[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 212 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.212
One Hundred Sixteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty
An Act
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 2020''.
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, the extent to
which the programs and services overlap or are duplicative, 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 ``2021 through 2025''.
(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''.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.