{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://donyoung.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=401746", "Congressman Don Young Leads on Justice for Alaska Natives, Helps the House Pass Landmark Legislation to Combat the Ongoing Epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls", "2020-09-21", "2020", "2020-09", "Republican", "Senate", "AK", "Don Young", "Y000033", "donyoung.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C.  Today,Alaska Congressman Don Young, Member of the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of The United States and Vice-Chair of the Native American Caucus, helped the House pass legislation to combat the nation-wide epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIGW). Congressman Young served as an original cosponsor of Savanna's Act's House companion, and cosponsored the House version of the Not Invisible Actearlier this Congress.\r\nSavanna's Act requires that the Department of Justice (DOJ) review, revise and develop law enforcement and justice protocols for addressing the MMIWG crisis. Additionally, it requires that the DOJ develops training programs, improves data collection, and coordinates with Native tribes and organizations in response to MMIWG cases. The Not Invisible Act establishes an advisory committee on violent crime comprised of law enforcement, tribal leaders, federal partners, service providers, and survivors to make recommendations to the Department of the Interior (DOI) and DOJ. The bill also establishes best practices for law enforcement on combatting the MMIWG epidemic, and creates a position for an expert within the Bureau of Indian Affairs charged with improving violent crime prevention efforts across federal agencies. Both bills now head to the President's desk to be signed into law.\r\n\"All too often, our Alaska Native communities have experienced the tragedy and heartbreak of the ongoing national crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. As the father of two strong Alaska Native daughters, combating this scourge has always been one of my highest priorities in Congress. I am very proud to have helped Savanna's Act and the Not Invisible Act get across the finish line, and am grateful to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for coming together and supporting these critically important bills, said Congressman Don Young. Alaska Native and American Indian women and girls face disproportionately high rates of violent crimes, including murder, rape, kidnapping, and trafficking. According to the Urban Indian Health Institute, Alaska is the fourth highest state in terms of the number of these cases. These sad statistics are a reality for too many people. We must continue working to ensure that our Native communities are adequately equipped to prevent and respond to these heinous crimes. The bills passed today are a significant step forward, but there is still much work to be done. It is my great hope that we can turn the tide in the fight against crimes perpetrated in our Native communities, and it will continue to be one of my highest priorities to ensure that Alaska is a safe place for all.\"\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": ["http://donyoung.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=401746"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1525920126587152, "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"}