Not Invisible Act of 2019

Floor Speech

I rise in support of S. 982, the Not Invisible Act of 2019.

We just discussed the appalling extent of missing and murdered indigenous women and how Savanna's Act will begin to address this issue. The Not Invisible Act is another step to solve this abhorrent problem.

This bill provides an opportunity for the Federal Government to improve its efforts to combat the growing crisis of murder and trafficking and the disappearance of indigenous men and women.

While there are many Federal programs tasked with addressing violent crime, the agencies that operate these programs do not have an overarching strategy to properly deploy these resources in Indian Country and in urban Indian communities. Program implementation often takes place without considering the unique needs of Native American communities in this context.

S. 982 will require the appropriate agencies to coordinate prevention efforts, grants, and programs across the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Department of Justice, among other stakeholders.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting S. 982, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. ARMSTRONG.

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Mr. ARMSTRONG. Mr. Speaker, I don't think I could close any better than that, so I yield back the balance of my time.

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