1.
This Act may be cited as the
Mark O. Hatfield-Elizabeth Furse
Scholarship and Excellence in Tribal Governance Act of
2005
.
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 education
The 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 pay
A 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 Services
The 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.