{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hoeven.senate.gov/news/news-releases/hoeven-introduces-turtle-mountain-chairman-at-scia-hearing-discusses-efforts-to-stop-flow-of-fentanyl-into-us-and-tribal-communities", "Hoeven Introduces Turtle Mountain Chairman at SCIA Hearing, Discusses Efforts to Stop Flow of Fentanyl into U.S. and Tribal Communities", "2023-11-09", "2023", "2023-11", "Republican", "Senate", "ND", "John Hoeven", "H001061", "www.hoeven.senate.gov", "hoeven", "https://www.hoeven.senate.gov/news/news-releases", "scraper", "Hoeven Introduces Turtle Mountain Chairman at SCIA Hearing, Discusses Efforts to Stop Flow of Fentanyl into U.S. and Tribal Communities\n\nWASHINGTON \u2013 At a hearing of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA) this week, Senator John Hoeven introduced Jamie Azure, Chairman of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, as part of a discussion on efforts to stem the flow of fentanyl and other illegal drugs into the U.S. and tribal communities. As the former chairman of the committee, Hoeven has worked to bolster public safety in Indian Country and give tribal law enforcement the tools and resources they need to bring offenders to justice. To this end, Hoeven:\n\nSponsored legislation with:\n\nSenator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) to support Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) law enforcement recruitment and retention, among other priorities.\n\nSenator Jon Tester (D-Mont.) to support law enforcement efforts to combat the drug epidemic and boost border security.\n\nSenators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) to reauthorize the Drug Elimination Program for tribal housing authorities as part of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act.\n\nWorked to fund and open the U.S. Indian Law Enforcement Advanced Training Center at Camp Grafton.\n\nHoeven initially secured $2.5 million in Fiscal Year 2020 for BIA law enforcement to conduct the specialized training courses at Camp Grafton.\n\nClasses include advanced courses on complex subject matter, such as missing persons investigations, drug interdictions, forensics and the Bridge Program.\n\nThe Bridge Program allows local or state trained officers to become federally certified, providing additional law enforcement to Indian Country.\n\nContinues pressing the Biden administration to enforce the law and secure the border in order to combat drug and human trafficking.\n\n\u201cThe fentanyl that\u2019s pouring across our southern border, much of it originating in China, is impacting every tribe, state and community in the nation,\u201d said Hoeven. \u201cWe need to find ways to address this serious issue. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve worked to bolster law enforcement, including creating a new training center in North Dakota for BIA officers, which provides courses on drug interdiction and will help meet the need for additional law enforcement in tribal communities, especially in the Great Plains region. At the same time, we have to secure our borders and combat the traffickers that are bringing these harmful substances into our country.\u201d\n\nThese efforts are complemented by Hoeven\u2019s work on the Senate Appropriations Committee to ensure strong support for programs like:\n\nThe Regional Information Sharing Systems program, which better enables law enforcement agencies to coordinate and combat crime that occurs across multiple jurisdictions.\n\nByrne Justice Assistance Grants (JAG), which provides a wide range of support to state and local law enforcement, including equipment and training.\n\nCommunity Oriented Policing Services (COPS), which awards grants to state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies in an effort to reduce crime, advance public safety and combat the manufacturing and trafficking of methamphetamine and opioids.\n\n-###-", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:49:58Z"]], "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.hoeven.senate.gov/news/news-releases/hoeven-introduces-turtle-mountain-chairman-at-scia-hearing-discusses-efforts-to-stop-flow-of-fentanyl-into-us-and-tribal-communities"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.619621878489852, "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"}