SRES-606-116
Submitted in the Senate, considered, and agreed to without amendment and with a preamble by Voice Vote. (consideration: CR S2700; text: CR S2699)
Sponsored by Steve Daines (R-MT)
What it does
This Senate resolution designates May 5, 2020, as the "National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls." It calls on the American public and interested groups to commemorate the lives of missing and murdered American Indian and Alaska Native women and to show solidarity with victims' families. The resolution is commemorative only and creates no new law, program, funding, or legal obligation.
Who benefits
Families of missing and murdered American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls, who gain formal congressional recognition of their losses. Tribal communities, particularly those in states with high rates of violence against Native women. Advocacy organizations working on this issue, who may use the designation to raise public awareness. Researchers and journalists covering the topic may benefit from increased public attention.
Who is hurt
No group is directly harmed by this resolution. Because it creates no mandates, spending, or regulatory changes, there are no identifiable cost-bearers or negatively affected parties.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that American Indian and Alaska Native women face murder rates more than 10 times the national average in some tribal communities, according to a Department of Justice-commissioned study, and that homicide was the sixth leading cause of death for Native females aged 1–44 as of 2017. They contend that formal congressional recognition draws national attention to a documented crisis that has historically received inadequate media coverage and data collection, and that symbolic acknowledgment is a meaningful first step toward policy action.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that a commemorative resolution, while well-intentioned, does not address the structural causes of violence against Native women — such as jurisdictional gaps in tribal law enforcement, underfunding of tribal justice systems, and inadequate federal data collection — and may substitute symbolic action for substantive legislative remedies. They contend that without accompanying funding, enforcement mechanisms, or data mandates, the resolution risks providing the appearance of congressional concern without producing measurable change for affected communities.
Constitutional context
No significant constitutional issues are raised by this resolution. Commemorative Senate resolutions are a routine exercise of congressional expression and do not implicate enumerated powers, equal protection scrutiny, or any active area of constitutional litigation.
Checks and balances
The Senate exercises its expressive function through this resolution; it creates no new executive authority, no agency rulemaking, and no judicial review mechanism, so no branch gains or loses power.
Historical precedent
Congress has previously passed similar commemorative resolutions related to violence against Native women, and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 included provisions specifically addressing tribal jurisdiction over non-Native perpetrators of domestic violence on tribal lands.