Native American Children's Safety Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank now my two favorite marines. That was very nice. Thanks to both of them.

Last Congress, in the Natural Resources Committee, we actually had an oversight hearing regarding the child protection crisis on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation in my State of North Dakota in response to numerous child deaths and whistleblower reports detailing unsafe tribal placement of almost 40 foster children in abusive homes, many of these homes that were headed by convicted sex offenders.

In an effort to protect these children, I did introduce the Native American Children's Safety Act in the House, which is a companion bill, as noted by previous speakers, that was introduced in the Senate by Senator Hoeven and Senator Tester.

Both bills passed their respective Chambers without objection. Today I am asking my colleagues here in the House to join me in passing the Senate bill so that we can get it to the President for his quick signature.

As stated, the bill implements across-the-board minimum protections for children placed in foster care at the direction of a tribal court. And, yes, the statistics are stark. Native American children are 2.5 times more likely to be victims of abuse or neglect than other American children.

But, Mr. Speaker, children exposed to violence are also more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol. They are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety and other post-traumatic disorders.

The standards in this bill mirror existing national requirements for non-tribal foster care placements, ensuring that tribal children receive care at least equal to that in the protections afforded non- tribal children.

It is bipartisan, as you can tell. It is noncontroversial, as you can tell. It was reported out of the Natural Resources Committee by unanimous consent both this Congress and the last Congress.

But I want to add this word of thanks to other folks who were very helpful. I want to thank the National Indian Child Welfare Association, the National Congress of American Indians, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Department of Health and Human Services, all of whom provided insights and suggestions for this bill.

Their counsel proved valuable in providing the flexibility to the tribes without hampering, stepping on their sovereignty, so that they could transition to these uniform standards and help save perhaps many, many lives on our reservations.

I thank my colleagues. I urge a ``yes'' vote.

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