President Joe Biden on Sept. 24 signed into law a bipartisan bill offered by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) that extends the deadline for a comprehensive report being done on federal, state, local, and tribal programs that serve Native American children.
“I appreciate the president for recognizing the importance of extending the reporting deadline for the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children,” which will release the final study, said Sen. Murkowski. “This is a win for Native children and communities across the country.”
Sen. Murkowski, vice chairman of the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee, introduced S. 325 in February with cosponsors including U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK). The new law amends the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children Act of 2016 to extend the deadline from three to five years for the commission’s report to be submitted to Congress and the president.
The legislation passed the U.S. Senate on May 26 and then on Aug. 23 the U.S. House of Representatives voted 418-7 to approve the bill, which the Senate then presented to the president for his signature to make it law, according to the congressional record.
“The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the critical work by this commission, so the extension that this legislation provides will be significant, allowing the active engagement of tribes and giving the commission adequate time to hold hearings and receive testimony from the public,” Sen. Murkowski said. “With this law, the commission can create a full report that will provide Congress and the administration adequate information to implement policies that best support Native youth and their communities.”
Sen. Murkowski also in January 2015 introduced the bipartisan Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children Act to establish the commission in the Office of Tribal Justice of the U.S. Department of Justice and task it with conducting the study.
The bill was signed into law by former President Barack Obama in October 2016 and requires the commission to use the results of its study to develop recommendations for federal policy relating to Native children, as well as modifications and improvements to Native children programs, among other provisions, according to the text of the law. The commission’s term will expire 90 days after its report is submitted.