HR 8: URGING THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO INCLUDE HAWAII IN THE MISSING OR MURDERED INDIGENOUS PERSONS REGIONAL OUTREACH PROGRAM.

HOUSE RESOLUTION

urging the united states department of justice to INCLUDE HAWAII IN THE MISSING OR MURDERED INDIGENOUS PERSONS REGIONAL OUTREACH PROGRAM.

     WHEREAS, indigenous persons, including Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, are frequently victims of violence; and

     WHEREAS, the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center describes the high incidence of missing and murdered indigenous women as being part of a "spectrum of violence" that many indigenous women experience, including domestic violence, dating violence, and sexual violence; and

     WHEREAS, according to the National Institute of Justice,  there were eight hundred seventy-five missing indigenous persons cases in the United States as of July 2024; and

     WHEREAS, in 2021, President Biden's Executive Order No. 14053 recognized the need to "address the crisis of ongoing violence against Native Americans - and of missing or murdered indigenous people"; and

     WHEREAS, in response to the president's order, the United States Department of Justice established the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Regional Outreach program, to help prevent, solve, and prosecute missing or murdered indigenous person cases; and

     WHEREAS, for purposes of the program, United States Attorneys' Offices in Alaska, Arizona, Eastern Washington, Minnesota, New Mexico, Northern Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, and Western Michigan were each assigned five assistant United States Attorneys and five Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Coordinators; and

     WHEREAS, Hawaii has the eighth highest rate of missing persons per capita in the nation, with 7.5 missing persons per hundred thousand residents; and

     WHEREAS, a disproportionate number of the missing persons in Hawaii are indigenous, specifically Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander; and

     WHEREAS, Hawaii would greatly benefit from dedicated federal resources to help address the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous persons in the State; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that the United States Department of Justice is requested to include Hawaii in the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Regional Outreach program; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the United States Attorney General and United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii.

Report Title:

United States Department of Justice; Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1861

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2025

RE:   H.R. No. 8

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

     Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.R. No. 8 entitled:

"HOUSE RESOLUTION URGING THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO INCLUDE HAWAII IN THE MISSING OR MURDERED INDIGENOUS PERSONS REGIONAL OUTREACH PROGRAM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

            The purpose of this measure is to urge the United States Department of Justice to include Hawaii in the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Regional Outreach Program.

     Your Committee received testimony in support for this measure from the Health Committee of the Democratic Party of Hawai’i; Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women; and from three individuals. 

Your Committee finds that including Hawaii in the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Regional Outreach Program will provide vital resources and support for addressing cases involving Indigenous people. This inclusion ensures better access to federal assistance, raises awareness, and enhances efforts to resolve missing persons and homicide cases in Hawaii.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.R. No. 8 and recommends its adoption.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,