S. 390 · Where this bill is now
In the House
Passed the Senate Dec 11, 2025. Received Dec 15, 2025; no House vote yet
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryStrengthens response to missing and murdered Native Americans
This bill aims to improve how federal agencies and tribal communities work together on cases involving missing, unidentified, or murdered Native Americans. The Department of Justice would create grants to help tribes and other groups enhance their investigation processes, and would partner with the Department of Health and Human Services to provide training and mental health support for tribal and federal law enforcement officers. The Department of the Interior would also test a new system for conducting background checks on people applying for law enforcement jobs with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
How it affects you
Tribal law enforcement officers and communities would gain access to grants, training, and mental health resources to better handle missing person and death cases. Federal agencies would also study their own evidence-handling and investigation practices to identify where improvements are needed. If you're not directly involved in tribal law enforcement or communities focusing on these cases, this mainly affects how the system works behind the scenes.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, Feb 4, 2025)
Bridging Agency Data Gaps and Ensuring Safety for Native Communities Act or the BADGES for Native Communities Act
This bill revises federal policies and procedures related to information sharing, reporting, and investigating cases of missing, unidentified, or murdered Indians.
Among other elements, the bill requires the Department of Justice to (1) establish a grant program for specified entities (e.g., tribes) to implement changes to enhance their responses to missing person cases and death investigations of interest to tribes, and (2) work with the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that federal training resources and culturally appropriate mental health and wellness programs are available to tribal and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) law enforcement officers.
The Department of the Interior must establish a five-year demonstration program for the purpose of conducting or adjudicating personnel background investigations for applicants for law enforcement positions in the BIA.
The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct specified studies, including a study on the evidence collection, handling, response times, and processing procedures and practices of federal law enforcement agencies.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionS. 390
AN ACT
BADGES for Native Communities Act
Sponsor: Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) · Introduced Feb 4, 2025 · Native Americans · 3 versions of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Dec 15, 2025: “Held at the desk.”
Sections
The wording of this bill hasn’t changed across its 3 official versions.
Title I — Bridging agency data gaps · 2
Title II — Ensuring safety for Native communities · 4
- Sec. 201Demonstration program on Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement employment background checksNo change
- Sec. 202Missing or murdered response coordination grant programNo change
- Sec. 203GAO study on Federal law enforcement agency evidence collection, handling, and processingNo change
- Sec. 204Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal law enforcement officer counseling resources interdepartmental coordinationNo change