{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://newhouse.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/newhouse-hosts-listening-sessions-highlight-mmiw-crisis", "Newhouse Hosts Listening Sessions to Highlight MMIW Crisis", "2022-05-04", "2022", "2022-05", "Republican", "House", "WA", "Dan Newhouse", "N000189", "newhouse.house.gov", "newhouse", "https://newhouse.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, in advance of the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls (MMIW), May 5, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) hosted a tribal law enforcement roundtable and MMIW listening session with Department of Interior (DOI) Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Bryan Newland, to allow tribal members to tell their stories and share the issues that they face with Assistant Secretary Newland directly and highlight the urgent need to establish a missing and murdered unit in Central Washington.\n\n\u201cNative Americans make up about 2% of the state\u2019s population, but Native Women account for 7% of the state\u2019s reported missing women. And according to Washington State Patrol, there are 126 active missing cases as of Monday, and Central Washington\u2019s tribal community sits at the epicenter of this crisis. These statistics are unacceptable, and I, along with the community here have not\u2014and will not\u2014be silent,\u201d said Rep. Newhouse. \u201cIt is thanks to the advocacy and the voices of many of the people who were gathered today that this issue is no longer being swept under the rug. It is because of their demands for justice that we are all here today, and I will never stop raising their voices in Congress.\u201d\n\n\u201cAfter today it is unmistakably clear that people expect us to act and I look forward to partnering with tribal and state agencies on these MMIW/MMIP issues,\u201d said Department of Interior Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, Bryan Newland. \u201cI thank Congressman Newhouse for raising awareness of this important issue in the region.\u201d\n\n\u201cToday's listening session on the MMIW/P crisis with Rep. Newhouse and Assistant Secretary Newland is a great example of how coming together as local, state, federal, and tribal governments can collaborate to solve this urgent matter for Indian Country,\u201d said Asa Washines, Washington State Office of the Attorney General Tribal Liaison (Yakama). \u201cBoth the law enforcement and tribal leaders\u2019 roundtable discussions yielded great ideas moving forward that improve Indian country's response to the crisis. I look forward to the Congressman's future legislation that will provide the tools/resources to fight this epidemic that has largely gone unheard.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am grateful for the collaboration between the state and federal government to provide resources to families who are searching for their loved ones,\u201d said State Representative Gina Mosbrucker. \u201cIt\u2019s an honor and privilege to work with Congressman Newhouse closely to keep missing and murdered Native Americans a priority in congress and the legislature. We must bring them home.\u201d\n\nBackground:\n\nIn October 2020, President Trump signed two historic pieces of legislation \u2013 Savanna\u2019s Act and the Not Invisible Act \u2013 into law. Rep. Newhouse introduced Savanna\u2019s Act and strongly supported the Not Invisible Act to address the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW).\n\nIn March 2021, Rep. Newhouse called on the Biden Administration to prioritize addressing the MMIW crisis and renewed his 2020 call for a Cold Case Task Force Office in Yakima, Washington.\n\nIn May 2021, Rep. Newhouse introduced a resolution to designate May 5, 2021, as the National Day of Awareness for MMIW.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T02:29:07Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://newhouse.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/newhouse-hosts-listening-sessions-highlight-mmiw-crisis"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7074381466954947, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}