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

Statement

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).

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