
(B) the Drug Enforcement Administration;
19
(C) the United States Marshals Service;
20
(D) the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Fire-
21
arms and Explosives; and
22
(E) the Offices of the United States Attor-
23
neys.
24
12
† S 465 ES
(2) ANNUAL
REPORT.—Each fiscal year, the
1
Attorney General shall submit to the Committees on
2
Indian Affairs, the Judiciary, and Appropriations of
3
the Senate and the Committees on Natural Re-
4
sources, the Judiciary, and Appropriations of the
5
House of Representatives a report for that fiscal
6
year that includes—
7
(A) the number of full-time employees of
8
each Department of Justice law enforcement
9
agency that are assigned to work on criminal
10
investigations and prosecutions in Indian coun-
11
try;
12
(B) the percentage of time the full-time
13
employees, as identified under subparagraph
14
(A), spend specifically working in Indian coun-
15
try;
16
(C) the turnover rate during the 5-year pe-
17
riod preceding the report of full-time employees
18
assigned to work on criminal investigations and
19
prosecutions in Indian country;
20
(D) the average years of experience at the
21
Department of Justice of full-time employees
22
assigned to work on criminal investigations and
23
prosecutions in Indian country;
24
13
† S 465 ES
(E) the number of vacant positions with
1
responsibilities for criminal investigations and
2
prosecutions in Indian country;
3
(F) an identification of expertise and skills
4
necessary to achieve the strategic goals of the
5
Department of Justice relating to public safety
6
in Indian country;
7
(G) an estimate of the number of employ-
8
ees needed with specific skills and competencies
9
to fulfill responsibilities assigned for criminal
10
investigations and prosecutions in Indian coun-
11
try; and
12
(H) a list of measures identified to indicate
13
whether and how the Department of Justice
14
plans to execute its hiring, retention, and train-
15
ing strategies.
16
(3) GAO STUDY AND REPORT.—
17
(A) STUDY.—
18
(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18
19
months after the date on which the first
20
annual report is submitted under para-
21
graph (2), the Comptroller General of the
22
United States shall conduct a review of
23
unmet staffing identified by the Depart-
24
ment of Justice law enforcement agencies
25
14
† S 465 ES
tasked with work on criminal investigations
1
and prosecutions in Indian country.
2
(ii) REQUIREMENT.—In conducting
3
the study required under clause (i), the
4
Comptroller General of the United States
5
shall take into account the results of the
6
most recent report, as of the date of enact-
7
ment of this Act, relating to Indian coun-
8
try investigations and prosecutions pre-
9
pared by the Attorney General pursuant to
10
section 10(b) of the Indian Law Enforce-
11
ment Reform Act (25 U.S.C. 2809(b)).
12
(B) REPORT.—On completion of the review
13
under subparagraph (A), the Comptroller Gen-
14
eral of the United States shall submit to the
15
Committees on Indian Affairs, the Judiciary,
16
and Appropriations of the Senate and the Com-
17
mittees on Natural Resources, the Judiciary,
18
and Appropriations of the House of Representa-
19
tives a report that describes the results of the
20
study, including, as appropriate, proposals for
21
methods by which the Department of Justice
22
can better measure its unmet staffing and other
23
needs for Department of Justice law enforce-
24
15
† S 465 ES
ment agencies tasked with work on criminal in-
1
vestigations and prosecutions in Indian country.
2
TITLE II—ENSURING SAFETY
3
FOR NATIVE COMMUNITIES
4
SEC. 201. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM ON BUREAU OF IN-
5
DIAN AFFAIRS LAW ENFORCEMENT EMPLOY-
6
MENT B
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