We had a vote yesterday evening, the first that weve had in some six weeks here. As i walked over to the chambers just now, 4 00 on a tuesday afternoon from the hart building, the only individuals that i saw were the extraordinary men and women of the Capital Police who are here in the building, but suffice to say that these are strange, these are unusual, these are challenging and difficult, difficult times as we face the covid19 pandemic, as we address the challenges that our constituents, our friends, our family are dealing with at home, whether its the impact of the virus itself on our health and our health facilities, or whether it is the impact, truly the economic devastation that were seeing in all corners of the nation. And so the opportunity to be together as a member as a body to address these challenges is important. It is challenging for us as we adapt to this time and this situation to be wearing protective masks, to be separated from one another, to be teleworking as we are. We are adapting and were facing that challenge. We rightly must be doing this because as the nation deals with these matters related to the covid19, there are other matters that are taking place every day, issues that need to be addressed, problems that must be tackled and matters of governance that we must be engaged in. I woke up this morning and i looked at my little newscast, to focus on the day, this tuesday, and it noted that today is Teacher Appreciation day. We thank all of our teachers. Our teachers are certainly in an unusual situation now, as all of our students are. Its also cinco de mayo. Its also giving tuesday. For many, it feels like groundhogs day every day because in this again, in this strange time that were living for so many, it just seems every day is more and more the same. But today is also a day that we have recognized may 5th for several years now as being a national day of awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous Women and girls and that is a matter that i would like to speak briefing to this afternoon. To recognize, to recognize the devastation that so many families have seen when it comes to those that they love who sl gone missing or found murdered and the dark reality of the many that we know are still missing. And unfortunately, madam president for far too long, there has been a silence on this issue. There has been a failure to act in face of what we know and sometimes not knowing, not knowing what were dealing with because we havent asked the questions, which is equally problematic. It tears at my heart. It just tears at my heart to hear the stories of those that i have come in contact in alaska. A womans story, a familys story that they say their words have been discounted, they have been dismissed because the woman who went missing, the woman who was murdered was a native american woman. We have to change that. We cannot accept that. We cannot let the statistics that have really just been allowed to accumulate for too long to remain hasta tis particulars. Every single one of these women was her own person, her own lifes story. A member of her community. And in addition to being someones lost daughter, a wife, a mother, a sister. We should mourn the promise that these missing and murdered women meant to our communities as that next generation of mentors, of role models and change makers. When women are murdered or abducted, when women are trafficked, when individuals are left as missing, discarded, or discounted, there is an injustice that is being done and we cannot let that continue. By raising awareness of the epidemic by giving these women their faces, their names and by telling their stories, were shining a light on the problem and were giving hope. And i want to acknowledge the work of a former colleague of mine here in the senate, senator heidi hidekamp for those who went missing and she shared names and went beyond the statistics and she reminded me and encouraged me that this is an effort that together we must address. We all have the stories, unfortunately, the stories that sicken you and just literally break your heart. The one that perhaps touches me most immediately and directly is the life of Ashley Johnson barr. She was a beautiful girl, a 10yearold girl. A 10yearold girl who was taken from the childrens playground in her hometown in cotts view alaska, a native village on the northwest coast. She was brutally raped and murdered, again, taken from the kids playground to just outside her town. Her death and the tragedy around the circumstances of how she left this world is one that is open still. It is still raw and it has left a permanent scar on alaskan communities. And what happened to ashley is a reminder that in my state, in my state, unfortunately, there is a darkness that is still to this day, very, very, very hard to talk about, but we must. We have to talk about it. We have to act on it. We cannot turn a blind eye simply because it is difficult to talk about. But we have to because were seeing were seeing these stories that represent these statistics in unprecedented proportions. Let me give you some numbers to just put that into perspective. Alaska native women are two and a half times more likely to be a victim of Domestic Violence. In tribal villages, and native communities, Domestic Violence rates are up to 10 times higher than the rest of the nation. More than 10 times higher than the rest of the nation for their Domestic Violence rates. In 2015 it was estimated that 40 of sex trafficking victims were native americans. 40 . Almost 40 of those who have been trafficked, native americans. The rate of Sexual Violence victimization among alaska native women is at least seven times greater than nonnative females. Again, i would just say, these are unprecedented proportions. So when we designate a day as a day of awareness, awareness of those that have gone missing and murdered, our Indigenous Women and girls, it has to be about more than awareness, it has to be about action. So this is where senator cortez masto and i have been picked up on this work. She and i have worked together on several pieces of legislation that helped paved the way for greater collaboration and Data Collection between federal agencies, our Law Enforcement and elected tribal officials, to not only understand the extent of the issues, but in developing methods to end these horrible crimes. So two bills. The first one was savannahs act, it come bats the economic of murdered and missing native women and girls by improving the federal governments response to addressing the crisis. We do this through coordination among all levels of Law Enforcement, by increasing Data Collection and information sharing. Empowering tribal governments with the resources that they need in cases involving missing, murdered Indigenous Women and girls wherever they may occur. And then in the second piece of legislation, its called the not invisible act and its aimed at addressing the crisis of missing and murdered women by engaging, lawyers, tribal leaders and coordination across the federal agencies. One of the things that we have learned, the more we have reviewed this, is that so much of the data is lacking. We have gaps, we just havent been able to get the date that that we need in order to do a better job of coordinating with our agencies. So the good news with all of this is that both of these bills have passed this body and i ink that my colleagues in the senate for your support of the measures. We advance them unanimously on march 11th, just had a little bit before we left in dealing with the covid pandemic, but i truly want to thank the senate for helping to prioritize these measures to protect Indigenous Women. In addition to these measures that we passed the senate, we have done more on the appropriation side. Weve worked through the committees and for the first time in the appropriations bill that President Trump signed in december, there is funding specifically directed to address the crisis of missing, murdered and trafficked Indigenous Women. 6. 5 million was included for the bia to take a really comprehensive look at the issue across bia and the health service, covers everything for funding for cold case work, background checks, equipment needs, training, and a directive to the ihs with regards to forensic training, also includes language that does more towards the coordination and Data Collection amongst the tribal, local and state and federal Law Enforcement. So, that was significant. The executive order that was issued by the Trump Administration late last year, very important in this effort and i want to personally acknowledge the good work that the assistant secretary for indian affairs, sweeney has done. Shes pulled together the Agency Coordination to respond to the cases and she has shown extraordinary heart, real heart in responding to the calls from tribes and advocates to address the crisis of missing and murdered native women. So there has been so much at play that has come together. Now what we need is for the house to act on these legislative measures that we have moved through, through the senate so that the president can sign them into law. I think we recognize that, again, as we are dealing with these matters that are directly related to the daytoday with the response to covid, as weve seen our economies slowed, as we have moved indoors to telework, the work that is required for us to help protect the most vulnerable among us continues. We know that that work continues. And as we have as we have worked aggressively across the country and in alaskan communities to flatten the curve out there as it relates to the coronavirus, we know, unfortunately, that weve seen an uptick in Domestic Violence. Unfortunately, and sadly, truly sadly, for so many, the order to shelter in place or safer at home is the terminology used in some communities, safer at home doesnt necessarily mean safe at home for far too many. Shelter in place is not a safe shelter. We are seeing we are seeing increased calls to Police Departments during this time, but interestingly enough what were not seeing is an increase in those who are seeking help or shelter in our womens shelters. It was just a couple of weeks ago i had a phone call with representatives from the various womens shelters around my state, probably a dozen or so women on the line and i was asking specifically how are we doing within the shelters . What are we seeing . And their numbers are down. And if you look at it just from a numbers perspective youd say good. Madam president , we know the Domestic Violence doesnt disappear, it doesnt go away at times like we are facing now. It just goes underground. And i think what we are seeing is that concern, that fear, as difficult as the situation may be at home, it might be more frightening to go to a shelter where you may be exposed to this invisible threat of the virus. And so i wish that i could say that as a consequence of what were seeing, our shelters are better off, but i fear, i fear that those who would seek shelter are not about thor off. And so to make sure that we are prepared to address these needs, that is yet another challenge for us here in this body, is to come together to address these issues that we know are with us, not only the levels of Domestic Violence, but the impact that we know is there, is present when it comes to Mental Health and Behavioral Health needs. We have much to do. These are challenging times on many, many, many different levels. But as we recognize this day of awareness for those who have gone missing, for those women and girls who had been murdered, note that this is more than just raising awareness. It is to us we went to them, their families and their loved ones to act as well. With that, madam president , i think and yield the floor. Whereby this morning a house panel will be investigating the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic. Wheels are from former cdc director dr. Tom frieden. Live coverage here on cspan2. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] the hearing will come to order. Good morning, and welcome to the labor health and Human Services and education appropriations subcommittee. Todays hearing is on the nations ongoing response to the