Newhouse Introduces Legislation to Strengthen Tribal Law Enforcement, Address MMIW Crisis

Press Release

Today,Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) released the following statement after introducing legislation alongside Reps. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Tom Cole (R-OK), and Sharice Davids (D-KS) to strengthen Tribal law enforcement and increase public safety in Indian Country. The BADGES for Native Communities Act addresses federal inefficiencies that hurt Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) law enforcement recruitment and retention, increases the effectiveness of federal missing persons resources, and gives Tribes and states resources to combat the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

"Central Washington tribal communities are, unfortunately, at the center of the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women, and that is unacceptable," said Rep. Newhouse. "The federal government needs to play an important role in helping our tribal communities, and The BADGES for Native Communities Act does just that. It will provide tribes and tribal law enforcement access to federal resources and criminal databases so they can effectively and quickly investigate these tragic cases. This legislation builds off my efforts to increase resources for our tribal law enforcement officers, further strengthening our tribal communities' ability to enforce public safety and helping improve public safety for all our communities. In turn, this legislation will also provide assistance for tribes to address MMIW cases, prevent future cases, and deliver justice to the families of victims. I am committed to delivering assistance for our native communities and I look forward to this legislation being signed into law."

This legislation is endorsed by the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center, Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, the Seattle Indian Health Board, Amnesty International, National Council of Urban Indian Health, and National Congress of American Indians.

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