OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Commerce, Justice, Science, And Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008

Floor Speech

Date: July 26, 2007
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Women Indigenous Peoples Criminal Justice


COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008 -- (House of Representatives - July 26, 2007)

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Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer an amendment to ensure that the U.S. Attorney General appoints attorneys to assist in enforcing Federal law when it comes to public interest as outlined in 28 U.S.C. 542 and 28 U.S.C. 543. It is in the public's interest to prosecute crimes committed against Native women, including domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. As they take on this task, I also urge them to consult with tribes as practiced and required under Executive Order 13175.

As we know, there are 4 million American Indian and Alaska Native people throughout the United States, and jurisdictional questions today are preventing the enforcement of Federal laws. Indian women suffer 2 1/2 times more domestic violence and 3 1/2 times more sexual assaults than the rest of the American population. An Amnesty International report showed that 86 percent of these crimes are committed by non-Indian men, and the law prevents Tribal courts from prosecuting them.

As a former prosecutor, I was shocked that the majority of criminals go unpunished. Justice Department data compiled by Syracuse University showed that in two decades, only 30 percent of tribal land crimes referred to U.S. Attorneys were ever prosecuted. I would like to see U.S. Attorneys consult with the tribes and work to enforce Federal law, especially when it comes to crimes of domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault. And ensuring that U.S. Attorneys appoint special attorneys to assist in prosecuting these Federal laws is imperative.

I will include for the Record information from a Wall Street Journal article entitled, ``Tattered Justice on U.S. Indian Reservations, Criminals Slip Through Gaps.'' It is time we close those gaps, and I urge U.S. Attorneys to act with dispatch in this regard.

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