Gallego Applauds Senate Passage of Bill to Strengthen Public Safety in Indian Country

WASHINGTON –Bipartisan legislation to strengthen Tribal public safety led bySenators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), John Hoeven (R-ND),andMike Rounds (R-SD)unanimously passed the Senate. TheBridging Agency Data Gaps & Ensuring Safety (BADGES) for Native Communities Actwould support the recruitment and retention of Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) law enforcement officers, bolster federal missing persons resources, and give Tribes and states tools to combat the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).
“Too often, cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women go unsolved because Tribal law enforcement lacks the staffing and resources they need to investigate these cases. The BADGES for Native Communities Act provides Tribal police with more tools to recruit, train, and retain officers and solve this crisis,”said Senator Gallego.“I’m proud to work with my colleagues across the aisle to get this bill passed in the Senate, and I urge the House to move quickly so that Tribal communities can get the resources they need to keep communities safe.”
Then-Representative Gallego led theBADGES for Native Communities Actin the House. The legislation would:
12/15/25