[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1937 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1937

To amend the Native American Business Development, Trade Promotion, and 
   Tourism Act of 2000, the Buy Indian Act, and the Native American 
   Programs Act of 1974 to provide industry and economic development 
                  opportunities to Indian communities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 27, 2019

Mrs. Torres of California (for herself and Ms. Haaland) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Native American Business Development, Trade Promotion, and 
   Tourism Act of 2000, the Buy Indian Act, and the Native American 
   Programs Act of 1974 to provide industry and economic development 
                  opportunities to Indian communities.

    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 ``Indian Community Economic 
Enhancement Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1)(A) to bring industry and economic development to Indian 
        communities, Indian Tribes must overcome a number of barriers, 
        including--
                    (i) geographical location;
                    (ii) lack of infrastructure or capacity;
                    (iii) lack of sufficient collateral and capital; 
                and
                    (iv) regulatory bureaucracy relating to--
                            (I) development; and
                            (II) access to services provided by the 
                        Federal Government; and
            (B) the barriers described in subparagraph (A) often add to 
        the cost of doing business in Indian communities;
            (2) Indian Tribes--
                    (A) enact laws and exercise sovereign governmental 
                powers;
                    (B) determine policy for the benefit of Tribal 
                members; and
                    (C) produce goods and services for consumers;
            (3) the Federal Government has--
                    (A) an important government-to-government 
                relationship with Indian Tribes; and
                    (B) a role in facilitating healthy and sustainable 
                Tribal economies;
            (4) the input of Indian Tribes in developing Federal policy 
        and programs leads to more meaningful and effective measures to 
        assist Indian Tribes and Indian entrepreneurs in building 
        Tribal economies;
            (5)(A) many components of Tribal infrastructure need 
        significant repair or replacement; and
            (B) access to private capital for projects in Indian 
        communities--
                    (i) may not be available; or
                    (ii) may come at a higher cost than such access for 
                other projects;
            (6)(A) Federal capital improvement programs, such as those 
        that facilitate tax-exempt bond financing and loan guarantees, 
        are tools that help improve or replace crumbling 
        infrastructure;
            (B) lack of parity in treatment of an Indian Tribe as a 
        governmental entity under Federal tax and certain other 
        regulatory laws impedes, in part, the ability of Indian Tribes 
        to raise capital through issuance of tax exempt debt, invest as 
        an accredited investor, and benefit from other investment 
        incentives accorded to State and local governmental entities; 
        and
            (C) as a result of the disparity in treatment of Indian 
        Tribes described in subparagraph (B), investors may avoid 
        financing, or demand a premium to finance, projects in Indian 
        communities, making the projects more costly or inaccessible;
            (7) there are a number of Federal loan guarantee programs 
        available to facilitate financing of business, energy, 
        economic, housing, and community development projects in Indian 
        communities, and those programs may support public-private 
        partnerships for infrastructure development, but improvements 
        and support are needed for those programs specific to Indian 
        communities to facilitate more effectively private financing 
        for infrastructure and other urgent development needs; and
            (8)(A) most real property held by Indian Tribes is trust or 
        restricted land that essentially cannot be held as collateral; 
        and
            (B) while creative solutions, such as leasehold mortgages, 
        have been developed in response to the problem identified in 
        subparagraph (A), some solutions remain subject to review and 
        approval by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, adding additional 
        costs and delay to Tribal projects.

SEC. 3. NATIVE AMERICAN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, TRADE PROMOTION, AND 
              TOURISM ACT OF 2000.

    (a) Findings; Purposes.--Section 2 of the Native American Business 
Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4301) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Applicability to Indian-Owned Businesses.--The findings and 
purposes in subsections (a) and (b) shall apply to any Indian-owned 
business governed--
            ``(1) by Tribal laws regulating trade or commerce on Indian 
        lands; or
            ``(2) pursuant to section 5 of the Act of August 15, 1876 
        (19 Stat. 200, chapter 289; 25 U.S.C. 261).''.
    (b) Definitions.--Section 3 of the Native American Business 
Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4302) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (6) and 
        paragraphs (7) through (9), as paragraphs (2) through (7) and 
        paragraphs (9) through (11), respectively;
            (2) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as redesignated by 
        paragraph (1)) the following:
            ``(1) Director.--The term `Director' means the Director of 
        Native American Business Development appointed pursuant to 
        section 4(a)(2).''; and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (7) (as redesignated by 
        paragraph (1)) the following:
            ``(8) Office.--The term `Office' means the Office of Native 
        American Business Development established by section 
        4(a)(1).''.
    (c) Office of Native American Business Development.--Section 4 of 
the Native American Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism 
Act of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4303) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking ``Department of Commerce'' 
                        and inserting ``Office of the Secretary''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``(referred to in this Act 
                        as the `Office')''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2), in the first sentence, by 
                striking ``(referred to in this Act as the 
                `Director')''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Duties of Director.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Director shall serve as--
                    ``(A) the program and policy advisor to the 
                Secretary with respect to the trust and governmental 
                relationship between the United States and Indian 
                Tribes; and
                    ``(B) the point of contact for Indian Tribes, 
                Tribal organizations, and Indians regarding--
                            ``(i) policies and programs of the 
                        Department of Commerce; and
                            ``(ii) other matters relating to economic 
                        development and doing business in Indian lands.
            ``(2) Departmental coordination.--The Director shall 
        coordinate with all offices and agencies within the Department 
        of Commerce to ensure that each office and agency has an 
        accountable process to ensure--
                    ``(A) meaningful and timely coordination and 
                assistance, as required by this Act; and
                    ``(B) consultation with Indian Tribes regarding the 
                policies, programs, assistance, and activities of the 
                offices and agencies.
            ``(3) Office operations.--There are authorized to be 
        appropriated to carry out this section not more than $2,000,000 
        for each fiscal year.''.
    (d) Indian Community Development Initiatives.--The Native American 
Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 8 (25 U.S.C. 4307) as section 
        10; and
            (2) by inserting after section 7 (25 U.S.C. 4306) the 
        following:

``SEC. 8. INDIAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES.

    ``(a) Interagency Coordination.--Not later than 1 year after the 
enactment of this section, the Secretary, the Secretary of the 
Interior, and the Secretary of the Treasury shall coordinate--
            ``(1) to develop initiatives that--
                    ``(A) encourage, promote, and provide education 
                regarding investments in Indian communities through--
                            ``(i) the loan guarantee program of Bureau 
                        of Indian Affairs under section 201 of the 
                        Indian Financing Act of 1974 (25 U.S.C. 1481);
                            ``(ii) programs carried out using amounts 
                        in the Community Development Financial 
                        Institutions Fund established under section 
                        104(a) of the Community Development Banking and 
                        Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 
                        4703(a)); and
                            ``(iii) other capital development programs;
                    ``(B) examine and develop alternatives that would 
                qualify as collateral for financing in Indian 
                communities; and
                    ``(C) provide entrepreneur and other training 
                relating to economic development through tribally 
                controlled colleges and universities and other Indian 
                organizations with experience in providing such 
                training;
            ``(2) to consult with Indian Tribes and with the Securities 
        and Exchange Commission to study, and collaborate to establish, 
        regulatory changes necessary to qualify an Indian Tribe as an 
        accredited investor for the purposes of sections 230.500 
        through 230.508 of title 17, Code of Federal Regulations (or 
        successor regulations), consistent with the goals of promoting 
        capital formation and ensuring qualifying Indian Tribes have 
        the ability to withstand investment loss, on a basis comparable 
        to other legal entities that qualify as accredited investors 
        who are not natural persons;
            ``(3) to identify regulatory, legal, or other barriers to 
        increasing investment, business, and economic development, 
        including qualifying or approving collateral structures, 
        measurements of economic strength, and contributions of Indian 
        economies in Indian communities through the Authority 
        established under section 4 of the Indian Tribal Regulatory 
        Reform and Business Development Act of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4301 
        note);
            ``(4) to ensure consultation with Indian Tribes regarding 
        increasing investment in Indian communities and the development 
        of the report required in paragraph (5); and
            ``(5) not less than once every 2 years, to provide a report 
        to Congress regarding--
                    ``(A) improvements to Indian communities resulting 
                from such initiatives and recommendations for promoting 
                sustained growth of the Tribal economies;
                    ``(B) results of the study and collaboration 
                regarding the necessary changes referenced in paragraph 
                (2) and the impact of allowing Indian Tribes to qualify 
                as an accredited investor; and
                    ``(C) the identified regulatory, legal, and other 
                barriers referenced in paragraph (3).
    ``(b) Waiver.--For assistance provided pursuant to section 108 of 
the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 
1994 (12 U.S.C. 4707) to benefit Native Community Development Financial 
Institutions, as defined by the Secretary of the Treasury, section 
108(e) of such Act shall not apply.
    ``(c) Indian Economic Development Feasibility Study.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Government Accountability Office 
        shall conduct a study and, not later than 18 months after the 
        date of enactment of this subsection, submit to the Committee 
        on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Natural 
        Resources of the House of Representatives a report on the 
        findings of the study and recommendations.
            ``(2) Contents.--The study shall include an assessment of 
        each of the following:
                    ``(A) In general.--The study shall assess current 
                Federal capitalization and related programs and 
                services that are available to assist Indian 
                communities with business and economic development, 
                including manufacturing, physical infrastructure (such 
                as telecommunications and broadband), community 
                development, and facilities construction for such 
                purposes. For each of the Federal programs and services 
                identified, the study shall assess the current use and 
                demand by Indian Tribes, individuals, businesses, and 
                communities of the programs, the capital needs of 
                Indian Tribes, businesses, and communities related to 
                economic development, and the extent that similar 
                programs have been used to assist non-Indian 
                communities compared to the extent used for Indian 
                communities.
                    ``(B) Financing assistance.--The study shall assess 
                and quantify the extent of assistance provided to non-
                Indian borrowers and to Indian (both Tribal and 
                individual) borrowers (including information about such 
                assistance as a percentage of need for Indian borrowers 
                and for non-Indian borrowers, assistance to Indian 
                borrowers and to non-Indian borrowers as a percentage 
                of total applicants, and such assistance to Indian 
                borrowers as individuals as compared to such assistance 
                to Indian Tribes) through the loan programs, the loan 
                guarantee programs, or bond guarantee programs of the--
                            ``(i) Department of the Interior;
                            ``(ii) Department of Agriculture;
                            ``(iii) Department of Housing and Urban 
                        Development;
                            ``(iv) Department of Energy;
                            ``(v) Small Business Administration; and
                            ``(vi) Community Development Financial 
                        Institutions Fund of the Department of the 
                        Treasury.
                    ``(C) Tax incentives.--The study shall assess and 
                quantify the extent of the assistance and allocations 
                afforded for non-Indian projects and for Indian 
                projects pursuant to each of the following tax 
                incentive programs:
                            ``(i) New market tax credit.
                            ``(ii) Low-income housing tax credit.
                            ``(iii) Investment tax credit.
                            ``(iv) Renewable energy tax incentives.
                            ``(v) Accelerated depreciation.
                    ``(D) Tribal investment incentive.--The study shall 
                assess various alternative incentives that could be 
                provided to enable and encourage Tribal governments to 
                invest in an Indian community development investment 
                fund or bank.''.
    (e) Conforming and Technical Amendments.--The Native American 
Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 (25 
U.S.C. 4301 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 3--
                    (A) in each of paragraphs (1), (4), and (8), by 
                striking ``tribe'' and inserting ``Tribe''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (6), by striking ``The term 
                `Indian tribe' has the meaning given that term'' and 
                inserting ``The term `Indian Tribe' has the meaning 
                given the term `Indian tribe''';
            (2) by striking ``tribes'' each place the term appears and 
        inserting ``Tribes''; and
            (3) by striking ``tribal'' each place the term appears and 
        inserting ``Tribal''.

SEC. 4. BUY INDIAN ACT.

    Section 23 of the Act of June 25, 1910 (commonly known as the ``Buy 
Indian Act'') (36 Stat. 861, chapter 431; 25 U.S.C. 47), is amended to 
read as follows:

``SEC. 23. EMPLOYMENT OF INDIAN LABOR AND PURCHASE OF PRODUCTS OF 
              INDIAN INDUSTRY; PARTICIPATION IN MENTOR-PROTEGE PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Indian economic enterprise.--The term `Indian 
        economic enterprise' has the meaning given the term in section 
        1480.201 of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor 
        regulations).
            ``(2) Mentor firm; protege firm.--The terms `mentor firm' 
        and `protege firm' have the meanings given those terms in 
        section 831(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act for 
        Fiscal Year 1991 (10 U.S.C. 2302 note; Public Law 101-510).
            ``(3) Secretaries.--The term `Secretaries' means--
                    ``(A) the Secretary of the Interior; and
                    ``(B) the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
    ``(b) Enterprise Development.--
            ``(1) In general.--Unless determined by one of the 
        Secretaries to be impracticable and unreasonable--
                    ``(A) Indian labor shall be employed; and
                    ``(B) purchases of Indian industry products 
                (including printing and facilities construction, 
                notwithstanding any other provision of law) may be made 
                in open market by the Secretaries.
            ``(2) Mentor-protege program.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Participation in the Mentor-
                Protege Program established under section 831(a) of the 
                National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 
                (10 U.S.C. 2302 note; Public Law 101-510) or receipt of 
                assistance under a developmental assistance agreement 
                under that program shall not render any individual or 
                entity involved in the provision of Indian labor or an 
                Indian industry product ineligible to receive 
                assistance under this section.
                    ``(B) Treatment.--For purposes of this section, no 
                determination of affiliation or control (whether direct 
                or indirect) may be found between a protege firm and a 
                mentor firm on the basis that the mentor firm has 
                provided, or agreed to provide, to the protege firm, 
                pursuant to a mentor-protege agreement, any form of 
                developmental assistance described in section 831(f) of 
                the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
                1991 (10 U.S.C. 2302 note; Public Law 101-510).
    ``(c) Implementation.--In carrying out this section, the 
Secretaries shall--
            ``(1) conduct outreach to Indian industrial entities;
            ``(2) provide training;
            ``(3) promulgate regulations in accordance with this 
        section and with the regulations under part 1480 of title 48, 
        Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), to 
        harmonize the procurement procedures of the Department of the 
        Interior and the Department of Health and Human Services, to 
        the maximum extent practicable;
            ``(4) require regional offices of the Bureau of Indian 
        Affairs and the Indian Health Service to aggregate data 
        regarding compliance with this section;
            ``(5) require procurement management reviews by their 
        respective Departments to include a review of the 
        implementation of this section; and
            ``(6) consult with Indian Tribes, Indian industrial 
        entities, and other stakeholders regarding methods to 
        facilitate compliance with--
                    ``(A) this section; and
                    ``(B) other small business or procurement goals.
    ``(d) Report.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this section, and not less frequently than once 
        every 2 years thereafter, each of the Secretaries shall submit 
        to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the 
        Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives 
        a report describing, during the period covered by the report, 
        the implementation of this section by each of the respective 
        Secretaries.
            ``(2) Contents.--Each report under this subsection shall 
        include, for each fiscal year during the period covered by the 
        report--
                    ``(A) the names of each agency under the respective 
                jurisdiction of each of the Secretaries to which this 
                section has been applied, and efforts made by 
                additional agencies within the Secretaries' respective 
                Departments to use the procurement procedures under 
                this Act;
                    ``(B) a summary of the types of purchases made 
                from, and contracts (including any relevant 
                modifications, extensions, or renewals) awarded to, 
                Indian economic enterprises, expressed by agency 
                region;
                    ``(C) a description of the percentage increase or 
                decrease in total dollar value and number of purchases 
                and awards made within each agency region, as compared 
                to the totals of the region for the preceding fiscal 
                year;
                    ``(D) a description of the methods used by 
                applicable contracting officers and employees to 
                conduct market searches to identify qualified Indian 
                economic enterprises;
                    ``(E) a summary of all deviations granted under 
                section 1480.403 of title 48, Code of Federal 
                Regulations (or successor regulations), including a 
                description of--
                            ``(i) the types of alternative procurement 
                        methods used, including any Indian owned 
                        businesses reported under other procurement 
                        goals; and
                            ``(ii) the dollar value of any awards made 
                        pursuant to those deviations;
                    ``(F) a summary of all determinations made to 
                provide awards to Indian economic enterprises, 
                including a description of the dollar value of the 
                awards;
                    ``(G) a description or summary of the total number 
                and value of all purchases of, and contracts awarded 
                for, supplies, services, and construction (including 
                the percentage increase or decrease, as compared to the 
                preceding fiscal year) from--
                            ``(i) Indian economic enterprises; and
                            ``(ii) non-Indian economic enterprises;
                    ``(H) any administrative, procedural, legal, or 
                other barriers to achieving the purposes of this 
                section, together with recommendations for legislative 
                or administrative actions to address those barriers; 
                and
                    ``(I) for each agency region--
                            ``(i) the total amount spent on purchases 
                        made from, and contracts awarded to, Indian 
                        economic enterprises; and
                            ``(ii) a comparison of the amount described 
                        in clause (i) to the total amount that the 
                        agency region would likely have spent on the 
                        same purchases made from a non-Indian economic 
                        enterprise or contracts awarded to a non-Indian 
                        economic enterprise.
    ``(e) Goals.--Each agency shall establish an annual minimum 
percentage goal for procurement in compliance with this section.''.

SEC. 5. NATIVE AMERICAN PROGRAMS ACT OF 1974.

    (a) Financial Assistance for Native American Projects.--Section 803 
of the Native American Programs Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 2991b) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (b) through (d) as 
        subsections (c) through (e), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
    ``(b) Economic Development.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Commissioner may provide assistance 
        under subsection (a) for projects relating to the purposes of 
        this title to a Native community development financial 
        institution, as defined by the Secretary of the Treasury.
            ``(2) Priority.--With regard to not less than 50 percent of 
        the total amount available for assistance under this section, 
        the Commissioner shall give priority to any application seeking 
        assistance for--
                    ``(A) the development of a Tribal code or court 
                system for purposes of economic development, including 
                commercial codes, training for court personnel, 
                regulation pursuant to section 5 of the Act of August 
                15, 1876 (19 Stat. 200, chapter 289; 25 U.S.C. 261), 
                and the development of nonprofit subsidiaries or other 
                Tribal business structures;
                    ``(B) the development of a community development 
                financial institution, including training and 
                administrative expenses; or
                    ``(C) the development of a Tribal master plan for 
                community and economic development and 
                infrastructure.''.
    (b) Technical Assistance and Training.--Section 804 of the Native 
American Programs Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 2991c) is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
        ``The Commissioner'' and inserting the following:
    ``(a) In General.--The Commissioner''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Priority.--In providing assistance under subsection (a), the 
Commissioner shall give priority to any application described in 
section 803(b)(2).''.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 816 of the Native 
American Programs Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 2992d) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``803(d)'' each place it appears and 
        inserting ``803(e)''; and
            (2) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking ``such sums as may be necessary'' 
                and inserting ``$34,000,000''; and
                    (B) by striking ``1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002'' and 
                inserting ``2020 through 2024''.
    (d) Conforming and Technical Amendments.--The Native American 
Programs Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 2991 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``tribe'' each place the term appears and 
        inserting ``Tribe'';
            (2) by striking ``tribes'' each place the term appears and 
        inserting ``Tribes''; and
            (3) by striking ``tribal'' each place the term appears and 
        inserting ``Tribal''.
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