II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4923 

To require Federal law enforcement agencies to report on cases of missing 

or murdered Indians, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

A BILL 

To require Federal law enforcement agencies to report on 

cases of missing or murdered Indians, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Bridging Agency Data Gaps and Ensuring Safety for 

6 Native Communities Act’’ or the ‘‘BADGES for Native 

7 Communities Act’’. 

8 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

9 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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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 counseling resources interdepartmental coordination. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) DEATH INVESTIGATION.—The term ‘‘death 

4 investigation’’ has the meaning determined by the 

5 Attorney General. 

6 (2) DEATH INVESTIGATION OF INTEREST TO

7 INDIAN TRIBES.—The term ‘‘death investigation of 

8 interest to Indian Tribes’’ means a case involving— 

9 (A) a death investigation into the death of 

10 an Indian; or 

11 (B) a death investigation of a person found 

12 on, in, or adjacent to Indian land or a Village. 

13 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

14 the Director of the Office of Justice Services. 

15 (4) FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.— 

16 The term ‘‘Federal law enforcement agency’’ means 

17 the Bureau of Indian Affairs direct-service police, 


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1 the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and any other 

2 Federal law enforcement agency that— 

3 (A) has jurisdiction over crimes in Indian 

4 country; or 

5 (B) investigates missing persons cases of 

6 interest to Indian Tribes, death investigations 

7 of interest to Indian Tribes, unclaimed remains 

8 cases of interest to Indian Tribes, or unidenti9 fied remains cases of interest to Indian Tribes. 

10 (5) INDIAN.—The term ‘‘Indian’’ has the mean11 ing given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self12 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 

13 U.S.C. 5304). 

14 (6) INDIAN COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘Indian coun15 try’’ has the meaning given the term in section 1151 

16 of title 18, United States Code. 

17 (7) INDIAN LAND.—The term ‘‘Indian land’’ 

18 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian lands’’ in 

19 section 3 of the Native American Business Develop20 ment, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 

21 (25 U.S.C. 4302). 

22 (8) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

23 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

24 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

25 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 


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1 (9) MISSING.—The term ‘‘missing’’ has the 

2 meaning determined by the Attorney General. 

3 (10) MISSING PERSONS CASE OF INTEREST TO

4 INDIAN TRIBES.—The term ‘‘missing persons case of 

5 interest to Indian Tribes’’ means a case involving— 

6 (A) a missing Indian; or 

7 (B) a missing person whose last known lo8 cation is believed to be on, in, or adjacent to In9 dian land or a Village. 

10 (11) NATIONAL CRIME INFORMATION DATA11 BASES.—The term ‘‘national crime information 

12 databases’’ has the meaning given the term in sec13 tion 534(f)(3) of title 28, United States Code. 

14 (12) RELEVANT TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The 

15 term ‘‘relevant Tribal organization’’ means, as appli16 cable— 

17 (A) a tribal organization or an urban In18 dian organization; and 

19 (B) a national or regional organization 

20 that— 

21 (i) represents a substantial Indian 

22 constituency; and 

23 (ii) has expertise in the fields of— 

24 (I) human trafficking of Indians; 


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1 (II) human trafficking on Indian 

2 land or in a Village; 

3 (III) violence against Indian 

4 women and children; or 

5 (IV) tribal justice systems. 

6 (13) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

7 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

8 (14) SEXUAL ASSAULT CASE OF INTEREST TO

9 INDIAN TRIBES.—The term ‘‘sexual assault case of 

10 interest to Indian Tribes’’ means a case involving an 

11 allegation of a felony under chapter 109A or 110 of 

12 title 18, United States Code, committed against an 

13 Indian by another Indian or a non-Indian. 

14 (15) TRIBAL JUSTICE OFFICIAL.—The term 

15 ‘‘tribal justice official’’ has the meaning given the 

16 term in section 2 of the Indian Law Enforcement 

17 Reform Act (25 U.S.C. 2801). 

18 (16) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘tribal 

19 organization’’ has the meaning given the term in 

20 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu21 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

22 (17) UNCLAIMED REMAINS CASE OF INTEREST

23 TO INDIAN TRIBES.—The term ‘‘unclaimed remains 

24 case of interest to Indian Tribes’’ means a case in25 volving— 


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1 (A) unclaimed Indian remains; or 

2 (B) unclaimed remains found on, in, or ad3 jacent to Indian land or a Village. 

4 (18) UNIDENTIFIED REMAINS CASE OF INTER5 EST TO INDIAN TRIBES.—The term ‘‘unidentified re6 mains case of interest to Indian Tribes’’ means a 

7 case involving— 

8 (A) unidentified Indian remains; or 

9 (B) unidentified remains found on, in, or 

10 adjacent to Indian land or a Village. 

11 (19) URBAN INDIAN ORGANIZATION.—The term 

12 ‘‘urban Indian organization’’ has the meaning given 

13 the term in section 4 of the Indian Health Care Im14 provement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603). 

15 (20) VILLAGE.—The term ‘‘Village’’ means the 

16 Alaska Native Village Statistical Area covering all or 

17 any portion of a Native village (as defined in section 

18 3 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 

19 U.S.C. 1602)), as depicted on the applicable Tribal 

20 Statistical Area Program Verification Map of the 

21 Bureau of the Census. 


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1 TITLE I—BRIDGING AGENCY 

2 DATA GAPS 

3 SEC. 101. NATIONAL MISSING AND UNIDENTIFIED PERSONS 

4 SYSTEM TRIBAL FACILITATOR. 

5 (a) APPOINTMENT.—The Attorney General, acting 

6 through the Director of the National Institute of Justice, 

7 shall appoint 1 or more Tribal facilitators for the National 

8 Missing and Unidentified Persons System. 

9 (b) DUTIES.—The duties of a Tribal facilitator ap10 pointed under subsection (a) shall include— 

11 (1) coordinating the reporting of information 

12 relating to missing persons cases of interest to In13 dian Tribes, unclaimed remains cases of interest to 

14 Indian Tribes, and unidentified remains cases of in15 terest to Indian Tribes; 

16 (2) consulting and coordinating with Indian 

17 Tribes and relevant Tribal organizations to address 

18 the reporting, documentation, and tracking of miss19 ing persons cases of interest to Indian Tribes, un20 claimed remains cases of Interest to Indian Tribes, 

21 and unidentified remains cases of interest to Indian 

22 Tribes; 

23 (3) developing working relationships, and main24 taining communication, with Indian Tribes and rel25 evant Tribal organizations; 


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1 (4) providing technical assistance and training 

2 to Indian Tribes and relevant Tribal organizations, 

3 victim service advocates, medical examiners, coro4 ners, and tribal justice officials regarding— 

5 (A) the gathering and reporting of infor6 mation to the National Missing and Unidenti7 fied Persons System; and 

8 (B) working with non-Tribal law enforce9 ment agencies to ensure missing persons cases 

10 of interest to Indian Tribes, unclaimed remains 

11 cases of interest to Indian Tribes, and unidenti12 fied remains cases of interest to Indian Tribes 

13 are reported to the National Missing and Un14 identified Persons System; 

15 (5) coordinating with the Office of Tribal Jus16 tice, the Office of Justice Services, the Executive Of17 fice for United States Attorneys, and the National 

18 Indian Country Training Initiative, as necessary; 

19 and 

20 (6) conducting other training, information gath21 ering, and outreach activities to improve resolution 

22 of missing persons cases of interest to Indian Tribes, 

23 unclaimed remains cases of interest to Indian 

24 Tribes, and unidentified remains cases of interest to 

25 Indian Tribes. 


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1 (c) REPORTING AND TRANSPARENCY.— 

2 (1) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—During 

3 the 3-year-period beginning on the date of enact4 ment of this Act, the Attorney General, acting 

5 through the Director of the National Institute of 

6 Justice, shall submit to the Committees on Indian 

7 Affairs, the Judiciary, and Appropriations of the 

8 Senate and the Committees on Natural Resources, 

9 the Judiciary, and Appropriations of the House of 

10 Representatives an annual report— 

11 (A) describing the activities and accom12 plishments of the 1 or more Tribal facilitators 

13 appointed under subsection (a) during the 1- 

14 year period preceding the date of the report; 

15 and 

16 (B) summarizing— 

17 (i) the number of missing persons 

18 cases of interest to Indian Tribes, un19 claimed remains cases of interest to Indian 

20 Tribes, and unidentified remains cases of 

21 interest to Indian Tribes that the Tribal 

22 facilitator can identify in the National 

23 Missing and Unidentified Persons System; 

24 and 


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1 (ii) the percentage of missing persons 

2 cases of interest to Indian Tribes, un3 claimed remains cases of interest to Indian 

4 Tribes, and unidentified remains cases of 

5 interest to Indian Tribes closed during the 

6 1-year period preceding the date of the re7 port that the Tribal facilitator can identify 

8 in the National Missing and Unidentified 

9 Persons System. 

10 (2) PUBLIC TRANSPARENCY.—Annually, the At11 torney General, acting through the Director of the 

12 National Institute of Justice, shall publish on a 

13 website publicly accessible information— 

14 (A) describing the activities and accom15 plishments of the 1 or more Tribal facilitators 

16 appointed under subsection (a) during the 1- 

17 year period preceding the date of the publica18 tion; and 

19 (B) summarizing— 

20 (i) the number of missing persons 

21 cases of interest to Indian Tribes, un22 claimed remains cases of interest to Indian 

23 Tribes, and unidentified remains cases of 

24 interest to Indian Tribes that the Tribal 

25 facilitator can identify in the National 


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1 Missing and Unidentified Persons System; 

2 and 

3 (ii) the percentage of missing persons 

4 cases of interest to Indian Tribes, un5 claimed remains cases of interest to Indian 

6 Tribes, and unidentified remains cases of 

7 interest to Indian Tribes closed during the 

8 1-year period preceding the date of the re9 port that the Tribal facilitator can identify 

10 in the National Missing and Unidentified 

11 Persons System. 

12 SEC. 102. REPORT ON INDIAN COUNTRY LAW ENFORCE13 MENT PERSONNEL RESOURCES AND NEED. 

14 (a) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFICE OF JUS15 TICE SERVICES.—Section 3(c)(16) of the Indian Law En16 forcement Reform Act (25 U.S.C. 2802(c)(16)) is amend17 ed by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(C) a list of the unmet— 

20 ‘‘(i) staffing needs of law enforcement, 

21 corrections, and court personnel, including 

22 criminal investigators, medical examiners, 

23 coroners, forensic technicians, indigent de24 fense staff, and prosecution staff, at tribal 


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1 and Bureau of Indian Affairs justice agen2 cies; 

3 ‘‘(ii) replacement and repair needs of 

4 tribal and Bureau of Indian Affairs correc5 tions facilities; 

6 ‘‘(iii) infrastructure and capital needs 

7 for tribal police and court facilities, includ8 ing evidence storage and processing; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) public safety and emergency 

10 communications and technology needs; 

11 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, Fire21 arms and Explosives; and 

22 (E) the Offices of the United States Attor23 neys. 

24 (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each fiscal year, the 

25 Attorney General shall submit to the Committees on 


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1 Indian Affairs, the Judiciary, and Appropriations of 

2 the Senate and the Committees on Natural Re3 sources, the Judiciary, and Appropriations of the 

4 House of Representatives a report describing for 

5 that fiscal year— 

6 (A) the number of full-time employees of 

7 each Department of Justice law enforcement 

8 agency that are assigned to work on criminal 

9 investigations and prosecutions in Indian coun10 try; and 

11 (B) the percentage of time the full-employ12 ees spend specifically working in Indian coun13 try. 

14 (3) GAO STUDY AND REPORT.— 

15 (A) STUDY.— 

16 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 

17 months after the date on which the first 

18 annual report is submitted under para19 graph (2), the Comptroller General of the 

20 United States shall conduct a study that 

21 examines any identified unmet staffing 

22 needs for Department of Justice law en23 forcement agencies tasked with work on 

24 criminal investigations and prosecutions in 

25 Indian country. 


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1 (ii) REQUIREMENT.—In conducting 

2 the study required under clause (i), the 

3 Comptroller General of the United States 

4 shall take into account the results of the 

5 most recent report, as of the date of enact6 ment of this Act, relating to Indian coun7 try investigations and prosecutions pre8 pared by the Attorney General pursuant to 

9 section 10(b) of the Indian Law Enforce10 ment Reform Act (25 U.S.C. 2809(b)). 

11 (B) REPORT.—On completion of the study 

12 under subparagraph (A), the Comptroller Gen13 eral of the United States shall submit to the 

14 Committees on Indian Affairs, the Judiciary, 

15 and Appropriations of the Senate and the Com16 mittees on Natural Resources, the Judiciary, 

17 and Appropriations of the House of Representa18 tives a report that describes the results of the 

19 study, including, as appropriate, proposals for 

20 methods by which the Department of Justice 

21 can better measure the unmet staffing needs for 

22 Department of Justice law enforcement agen23 cies tasked with work on criminal investigations 

24 and prosecutions in Indian country. 


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1 TITLE II—ENSURING SAFETY 

2 FOR NATIVE COMMUNITIES 

3 SEC. 201. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM ON BUREAU OF IN4 DIAN AFFAIRS LAW ENFORCEMENT EMPLOY5 MENT BACKGROUND CHECKS. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

8 a demonstration program for the purpose of con9 ducting or adjudicating, in coordination with the Di10 rector of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, personnel 

11 background investigations for applicants for law en12 forcement positions in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

13 (2) BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS AND SECU14 RITY CLEARANCE DETERMINATIONS.— 

15 (A) BIA INVESTIGATIONS.—As part of the 

16 demonstration program established under para17 graph (1), the Secretary may carry out a back18 ground investigation, security clearance deter19 mination, or both a background investigation 

20 and a security clearance determination for an 

21 applicant for a law enforcement position in the 

22 Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

23 (B) USE OF PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS

24 AND DETERMINATIONS.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

2 (ii), as part of the demonstration program 

3 established under paragraph (1), the Sec4 retary, in adjudicating background inves5 tigations for applicants for law enforce6 ment positions in the Bureau of Indian Af7 fairs, shall consider previous background 

8 investigations for an applicant, security 

9 clearance determinations for an applicant, 

10 or both background investigations and se11 curity clearance determinations for an ap12 plicant, as the case may be, that have been 

13 conducted by a State or local government, 

14 Indian Tribe, tribal organization, or the 

15 Bureau of Indian Affairs, within the 5-year 

16 period preceding the application for em17 ployment with the Bureau of Indian Af18 fairs. 

19 (ii) QUALITY.—The Secretary shall 

20 only consider previous background inves21 tigations and security clearance determina22 tions for an applicant that have been con23 ducted by a State or local government, In24 dian Tribe, or tribal organization if the 

25 Secretary can verify that those previous inVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:31 Oct 04, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4923.IS S4923

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1 vestigations and determinations, as the 

2 case may be, are of a comparable quality 

3 and thoroughness to investigations and de4 terminations carried out by the Bureau of 

5 Indian Affairs, the Office of Personnel 

6 Management, or another Federal agency. 

7 (iii) ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATION.—If, 

8 as described in clause (i), the Secretary 

9 considers an existing background investiga10 tion, security clearance determination, or 

11 both, as the case may be, for an applicant 

12 that has been carried out by a State or 

13 local government, Indian Tribe, tribal or14 ganization, or the Bureau of Indian Af15 fairs, the Secretary— 

16 (I) may carry out additional in17 vestigation and examination of the ap18 plicant if the Secretary determines 

19 that such additional information is 

20 needed in order to make an appro21 priate determination as to the char22 acter and trustworthiness of the appli23 cant before final adjudication can be 

24 made and a security clearance can be 

25 issued; and 


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1 (II) shall not initiate a new back2 ground investigation process with the 

3 National Background Investigations 

4 Bureau or other Federal agency un5 less that new background investiga6 tion process covers a period of time 

7 that was not covered by a previous 

8 background investigation process. 

9 (iv) AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 

10 may enter into a Memorandum of Agree11 ment with a State or local government, In12 dian Tribe, or tribal organization to de13 velop steps to expedite the process of re14 ceiving and obtaining access to background 

15 investigation and security clearance deter16 minations for use in the demonstration 

17 program. 

18 (3) SUNSET.—The demonstration program es19 tablished under this section shall terminate 5 years 

20 after the date of the commencement of the program. 

21 (b) SUFFICIENCY.—Notwithstanding any other provi22 sion of law, a background investigation conducted or adju23 dicated by the Secretary pursuant to the demonstration 

24 program authorized in subsection (a) that results in the 

25 granting of a security clearance to an applicant for a law 


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1 enforcement position in the Bureau of Indian Affairs shall 

2 be sufficient to meet the applicable requirements of the 

3 Office of Personnel Management or other Federal agency 

4 for such investigations. 

5 (c) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to 

6 the Committees on Indian Affairs, the Judiciary, and Ap7 propriations of the Senate and the Committees on Natural 

8 Resources, the Judiciary, and Appropriations of the House 

9 of Representatives an annual report on the demonstration 

10 program established under subsection (a), which shall in11 clude a description of— 

12 (1) the demonstration program and any rel13 evant annual changes or updates to the program; 

14 (2) the number of background investigations 

15 carried out under the program; 

16 (3) the costs, including any cost savings, associ17 ated with the investigation and adjudication process 

18 under the program; 

19 (4) the processing times for the investigation 

20 and adjudication processes under the program; 

21 (5) any Memoranda of Agreement entered into 

22 with State or local government, Indian Tribe, or 

23 tribal organization; and 

24 (6) any other information that the Secretary 

25 determines to be relevant. 


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1 (d) GAO STUDY AND REPORT.— 

2 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 18 

3 months after the date on which the demonstration 

4 program commences under this section, the Comp5 troller General of the United States shall prepare 

6 and submit to Congress an initial report on such 

7 demonstration program. 

8 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 18 months 

9 after the date on which the demonstration program 

10 terminates under subsection (a)(3), the Comptroller 

11 General of the United States shall prepare and sub12 mit to Congress a final report on such demonstra13 tion program. 

14 (3) TRIBAL INPUT.—In preparing the reports 

15 under this subsection, the Comptroller General of 

16 the United States shall obtain input from Indian 

17 Tribes regarding the demonstration program under 

18 this section. 

19 SEC. 202. MISSING AND MURDERED RESPONSE COORDINA20 TION GRANT PROGRAM. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Attorney 

22 General shall establish within the Office of Justice Pro23 grams a grant program under which the Attorney General 

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1 section (b) to carry out eligible activities described in sub2 section (c). 

3 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

5 grant under the grant program established under 

6 subsection (a) an entity shall be— 

7 (A) an Indian Tribe; 

8 (B) a relevant Tribal organization; 

9 (C) subject to paragraph (2), a State, in 

10 consortium with— 

11 (i) 1 or more Indian Tribes; and 

12 (ii) relevant Tribal organizations, if 

13 any; 

14 (D) a consortium of 2 or more Indian 

15 Tribes or relevant Tribal organizations; or 

16 (E) subject to paragraph (2), a consortium 

17 of 2 or more States in consortium with— 

18 (i) 1 or more Indian Tribes; and 

19 (ii) relevant Tribal organizations, if 

20 any. 

21 (2) STATE ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible under 

22 subparagraph (C) or (E) of paragraph (1), a State 

23 shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Attorney 

24 General that the State— 


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1 (A)(i) reports missing persons cases in the 

2 State to the national crime information data3 bases; or 

4 (ii) if not, has a plan to do so using a 

5 grant received under the grant program estab6 lished under subsection (a); and 

7 (B) if data sharing between the State and 

8 the Indian Tribes and relevant Tribal organiza9 tions with which the State is in consortium is 

10 part of the intended use of the grant received 

11 under the grant program established under sub12 section (a), has entered into a memorandum of 

13 understanding with each applicable Indian 

14 Tribe and relevant Tribal organization. 

15 (c) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity receiv16 ing a grant under the grant program established under 

17 subsection (a) may use the grant— 

18 (1) to establish a statewide or regional center— 

19 (A) to document and track— 

20 (i) missing persons cases of interest to 

21 Indian Tribes; 

22 (ii) sexual assault cases of interest to 

23 Indian Tribes; and 

24 (iii) death investigations of interest to 

25 Indian Tribes; and 


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1 (B) to input information regarding missing 

2 persons cases of interest to Indian Tribes, un3 claimed remains cases of interest to Indian 

4 Tribes, and unidentified remains cases of inter5 est to Indian Tribes into the National Missing 

6 and Unidentified Persons System; 

7 (2) to establish a State or regional commission 

8 to respond to, and to improve coordination between 

9 Federal law enforcement agencies, and Tribal, State, 

10 and local law enforcement agencies of the investiga11 tion of, missing persons cases of interest to Indian 

12 Tribes, sexual assault cases of interest to Indian 

13 Tribes, and death investigations of interest to Indian 

14 Tribes; and 

15 (3) to document, develop, and disseminate re16 sources for the coordination and improvement of the 

17 investigation of missing persons cases of interest to 

18 Indian Tribes, sexual assault cases of interest to In19 dian Tribes, and death investigations of interest to 

20 Indian Tribes, including to develop local or statewide 

21 rapid notification or communication systems for 

22 alerts and other information relating to those cases. 

23 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

24 authorized to be appropriated to carry out the program 

25 $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027. 


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1 SEC. 203. GAO STUDY ON FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT 

2 AGENCY EVIDENCE COLLECTION, HANDLING, 

3 AND PROCESSING. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 

5 United States shall conduct a study— 

6 (1) on the evidence collection, handling, and 

7 processing procedures and practices of the Office of 

8 Justice Services and the Federal Bureau of Inves9 tigation in exercising jurisdiction over crimes involv10 ing Indians or committed in Indian country; 

11 (2) on any barriers to evidence collection, han12 dling, and processing by the agencies referred to in 

13 paragraph (1); 

14 (3) on the views of law enforcement officials at 

15 the agencies referred to in paragraph (1) and their 

16 counterparts within the Offices of the United States 

17 Attorneys concerning any relationship between— 

18 (A) the barriers identified under paragraph 

19 (2); and 

20 (B) United States Attorneys declination 

21 rates due to insufficient evidence; and 

22 (4) that includes a survey of barriers to evi23 dence collection, handling, and processing faced by— 

24 (A) Tribal law enforcement agencies; and 


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1 (B) State and local law enforcement agen2 cies that exercise jurisdiction over Indian coun3 try. 

4 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

6 of the United States shall submit to Congress a report 

7 describing the results of the study conducted under sub8 section (a). 

9 SEC. 204. BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS AND TRIBAL LAW 

10 ENFORCEMENT OFFICER COUNSELING RE11 SOURCES INTERDEPARTMENTAL COORDINA12 TION. 

13 The Secretary of Health and Human Services and the 

14 Attorney General shall coordinate with the Director— 

15 (1) to ensure that Federal training materials 

16 and culturally appropriate mental health and 

17 wellness programs are locally or regionally available 

18 to law enforcement officers working for the Bureau 

19 of Indian Affairs or an Indian Tribe who are experi20 encing occupational stress; and 

21 (2) to determine whether law enforcement agen22 cies operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and 

23 Indian Tribes are eligible to receive services under— 


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1 (A) the Law Enforcement Assistance Pro2 gram of Federal Occupational Health of the 

3 Department of Health and Human Services; or 

4 (B) any other law enforcement assistance 

5 program targeted to meet the needs of law en6 forcement officers working for law enforcement 

7 agencies operated by the Federal Government 

8 or an Indian Tribe. 

Æ 


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