Not Invisible Act of 2019
PL 116-166 (S.982), enacted 10/10/2020

[116th Congress Public Law 166]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



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                        NOT INVISIBLE ACT OF 2019

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Public Law 116-166
116th Congress

                                 An Act


 
   To increase intergovernmental coordination to identify and combat 
   violent crime within Indian lands and of Indians. <<NOTE: Oct. 10, 
                           2020 -  [S. 982]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Not Invisible 
Act of 2019. 25 USC 2801 note.>> 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Not Invisible Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. <<NOTE: 25 USC 2802 note.>>  DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``Commission'' means the Department of the 
        Interior and the Department of Justice Joint Commission on 
        Reducing Violent Crime Against Indians under section 4;
            (2) the term ``human trafficking'' means act or practice 
        described in paragraph (9) or paragraph (10) of section 103 of 
        the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102);
            (3) the term ``Indian'' means a member of an Indian tribe;
            (4) the terms ``Indian lands'' and ``Indian tribe'' have the 
        meanings given the terms in section 3 of the Native American 
        Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 
        (25 U.S.C. 4302); and
            (5) the terms ``urban centers'' and ``urban Indian 
        organization'' have the meanings given the terms in section 4 of 
        the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603).
SEC. 3. COORDINATOR OF FEDERAL EFFORTS TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST 
                    NATIVE PEOPLE.

    (a) Coordinator Designation.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
designate an official within the Office of Justice Services in the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs who shall--
            (1) coordinate prevention efforts, grants, and programs 
        related to the murder of, trafficking of, and missing Indians 
        across Federal agencies, including--
                    (A) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and
                    (B) the Department of Justice, including--
                          (i) the Office of Justice Programs;
                          (ii) the Office on Violence Against Women;
                          (iii) the Office of Community Oriented 
                      Policing Services;
                          (iv) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and
                          (v) the Office of Tribal Justice;
            (2) ensure prevention efforts, grants, and programs of 
        Federal agencies related to the murder of, trafficking of, and

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        missing Indians consider the unique challenges of combating 
        crime, violence, and human trafficking of Indians and on Indian 
        lands faced by Tribal communities, urban centers, the Bureau of 
        Indian Affairs, Tribal law enforcement, Federal law enforcement, 
        and State and local law enforcement;
            (3) work in cooperation with outside organizations with 
        expertise in working with Indian tribes and Indian Tribes to 
        provide victim centered and culturally relevant training to 
        tribal law enforcement, Indian Health Service health care 
        providers, urban Indian organizations, Tribal community members 
        and businesses, on how to effectively identify, respond to and 
        report instances of missing persons, murder, and trafficking 
        within Indian lands and of Indians; and
            (4) report directly to the Secretary of the Interior.

    (b) <<NOTE: Summaries.>>  Report.--The official designated in 
subsection (a) shall submit to the Committee on Indian Affairs and the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on Natural 
Resources and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
Representatives a report to provide information on Federal coordination 
efforts accomplished over the previous year that includes--
            (1) a summary of all coordination activities undertaken in 
        compliance with this section;
            (2) a summary of all trainings completed under subsection 
        (a)(3); and
            (3) <<NOTE: Recommenda- tions.>>  recommendations for 
        improving coordination across Federal agencies and of relevant 
        Federal programs.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR AND THE 
                    DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE JOINT COMMISSION ON 
                    REDUCING VIOLENT CRIME AGAINST INDIANS.

    (a) <<NOTE: Deadline. Coordination. Appointment.>>  Establishment.--
Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of the Interior, in coordination with the Attorney General, 
shall establish and appoint all members of a joint commission on violent 
crime on Indian lands and against Indians.

    (b) Membership.--
            (1) Composition.--
                    (A) In general.--The Commission shall be composed of 
                members who represent diverse experiences and 
                backgrounds that provide balanced points of view with 
                regard to the duties of the Commission.
                    (B) Diversity.--To the greatest extent practicable, 
                the Secretary of the Interior shall ensure the 
                Commission includes Tribal representatives from diverse 
                geographic areas and of diverse sizes.
            (2) <<NOTE: Coordination.>>  Appointment.--The Secretary of 
        the Interior, in coordination with the Attorney General, shall 
        appoint the members to the Commission, including representatives 
        from--
                    (A) tribal law enforcement;
                    (B) the Office of Justice Services of the Bureau of 
                Indian Affairs;
                    (C) State and local law enforcement in close 
                proximity to Indian lands, with a letter of 
                recommendation from a local Indian Tribe;
                    (D) the Victim Services Division of the Federal 
                Bureau of Investigation;

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                    (E) the Department of Justice's Human Trafficking 
                Prosecution Unit;
                    (F) the Office of Violence Against Women of the 
                Department of Justice;
                    (G) the Office of Victims of Crime of the Department 
                of Justice;
                    (H) a United States attorney's office with 
                experience in cases related to missing persons, murder, 
                or trafficking of Indians or on Indian land;
                    (I) the Administration for Native Americans of the 
                Office of the Administration for Children & Families of 
                the Department of Health and Human Services;
                    (J) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
                Administration of the Department of Health and Human 
                Services;
                    (K) a Tribal judge with experience in cases related 
                to missing persons, murder, or trafficking;
                    (L) not fewer than 3 Indian Tribes from diverse 
                geographic areas, including 1 Indian tribe located in 
                Alaska, selected from nominations submitted by the 
                Indian Tribe;
                    (M) not fewer than 2 health care and mental health 
                practitioners and counselors and providers with 
                experience in working with Indian survivors of 
                trafficking and sexual assault, with a letter of 
                recommendation from a local tribal chair or tribal law 
                enforcement officer;
                    (N) not fewer than 3 national, regional, or urban 
                Indian organizations focused on violence against women 
                and children on Indian lands or against Indians;
                    (O) at least 2 Indian survivors of human 
                trafficking;
                    (P) at least 2 family members of missing Indian 
                people;
                    (Q) at least 2 family members of murdered Indian 
                people;
                    (R) the National Institute of Justice; and
                    (S) the Indian Health Service.
            (3) Periods of appointment.--Members shall be appointed for 
        the duration of the Commission.
            (4) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Commission shall be filled 
        in the manner in which the original appointment was made and 
        shall not affect the powers or duties of the Commission.
            (5) Compensation.--Commission members shall serve without 
        compensation.
            (6) <<NOTE: Coordination.>>  Travel expenses.--The Secretary 
        of the Interior, in coordination with the Attorney General, 
        shall consider the provision of travel expenses, including per 
        diem, to Commission members when appropriate.

    (c) Duties.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission may hold such hearings, meet 
        and act at times and places, take such testimony, and receive 
        such evidence as the Commission considers to be advisable to 
        carry out the duties of the Commission under this section.
            (2) Recommendations for the department of interior and 
        department of justice.--
                    (A) In general.--The Commission shall develop 
                recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior and 
                Attorney

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                General on actions the Federal Government can take to 
                help combat violent crime against Indians and within 
                Indian lands, including the development and 
                implementation of recommendations for--
                          (i) identifying, reporting, and responding to 
                      instances of missing persons, murder, and human 
                      trafficking on Indian lands and of Indians;
                          (ii) legislative and administrative changes 
                      necessary to use programs, properties, or other 
                      resources funded or operated by the Department of 
                      the Interior and Department of Justice to combat 
                      the crisis of missing or murdered Indians and 
                      human trafficking on Indian lands and of Indians;
                          (iii) tracking and reporting data on instances 
                      of missing persons, murder, and human trafficking 
                      on Indian lands and of Indians;
                          (iv) addressing staff shortages and open 
                      positions within relevant law enforcement 
                      agencies, including issues related to the hiring 
                      and retention of law enforcement officers;
                          (v) coordinating tribal, State, and Federal 
                      resources to increase prosecution of murder and 
                      human trafficking offenses on Indian lands and of 
                      Indians; and
                          (vi) increasing information sharing with 
                      tribal governments on violent crime investigations 
                      and prosecutions in Indian lands that were 
                      terminated or declined.
                    (B) <<NOTE: Deadline. Public information.>>  
                Submission.--Not later than 18 months after the 
                enactment of this Act, the Commission shall make 
                publicly available and submit all recommendations 
                developed under this paragraph to--
                          (i) the Secretary of the Interior;
                          (ii) the Attorney General;
                          (iii) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
                      Senate;
                          (iv) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the 
                      Senate;
                          (v) the Committee on Natural Resources of the 
                      House of Representatives; and
                          (vi) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
                      House of Representatives.
                    (C) <<NOTE: Deadline. Public information.>>  
                Secretarial response.--Not later than 90 days after the 
                date on which the Secretary of the Interior and the 
                Attorney General receive the recommendations under 
                paragraph (2), the Secretary and the Attorney General 
                shall each make publicly available and submit a written 
                response to the recommendations to--
                          (i) the Commission;
                          (ii) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
                      Senate;
                          (iii) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the 
                      Senate;
                          (iv) the Committee on Natural Resources of the 
                      House of Representatives; and
                          (v) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
                      House of Representatives.

    (d) FACA Exemption.--The Commission shall be exempt from the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).

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    (e) Sunset.--The Commission shall terminate on the date that is 2 
years after the date of enactment of this Act.

    Approved October 10, 2020.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 982 (H.R. 2438):
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOUSE REPORTS: No. 116-509, Pt. 1 (Comm. on the Judiciary) accompanying 
H.R. 2438.
SENATE REPORTS: No. 116-214 (Comm. on Indian Affairs).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 166 (2020):
            Mar. 11, considered and passed Senate.
            Sept. 21, considered and passed House.

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