1.This Act may be cited as
the Mark O. Hatfield Scholarship and
Excellence in Tribal Governance Act of 2008
.
2.Congress finds that—
(1)Senator Mark O.
Hatfield served the United States with distinction and honor;
(2)Senator Hatfield
has had a lasting impact on the relationship between the United States and
Native Americans, restoring to Federal recognition the Grand Ronde, Coquille,
Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians, Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua
and Siuslaw Indians, and Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians;
(3)Senator Hatfield
has been a champion 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 exemplifies to establish in his name programs to encourage excellence
in tribal government.
3.In this Act:
(1)The
term Board means the Board of Trustees of the Foundation.
(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 Scholarship and
Excellence in Tribal Governance Foundation established by section 4(a).
(4)The
term Institute means the Institute for Tribal Government at
Portland State University.
(5)The term Institute Policy Board means
the Institute Policy Board for 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 scholarship and excellence in tribal governance
foundation
(a)There is established as an independent
entity in the Executive branch the Mark O. Hatfield 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 consist of the Institute Policy Board.
(c)The Foundation shall be located in Portland,
Oregon.
(d)
(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 may 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 a 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)Mark o.
hatfield scholarsRecipients of scholarships, fellowships,
internships, and grants under this Act shall be known as Mark O.
Hatfield 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.Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this
Act.