A Public Safety Emergency: RM McBath Demands Justice for Tribal Communities

Thank you so much, Chairman Biggs. I am grateful to have the opportunity to discuss the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous people, or as we will call it today, MMIP. That is exactly what it is. It is a crisis. Despite the great strides that we have made in the last five years to address violent crime, domestic violence still plagues our country. In fact, according to a recent FBI report, violent crime within domestic relationships has consistently increased in recent years. The numbers grow even more alarming for indigenous Americans. There are many factors that contribute to the high victimization rate among indigenous women and our inability to address the MMIP crisis. The good news is that we simply are not helpless. In fact, back in 2019, the first Trump administration and Congress took several steps to better address the crisis. For example, Congress passed and Trump signed into law Savannah's Act and the Not One More Act, two bills aimed at improving the response to the MMIP crisis. Unfortunately, since Trump stepped back into office, his administration has done nothing but undermine these efforts. Today, our witness will describe the tragic effects of the Trump administration's unexpected cuts to millions in critical grant funding for tribal communities and tribal supporting organizations. According to a study conducted by the Urban Indian Health Institute, a significant number of tribes and organizations serving native survivors of violence rely heavily on federal funding for more than half of their budget. And as a result of the cuts, 44% of those organizations report that they will have to drastically reduce or cut survivor services. That includes safe housing, transportation, court accompaniment, and counseling. Make no mistake, lives will be lost because of these cuts. For far too long, missing and murdered indigenous people have been ignored. Criminals have taken notice of this seeming indifference and found new ways to exploit and victimize vulnerable indigenous people. In fact, the vast majority, a stunning 96% of indigenous women were victims of sexual violence, experienced that violence at the hands of non-native perpetrators, which has long been an obstacle to justice for these victims. To help address this issue, the 2019 Violence Against Women Act reauthorization expanded the tribal criminal jurisdiction to include non-Indian offenders in case of domestic and dating violence, sexual violence, and stalking against Indian victims when the crimes occur on tribal lands. During this committee's markup of that legislation, nine Republicans, including the chairman of this subcommittee, voted in favor of an amendment to remove the provision to expand tribal jurisdiction from the underlying bill. Fortunately, the amendment failed. While the version marked up by this committee eventually stalled, the provision to expand tribal jurisdiction was eventually signed into law in 2022. Despite past votes, I hope that this hearing is indicative of a genuine interest in addressing the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous people. Let us all continue to elevate the needs of tribal communities across this country and hold this administration accountable for the countless ways that they continue to fail victims and survivors everywhere. I want to leave you with the words of a participant from the Urban Indian Health Institute's study, and I quote, we hope you will stand with us to ensure that the future generations inherit not only the weight of our past, but the strength of our survival and the full support of a nation that honors its trust and treaty responsibilities. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back.