BADGES for Native Communities Act

Bill: 119-hr-1010
Sponsor: Rep. Leger Fernandez, Teresa [D-NM-3]
Introduced: 2025-02-05 in the House
Policy area: Native Americans
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Criminal justice information and records
Employment and training programs
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Indian social and development programs
Intergovernmental relations
Law enforcement administration and funding
Missing persons
Personnel records

Summary:
action_date: 2025-02-05
text: 

Bridging Agency Data Gaps and Ensuring Safety for Native Communities Act or the BADGES for Native Communities Act

This bill revises federal policies and procedures related to information sharing, reporting, and investigating cases of missing, unidentified, or murdered Indians.

Among other elements, the bill requires the Department of Justice to (1) establish a grant program for specified entities (e.g., tribes) to implement changes to enhance their responses to missing person cases and death investigations of interest to tribes, and (2) work with the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that federal training resources and culturally appropriate mental health and wellness programs are available to tribal and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) law enforcement officers.

The Department of the Interior must establish a five-year demonstration program for the purpose of conducting or adjudicating personnel background investigations for applicants for law enforcement positions in the BIA.

The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct specified studies, including a study on the evidence collection, handling, response times, and processing procedures and practices of federal law enforcement agencies.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2025-02-05
text: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2025-02-05
text: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2025-02-05
text: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2025-02-05
text: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2025-02-05
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2025-02-05
text: Introduced in House