[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1402 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.1402
One Hundred Seventeenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty two
An Act
To amend the Native American Languages Act to ensure the survival and
continuing vitality of Native American languages, 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 ``Durbin Feeling Native American
Languages Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. ENSURING THE SURVIVAL AND CONTINUING VITALITY OF NATIVE
AMERICAN LANGUAGES.
(a) In General.--Section 106 of the Native American Languages Act
(25 U.S.C. 2905) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Evaluation; Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this subsection, the President shall--
``(1) require the heads of the various Federal departments,
agencies, and instrumentalities to carry out an evaluation
described in subsection (a)(1); and
``(2) submit to Congress a report that describes--
``(A) the results of the evaluations; and
``(B) the recommendations of the Secretary of the Interior,
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary
of Education, after consultation with Indian tribes,
traditional leaders, and representatives of Native American
language communities, for amendments to Federal laws that are
needed--
``(i) to bring the Federal laws into compliance with
this Act;
``(ii) to improve interagency coordination for purposes
of supporting revitalization, maintenance, and use of
Native American languages; and
``(iii) to reduce duplication, inefficiencies, and
barriers Native American language communities face in
accessing Federal programs to support efforts to
revitalize, maintain, or increase the use of Native
American languages.''.
(b) Survey on Native American Languages.--The Native American
Languages Act (25 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``SEC. 108. SURVEY ON NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGES.
``(a) In General.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this section, and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary
of Health and Human Services, acting through the Commissioner of the
Administration for Native Americans (referred to in this section as the
`Secretary'), shall undertake a survey of the use of all Native
American languages in the United States.
``(b) Updates.--Prior to conducting each subsequent survey after
the initial survey under subsection (a), the Secretary shall update the
survey in accordance with this section.
``(c) Consultation Required.--The Secretary shall design the
initial survey under subsection (a) and each updated survey under
subsection (b)--
``(1) in consultation with Indian tribes; and
``(2) after considering feedback received from Native American
language speakers and experts.
``(d) Contents.--Each survey under subsection (a) shall solicit--
``(1) information on which Native American languages are
currently spoken;
``(2) estimates of the number of speakers of each Native
American language;
``(3) any language usage statistics or information that the
Secretary, in consultation with Indian tribes and Native American
language speakers and experts, determines to be relevant and
appropriate;
``(4) information on the types of Native American language
maintenance and revitalization projects and practices that are
currently being carried out;
``(5) information on any unmet Native American language
resource needs of Indian tribes and Native American language
communities; and
``(6) any other information that the Secretary, in consultation
with Indian tribes and Native American language speakers and
experts, determines to be necessary.
``(e) Coordination.--The Secretary may coordinate, and enter into
cooperative agreements with, the Director of the Bureau of the Census
for the purposes of carrying out this section.
``(f) Outreach and Engagement.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall carry out outreach and
engagement activities to provide Indian tribes, Native American
language communities, and the public information about--
``(A) opportunities to provide input on the development and
design of each survey under subsection (a), including
information on the consultations required under subsection (c);
``(B) the goals and purpose of the surveys conducted under
subsection (a); and
``(C) the benefits and importance of participation in
surveys under subsection (a).
``(2) Grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements
authorized.--The Secretary may carry out the outreach and
engagement activities required under paragraph (1)--
``(A) directly;
``(B) in partnership with the Bureau of the Census; or
``(C) through grants to, or contracts or cooperative
agreements with--
``(i) Indian tribes;
``(ii) tribal organizations; and
``(iii) nonprofit organizations that work with Indian
tribes, Native American language programs, and Native
American language communities.
``(g) Limitation.--Nothing in this section requires an Indian
tribe, Native American language community, or Native American language
speaker--
``(1) to participate in a survey under subsection (a); or
``(2) to provide specific or culturally sensitive information
in completing such a survey.
``(h) Availability of Survey Materials and Findings.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this section, and prior to conducting each survey
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee
on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committees on Education and
Labor and Natural Resources of the House of Representatives, and
make publicly available, a description of--
``(A) the feedback received under subsection (c) on the
design of the survey;
``(B) the form and content of the survey;
``(C) the plan for deploying the survey to ensure a robust
response; and
``(D) how the Secretary will ensure any survey enumeration
efforts are culturally informed and appropriate.
``(2) Results.--Not later than 90 days after the date on which
analysis of each survey under subsection (a) is completed, the
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the
Senate and the Committees on Education and Labor and Natural
Resources of the House of Representatives, and make publicly
available, the results of the survey.
``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $1,500,000 for each fiscal
year--
``(1) preceding a fiscal year during which a survey under
subsection (a) is conducted; and
``(2) during which a survey under that subsection is
conducted.''.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.