On the recordApril 25, 2012
I respect my colleagues' concerns about the tribal provisions of this bill, and I am willing to work with any Senator who may have concerns about these provisions. Native American law can be daunting, but I want to stress how much effort, research, and consultation went into drafting the tribal provisions in the Violence Against Women Act. Title 9 is taken almost entirely from S. 1763, the Stand Against Violence and Empower Native Women Act, the SAVE Native Women Act. This bill was passed on a Department of Justice proposal submitted to Congress last July. That proposal was the product of extensive multiyear consultations with tribal leaders about public safety generally and violence against women specifically. It builds on the foundation laid by the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010. The SAVE Native Women Act was cleared by the Indian Affairs Committee in a unanimous voice vote. The Presiding Officer serves on that committee and knows that this is a committee--the Senate Indian Affairs Committee--that works in a bipartisan way. This passed by a unanimous voice vote through the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. Shortly thereafter, its core provisions were again vetted and incorporated in the Judiciary Committee's Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization as title 9. In short, the Safety for Indian Women title has been vetted extensively and enjoys wide and bipartisan support.…
