[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 524 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 524

 To establish the Department of Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee on 
           Tribal and Indian Affairs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 14, 2019

 Mr. Tester (for himself, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Udall, and Ms. Murkowski) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish the Department of Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee on 
           Tribal and Indian Affairs, 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 ``Department of Veterans Affairs 
Tribal Advisory Committee Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON TRIBAL AND 
              INDIAN AFFAIRS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter III of chapter 5 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 547. Advisory Committee on Tribal and Indian Affairs
    ``(a) Establishment.--(1) The Secretary shall establish an advisory 
committee to provide advice and guidance to the Secretary on matters 
relating to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native American 
veterans.
    ``(2) The advisory committee established under paragraph (1) shall 
be known as the `Advisory Committee on Tribal and Indian Affairs' (in 
this section referred to as the `Committee').
    ``(3) The Committee shall facilitate, but not supplant, government-
to-government consultation between the Department and Indian tribes or 
tribal organizations.
    ``(4) The Secretary shall consult with Indian tribes or tribal 
organizations in developing a charter for the Committee.
    ``(b) Membership.--(1) The Committee shall be composed of 15 voting 
members selected by the Secretary from among individuals nominated by 
Indian tribes or tribal organizations for purposes of this section.
    ``(2) In selecting members under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
ensure that--
            ``(A) each of the 12 service areas of the Indian Health 
        Service is represented in the membership of the Committee; and
            ``(B) not fewer than half of the members are veterans, 
        unless the Secretary determines that an insufficient number of 
        qualified veterans were nominated under paragraph (1).
    ``(3) No member of the Committee may be an employee of the Federal 
Government.
    ``(c) Terms; Vacancies.--(1) A member of the Committee shall be 
appointed for a term of two years.
    ``(2) The Secretary shall fill a vacancy in the Committee in the 
same manner as the original appointment within 180 days.
    ``(d) Meetings.--(1) The Committee shall meet in-person with the 
Secretary, or the Secretary's designee, not less frequently than twice 
each year and hold monthly conference calls as necessary.
    ``(2)(A) Representatives of relevant Federal agencies may attend 
meetings of the Committee and provide information to the Committee.
    ``(B) On representative of the Office of Tribal Government 
Relations of the Department shall attend at each meeting of the 
Committee.
    ``(C) Representatives attending meetings under this paragraph shall 
not be considered voting members of the Committee.
    ``(e) Subcommittees.--(1) The Committee may establish 
subcommittees.
    ``(2) The Secretary may, in consultation with the Committee, 
appoint a member to a subcommittee established under paragraph (1) who 
is not a member of the Committee.
    ``(3) Such subcommittees may enhance the function of the Committee, 
but may not supersede the authority of the Committee or provide direct 
advice or work products to the Department.
    ``(f) Duties.--The duties of the Committee are as follows:
            ``(1) To advise the Secretary on ways the Department can 
        improve the programs and services of the Department to better 
        serve Native American veterans.
            ``(2) To identify for the Department evolving issues of 
        relevance to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native 
        American veterans relating to programs and services of the 
        Department.
            ``(3) To propose clarifications, recommendations, and 
        solutions to address issues raised at tribal, regional, and 
        national levels, especially regarding the Annual Tribal 
        Consultation Report.
            ``(4) To provide a forum for Indian tribes, tribal 
        organizations, and the Department to discuss issues and 
        proposals for changes to Department regulations, policies, and 
        procedures.
            ``(5) To identify priorities and provide advice on 
        appropriate strategies for tribal consultation on issues at the 
        tribal, regional, or national levels.
            ``(6) To ensure that pertinent issues are brought to the 
        attention of Indian tribes and tribal organizations in a timely 
        manner, so that tribal feedback can be obtained.
            ``(7) To encourage the Secretary to work with other Federal 
        agencies and Congress so that Native American veterans are not 
        denied the full benefit of their status as both Native 
        Americans and veterans.
            ``(8) To highlight contributions of Native American 
        veterans in the Armed Forces.
            ``(9) To update the consultation policy of the Department 
        on tribal matters.
    ``(g) Reports.--(1) Not less frequently than once each year, the 
Committee shall submit to the Secretary and the appropriate committees 
of Congress such recommendations as the Committee may have for 
legislative or administrative action for the upcoming year.
    ``(2) Not later than 90 days after the date on which the Secretary 
receives a recommendation under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a written response to 
the recommendation.
    ``(3) Not less frequently than once every two years, the Committee 
shall submit to the Secretary and the appropriate committees of 
Congress a report describing the activities of the Committee during the 
previous two years.
    ``(4) The Secretary shall make publicly available on an Internet 
website of the Department--
            ``(A) each recommendation the Secretary receives under 
        paragraph (1);
            ``(B) each response the Secretary submits under paragraph 
        (2); and
            ``(C) each report the Secretary receives under paragraph 
        (3).
    ``(h) Committee Personnel Matters.--Each member of the Committee 
shall be compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the 
annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive 
Schedule under section 5315 of title 5 for each day (including travel 
time) during which such member is engaged in the performance of duties 
of the Committee.
    ``(i) Federal Advisory Committee Act Exemption.--Section 14 of the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the 
Committee.
    ``(j) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `appropriate committees of Congress' means--
                    ``(A) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the 
                Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate; and
                    ``(B) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the 
                House of Representatives.
            ``(2) The term `Indian tribe' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 
        Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
            ``(3) The term `Native American veteran' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 3765 of this title.
            ``(4) The term `tribal organization' has the meaning given 
        such term in section 3765 of this title and includes an Urban 
        Indian organization (as defined in section 4 of the Indian 
        Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603)).''.
    (b) Deadline for Establishment.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall establish the advisory committee required by section 547 of title 
38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Deadline for Initial Appointments.--Not later than 90 days 
after the date on which the Secretary establishes the advisory 
committee required by such section, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall appoint members under subsection (b)(1) of such section.
    (d) Initial Meeting.--Not later than 90 days after the date on 
which the Secretary establishes the advisory committee required by such 
section, such advisory committee shall hold its first meeting.
    (e) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 5 of such title is amended by inserting after the item relating 
to section 546 the following new item:

``547. Advisory Committee on Tribal and Indian Affairs.''.
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