What This Bill Does
This bill requires federal law enforcement agencies to improve how they track and report cases of missing or murdered Native Americans. The bill creates new positions to coordinate reporting of these cases, establishes grant programs to help tribes investigate these crimes, and requires multiple studies and reports to Congress about law enforcement resources and evidence handling in tribal areas.
##
Who It Affects
- Native American tribes and tribal organizations
- Federal law enforcement agencies (Bureau of Indian Affairs, Federal Bureau of Investigation, others)
- State and local law enforcement agencies working in tribal areas
- U.S. Attorneys' offices
- The Department of Interior and Department of Justice
- Medical examiners and coroners
- Tribal justice officials and victim service advocates
##
Key Provisions
- The Attorney General must appoint one or more Tribal facilitators to coordinate reporting of missing persons cases, unclaimed remains cases, and unidentified remains cases involving Native Americans to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, and provide annual reports to Congress on their work (Sec. 101)
- The Attorney General must submit annual reports to Congress describing the number of federal employees assigned to work on criminal investigations in tribal areas and the percentage of time they spend on that work (Sec. 102)
- The Secretary of Interior shall establish a five-year demonstration program allowing the Department of Interior to conduct and review background investigations for applicants seeking law enforcement jobs with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and may consider previous background investigations from state, local, or tribal agencies if comparable in quality (Sec. 201)
- The Attorney General must establish a grant program providing up to $1,000,000 per year (fiscal years 2024-2028) to tribes, tribal organizations, and states in partnership with tribes to create centers and commissions that track missing persons cases, sexual assault cases, and death investigations involving Native Americans (Sec. 202)
- The Comptroller General must conduct a study within 18 months examining how the Office of Justice Services and Federal Bureau of Investigation collect, handle, and process evidence in tribal cases, and any barriers to that process (Sec. 203)
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What Changes
If this bill becomes law, federal agencies will be required to appoint dedicated staff to track Native American missing persons and murder cases. States and tribes will have access to grant funding to establish regional centers and commissions for investigating these crimes. Federal agencies must report annually to Congress on their staffing and resource allocation for tribal area investigations. The Department of Interior will be allowed to streamline hiring for law enforcement positions by accepting previous background investigations from other agencies. The bill also requires studies examining evidence handling practices and law enforcement staffing needs in tribal jurisdictions.
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Important Definitions
- "Indian" means a person who meets the definition in the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
- "Indian country" means the area defined in federal criminal law
- "Indian Tribe" means a federally recognized tribe as defined in the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
- "Missing persons case of interest to Indian Tribes" means a case involving a missing Native American or a missing person last seen on, in, or near tribal land
- "Death investigation of interest to Indian Tribes" means an investigation into the death of a Native American or a person found on or near tribal land
- "Sexual assault case of interest to Indian Tribes" means a felony sexual assault case against a Native American by another Native American or non-Native American
- "Unclaimed remains case of interest to Indian Tribes" means unclaimed remains of a Native American or remains found on or near tribal land
- "Unidentified remains case of interest to Indian Tribes" means unidentified remains of a Native American or remains found on or near tribal land
- "Village" means an Alaska Native Village Statistical Area as depicted on census maps
##
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1292
To require Federal law enforcement agencies to report on cases of missing
or murdered Indians, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 1, 2023
Mr. GALLEGO (for himself, Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, and Mr. NEWHOUSE) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce,
Natural Resources, and Oversight and Accountability, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con-
cerned
A BILL
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
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
3
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
4
‘‘Bridging Agency Data Gaps and Ensuring Safety for
5
Native Communities Act’’ or the ‘‘BADGES for Native
6
Communities Act’’.
7
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•HR 1292 IH
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for
1
this Act is as follows:
2
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 and 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.
3
In this Act:
4
(1) DEATH INVESTIGATION.—The term ‘‘death
5
investigation’’ has the meaning determined by the
6
Attorney General.
7
(2) DEATH
INVESTIGATION
OF
INTEREST
TO
8
INDIAN TRIBES.—The term ‘‘death investigation of
9
interest to Indian Tribes’’ means a case involving—
10
(A) a death investigation into the death of
11
an Indian; or
12
(B) a death investigation of a person found
13
on, in, or adjacent to Indian land or a Village.
14
(3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means
15
the Director of the Office of Justice Services.
16
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•HR 1292 IH
(4) FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.—
1
The term ‘‘Federal law enforcement agency’’ means
2
the Bureau of Indian Affairs direct-service police,
3
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and any other
4
Federal law enforcement agency that—
5
(A) has jurisdiction over crimes in Indian
6
country; or
7
(B) investigates missing persons cases of
8
interest to Indian Tribes, death investigations
9
of interest to Indian Tribes, unclaimed remains
10
cases of interest to Indian Tribes, or unidenti-
11
fied remains cases of interest to Indian Tribes.
12
(5) INDIAN.—The term ‘‘Indian’’ has the mean-
13
ing given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
14
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25
15
U.S.C. 5304).
16
(6) INDIAN COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘Indian coun-
17
try’’ has the meaning given the term in section 1151
18
of title 18, United States Code.
19
(7) INDIAN
LAND.—The term ‘‘Indian land’’
20
has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian lands’’ in
21
section 3 of the Native American Business Develop-
22
ment, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000
23
(25 U.S.C. 4302).
24
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•HR 1292 IH
(8) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’
1
has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the
2
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance
3
Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
4
(9) MISSING.—The term ‘‘missing’’ has the
5
meaning determined by the Attorney General.
6
(10) MISSING PERSONS CASE OF INTEREST TO
7
INDIAN TRIBES.—The term ‘‘missing persons case of
8
interest to Indian Tribes’’ means a case involving—
9
(A) a missing Indian; or
10
(B) a missing person whose last known lo-
11
cation is believed to be on, in, or adjacent to In-
12
dian land or a Village.
13
(11) NATIONAL
CRIME
INFORMATION
DATA-
14
BASES.—The term ‘‘national crime information
15
databases’’ has the meaning given the term in sec-
16
tion 534(f)(3) of title 28, United States Code.
17
(12) RELEVANT TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The
18
term ‘‘relevant Tribal organization’’ means, as appli-
19
cable—
20
(A) a tribal organization or an urban In-
21
dian organization; and
22
(B) a national or regional organization
23
that—
24
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•HR 1292 IH
(i) represents a substantial Indian
1
constituency; and
2
(ii) has expertise in the fields of—
3
(I) human trafficking of Indians;
4
(II) human trafficking on Indian
5
land or in a Village;
6
(III)
violence
against
Indian
7
women and children; or
8
(IV) tribal justice systems.
9
(13)
SECRETARY.—The
term
‘‘Secretary’’
10
means the Secretary of the Interior.
11
(14) SEXUAL ASSAULT CASE OF INTEREST TO
12
INDIAN TRIBES.—The term ‘‘sexual assault case of
13
interest to Indian Tribes’’ means a case involving an
14
allegation of a felony under chapter 109A or 110 of
15
title 18, United States Code, committed against an
16
Indian by another Indian or a non-Indian.
17
(15) TRIBAL
JUSTICE
OFFICIAL.—The term
18
‘‘tribal justice official’’ has the meaning given the
19
term in section 2 of the Indian Law Enforcement
20
Reform Act (25 U.S.C. 2801).
21
(16) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘tribal
22
organization’’ has the meaning given the term in
23
section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu-
24
cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
25
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•HR 1292 IH
(17) UNCLAIMED REMAINS CASE OF INTEREST
1
TO INDIAN TRIBES.—The term ‘‘unclaimed remains
2
case of interest to Indian Tribes’’ means a case in-
3
volving—
4
(A) unclaimed Indian remains; or
5
(B) unclaimed remains found on, in, or ad-
6
jacent to Indian land or a Village.
7
(18) UNIDENTIFIED REMAINS CASE OF INTER-
8
EST TO INDIAN TRIBES.—The term ‘‘unidentified re-
9
mains case of interest to Indian Tribes’’ means a
10
case involving—
11
(A) unidentified Indian remains; or
12
(B) unidentified remains found on, in, or
13
adjacent to Indian land or a Village.
14
(19) URBAN INDIAN ORGANIZATION.—The term
15
‘‘urban Indian organization’’ has the meaning given
16
the term in section 4 of the Indian Health Care Im-
17
provement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603).
18
(20) VILLAGE.—The term ‘‘Village’’ means the
19
Alaska Native Village Statistical Area covering all or
20
any portion of a Native village (as defined in section
21
3 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43
22
U.S.C. 1602)), as depicted on the applicable Tribal
23
Statistical Area Program Verification Map of the
24
Bureau of the Census.
25
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•HR 1292 IH
TITLE I—BRIDGING AGENCY
1
DATA GAPS
2
SEC. 101. NATIONAL MISSING AND UNIDENTIFIED PERSONS
3
SYSTEM TRIBAL FACILITATOR.
4
(a) APPOINTMENT.—The Attorney General, acting
5
through the Director of the National Institute of Justice,
6
shall appoint 1 or more Tribal facilitators for the National
7
Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
8
(b) DUTIES.—The duties of a Tribal facilitator ap-
9
pointed under subsection (a) shall include—
10
(1) coordinating the reporting of information
11
relating to missing persons cases of interest to In-
12
dian Tribes, unclaimed remains cases of interest to
13
Indian Tribes, and unidentified remains cases of in-
14
terest to Indian Tribes;
15
(2) consulting and coordinating with Indian
16
Tribes and relevant Tribal organizations to address
17
the reporting, documentation, and tracking of miss-
18
ing persons cases of interest to Indian Tribes, un-
19
claimed remains cases of Interest to Indian Tribes,
20
and unidentified remains cases of interest to Indian
21
Tribes;
22
(3) developing working relationships, and main-
23
taining communication, with Indian Tribes and rel-
24
evant Tribal organizations;
25
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•HR 1292 IH
(4) providing technical assistance and training
1
to Indian Tribes and relevant Tribal organizations,
2
victim service advocates, medical examiners, coro-
3
ners, and tribal justice officials regarding—
4
(A) the gathering and reporting of infor-
5
mation to the National Missing and Unidenti-
6
fied Persons System; and
7
(B) working with non-Tribal law enforce-
8
ment agencies to ensure missing persons cases
9
of interest to Indian Tribes, unclaimed remains
10
cases of interest to Indian Tribes, and unidenti-
11
fied remains cases of interest to Indian Tribes
12
are reported to the National Missing and Un-
13
identified Persons System;
14
(5) coordinating with the Office of Tribal Jus-
15
tice, the Office of Justice Services, the Executive Of-
16
fice for United States Attorneys, and the National
17
Indian Country Training Initiative, as necessary;
18
and
19
(6) conducting other training, information gath-
20
ering, and outreach activities to improve resolution
21
of missing persons cases of interest to Indian Tribes,
22
unclaimed remains cases of interest to Indian
23
Tribes, and unidentified remains cases of interest to
24
Indian Tribes.
25
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•HR 1292 IH
(c) REPORTING AND TRANSPARENCY.—
1
(1) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—During
2
the 3-year-period beginning on the date of enact-
3
ment of this Act, the Attorney General, acting
4
through the Director of the National Institute of
5
Justice, shall submit to the Committees on Indian
6
Affairs, the Judiciary, and Appropriations of the
7
Senate and the Committees on Natural Resources,
8
the Judiciary, and Appropriations of the House of
9
Representatives an annual report—
10
(A) describing the activities and accom-
11
plishments of the 1 or more Tribal facilitators
12
appointed under subsection (a) during the 1-
13
year period preceding the date of the report;
14
and
15
(B) summarizing—
16
(i) the number of missing persons
17
cases of interest to Indian Tribes, un-
18
claimed remains cases of interest to Indian
19
Tribes, and unidentified remains cases of
20
interest to Indian Tribes that the Tribal
21
facilitator can identify in the National
22
Missing and Unidentified Persons System;
23
and
24
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•HR 1292 IH
(ii) the percentage of missing persons
1
cases of interest to Indian Tribes, un-
2
claimed remains cases of interest to Indian
3
Tribes, and unidentified remains cases of
4
interest to Indian Tribes closed during the
5
1-year period preceding the date of the re-
6
port that the Tribal facilitator can identify
7
in the National Missing and Unidentified
8
Persons System.
9
(2) PUBLIC TRANSPARENCY.—Annually, the At-
10
torney General, acting through the Director of the
11
National Institute of Justice, shall publish on a
12
website publicly accessible information—
13
(A) describing the activities and accom-
14
plishments of the 1 or more Tribal facilitators
15
appointed under subsection (a) during the 1-
16
year period preceding the date of the publica-
17
tion; and
18
(B) summarizing—
19
(i) the number of missing persons
20
cases of interest to Indian Tribes, un-
21
claimed remains cases of interest to Indian
22
Tribes, and unidentified remains cases of
23
interest to Indian Tribes that the Tribal
24
facilitator can identify in the National
25
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•HR 1292 IH
Missing and Unidentified Persons System;
1
and
2
(ii) the percentage of missing persons
3
cases of interest to Indian Tribes, un-
4
claimed remains cases of interest to Indian
5
Tribes, and unidentified remains cases of
6
interest to Indian Tribes closed during the
7
1-year period preceding the date of the re-
8
port that the Tribal facilitator can identify
9
in the National Missing and Unidentified
10
Persons System.
11
SEC. 102. REPORT ON INDIAN COUNTRY LAW ENFORCE-
12
MENT PERSONNEL RESOURCES AND NEED.
13
(a) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFICE OF JUS-
14
TICE SERVICES.—Section 3(c)(16) of the Indian Law En-
15
forcement Reform Act (25 U.S.C. 2802(c)(16)) is amend-
16
ed by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the fol-
17
lowing:
18
‘‘(C) a list of the unmet—
19
‘‘(i) staffing needs of law enforcement,
20
corrections, and court personnel, including
21
criminal investigators, medical examiners,
22
coroners, forensic technicians, indigent de-
23
fense staff, and prosecution staff, at tribal
24
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•HR 1292 IH
and Bureau of Indian Affairs justice agen-
1
cies;
2
‘‘(ii) replacement and repair needs of
3
tribal and Bureau of Indian Affairs correc-
4
tions facilities;
5
‘‘(iii) infrastructure and capital needs
6
for tribal police and court facilities, includ-
7
ing evidence storage and processing; and
8
‘‘(iv) public safety and emergency
9
communications and technology needs;
10
and’’.
11
(b) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.—
12
(1) DEFINITION OF DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
13
LAW
ENFORCEMENT
AGENCY.—In this subsection,
14
the term ‘‘Department of Justice law enforcement
15
agency’’ means each of—
16
(A) the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
17
(B) the Drug Enforcement Administration;
18
(C) the United States Marshals Service;
19
(D) the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Fire-
20
arms and Explosives; and
21
(E) the Offices of the United States Attor-
22
neys.
23
(2) ANNUAL
REPORT.—Each fi
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]