Newhouse Joins Bipartisan Group to Introduce Bill to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Crisis

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) joined a bipartisan group, led by Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM), to introduce the Bridging Agency Data Gaps & Ensuring Safety (BADGES) for Native Communities Act to fight violence against native women and address the missing and murdered indigenous women crisis. The BADGES for Native Communities Act will address barriers that stand in the way of improving the efficiency of law enforcement agency data sharing and officer recruitment and retention, both of which are imperative to address the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women. The bill will also ensure Tribes are able to continue important programs that currently work to increase public safety by making them permanent.

"For too long, Native American communities and law enforcement agencies have struggled to access coordinated federal crime data. The BADGES for Native Communities Act aims to address this issue by providing tribes and tribal law enforcement access to federal resources and criminal databases needed to effectively investigate cases of missing and murdered indigenous women," said Rep. Newhouse.

He continued, "This bill strengthens our tribal communities' ability to enforce public safety by addressing the lack of resources and the shortage of qualified law enforcement personnel facing Native communities in Central Washington and across the country. I will continue to work to bring justice for indigenous women and their families and look forward to this legislation being signed into law."

The bill has bipartisan support from co-leads Reps. Deb Haaland (D-NM), Tom Cole (R-OK), Sharice Davids (D-KS), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Don Young (R-AK), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Tom O'Halleran (D-AZ), Norma Torres (D-CA), Gwen Moore (D-WI), and Paul Cook (R-CA).

Click here to learn more about the bill.

Background:

The BADGES for Native Communities Act bridges agency data gaps and ensures safety for Native communities by:

• Addressing inefficiencies in federal criminal databases;
• Increasing Tribal access to federal criminal databases;
• Improving public data on missing and murdered Indigenous women cases and Indian Country law enforcement staffing levels;
• Promoting more efficient recruitment and retention of BIA law enforcement;
• Providing Tribes with resources to improve public safety coordination between their governments, states, and federal agencies; and
• Mitigating against federal law enforcement personnel mishandling evidence crucial to securing convictions of violent offenders.

Earlier this year, Rep. Newhouse introduced Savanna's Act with Reps. Norma Torres (D-CA) and Deb Haaland (D-NM) to help address the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women.

Washington state is ranked second among states in number of cases related to missing and murdered indigenous women with 71 identified cases. Washington's 4th Congressional District is home to two federally recognized tribes, Yakama Nation and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.