U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) commended President Donald Trump for signing into law two bipartisan bills he advocated for that would bolster efforts to reduce violent crime against Native American Indians on their own lands.
The president on Oct. 10 signed into law Savanna’s Act, S. 227, which directs the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to review, revise and develop law enforcement and justice protocols to address missing or murdered Native Americans, and the Not Invisible Act, S. 982, which directs the U.S. Department of the Interior to designate an official within the Bureau of Indian Affairs to coordinate prevention efforts, grants and programs related to missing Indians and the murder and human trafficking of Indians.
“President Trump signing these bills into law signals to Native communities across the country that this crisis will no longer go unnoticed,” said Rep. Newhouse. “The families and loved ones of missing and murdered indigenous women have waited far too long for justice, and it is my hope that we can begin working to ensure Native American women will no longer face violent crimes that go uninvestigated or unsolved.”
Rep. Newhouse in May 2019 introduced H.R. 2733, his chamber’s version of Savanna’s Act, with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA). And in July, Rep. Newhouse joined as a cosponsor of H.R. 2438, his chamber’s identical bill to the Senate’s Not Invisible Act, which was sponsored in May 2019 by U.S. Rep. Debra Haaland (D-NM). The House of Representatives on Sept. 21 unanimously approved both bills.
“I am grateful for the tribes, advocates, and community members who have helped bring awareness to this issue and for all of my colleagues in Congress who helped us take this important step,” Rep. Newhouse said.