BADGES for Native Communities Act
Summary
Bridging Agency Data Gaps and Ensuring Safety for Native Communities Act or the BADGES for Native Communities Act
This bill revises federal policies and procedures related to information sharing, reporting, and investigating cases of missing, unidentified, or murdered Indians.
Among other elements, the bill requires the Department of Justice to (1) establish a grant program for specified entities (e.g., tribes) to implement changes to enhance their responses to missing person cases and death investigations of interest to tribes, and (2) work with the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that federal training resources and culturally appropriate mental health and wellness programs are available to tribal and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) law enforcement officers.
The Department of the Interior must establish a five-year demonstration program for the purpose of conducting or adjudicating personnel background investigations for applicants for law enforcement positions in the BIA.
The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct specified studies, including a study on the evidence collection, handling, response times, and processing procedures and practices of federal law enforcement agencies.
Timeline
- May 21, 2026Subcommittee Hearings Held
- May 12, 2026Referred to the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs.
- Feb 5, 2025Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Feb 5, 2025Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Feb 5, 2025Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Feb 5, 2025Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Feb 5, 2025Introduced in House
- Feb 5, 2025Introduced in House
Cosponsors
In the News
- Tribal Community Bills Advance in Congress - Legis1
- Congress keeps holding all-nighters, creating dysfunction after dark - Audacy
- Feburary 2026: Native American Legislative Update - Friends Committee On National Legislation
- Honoring Indigenous Peoples’ Day Must Include Justice for Native Women - Amnesty International USA
- Elon 1010 team presents at NACADA Conference - Elon University
- Kelly, Ferguson introduce the Prohibiting IRS Financial Surveillance Act - Congressman Mike Kelly | (.gov)
- How I failed to live on the minimum wage - Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (.gov)
- The Tip Credit Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): In Brief - Every CRS Report
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