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Senate panel takes up bill to bring AMBER Alert funding to tribes

Friday, April 28, 2017

A tribute to Ashlynne Mike, a young citizen of the Navajo Nation who was abducted and murdered in May 2016. Photo: Warpaint Arts

A bill to AMBER Alert grants to Indian Country is getting its first hearing on Capitol Hill.

Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) introduced S.772, the AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act, on March 29. It ensures that tribes can receive federal funds to help them develop child abduction alert systems.

“According to data produced by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there are 7,724 American Indian children listed as missing in the United States,” McCain said in a press release earlier this month. “We must give Indian tribes the tools they need to help our children and put an end to this tragedy.”

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs will take testimony on the bill on May 10. McCain is a two-time former chairman of the panel and remains a member in the 115th Congress.

In addition to hearing about McCain's bill, the committee will take testimony on S.825, the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium Land Transfer Act. The bill authorizes a transfer of land from the Indian Health Service to the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium in Alaska.

Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Notice:
Legislative Hearing to Receive Testimony on S. 772 and S. 825 (May 10, 2017)