[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1834 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1834

 To amend the Small Business Act to expand and improve the assistance 
provided to Indian tribe members, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 1, 2009

 Mrs. Kirkpatrick of Arizona introduced the following bill; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Small Business

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Small Business Act to expand and improve the assistance 
provided to Indian tribe members, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Native American Business Development 
Enhancement Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. OFFICE OF NATIVE AMERICAN AFFAIRS; TRIBAL BUSINESS INFORMATION 
              CENTERS PROGRAM.

    (a) Associate Administrator.--Section 4(b)(1) of the Small Business 
Act (15 U.S.C. 633(b)(1)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``five Associate Administrators'' and 
        inserting ``six Associate Administrators''; and
            (2) by inserting after ``vested in the Administration.'' 
        the following: ``One such Associate Administrator shall be the 
        Associate Administrator for Native American Affairs, who shall 
        administer the Office of Native American Affairs established 
        under section 44.''.
    (b) Establishment.--The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 44 as section 45; and
            (2) by inserting after section 43 the following:

``SEC. 44. OFFICE OF NATIVE AMERICAN AFFAIRS AND TRIBAL BUSINESS 
              INFORMATION CENTERS PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Office of Native American Affairs.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--There is established in the 
        Administration an Office of Native American Affairs 
        (hereinafter referred to in this subsection as the `Office').
            ``(2) Associate administrator.--The Office shall be 
        administered by an Associate Administrator appointed under 
        section 4(b)(1).
            ``(3) Responsibilities.--The Office shall have the 
        following responsibilities:
                    ``(A) Developing and implementing tools and 
                strategies to increase Native American 
                entrepreneurship.
                    ``(B) Expanding the access of Native American 
                entrepreneurs to business training, capital, and 
                Federal small business contracts.
                    ``(C) Expanding outreach to Native American 
                communities and aggressively marketing entrepreneurial 
                development services to such communities.
                    ``(D) Representing the Administration with respect 
                to Native American economic development matters.
            ``(4) Coordination and oversight function.--The Office 
        shall provide oversight with respect to and assist the 
        implementation of all Administration initiatives relating to 
        Native American entrepreneurial development.
            ``(5) Authorization of appropriations.--To carry out this 
        subsection, there is authorized to be appropriated to the 
        Administrator $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 and 
        2011.
    ``(b) Tribal Business Information Centers Program.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--The Administrator is authorized to 
        operate, alone or in coordination with other Federal 
        departments and agencies, a Tribal Business Information Centers 
        program that provides Native American populations with business 
        training and entrepreneurial development assistance.
            ``(2) Designation of centers.--The Administrator shall 
        designate entities as centers under the Tribal Business 
        Information Centers program.
            ``(3) Administration support.--The Administrator may 
        contribute agency personnel and resources to the centers 
        designated under paragraph (2) to carry out this subsection.
            ``(4) Grant program.--The Administrator is authorized to 
        make grants of not more than $300,000 to centers designated 
        under paragraph (2) for the purpose of providing Native 
        Americans the following:
                    ``(A) Business workshops.
                    ``(B) Individualized business counseling.
                    ``(C) Entrepreneurial development training.
                    ``(D) Access to computer technology and other 
                resources to start or expand a business.
            ``(5) Regulations.--The Administrator shall by regulation 
        establish a process for designating centers under paragraph (2) 
        and making the grants authorized under paragraph (4).
            ``(6) Definition of administrator.--In this subsection, the 
        term `Administrator' means the Administrator, acting through 
        the Associate Administrator administering the Office of Native 
        American Affairs.
            ``(7) Authorization of appropriations.--To carry out this 
        subsection, there is authorized to be appropriated to the 
        Administrator $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and $17,000,000 
        for fiscal year 2011.
    ``(c) Definition of Native American.--The term `Native American' 
means an Indian tribe member, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian as such 
are defined in section 21(a)(8) of this Act.''.

SEC. 3. SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER ASSISTANCE TO INDIAN TRIBE 
              MEMBERS, ALASKA NATIVES, AND NATIVE HAWAIIANS.

    (a) In General.--Section 21(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
648(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(8) Additional grant to assist indian tribe members, 
        alaska natives, and native hawaiians.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Any applicant in an eligible 
                State that is funded by the Administration as a Small 
                Business Development Center may apply for an additional 
                grant to be used solely to provide services described 
                in subsection (c)(3) to assist with outreach, 
                development, and enhancement on Indian lands of small 
                business startups and expansions owned by Indian tribe 
                members, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians.
                    ``(B) Eligible states.--For purposes of 
                subparagraph (A), an eligible State is a State that has 
                a combined population of Indian tribe members, Alaska 
                Natives, and Native Hawaiians that comprises at least 1 
                percent of the State's total population, as shown by 
                the latest available census.
                    ``(C) Grant applications.--An applicant for a grant 
                under subparagraph (A) shall submit to the 
                Administration an application that is in such form as 
                the Administration may require. The application shall 
                include information regarding the applicant's goals and 
                objectives for the services to be provided using the 
                grant, including--
                            ``(i) the capability of the applicant to 
                        provide training and services to a 
                        representative number of Indian tribe members, 
                        Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians;
                            ``(ii) the location of the Small Business 
                        Development Center site proposed by the 
                        applicant;
                            ``(iii) the required amount of grant 
                        funding needed by the applicant to implement 
                        the program; and
                            ``(iv) the extent to which the applicant 
                        has consulted with local tribal councils.
                    ``(D) Applicability of grant requirements.--An 
                applicant for a grant under subparagraph (A) shall 
                comply with all of the requirements of this section, 
                except that the matching funds requirements under 
                paragraph (4)(A) shall not apply.
                    ``(E) Maximum amount of grants.--No applicant may 
                receive more than $300,000 in grants under this 
                paragraph for any fiscal year.
                    ``(F) Regulations.--After providing notice and an 
                opportunity for comment and after consulting with the 
                Association recognized by the Administration pursuant 
                to paragraph (3)(A) (but not later than 180 days after 
                the date of enactment of this paragraph), the 
                Administration shall issue final regulations to carry 
                out this paragraph, including regulations that 
                establish--
                            ``(i) standards relating to educational, 
                        technical, and support services to be provided 
                        by Small Business Development Centers receiving 
                        assistance under this paragraph; and
                            ``(ii) standards relating to any work plan 
                        that the Administration may require a Small 
                        Business Development Center receiving 
                        assistance under this paragraph to develop.
                    ``(G) Advice of local tribal organizations.--A 
                Small Business Development Center receiving a grant 
                under this paragraph shall request the advice of a 
                tribal organization on how best to provide assistance 
                to Indian tribe members, Alaska Natives, and Native 
                Hawaiians and where to locate satellite centers to 
                provide such assistance.
                    ``(H) Definitions.--In this paragraph, the 
                following definitions apply:
                            ``(i) Indian lands.--The term `Indian 
                        lands' has the meaning given the term `Indian 
                        country' in section 1151 of title 18, United 
                        States Code, the meaning given the term `Indian 
                        reservation' in section 151.2 of title 25, Code 
                        of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 
                        date of enactment of this paragraph), and the 
                        meaning given the term `reservation' in section 
                        4 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 
                        U.S.C. 1903).
                            ``(ii) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian 
                        tribe' means any band, nation, or organized 
                        group or community of Indians located in the 
                        contiguous United States, and the Metlakatla 
                        Indian Community, whose members are recognized 
                        as eligible for the services provided to 
                        Indians by the Secretary of the Interior 
                        because of their status as Indians.
                            ``(iii) Indian tribe member.--The term 
                        `Indian tribe member' means a member of an 
                        Indian tribe (other than an Alaska Native).
                            ``(iv) Alaska native.--The term `Alaska 
                        Native' has the meaning given the term `Native' 
                        in section 3(b) of the Alaska Native Claims 
                        Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(b)).
                            ``(v) Native hawaiian.--The term `Native 
                        Hawaiian' means any individual who is--
                                    ``(I) a citizen of the United 
                                States; and
                                    ``(II) a descendant of the 
                                aboriginal people, who prior to 1778, 
                                occupied and exercised sovereignty in 
                                the area that now constitutes the State 
                                of Hawaii.
                            ``(vi) Tribal organization.--The term 
                        `tribal organization' has the meaning given 
                        that term in section 4(l) of the Indian Self-
                        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 
                        U.S.C. 450b(l)).
                    ``(I) Authorization of appropriations.--There is 
                authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
                paragraph $7,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 and 
                2011.
                    ``(J) Funding limitations.--
                            ``(i) Nonapplicability of certain 
                        limitations.--Funding under this paragraph 
                        shall be in addition to the dollar program 
                        limitations specified in paragraph (4).
                            ``(ii) Limitation on use of funds.--The 
                        Administration may carry out this paragraph 
                        only with amounts appropriated in advance 
                        specifically to carry out this paragraph.''.
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