{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=3E21F537-3500-406F-A6CD-D9C749D95803", "President Signs Heitkamp, Murkowski Bill to Stand up for Native Children into Law", "2016-10-14", "2016", "2016-10", "Democrat", "House", "ND", "Heidi Heitkamp", "H001069", "www.heitkamp.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) today announced that President Obama signed their bipartisan bill to improve the lives of Native American children into law.\r\nHeitkamp and Murkowski\u2019s bill passed unanimously in the U.S. House of Representatives last month, and last year in the U.S. Senate. Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate again affirmed the bill which included minor changes made in the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources when it unanimously approved the bill in July. The vote followed Heitkamp\u2019s testimony before the Committee in May about the urgent need to pass their bill to implement solutions that will help address the overwhelming obstacles Native children face \u2013 including experiencing levels of post-traumatic stress similar to levels faced by newly returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, dramatically increased risks of suicide, and lower high school graduation rates than any racial or ethnic demographic in the country. Heitkamp and Murkowski\u2019s bill will work to address these and other challenges to promote better outcomes for Native youth.\r\nSpecifically, Heitkamp and Murkowski\u2019s bill creates a Commission on Native Children to identify the complex challenges facing Native children in North Dakota, Alaska, and across the United States by conducting an intensive study on these issues \u2013 including high rates of poverty, staggering unemployment, child abuse, domestic violence, crime, substance abuse, and dire economic opportunities \u2013 and making recommendations on how to make sure Native children get the protections, as well as economic and educational tools they need to thrive.\r\n\u201cFor every Native child whose chance to flourish has been stifled by the overwhelming odds stacked against them, today belongs to them,\u201d said Heitkamp. \u201cFor these children, the president\u2019s signature on a bill dedicated to fighting the myriad of challenges they face means more than tackling barriers including unsafe housing conditions, epidemic levels of suicide, and a dire lack of educational or economic opportunity. It means showing every child across Indian Country who has ever felt isolated or hopeless that they are not alone. When I first stepped foot in the U.S. Senate, I promised to work to change outcomes for Native young people, and that\u2019s exactly what this legislation \u2013 the very first I introduced \u2013 aims to do. By creating the Commission on Native Children, we can break down the silos that prevent Native youth from receiving the critical services they need, make sure the voices of Native young people, leaders, and advocates are heard, and build resources for Native youth that are made to last. Together with Senator Murkowski, we earned the unanimous support of Congress. With the president\u2019s signature today, we can now get to work on improving the lives of Native young people for generations to come.\u201d\r\n\u201cI am so pleased to see this piece of legislation cross the finish line, creating a commission established in memory of the late Dr. Walter Soboleff, a treasured Alaska Native elder and a champion for Native youth. I can cite many examples of young Native people who are living healthy lives and doing great things for their people. Yet far too many have found themselves in a world of despair,\u201d said Murkowski. \u201cThere is an urgent need for a broad range of stakeholders to come to the table and formulate plans to give every young Native person a fighting chance at a productive life.\u201d \r\n\u201cI applaud the Congress and in particular Senator Heitkamp for the efforts that made this new law possible.\u201d said President Obama. \u201cUpon signing the bill my Administration will begin seeking appointments for the Commission from the Congress so we can implement this legislation as soon as possible. I look forward to seeing the Commission\u2019s work in the years to come \u2013 work that will help ensure all our young people can reach their full potential.\u201d\r\nAs a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Heitkamp first introduced the bill in 2013 to create a Commission on Native Children as her first bill in the U.S. Senate where it quickly gained bipartisan momentum. In June 2015, Heitkamp\u2019s bill unanimously passed in the U.S. Senate and was introduced by both Republican and Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Since her time as North Dakota\u2019s Attorney General, Heitkamp has been committed to working with both sides of the aisle to develop policies that advance Native American priorities and improve the lives of Native youth for generations to come.\r\nThe Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children, named for the former Chairwoman of Mandan, Hidatsa & Arikara Nation in North Dakota, and Alaska Native Elder and statesman, respectively, has been widely praised by a cross-section of tribal leaders and organizations from North Dakota, Alaska, and around the country. It has also been lauded by former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Byron Dorgan, the National Congress of American Indians, and the National Indian Education Association, among others.\r\nBackground: \r\nConditions for young people in Indian Country are tragic. For example:\r\n\r\nTribal governments face numerous obstacles in responding to the needs of Native children. Existing programmatic rules and the volume of resources required to access grant opportunities stymie efforts of tribes to tackle these issues.\u00a0At the same time, federal agencies lack clear guidance about the direction that should be taken to best address the needs of Native children to fulfill our trust responsibility to tribal nations.\r\nTo help reverse these impacts, the Commission on Native Children will conduct a comprehensive study on the programs, grants, and supports available for Native children, both at government agencies and on the ground in Native communities, with the goal of developing a sustainable system that delivers wrap-around services to Native children.\u00a0Then, the 11-member Commission will issue a report to address a series of challenges currently facing Native children. A Native Children Subcommittee will also provide advice to the Commission.\u00a0The Commission\u2019s report will address how to achieve:\r\n \r\nBetter Use of Existing Resources \u2013 The Commission will identify ways to streamline current federal, state, and local programs to be more effective and give tribes greater flexibility to devise programs for their communities in the spirit of self-determination and allow government agencies to redirect resources to the areas of most need.\r\nIncreased Coordination \u2013 The Commission will seek to improve coordination of existing programs benefitting Native children.\u00a0 The federal government houses programs across numerous different agencies, yet these programs too often do not work together.\u00a0\r\nMeasurable Outcomes \u2013 The Commission will recommend measures to determine the wellbeing of Native children, and use these measurements to propose short-term, mid-term, and long-term national policy goals.\r\nStronger Data \u2013 The Commission will seek to develop better data collection methods.\u00a0 Too often Native children are left out of the conversation because existing data collection, reporting, and analysis practices exclude them.\r\nStronger Private Sector Partnerships \u2013 The Commission will seek to identify obstacles to public-private partnerships in Native communities.\r\nImplementation of Best Practices \u2013 The Commission will identify and highlight successful models that can\u00a0\u00a0 be adopted in Native communities.\r\n \r\nFor a summary of the bill, click here. For quotations from the five Native American tribes in North Dakota, as well as Senator Byron Dorgan, strongly supporting the bill click here, and for quotations from national supporters, click here.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=3E21F537-3500-406F-A6CD-D9C749D95803"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9030639193952084, "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"}