1.
This Act may be cited as the
Mark O. Hatfield-Elizabeth Furse
Scholarship and Excellence in Tribal Governance Act of
2004
.
2.Congress finds that—
(1)Senator Mark O.
Hatfield and Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse served the United States with
distinction and honor;
(2)Senator Hatfield
and Congresswoman Furse have had a lasting impact on the relationship between
the United States and Native Americans;
(3)Senator Hatfield
and Congresswoman Furse have been champions of the rights of Native Americans
and Alaska Natives and worked in Congress to strengthen tribal self-governance;
and
(4)it is a fitting
tribute to the leadership, courage, and bipartisan spirit that Senator Mark O.
Hatfield and Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse exemplify to establish in their
names programs to encourage excellence in tribal government.
3.In this Act:
(1)The
term Board means the Board of Trustees of the Foundation
established under section 4(b).
(2)The term eligible individual means a
citizen or national of the United States or a permanent resident alien of the
United States.
(3)The
term Foundation means the Mark O. Hatfield-Elizabeth Furse
Scholarship and Excellence in Tribal Governance Foundation established by
section 4(a).
(4)The
term Fund means the Mark O. Hatfield-Elizabeth Furse Scholarship
and Excellence in Tribal Governance Fund established by section 7.
(5)The
term Institute means the Institute for Tribal Government at
Portland State University.
(6)Institution of
higher educationThe term institution of higher
education has the meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
(7)The
term State means—
(A)a State;
(B)the District of
Columbia;
(C)American
Samoa;
(D)the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands;
(E)Guam;
(F)the Republic of
the Marshall Islands;
(G)the Federal
States of Micronesia;
(H)the Republic of
Palau;
(I)the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico; and
(J)the United States
Virgin Islands.
4.Establishment of
the Mark O. Hatfield-Elizabeth Furse Scholarship and Excellence in Tribal
Governance Foundation
(a)There
is established as an independent entity in the Executive branch the Mark O.
Hatfield-Elizabeth Furse Scholarship and Excellence in Tribal Governance
Foundation.
(b)
(1)The Foundation shall be subject to the supervision and
direction of a Board of Trustees.
(2)The
Board shall be comprised of 12 trustees, of whom—
(A)2 trustees shall
be individuals appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent
of the Senate, after considering recommendations of the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, in consultation with the minority leader of the House of
Representatives;
(B)2 trustees shall
be individuals appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent
of the Senate, after considering recommendations of the President pro tempore
of the Senate, in consultation with the majority and minority leaders of the
Senate;
(C)5 trustees, not
more than 3 trustees of whom shall be of the same political party, shall be
individuals appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of
the Senate, who have demonstrated leadership and interest in strengthening
tribal self-governance, such as tribal leaders involved in health and public
policy development affecting Native American and Alaska Native
communities;
(D)1 trustee shall
be the Secretary of the Interior;
(E)1 trustee shall
be the Secretary of Education; and
(F)1 trustee shall
be the president of Portland State University, who shall serve as a nonvoting
member and shall not be eligible to serve as Chairperson.
(c)
(1)The term of a member of the Board shall be 6 years,
except that—
(A)in the case of
the trustees first taking office—
(i)as
designated by the President, 1 trustee appointed under subsection (b)(2)(B) and
2 trustees appointed under subsection (b)(2)(C) shall serve 2 years;
(ii)as
designated by the President, 1 trustee appointed under subsection (b)(2)(A) and
2 trustees appointed under subsection (b)(2)(C) shall serve 4 years; and
(iii)as designated
by the President, 1 trustee appointed under subsection (b)(2)(A), 1 trustee
appointed under subsection (b)(2)(B), and 1 trustee appointed under subsection
(b)(2)(C) shall serve 6 years; and
(B)a trustee
appointed to fill a vacancy shall—
(i)serve for the
remainder of the term for which the predecessor of the trustee was appointed;
and
(ii)be
appointed in the same manner as the original appointment for that vacancy was
made.
(d)Travel and
subsistence payA trustee shall serve without pay, but shall be
entitled to reimbursement for travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses
incurred in the performance of the duties of a member of the Board.
(e)The Foundation shall be located in Portland,
Oregon.
(f)
(1)There shall be an Executive Director of the Foundation,
who shall be appointed by the Board.
(2)The
Executive Director—
(A)shall be the
chief executive officer of the Foundation; and
(B)shall carry out
the functions of the Foundation, subject to the supervision and direction of
the Board, and such other functions consistent with this Act as the Board shall
prescribe.
(3)The
Executive Director shall be compensated at the rate specified for an employee
in level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United
States Code.
5.The purposes of the Foundation shall
be—
(1)to develop
resources to properly train Native American and Alaska Native tribal council
members in self-government and related fields;
(2)to foster among
people in the United States greater recognition and understanding of the role
of tribal self-government in the development of the United States;
(3)to identify
critical issues facing tribal governments;
(4)to establish a
program for tribal governance research at the Institute; and
(5)to provide
educational outreach regarding tribal self-government.
6.Authority of the
Foundation
(a)
The Foundation, in consultation with
the Institute, may identify and conduct such programs, activities, and services
as the Foundation considers appropriate to carry out the purposes of the
Foundation.
(b)Programs,
Activities, and ServicesThe Foundation may, in accordance with
this section—
(1)award
scholarships, fellowships, internships, and grants; and
(2)provide grants to
the Institute to carry out and manage other programs, activities, and
services.
(c)The Foundation may provide, directly or by contract,
for the conduct of national competition for the purpose of selecting recipients
of scholarships, fellowships, internships, and grants awarded under this
Act.
(d)Award of
Scholarships, Fellowships, Internships, and Grants
(1)The Foundation may award scholarships, fellowships,
internships, and grants to eligible individuals who meet the minimum criteria
established by the Foundation, for study in fields relating to tribal
governance.
(2)Recipients of
scholarships, fellowships, internships, and grants under this Act shall be
known as Elizabeth Furse Scholars
.
(e)
(1)The Foundation may award scholarships to
outstanding—
(A)undergraduate
students who intend to pursue careers relating to tribal governance; and
(B)Native American
and Alaska Native undergraduate students who intend to pursue careers in tribal
public policy.
(2)An
eligible individual awarded a scholarship under this Act may receive payments
under this Act only during such periods as the Foundation determines that the
eligible individual—
(A)is maintaining
satisfactory proficiency and devoting full time to study or research;
and
(B)is not engaging
in gainful employment other than employment approved by the Foundation under
regulations of the Board.
(3)
(A)The Foundation may require reports containing such
information, in such form, and to be filed at such times as the Foundation
determines to be necessary from any eligible individual awarded a scholarship
under this Act.
(B)Except
as otherwise provided under this subsection, a report under subparagraph (A)
shall be accompanied by a certificate from an appropriate official at the
institution of higher education, approved by the Foundation, stating that the
individual is making satisfactory progress in, and is devoting essentially full
time to, study or research.
(f)The
Foundation may award fellowships to—
(1)outstanding
graduate students who intend to pursue advanced degrees in fields relating to
tribal governance;
(2)outstanding
Native American and Alaska Native graduate students who intend to pursue
advanced degrees in tribal public policy, law, or medicine; and
(3)faculty from a
variety of disciplines to bring the expertise of the faculty to the
Foundation.
(g)The
Foundation may award internships to deserving and qualified—
(1)individuals, for
use in participating in internships in Federal, State, and local agencies or in
offices of major tribal governance organizations; and
(2)Native American
and Alaska Native individuals, for use in participating in internships in
Federal, State, and local agencies or in offices of major public health or
public policy organizations.
(h)The
Foundation shall award grants to the Institute—
(1)to provide for an
annual panel of experts to discuss contemporary tribal governance
issues;
(2)to conduct tribal
governance policy research;
(3)to conduct
research on Native American and Alaska Native tribal public policy issues;
and
(4)to invite
visiting policymakers to share practical experiences with the
Foundation.
(i)The
Foundation shall assist in the development and implementation of a program for
tribal governance research to be located at the Institute.
(j)
(1)Subject to paragraph (2), the Foundation shall
determine—
(A)the priority of
the programs to be carried out under this Act; and
(B)the amount of
funds to be allocated for the programs.
(2)Of
amounts made available to carry out this section—
(A)not less than 50
percent shall be used for the programs described in subsections (e), (f), and
(g);
(B)not less than 20
percent shall be made available to the Institute to carry out subsections (h)
and (i), on the conditions that—
(i)a
25-percent matching share is provided from other non-Federal sources;
and
(ii)adequate space
at the Institute is made available by the Institute for the Executive Director
and other appropriate staff of the Foundation; and
(C)not more than 15
percent shall be used for salaries and other administrative purposes.
7.Establishment of
Mark O. Hatfield-Elizabeth Furse Scholarship and Excellence in Tribal
Governance Trust Fund
(a)There is established in the Treasury of the United States
a trust fund to be known as the Mark O. Hatfield-Elizabeth Furse
Scholarship and Excellence in Tribal Governance Trust Fund
, to be
administered by the Foundation, consisting of amounts appropriated to the fund
under section 10.
(b)Investment of
Fund assets
(1)The Secretary of the Treasury shall invest in full, at
the direction of the Board, the amounts appropriated to the Fund.
(2)The investments shall be in public debt securities
with maturities suitable for the needs of the Fund.
(3)Investments
in public debt securities shall bear interest at rates determined by the
Secretary of the Treasury, taking into consideration the current average market
yield on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States of comparable
maturity.
8.Expenditures and
audit of trust fund
(a)The Foundation shall pay from the interest and earnings
of the Fund such amounts as the Board determines are appropriate to enable the
Foundation to carry out this Act.
(b)Audit by
Government Accountability Office
(1)The activities of the Foundation and the Institute under
this Act may be audited by the Government Accountability Office under such
regulations as may be promulgated by the Comptroller General of the United
States.
(2)Representatives
of the Government Accountability Office shall have access to all books,
accounts, records, reports filed and all other papers, things, or property
belonging to or in use by the Foundation and the Institute that pertain to
federally-assisted activities and are necessary to facilitate the audit.
9.Administrative
provisions
To carry out
this Act, the Foundation may—
(1)appoint, and fix
the compensation of, such personnel as are necessary to carry out this Act,
except that in no case shall an employee other than the Executive Director be
compensated at a rate that exceeds the maximum rate for employees in grade
GS–15 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, United States
Code;
(2)procure or fund
the Institute to procure temporary and intermittent services of such experts
and consultants as are necessary to the extent authorized by section 3109 of
title 5, United States Code, but at rates not to exceed the rate specified at
the time of such service for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section
5315 of title 5, United States Code;
(3)promulgate such
regulations as the Foundation considers to be necessary governing the manner in
which the functions of the Foundation shall be carried out;
(4)accept, hold,
administer, and use gifts, both real and personal, for the purpose of aiding or
facilitating the work of the Foundation;
(5)accept and use
the services of voluntary and noncompensated personnel and reimburse such
personnel for travel expenses, including per diem expenses, as authorized by
section 5703 of title 5, United States Code;
(6)enter into
contracts, grants, or other arrangements or modifications of contracts, grants,
or arrangements to carry out this Act, which contracts, grants, arrangements,
and modifications may, with the concurrence of at least
2/3 of the members of the Board, be entered into without
performance bond or other bond, and without regard to section 3709 of the
Revised Statutes (41 U.S.C. 5); and
(7)make other
necessary expenditures.
10.Authorization
of appropriations
There is
authorized to be appropriated to the Fund $50,000,000.