WASHINGTON — Tomorrow, Wednesday, October 25, at 12:30 p.m. MT / 2:30 p.m. ET, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, will join Committee Chairman John Hoeven (R-N.D.) in leading a legislative hearing to review three bills affecting Indian Country. The committee will hear testimony from several witnesses, including the newly appointed Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Director Bryan Rice, and R. Trent Shores, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma. Udall will underscore the need for public safety improvements in Indian Country along with the need for additional resources for Tribes and federal agencies to address crime and provide victim services. Udall will question Rice and Shores on the effectiveness of the legislative proposals, and on whether instructions to improve federal programs can be carried out without additional funding.
Witnesses include:
Bryan Rice, Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.
R. Trent Shores, U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Oklahoma, U.S. Department of Justice, Tulsa, Okla.
Dave Flute, Chairman, Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation, Agency Village, S.D.
Joel Boyd, Chair, Colville Business Council’s Law and Justice Committee, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Nespelem, Wash.
Carmen O’Leary, Director, Native Women’s Society of the Great Plains, Eagle Butte, S.D.
During the legislative hearing, the committee will hear testimony on the following bills:
S. 1870, Securing Urgent Resources Vital to Indian Victim Empowerment Act 2017
S. 1953, Reauthorization of the Tribal and Law Order Act of 2010
S. 1942, A bill to direct the Attorney General to review, revise and develop law enforcement and justice protocols appropriate to address missing and murdered Indians
Immediately before the legislative hearing, the committee will vote on the following bill:
S. 1223, Klamath Tribe Judgment Fund Repeal Act
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
WHAT: Udall to preside as vice chairman at Senate Committee on Indian Affairs business meeting and legislative hearing
TIME: Approximately 12:30 p.m. MT / 2:30 p.m. ET
WHERE: 628 Dirksen Senate Office Building. Watch live here.
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