II 

Calendar No. 476 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1853 

[Report No. 116–230] 

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 

JUNE 13, 2019 

Mr. UDALL (for himself, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. TESTER, Ms. MURKOWSKI, 

Ms. MCSALLY, and Ms. SMITH) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

JUNE 4, 2020 

Reported by Mr. HOEVEN, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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 


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

2 Communities Act’’. 

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

4 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—BRIDGING AGENCY DATA GAPS 

Sec. 101. Federal law enforcement database reporting requirements. 

Sec. 102. National Missing and Unidentified Persons System Tribal liaison. 

Sec. 103. Law enforcement data sharing with Indian tribes. 

Sec. 104. 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. 

5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

8 the Director of the Office of Justice Services. 

9 (2) FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.— 

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

11 the Bureau of Indian Affairs direct-service police, 

12 the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and any other 

13 Federal law enforcement agency that— 

14 (A) has jurisdiction over crimes in Indian 

15 country; or 


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1 (B) investigates missing persons cases of 

2 interest to Indian tribes, murder cases of inter3 est to Indian tribes, or unidentified remains 

4 cases of interest to Indian tribes. 

5 (3) INDIAN.—The term ‘‘Indian’’ has the mean6 ing given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self7 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 

8 U.S.C. 5304). 

9 (4) INDIAN COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘Indian coun10 try’’ has the meaning given the term in section 1151 

11 of title 18, United States Code. 

12 (5) INDIAN LAND.—The term ‘‘Indian land’’ 

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

14 section 3 of the Native American Business Develop15 ment, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 

16 (25 U.S.C. 4302). 

17 (6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

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

19 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

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

21 (7) MANSLAUGHTER.—The term ‘‘man22 slaughter’’ has the meaning given the term in sec23 tion 1112 of title 18, United States Code. 


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

2 meaning determined by the applicable Federal law 

3 enforcement agency. 

4 (9) MISSING PERSONS CASE OF INTEREST TO

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

6 interest to Indian tribes’’ means a case involving— 

7 (A) a missing Indian; or 

8 (B) a missing person whose last known lo9 cation is believed to be on, in, or near Indian 

10 land. 

11 (10) MURDER.—The term ‘‘murder’’ has the 

12 meaning given the term in section 1111 of title 18, 

13 United States Code. 

14 (11) MURDER CASE OF INTEREST TO INDIAN

15 TRIBES.—The term ‘‘murder case of interest to In16 dian tribes’’ means a case involving— 

17 (A) a murdered Indian; or 

18 (B) a person murdered on, in, or near In19 dian land. 

20 (12) MURDERED.—The term ‘‘murdered’’, with 

21 respect to a person, means the person was the victim 

22 of— 

23 (A) murder; or 

24 (B) manslaughter. 


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1 (13) NATIONAL CRIME INFORMATION DATA2 BASES.—The term ‘‘national crime information 

3 databases’’ has the meaning given the term in sec4 tion 534(f)(3) of title 28, United States Code. 

5 (14) RELEVANT TRIBAL STAKEHOLDER.—The 

6 term ‘‘relevant Tribal stakeholder’’ means, as appli7 cable— 

8 (A) an Indian tribe; 

9 (B) a tribal organization; and 

10 (C) a national or regional organization 

11 that— 

12 (i) represents a substantial Indian 

13 constituency; and 

14 (ii) has expertise in the fields of— 

15 (I) human trafficking; 

16 (II) violence against women and 

17 children; or 

18 (III) Tribal justice systems. 

19 (15) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

20 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

21 (16) TRIBAL JUSTICE OFFICIAL.—The term 

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

23 term in section 2 of the Indian Law Enforcement 

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


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1 (17) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘tribal 

2 organization’’ has the meaning given the term in 

3 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu4 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

5 (18) UNIDENTIFIED REMAINS CASE OF INTER6 EST TO INDIAN TRIBES.—The term ‘‘unidentified re7 mains case of interest to Indian tribes’’ means a 

8 case involving— 

9 (A) unidentified Indian remains; or 

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

11 near Indian land. 

12 TITLE I—BRIDGING AGENCY 

13 DATA GAPS 

14 SEC. 101. FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT DATABASE RE15 PORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 151(a) of the Sex Of17 fender Registration and Notification Act (34 U.S.C. 

18 20961(a)) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

20 the semicolon; 

21 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para22 graph (3); and 

23 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(2) the National Missing and Unidentified 

2 Persons System, to be used by a person accessing 

3 the System only within the scope of the work of the 

4 person in assisting or supporting law enforcement 

5 efforts to solve missing, unidentified, and unclaimed 

6 person cases across the United States; and’’. 

7 (b) SHARING OF INFORMATION.—Not later than 2 

8 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 

9 General shall, in a manner that maintains the integrity 

10 of confidential, private, and law enforcement sensitive in11 formation, provide for information on missing persons and 

12 unidentified remains contained in national crime informa13 tion databases to be transmitted to, entered in, and other14 wise shared with the National Missing and Unidentified 

15 Persons System. 

16 (c) TEMPORARY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Until 

17 such time as the data sharing procedures required under 

18 subsection (b) are in effect, each Federal law enforcement 

19 agency shall enter into the National Missing and Unidenti20 fied Persons System each missing persons case of interest 

21 to Indian tribes and each unidentified remains case of in22 terest to Indian tribes reported to or investigated by the 

23 Federal law enforcement agency. 

24 (d) COORDINATION WITH NAMUS TRIBAL LIAI25 SON.—The Director and the Director of the Federal BuVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:53 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1853.RS S1853

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1 reau of Investigation shall each appoint a liaison to coordi2 nate with the 1 or more Tribal liaisons appointed under 

3 section (4)(a) to ensure that— 

4 (1) all missing persons cases of interest to In5 dian tribes and all unidentified remains cases of in6 terest to Indian tribes are fully captured in the Na7 tional Missing and Unidentified Persons System; 

8 and 

9 (2) Indian tribes are aware of, and able to ac10 cess, information in the National Missing and Un11 identified Persons System. 

12 SEC. 102. NATIONAL MISSING AND UNIDENTIFIED PERSONS 

13 SYSTEM TRIBAL LIAISON. 

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

15 through the Director of the National Institute of Justice, 

16 shall appoint 1 or more Tribal liaisons for the National 

17 Missing and Unidentified Persons System. 

18 (b) DUTIES.—The duties of a Tribal liaison ap19 pointed under subsection (a) shall include— 

20 (1) coordinating the reporting of information 

21 relating to missing persons cases of interest to In22 dian tribes and unidentified remains cases of inter23 est to Indian tribes; 

24 (2) consulting and coordinating with relevant 

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1 mentation, and tracking of missing persons cases of 

2 interest to Indian tribes and unidentified remains 

3 cases of interest to Indian tribes; 

4 (3) developing working relationships, and main5 taining communication, with relevant Tribal stake6 holders; 

7 (4) providing technical assistance and training 

8 to relevant Tribal stakeholders, victim service advo9 cates, medical examiners, and tribal justice officials 

10 regarding— 

11 (A) the gathering and reporting of infor12 mation to the National Missing and Unidenti13 fied Persons System; and 

14 (B) working with non-Tribal law enforce15 ment agencies to ensure all missing persons 

16 cases of interest to Indian tribes and unidenti17 fied remains cases of interest to Indian tribes 

18 are reported to the National Missing and Un19 identified Persons System; 

20 (5) coordinating with the Office of Tribal Jus21 tice and the Office of Justice Services, as necessary; 

22 and 

23 (6) conducting other training, information gath24 ering, and outreach activities to improve resolution 

25 of missing persons cases of interest to Indian tribes 


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1 and unidentified remains cases of interest to Indian 

2 tribes. 

3 (c) REPORTING AND TRANSPARENCY.— 

4 (1) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—During 

5 the 3-year-period beginning on the date of enact6 ment of this Act, the Attorney General, acting 

7 through the Director of the National Institute of 

8 Justice, shall submit to the Committees on Indian 

9 Affairs and the Judiciary of the Senate and the 

10 Committees on Natural Resources and the Judiciary 

11 of the House of Representatives an annual report— 

12 (A) describing the activities and accom13 plishments of the 1 or more Tribal liaisons ap14 pointed under subsection (a) during the 1-year 

15 period preceding the date of the report; and 

16 (B) summarizing— 

17 (i) the number of missing persons 

18 cases of interest to Indian tribes and un19 identified remains cases of interest to In20 dian tribes listed in the National Missing 

21 and Unidentified Persons System; 

22 (ii) the percentage of missing persons 

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1 dian tribes closed during the 1-year period 

2 preceding the date of the report; and 

3 (iii) the reasons for those closures. 

4 (2) PUBLIC TRANSPARENCY.—Annually, the At5 torney General, acting through the Director of the 

6 National Institute of Justice, shall publish on a 

7 website publicly accessible information— 

8 (A) describing the activities and accom9 plishments of the 1 or more Tribal liaisons ap10 pointed under subsection (a) during the 1-year 

11 period preceding the date of the publication; 

12 and 

13 (B) summarizing— 

14 (i) the number of missing persons 

15 cases of interest to Indian tribes and un16 identified remains cases of interest to In17 dian tribes listed in the National Missing 

18 and Unidentified Persons System; 

19 (ii) the percentage of missing persons 

20 cases of interest to Indian tribes and un21 identified remains cases of interest to In22 dian tribes closed during the 1-year period 

23 preceding the date of the report; and 

24 (iii) the reasons for those closures. 


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1 SEC. 103. LAW ENFORCEMENT DATA SHARING WITH INDIAN 

2 TRIBES. 

3 (a) ACCESS TO NATIONAL CRIME INFORMATION

4 DATABASES BY TRIBES.—Section 233(b) of the Tribal 

5 Law and Order Act of 2010 (34 U.S.C. 41107) is amend6 ed— 

7 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 

10 ensure that— 

11 ‘‘(A) tribal law enforcement officials that 

12 meet applicable Federal or State requirements 

13 shall be permitted access to national crime in14 formation databases; 

15 ‘‘(B) technical assistance and training is 

16 provided to Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribal 

17 law enforcement agencies to gain access to, and 

18 the ability to use and input information into, 

19 the National Crime Information Center and 

20 other national crime information databases pur21 suant to section 534 of title 28, United States 

22 Code; and 

23 ‘‘(C) the Federal Bureau of Investigation 

24 coordinates with the Office of Justice Services 

25 to ensure tribal law enforcement agencies are 

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1 bers for uniform crime reporting purposes.’’; 

2 and 

3 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘with criminal 

4 jurisdiction over Indian country’’. 

5 (b) ACQUISITION, PRESERVATION, AND EXCHANGE

6 OF IDENTIFICATION RECORDS AND INFORMATION.—Sec7 tion 534(d) of title 28, United States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

9 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and indent10 ing appropriately; 

11 (2) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) 

12 (as so redesignated), by striking ‘‘The Attorney Gen13 eral’’ and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General’’; 

15 and 

16 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(2) TRIBAL ACCESS PROGRAM.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

19 shall establish a program, to be known as the 

20 ‘Tribal Access Program’, to enhance the ability 

21 of tribal governments to access and enter infor22 mation into Federal criminal information data23 bases under this section. 

24 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA25 TIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—There is author2 ized to be appropriated to carry out the 

3 Tribal Access Program under subpara4 graph (A) $3,000,000 for each of fiscal 

5 years 2020 through 2024, to remain avail6 able until expended. 

7 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL FUNDING.—The At8 torney General may use to carry out the 

9 Tribal Access Program under subpara10 graph (A) any balances remaining for the 

11 account under the heading ‘VIOLENCE

12 AGAINST WOMEN PREVENTION AND PROS13 ECUTION PROGRAMS’ under the heading 

14 ‘STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

15 ACTIVITIES OFFICE ON VIOLENCE

16 AGAINST WOMEN’ of the Department of 

17 Justice from appropriations for full fiscal 

18 years prior to the date of enactment of the 

19 Bridging Agency Data Gaps and Ensuring 

20 Safety for Native Communities Act. 

21 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION SHARING.—To the extent 

22 otherwise permitted by law, any report issued as a 

23 result of the analysis of information entered into 

24 Federal criminal information databases or obtained 

25 from Federal criminal databases, including for the 


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1 purpose of conducting background checks, shall be 

2 shared with each Indian tribe of jurisdiction.’’. 

3 SEC. 104. REPORT ON INDIAN COUNTRY LAW ENFORCE4 MENT PERSONNEL RESOURCES AND NEED. 

5 (a) DEFINITION OF DOJ LAW ENFORCEMENT AGEN6 CY.—In this section, the term ‘‘DOJ law enforcement 

7 agency’’ means each of— 

8 (1) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; 

9 (2) the Drug Enforcement Administration; 

10 (3) the United States Marshals Service; 

11 (4) the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms 

12 and Explosives; and 

13 (5) the Offices of the United States Attorneys. 

14 (b) REPORT.—Each fiscal year, the Attorney General 

15 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 

16 a report describing for that fiscal year— 

17 (1) the number of full-time employees of each 

18 DOJ law enforcement agency that are assigned to 

19 work on criminal investigations and prosecutions in 

20 Indian country; 

21 (2) an estimate of the average caseload of— 

22 (A) the full-time employees described in 

23 paragraph (1); compared to 

24 (B) the other full-time employees at the re25 spective DOJ law enforcement agency that are 


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1 assigned to work on criminal investigations and 

2 prosecutions; and 

3 (3) an explanation for any differences in the av4 erage caseloads identified under subparagraphs (A) 

5 and (B) of paragraph (2). 

6 TITLE II—ENSURING SAFETY 

7 FOR NATIVE COMMUNITIES 

8 SEC. 201. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM ON BUREAU OF IN9 DIAN AFFAIRS LAW ENFORCEMENT EMPLOY10 MENT BACKGROUND CHECKS. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 

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

13 a demonstration program for the purpose of con14 ducting or adjudicating, in coordination with the Di15 rector of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, personnel 

16 background investigations for applicants for law en17 forcement positions in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

18 (2) BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS AND SECU19 RITY CLEARANCE DETERMINATIONS.— 

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

21 demonstration program established under para22 graph (1), the Secretary may carry out a back23 ground investigation, security clearance deter24 mination, or both a background investigation 

25 and a security clearance determination for an 


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1 applicant for a law enforcement position in the 

2 Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

3 (B) USE OF PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS

4 AND DETERMINATIONS.— 

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

6 (ii), as part of the demonstration program 

7 established under paragraph (1), the Sec8 retary, in adjudicating background inves9 tigations for applicants for law enforce10 ment positions in the Bureau of Indian Af11 fairs, shall consider previous background 

12 investigations for an applicant, security 

13 clearance determinations for an applicant, 

14 or both background investigations and se15 curity clearance determinations for an ap16 plicant, as the case may be, that have been 

17 conducted by a State or local government, 

18 Indian tribe, tribal organization, or the 

19 Bureau of Indian Affairs, within the 5-year 

20 period preceding the application for em21 ployment with the Bureau of Indian Af22 fairs. 

23 (ii) QUALITY.—The Secretary shall 

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1 tions for an applicant that have been con2 ducted by a State or local government, In3 dian tribe, or tribal organization if the Sec4 retary can verify that those previous inves5 tigations and determinations, as the case 

6 may be, are of a comparable quality and 

7 thoroughness to investigations and deter8 minations carried out by the Bureau of In9 dian Affairs, the Office of Personnel Man10 agement, or another Federal agency. 

11 (iii) ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATION.—If, 

12 as described in clause (i), the Secretary 

13 considers an existing background investiga14 tion, security clearance determination, or 

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

16 that has been carried out by a State or 

17 local government, Indian tribe, tribal orga18 nization, or the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

19 the Secretary— 

20 (I) may carry out additional in21 vestigation and examination of the ap22 plicant if the Secretary determines 

23 that such additional information is 

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1 acter and trustworthiness of the appli2 cant before final adjudication can be 

3 made and a security clearance can be 

4 issued; and 

5 (II) shall not initiate a new back6 ground investigation process with the 

7 National Background Investigations 

8 Bureau or other Federal agency un9 less that new background investiga10 tion process covers a period of time 

11 that was not covered by a previous 

12 background investigation process. 

13 (iv) AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 

14 may enter into a Memorandum of Agree15 ment with a State or local government, In16 dian tribe, or tribal organization to develop 

17 steps to expedite the process of receiving 

18 and obtaining access to background inves19 tigation and security clearance determina20 tions for use in the demonstration pro21 gram. 

22 (3) SUNSET.—The demonstration program es23 tablished under this section shall terminate 5 years 

24 after the date of the commencement of the program. 


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1 (b) SUFFICIENCY.—Notwithstanding any other provi2 sion of law, a background investigation conducted or adju3 dicated by the Secretary pursuant to the demonstration 

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

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

6 enforcement position in the Bureau of Indian Affairs shall 

7 be sufficient to meet the applicable requirements of the 

8 Office of Personnel Management or other Federal agency 

9 for such investigations. 

10 (c) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit 

11 an annual report to the Committee on Indian Affairs of 

12 the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of 

13 the House of Representatives on the demonstration pro14 gram established under subsection (a), which shall include 

15 a description of— 

16 (1) the demonstration program and any rel17 evant annual changes or updates to the program; 

18 (2) the number of background investigations 

19 carried out under the program; 

20 (3) the costs, including any cost savings, associ21 ated with the investigation and adjudication process 

22 under the program; 

23 (4) the processing times for the investigation 

24 and adjudication processes under the program; 


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1 (5) any Memoranda of Agreement entered into 

2 with State or local government, Indian tribe, or trib3 al organization; and 

4 (6) any other information that the Secretary 

5 determines to be relevant. 

6 (d) GAO STUDY AND REPORT.— 

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

8 months after the date on which the demonstration 

9 program commences under this section, the Comp10 troller General of the United States shall prepare 

11 and submit to Congress an initial report on such 

12 demonstration program. 

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

14 after the date on which the demonstration program 

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

16 General of the United States shall prepare and sub17 mit to Congress a final report on such demonstra18 tion program. 

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

20 under this subsection, the Comptroller General of 

21 the United States shall obtain input from Indian 

22 tribes regarding the demonstration program under 

23 this section. 


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1 SEC. 202. MISSING AND MURDERED RESPONSE COORDINA2 TION GRANT PROGRAM. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Attorney 

4 General shall establish within the Office of Justice Pro5 grams a grant program under which the Attorney General 

6 shall make grants to eligible entities described in sub7 section (b) to carry out eligible activities described in sub8 section (c). 

9 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

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

11 grant under the grant program established under 

12 subsection (a) an entity shall be— 

13 (A) a relevant Tribal stakeholder; 

14 (B) subject to paragraph (2), a State, in 

15 consortium with a relevant Tribal stakeholder; 

16 (C) a consortium of 2 or more relevant 

17 Tribal stakeholders; or 

18 (D) subject to paragraph (2), a consortium 

19 of 2 or more States and 1 or more relevant 

20 Tribal stakeholders. 

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

22 subparagraph (B) or (D) 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) reports missing persons cases in the 

2 State to the national crime information data3 bases; or 

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

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

7 (c) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity receiv8 ing a grant under the grant program established under 

9 subsection (a) may use the grant— 

10 (1) to establish a statewide or regional center to 

11 document and track missing persons cases of inter12 est to Indian tribes and murder cases of interest to 

13 Indian tribes; 

14 (2) to establish a State or regional commission 

15 to respond to, and to improve coordination between 

16 Federal law enforcement agencies, and Tribal, State, 

17 and local law enforcement agencies of the investiga18 tion of, missing persons cases of interest to Indian 

19 tribes and murder cases of interest to Indian tribes; 

20 and 

21 (3) to document, develop, and disseminate re22 sources for use by Federal law enforcement agencies 

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1 ing persons cases of interest to Indian tribes and 

2 murder cases of interest to Indian tribes. 

3 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be appropriated to carry out the program 

5 $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024. 

6 SEC. 203. GAO STUDY ON FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT 

7 AGENCY EVIDENCE COLLECTION, HANDLING, 

8 AND PROCESSING. 

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

10 United States shall conduct a study— 

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

12 processing procedures and practices of the Office of 

13 Justice Services and the Federal Bureau of Inves14 tigation in exercising jurisdiction over crimes involv15 ing Indians or committed in Indian country; 

16 (2) on any barriers to evidence collection, han17 dling, and processing by the agencies referred to in 

18 paragraph (1); 

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

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

21 counterparts within the Offices of the United States 

22 Attorneys concerning any relationship between— 

23 (A) the barriers identified under paragraph 

24 (2); and 


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1 (B) United States Attorneys declination 

2 rates due to insufficient evidence; and 

3 (4) that includes a survey of barriers to evi4 dence collection, handling, and processing faced by 

5 State and local law enforcement agencies that exer6 cise jurisdiction over Indian country under the Act 

7 of August 15, 1953 (67 Stat. 588, chapter 505), 

8 and the amendments made by that Act. 

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

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

11 of the United States shall submit to Congress a report 

12 describing the results of the study conducted under sub13 section (a). 

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

15 ENFORCEMENT OFFICER COUNSELING RE16 SOURCES INTERDEPARTMENTAL COORDINA17 TION. 

18 The Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting 

19 through the Director of the Indian Health Service and the 

20 Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 

21 Services Administration, and the Attorney General shall 

22 coordinate with the Director to ensure that Federal train23 ing materials and resources for establishing and maintain24 ing mental health wellness programs are available to TribVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:53 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1853.RS S1853

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1 al and Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement officers 

2 experiencing occupational stress. 

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 Na6 tive Communities Act’’ or the ‘‘BADGES for Native Com7 munities Act’’. 

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

9 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—BRIDGING AGENCY DATA GAPS 

Sec. 101. Federal law enforcement database reporting requirements. 

Sec. 102. National Missing and Unidentified Persons System Tribal facilitator. 

Sec. 103. Law enforcement data sharing with Indian tribes. 

Sec. 104. 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. 

10 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

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

13 investigation’’ has the meaning determined by the At14 torney General. 


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1 (2) DEATH INVESTIGATION OF INTEREST TO IN2 DIAN TRIBES.—The term ‘‘death investigation of in3 terest to Indian tribes’’ means a case involving— 

4 (A) a death investigation into the death of 

5 an Indian; or 

6 (B) a death investigation of a person found 

7 on, in, or adjacent to Indian land. 

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

9 Director of the Office of Justice Services. 

10 (4) FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.—The 

11 term ‘‘Federal law enforcement agency’’ means the 

12 Bureau of Indian Affairs direct-service police, the 

13 Federal Bureau of Investigation, and any other Fed14 eral law enforcement agency that— 

15 (A) has jurisdiction over crimes in Indian 

16 country; or 

17 (B) investigates missing persons cases of in18 terest to Indian tribes, death investigations of in19 terest to Indian tribes, unclaimed remains cases 

20 of interest to Indian tribes, or unidentified re21 mains cases of interest to Indian tribes. 

22 (5) INDIAN.—The term ‘‘Indian’’ has the mean23 ing given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-De24 termination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

25 5304). 


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1 (6) INDIAN COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘Indian coun2 try’’ has the meaning given the term in section 1151 

3 of title 18, United States Code. 

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

5 the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian lands’’ in section 

6 3 of the Native American Business Development, 

7 Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 (25 

8 U.S.C. 4302). 

9 (8) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ has 

10 the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian 

11 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 

12 U.S.C. 5304). 

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

14 meaning determined by the Attorney General. 

15 (10) MISSING PERSONS CASE OF INTEREST TO

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

17 interest to Indian tribes’’ means a case involving— 

18 (A) a missing Indian; or 

19 (B) a missing person whose last known lo20 cation is believed to be on, in, or adjacent to In21 dian land. 

22 (11) NATIONAL CRIME INFORMATION DATA23 BASES.—The term ‘‘national crime information data24 bases’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

25 534(f)(3) of title 28, United States Code. 


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1 (12) RELEVANT TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The 

2 term ‘‘relevant Tribal organization’’ means, as appli3 cable— 

4 (A) a tribal organization; and 

5 (B) a national or regional organization 

6 that— 

7 (i) represents a substantial Indian con8 stituency; and 

9 (ii) has expertise in the fields of— 

10 (I) human trafficking of Indians; 

11 (II) human trafficking on Indian 

12 land; 

13 (III) violence against Indian 

14 women and children; or 

15 (IV) tribal justice systems. 

16 (13) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of the Interior. 

18 (14) TRIBAL JUSTICE OFFICIAL.—The term 

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

20 term in section 2 of the Indian Law Enforcement Re21 form Act (25 U.S.C. 2801). 

22 (15) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘tribal 

23 organization’’ has the meaning given the term in sec24 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu25 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 


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1 (16) UNCLAIMED REMAINS CASE OF INTEREST

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

3 case of interest to Indian tribes’’ means a case involv4 ing— 

5 (A) unclaimed Indian remains; or 

6 (B) unclaimed remains found on, in, or ad7 jacent to Indian land. 

8 (17) UNIDENTIFIED REMAINS CASE OF INTEREST

9 TO INDIAN TRIBES.—The term ‘‘unidentified remains 

10 case of interest to Indian tribes’’ means a case involv11 ing— 

12 (A) unidentified Indian remains; or 

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

14 adjacent to Indian land. 

15 TITLE I—BRIDGING AGENCY 

16 DATA GAPS 

17 SEC. 101. FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT DATABASE RE18 PORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 151 of the Sex Offender 

20 Registration and Notification Act (34 U.S.C. 20961) is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection 

23 (c); and 

24 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(b) ACCESS BY NAMUS.—Notwithstanding any other 

2 provision of law, not later than 2 years after the date of 

3 enactment of the BADGES for Native Communities Act, the 

4 Attorney General shall ensure access, as appropriate, to the 

5 national crime information databases (as defined in section 

6 534(f)(3) of title 28, United States Code) by the National 

7 Missing and Unidentified Persons System, to be used by 

8 a person accessing the System only within the scope of the 

9 work of the person in assisting or supporting law enforce10 ment efforts to solve missing, unidentified, and unclaimed 

11 person cases across the United States; and’’. 

12 (b) SHARING OF INFORMATION.—Not later than 2 

13 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 

14 General shall, in a manner that maintains the integrity 

15 of confidential, private, and law enforcement sensitive in16 formation and with the permission of the local law enforce17 ment agency that originated the case, provide for informa18 tion on missing persons, unclaimed remains, and unidenti19 fied remains contained in national crime information data20 bases to be transmitted to, entered in, and otherwise shared 

21 with the National Missing and Unidentified Persons Sys22 tem. 

23 (c) TEMPORARY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Until 

24 such time as the data sharing procedures required under 

25 subsection (b) are in effect, each Federal law enforcement 


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1 agency, as appropriate, shall enter into the National Miss2 ing and Unidentified Persons System each missing persons 

3 case of interest to Indian tribes, each unclaimed remains 

4 case of interest to Indian tribes, and each unidentified re5 mains case of interest to Indian tribes investigated by the 

6 Federal law enforcement agency. 

7 (d) COORDINATION WITH NAMUS TRIBAL

8 FACILITATOR.—The Director and the Director of the Fed9 eral Bureau of Investigation shall each appoint a liaison 

10 to coordinate with the 1 or more Tribal facilitators ap11 pointed under section 102(a)— 

12 (1) to ensure that— 

13 (A) missing persons cases of interest to In14 dian tribes, unclaimed remains cases of interest 

15 to Indian tribes, and unidentified remains cases 

16 of interest to Indian tribes investigated by a 

17 Federal law enforcement agency are fully cap18 tured in the National Missing and Unidentified 

19 Persons System; and 

20 (B) Indian tribes are aware of, and able to 

21 access, information in the National Missing and 

22 Unidentified Persons System; and 

23 (2) to conduct outreach to State and local law 

24 enforcement agencies that exercise jurisdiction over 

25 Indian country under the Act of August 15, 1953 (67 


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1 Stat. 588, chapter 505), and the amendments made 

2 by that Act, to increase the input of information con3 cerning missing persons cases of interest to Indian 

4 tribes, unclaimed remains cases of interest to Indian 

5 tribes, and unidentified remains cases of interest to 

6 Indian tribes in the National Missing and Unidenti7 fied Persons System. 

8 SEC. 102. NATIONAL MISSING AND UNIDENTIFIED PERSONS 

9 SYSTEM TRIBAL FACILITATOR. 

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

11 through the Director of the National Institute of Justice, 

12 shall appoint 1 or more Tribal facilitators for the National 

13 Missing and Unidentified Persons System. 

14 (b) DUTIES.—The duties of a Tribal facilitator ap15 pointed under subsection (a) shall include— 

16 (1) coordinating the reporting of information re17 lating to missing persons cases of interest to Indian 

18 tribes, unclaimed remains cases of interest to Indian 

19 tribes, and unidentified remains cases of interest to 

20 Indian tribes; 

21 (2) consulting and coordinating with Indian 

22 tribes and relevant Tribal organizations to address 

23 the reporting, documentation, and tracking of missing 

24 persons cases of interest to Indian tribes, unclaimed 


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1 remains cases of Interest to Indian tribes, and un2 identified remains cases of interest to Indian tribes; 

3 (3) developing working relationships, and main4 taining communication, with Indian tribes and rel5 evant Tribal organizations; 

6 (4) providing technical assistance and training 

7 to Indian tribes and relevant Tribal organizations, 

8 victim service advocates, medical examiners, coroners, 

9 and tribal justice officials regarding— 

10 (A) the gathering and reporting of informa11 tion to the National Missing and Unidentified 

12 Persons System; and 

13 (B) working with non-Tribal law enforce14 ment agencies to ensure missing persons cases of 

15 interest to Indian tribes, unclaimed remains 

16 cases of interest to Indian tribes, and unidenti17 fied remains cases of interest to Indian tribes are 

18 reported to the National Missing and Unidenti19 fied Persons System; 

20 (5) coordinating with the Office of Tribal Jus21 tice, the Office of Justice Services, the Executive Of22 fice for United States Attorneys, and the National In23 dian Country Training Initiative, as necessary; and 

24 (6) conducting other training, information gath25 ering, and outreach activities to improve resolution of 


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1 missing persons cases of interest to Indian tribes, un2 claimed remains cases of interest to Indian tribes, 

3 and unidentified remains cases of interest to Indian 

4 tribes. 

5 (c) REPORTING AND TRANSPARENCY.— 

6 (1) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—During 

7 the 3-year-period beginning on the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, the Attorney General, acting through the 

9 Director of the National Institute of Justice, shall 

10 submit to the Committees on Indian Affairs and the 

11 Judiciary of the Senate and the Committees on Nat12 ural Resources and the Judiciary of the House of 

13 Representatives an annual report— 

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

16 appointed under subsection (a) during the 1-year 

17 period preceding the date of the report; and 

18 (B) summarizing— 

19 (i) the number of missing persons cases 

20 of interest to Indian tribes, unclaimed re21 mains cases of interest to Indian tribes, and 

22 unidentified remains cases of interest to In23 dian tribes that the Tribal facilitator can 

24 identify in the National Missing and Un25 identified Persons System; and 


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1 (ii) the percentage of missing persons 

2 cases of interest to Indian tribes, unclaimed 

3 remains cases of interest to Indian tribes, 

4 and unidentified remains cases of interest 

5 to Indian tribes closed during the 1-year pe6 riod preceding the date of the report that 

7 the Tribal facilitator can identify in the 

8 National Missing and Unidentified Persons 

9 System. 

10 (2) PUBLIC TRANSPARENCY.—Annually, the At11 torney General, acting through the Director of the Na12 tional Institute of Justice, shall publish on a website 

13 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-year 

17 period preceding the date of the publication; and 

18 (B) summarizing— 

19 (i) the number of missing persons cases 

20 of interest to Indian tribes, unclaimed re21 mains cases of interest to Indian tribes, and 

22 unidentified remains cases of interest to In23 dian tribes that the Tribal facilitator can 

24 identify in the National Missing and Un25 identified Persons System; 


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1 (ii) the percentage of missing persons 

2 cases of interest to Indian tribes, unclaimed 

3 remains cases of interest to Indian tribes, 

4 and unidentified remains cases of interest 

5 to Indian tribes closed during the 1-year pe6 riod preceding the date of the report that 

7 the Tribal facilitator can identify in the 

8 National Missing and Unidentified Persons 

9 System. 

10 SEC. 103. LAW ENFORCEMENT DATA SHARING WITH INDIAN 

11 TRIBES. 

12 (a) ACCESS TO NATIONAL CRIME INFORMATION DATA13 BASES BY TRIBES.—Section 233(b) of the Tribal Law and 

14 Order Act of 2010 (34 U.S.C. 41107) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 

18 ensure that— 

19 ‘‘(A) tribal law enforcement officials that 

20 meet applicable Federal or State requirements 

21 shall be permitted access to national crime infor22 mation databases; 

23 ‘‘(B) technical assistance and training is 

24 provided to Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribal 

25 law enforcement agencies to gain access to, and 


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1 the ability to use and input information into, 

2 the National Crime Information Center and 

3 other national crime information databases pur4 suant to section 534 of title 28, United States 

5 Code; and 

6 ‘‘(C) as appropriate, the Federal Bureau of 

7 Investigation ensures tribal law enforcement 

8 agencies and tribal justice systems are assigned 

9 appropriate credentials or ORI numbers for uni10 form crime reporting purposes.’’; and 

11 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘with criminal 

12 jurisdiction over Indian country’’. 

13 (b) ACQUISITION, PRESERVATION, AND EXCHANGE OF

14 IDENTIFICATION RECORDS AND INFORMATION.—Section 

15 534(d) of title 28, United States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

17 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and indent18 ing appropriately; 

19 (2) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) 

20 (as so redesignated), by striking ‘‘The Attorney Gen21 eral’’ and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General’’; and 

23 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(2) TRIBAL CIVIL AND CRIMINAL INFORMATION

25 ACCESS PROGRAM.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

2 shall establish a program, to be known as the 

3 ‘Tribal Civil and Criminal Information Access 

4 Program’, to enhance the ability of tribal govern5 ments to access, enter information into, and ob6 tain information from Federal criminal infor7 mation databases under this section. 

8 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA9 TIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—There are author11 ized to be appropriated to carry out the 

12 Tribal Civil and Criminal Information Ac13 cess Program under subparagraph (A)— 

14 ‘‘(I) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal 

15 years 2021 and 2022, to remain avail16 able until expended; and 

17 ‘‘(II) $7,000,000 for each fiscal 

18 years 2023 through 2025, to remain 

19 available until expended. 

20 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL FUNDING.— 

21 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney 

22 General may use to carry out the Trib23 al Civil and Criminal Information Ac24 cess Program under subparagraph (A) 

25 any balances remaining for the acVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:53 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1853.RS S1853

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1 count under the heading ‘VIOLENCE

2 AGAINST WOMEN PREVENTION AND

3 PROSECUTION PROGRAMS’ under the 

4 heading ‘OFFICE ON VIOLENCE

5 AGAINST WOMEN’ under the heading 

6 ‘STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCE7 MENT ACTIVITIES’ of the Department of 

8 Justice from appropriations for full 

9 fiscal years prior to the date of enact10 ment of the BADGES for Native Com11 munities Act that were made available 

12 to carry out section 905(b)(1) of the 

13 Violence Against Women and Depart14 ment of Justice Reauthorization Act of 

15 2005 (34 U.S.C. 20903(b)(1)). 

16 ‘‘(II) TRANSFERS.—The Attorney 

17 General may transfer some or all of the 

18 balances described in subclause (I) to 

19 any appropriations account of the De20 partment of Justice as needed to sup21 port the Tribal Civil and Criminal In22 formation Access Program. 

23 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION SHARING.—To the extent oth24 erwise permitted by law, any report issued as a result 

25 of the analysis of information entered into Federal 


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1 criminal information databases or obtained from Fed2 eral criminal databases shall be shared with each In3 dian tribe of jurisdiction, as appropriate.’’. 

4 (c) IDENTIFICATION RECORDS.—The second undesig5 nated paragraph in the matter under the heading ‘‘SALA6 RIES AND EXPENSES’’ under the heading ‘‘FEDERAL BU7 REAU OF INVESTIGATION’’ under title II of the Departments 

8 of State, Justice, and Commerce, the Judiciary, and Re9 lated Agencies Appropriation Act, 1973 (34 U.S.C. 41101) 

10 is amended— 

11 (1) by inserting ‘‘or Tribal’’ after ‘‘if authorized 

12 by State’’; and 

13 (2) by inserting ‘‘, Tribal,’’ before ‘‘and local 

14 governments’’. 

15 SEC. 104. REPORT ON INDIAN COUNTRY LAW ENFORCE16 MENT PERSONNEL RESOURCES AND NEED. 

17 (a) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFICE OF JUS18 TICE SERVICES.—Section 3(c)(16) of the Indian Law En19 forcement Reform Act (25 U.S.C. 2802(c)(16)) is amended 

20 by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(C) a list of the unmet— 

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

23 corrections, and court personnel, including 

24 criminal investigators, medical examiners, 

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1 fense staff, and prosecution staff, at tribal 

2 and Bureau of Indian Affairs justice agen3 cies; 

4 ‘‘(ii) replacement and repair needs of 

5 tribal and Bureau of Indian Affairs correc6 tions facilities; 

7 ‘‘(iii) infrastructure and capital needs 

8 for tribal police and court facilities, includ9 ing evidence storage and processing; and 

10 ‘‘(iv) public safety and emergency com11 munications and technology needs; and’’. 

12 (b) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.— 

13 (1) DEFINITION OF DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

14 LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.—In this subsection, the 

15 term ‘‘Department of Justice law enforcement agency’’ 

16 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 At25 torney General shall submit to the appropriate comVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:53 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1853.RS S1853

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1 mittees of Congress a report describing for that fiscal 

2 year— 

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

4 each Department of Justice law enforcement 

5 agency that are assigned to work on criminal in6 vestigations and prosecutions in Indian country; 

7 and 

8 (B) the percentage of time the full-employees 

9 spend specifically working in Indian country. 

10 (3) GAO STUDY AND REPORT.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 

12 months after the date on which the first annual 

13 report is submitted under paragraph (2), the 

14 Comptroller General of the United States shall 

15 conduct a study that examines any identified 

16 unmet staffing needs for Department of Justice 

17 law enforcement agencies tasked with work on 

18 criminal investigations and prosecutions in In19 dian country. 

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

21 under subparagraph (A), the Comptroller Gen22 eral of the United States shall submit to Con23 gress a report that describes the results of the 

24 study, including, as appropriate, proposals for 

25 methods by which the Department of Justice can 


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1 better measure the unmet staffing needs for De2 partment of Justice law enforcement agencies 

3 tasked with work on criminal investigations and 

4 prosecutions in Indian country. 

5 TITLE II—ENSURING SAFETY 

6 FOR NATIVE COMMUNITIES 

7 SEC. 201. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM ON BUREAU OF IN8 DIAN AFFAIRS LAW ENFORCEMENT EMPLOY9 MENT BACKGROUND CHECKS. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 

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

12 a demonstration program for the purpose of con13 ducting or adjudicating, in coordination with the Di14 rector of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, personnel 

15 background investigations for applicants for law en16 forcement positions in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

17 (2) BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS AND SECU18 RITY CLEARANCE DETERMINATIONS.— 

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

20 demonstration program established under para21 graph (1), the Secretary may carry out a back22 ground investigation, security clearance deter23 mination, or both a background investigation 

24 and a security clearance determination for an 


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1 applicant for a law enforcement position in the 

2 Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

3 (B) USE OF PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS AND

4 DETERMINATIONS.— 

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

6 (ii), as part of the demonstration program 

7 established under paragraph (1), the Sec8 retary, in adjudicating background inves9 tigations for applicants for law enforcement 

10 positions in the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

11 shall consider previous background inves12 tigations for an applicant, security clear13 ance determinations for an applicant, or 

14 both background investigations and security 

15 clearance determinations for an applicant, 

16 as the case may be, that have been con17 ducted by a State or local government, In18 dian tribe, tribal organization, or the Bu19 reau of Indian Affairs, within the 5-year 

20 period preceding the application for em21 ployment with the Bureau of Indian Af22 fairs. 

23 (ii) QUALITY.—The Secretary shall 

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1 tions for an applicant that have been con2 ducted by a State or local government, In3 dian tribe, or tribal organization if the Sec4 retary can verify that those previous inves5 tigations and determinations, as the case 

6 may be, are of a comparable quality and 

7 thoroughness to investigations and deter8 minations carried out by the Bureau of In9 dian Affairs, the Office of Personnel Man10 agement, or another Federal agency. 

11 (iii) ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATION.—If, 

12 as described in clause (i), the Secretary con13 siders an existing background investigation, 

14 security clearance determination, or both, as 

15 the case may be, for an applicant that has 

16 been carried out by a State or local govern17 ment, Indian tribe, tribal organization, or 

18 the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Sec19 retary— 

20 (I) may carry out additional in21 vestigation and examination of the ap22 plicant if the Secretary determines that 

23 such additional information is needed 

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1 worthiness of the applicant before final 

2 adjudication can be made and a secu3 rity clearance can be issued; and 

4 (II) shall not initiate a new back5 ground investigation process with the 

6 National Background Investigations 

7 Bureau or other Federal agency unless 

8 that new background investigation 

9 process covers a period of time that 

10 was not covered by a previous back11 ground investigation process. 

12 (iv) AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 

13 may enter into a Memorandum of Agree14 ment with a State or local government, In15 dian tribe, or tribal organization to develop 

16 steps to expedite the process of receiving and 

17 obtaining access to background investiga18 tion and security clearance determinations 

19 for use in the demonstration program. 

20 (3) SUNSET.—The demonstration program estab21 lished under this section shall terminate 5 years after 

22 the date of the commencement of the program. 

23 (b) SUFFICIENCY.—Notwithstanding any other provi24 sion of law, a background investigation conducted or adju25 dicated by the Secretary pursuant to the demonstration proVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:53 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1853.RS S1853

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1 gram authorized in subsection (a) that results in the grant2 ing of a security clearance to an applicant for a law en3 forcement position in the Bureau of Indian Affairs shall 

4 be sufficient to meet the applicable requirements of the Of5 fice of Personnel Management or other Federal agency for 

6 such investigations. 

7 (c) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit an 

8 annual report to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the 

9 Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

10 House of Representatives on the demonstration program es11 tablished under subsection (a), which shall include a de12 scription of— 

13 (1) the demonstration program and any relevant 

14 annual changes or updates to the program; 

15 (2) the number of background investigations car16 ried out under the program; 

17 (3) the costs, including any cost savings, associ18 ated with the investigation and adjudication process 

19 under the program; 

20 (4) the processing times for the investigation and 

21 adjudication processes under the program; 

22 (5) any Memoranda of Agreement entered into 

23 with State or local government, Indian tribe, or tribal 

24 organization; and 


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1 (6) any other information that the Secretary de2 termines to be relevant. 

3 (d) GAO STUDY AND REPORT.— 

4 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 18 months 

5 after the date on which the demonstration program 

6 commences under this section, the Comptroller Gen7 eral of the United States shall prepare and submit to 

8 Congress an initial report on such demonstration pro9 gram. 

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

11 after the date on which the demonstration program 

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

13 General of the United States shall prepare and sub14 mit to Congress a final report on such demonstration 

15 program. 

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

17 under this subsection, the Comptroller General of the 

18 United States shall obtain input from Indian tribes 

19 regarding the demonstration program under this sec20 tion. 

21 SEC. 202. MISSING AND MURDERED RESPONSE COORDINA22 TION GRANT PROGRAM. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Attorney 

24 General shall establish within the Office of Justice Pro25 grams a grant program under which the Attorney General 


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1 shall make grants to eligible entities described in subsection 

2 (b) to carry out eligible activities described in subsection 

3 (c). 

4 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

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

6 grant under the grant program established under sub7 section (a) an entity shall be— 

8 (A) an Indian tribe; 

9 (B) a relevant Tribal organization; 

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

11 consortium with 1 or more Indian tribes or rel12 evant Tribal organizations; 

13 (D) a consortium of 2 or more Indian tribes 

14 or relevant Tribal organizations; or 

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

16 of 2 or more States and 1 or more Indian tribes 

17 or relevant Tribal organizations. 

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

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

20 shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Attorney 

21 General that the State— 

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

23 State to the national crime information data24 bases; or 


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

2 grant received under the grant program estab3 lished under subsection (a); and 

4 (B) if data sharing between the State and 

5 the Indian tribes and relevant Tribal organiza6 tions with which the State is in consortium is 

7 part of the intended use of the grant received 

8 under the grant program established under sub9 section (a), has entered into a memorandum of 

10 understanding with each applicable Indian tribe 

11 and relevant Tribal organization. 

12 (c) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity receiv13 ing a grant under the grant program established under sub14 section (a) may use the grant— 

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

16 (A) to document and track missing persons 

17 cases of interest to Indian tribes and death in18 vestigations of interest to Indian tribes; and 

19 (B) to input information regarding missing 

20 persons cases of interest to Indian tribes, un21 claimed remains cases of interest to Indian 

22 tribes, and unidentified remains cases of interest 

23 to Indian tribes into the National Missing and 

24 Unidentified Persons System; 


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1 (2) to establish a State or regional commission 

2 to respond to, and to improve coordination between 

3 Federal law enforcement agencies, and Tribal, State, 

4 and local law enforcement agencies of the investiga5 tion of, missing persons cases of interest to Indian 

6 tribes and death investigations of interest to Indian 

7 tribes; and 

8 (3) to document, develop, and disseminate re9 sources for the coordination and improvement of the 

10 investigation of missing persons cases of interest to 

11 Indian tribes and death investigations of interest to 

12 Indian tribes. 

13 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

14 authorized to be appropriated to carry out the program 

15 $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024. 

16 SEC. 203. GAO STUDY ON FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT 

17 AGENCY EVIDENCE COLLECTION, HANDLING, 

18 AND PROCESSING. 

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

20 United States shall conduct a study— 

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

22 processing procedures and practices of the Office of 

23 Justice Services and the Federal Bureau of Investiga24 tion in exercising jurisdiction over crimes involving 

25 Indians or committed in Indian country; 


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1 (2) on any barriers to evidence collection, han2 dling, and processing by the agencies referred to in 

3 paragraph (1); 

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

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

6 counterparts within the Offices of the United States 

7 Attorneys concerning any relationship between— 

8 (A) the barriers identified under paragraph 

9 (2); and 

10 (B) United States Attorneys declination 

11 rates due to insufficient evidence; and 

12 (4) that includes a survey of barriers to evidence 

13 collection, handling, and processing faced by— 

14 (A) Tribal law enforcement agencies; and 

15 (B) State and local law enforcement agen16 cies that exercise jurisdiction over Indian coun17 try under the Act of August 15, 1953 (67 Stat. 

18 588, chapter 505), and the amendments made by 

19 that Act. 

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

21 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

22 United States shall submit to Congress a report describing 

23 the results of the study conducted under subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 204. BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS AND TRIBAL LAW EN2 FORCEMENT OFFICER COUNSELING RE3 SOURCES INTERDEPARTMENTAL COORDINA4 TION. 

5 The Secretary of Health and Human Services and the 

6 Attorney General shall coordinate with the Director— 

7 (1) to ensure that Federal training materials 

8 and culturally appropriate mental health and 

9 wellness programs are locally or regionally available 

10 to law enforcement officers working for the Bureau of 

11 Indian Affairs or an Indian tribe who are experi12 encing occupational stress; and 

13 (2) to determine whether law enforcement agen14 cies operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and In15 dian tribes are eligible to receive services under— 

16 (A) the Law Enforcement Assistance Pro17 gram of Federal Occupational Health of the De18 partment of Health and Human Services; or 

19 (B) any other law enforcement assistance 

20 program targeted to meet the needs of law en21 forcement officers working for law enforcement 

22 agencies operated by the Federal Government or 

23 an Indian tribe. 


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Calendar No. 476 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1853 

[Report No. 116–230] 

A BILL 

To require Federal law enforcement agencies to reand for other purposes. port on cases of missing or murdered Indians, 

JUNE 4, 2020 

Reported with an amendment 


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