[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1723 Reported in Senate (RS)]

<DOC>





                                                       Calendar No. 432
118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1723

                          [Report No. 118-187]

To establish the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School 
         Policies in the United States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 18, 2023

    Ms. Warren (for herself, Mr. Markey, Ms. Smith, Mr. Casey, Mr. 
Hickenlooper, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Booker, Mr. 
  Merkley, Ms. Baldwin, Ms. Hirono, Ms. Sinema, Mr. Kelly, Ms. Cortez 
 Masto, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Lujan, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Schatz, 
Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Heinrich, Ms. Klobuchar, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Tester, Mr. 
 Sanders, Ms. Murkowski, Ms. Rosen, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Fetterman, Ms. 
 Butler, Mr. Cardin, and Mrs. Shaheen) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

                              July 8, 2024

               Reported by Mr. Schatz, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School 
         Policies in the United States, and for other purposes.

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

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Truth and Healing 
Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Congress finds that--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) assimilation processes, such as the Indian 
        Boarding School Policies, were adopted by the United States 
        Government to strip American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native 
        Hawaiian children of their Indigenous identities, beliefs, and 
        languages to assimilate them into non-Native culture through 
        federally funded and controlled Christian-run schools, which 
        had the intent and, in many cases, the effect, of termination, 
        with dire and intentional consequences on the cultures and 
        languages of Indigenous peoples;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) assimilation processes can be traced back to--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the enactment of the Act of March 3, 
                1819 (3 Stat. 516, chapter 85) (commonly known as the 
                ``Indian Civilization Fund Act of 1819''), which 
                created a fund to administer the education, healthcare, 
                and rations promised to Tribal nations under treaties 
                those Tribal nations had with the United States; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the Grant Administration's peace 
                policy with Tribal nations in 1868, which, among other 
                things, authorized amounts in the fund established 
                under the Act of March 3, 1819 (3 Stat. 516, chapter 
                85) (commonly known as the ``Indian Civilization Fund 
                Act of 1819''), to be used by churches;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) according to research from the National Native 
        American Boarding School Healing Coalition, the Federal 
        Government funded church-run boarding schools for Native 
        Americans from 1819 through the 1960s under the Act of March 3, 
        1819 (3 Stat. 516, chapter 85), which authorized the forced 
        removal of hundreds of thousands of American Indian and Alaska 
        Native children as young as 3 years old, relocating them from 
        their traditional homelands to 1 of at least 367 known Indian 
        boarding schools, of which 73 remain open today, across 30 
        States;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) beginning in 1820, missionaries from the 
        United States arrived in Hawai`i, bringing a similar desire to 
        civilize Native Hawaiians and convert ``Hawaiian heathens'' to 
        Christians, establishing day schools and boarding schools that 
        followed models first imposed on Tribal nations on the East 
        Coast of the United States;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) as estimated by David Wallace Adams, professor 
        emeritus of history and education at Cleveland State University 
        in Ohio, by 1926, nearly 83 percent of American Indian and 
        Alaska Native school-age children were enrolled in Indian 
        boarding schools in the United States, but, the full extent of 
        the Indian Boarding School Policies has yet to be fully 
        examined by--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the Federal Government or the churches 
                who ran those schools; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) other entities who profited from the 
                existence of those schools;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) General Richard Henry Pratt, the founder and 
        superintendent of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in 
        Carlisle, Pennsylvania, stated that the ethos of Indian 
        Boarding School Policies was to ``kill the Indian in him, and 
        save the man'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) in 1878, General Pratt brought a group of 
        American Indian warriors held as prisoners of war to what was 
        then known as the Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School in 
        Hampton, Virginia, for a residential experiment in the 
        education of Indigenous people;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) prior to arriving to the Hampton Agricultural 
        and Industrial School in 1878, the American Indian warriors 
        held as prisoners of war had already spent 3 years imprisoned, 
        during which time they were forced to shave their traditionally 
        grown hair, dress in military uniforms, participate in 
        Christian worship services, and adopt an English 
        name;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (9) General Samuel C. Armstrong, founder and, in 
        1878, principal, of the Hampton Agricultural and Industrial 
        School, was influenced by his parents and other missionaries in 
        the United States involved in the education of Native Hawaiian 
        children;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (10) General Armstrong modeled the Hampton 
        Agricultural and Industrial School after the Hilo Boarding 
        School in Hawai`i, a missionary-run boarding school that 
        targeted high performing Native Hawaiians to become 
        indoctrinated in Protestant ideology, which was similar to 
        boarding schools led by missionaries in the similarly sovereign 
        Five Tribes of Oklahoma, including the Cherokee and 
        Chickasaw;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (11) in addition to bringing a group of American 
        Indian warriors held as prisoners of war to the Hampton 
        Agricultural and Industrial School in 1878, General Pratt 
        influenced Sheldon Jackson, a Presbyterian missionary who, in 
        1885, was appointed by the Secretary of the Interior to be a 
        General Agent of Education in the Alaska Territory;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (12) Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School 
        continued as a boarding school for American Indians, Alaska 
        Natives, and Native Hawaiians until 1923;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (13) founded in 1879, the Carlisle Indian 
        Industrial School set the precedent for government-funded, off-
        reservation Indian boarding schools in the United States, where 
        more than 10,000 American Indian and Alaska Native children 
        were enrolled from more than 140 Indian Tribes;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (14) Indian boarding schools, and the policies 
        that created, funded, and fueled their existence, were designed 
        to assimilate American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native 
        Hawaiian children into non-Native culture by stripping them of 
        their cultural identities, often through physical, sexual, 
        psychological, industrial, and spiritual abuse and 
        neglect;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (15) many of the children who were taken to Indian 
        boarding schools did not survive, and of those who did survive, 
        many never returned to their parents, extended families, and 
        communities;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (16) at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School 
        alone, approximately 180 American Indian and Alaska Native 
        children were buried;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (17) according to research from the National 
        Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) while attending Indian boarding 
                schools, American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native 
                Hawaiian children suffered additional physical, sexual, 
                psychological, industrial, and spiritual abuse and 
                neglect as they were sent to non-Native homes and 
                businesses for involuntary and unpaid manual labor work 
                during the summers;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) many American Indian, Alaska Native, 
                and Native Hawaiian children escaped from Indian 
                boarding schools by running away, and then remained 
                missing or died of illnesses due to harsh living 
                conditions, abuse, or substandard health care provided 
                by the Indian boarding schools;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) many American Indian, Alaska Native, 
                and Native Hawaiian children died at hospitals 
                neighboring Indian boarding schools, including the 
                Puyallup Indian School that opened in 1860, which was 
                first renamed the Cushman Indian School in 1910 and 
                then the Cushman Hospital in 1918; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) many of the American Indian and Alaska 
                Native children who died while attending Indian 
                boarding schools or neighboring hospitals were buried 
                in unmarked graves or off-campus cemeteries;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (18) according to independent ground penetrating 
        radar and magnetometry research commissioned by the National 
        Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, evidence of 
        those unmarked graves and off-campus cemeteries has been found, 
        including--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) unmarked graves at Chemawa Indian 
                School in Salem, Oregon; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) remains of children who were burned in 
                incinerators at Indian boarding schools;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (19) according to research from the National 
        Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, inaccurate, 
        scattered, and missing school records make it difficult for 
        families to locate their loved ones, especially because--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) less than 38 percent of Indian 
                boarding school records have been located, from only 
                142 of the at least 367 known Indian boarding schools; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) all other records are believed to be 
                held in catalogued and uncatalogued church archives, 
                private collections, or lost or destroyed;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (20) parents of the American Indian, Alaska 
        Native, and Native Hawaiian children who were forcibly removed 
        from or coerced into leaving their homes and placed in Indian 
        boarding schools were prohibited from visiting or engaging in 
        correspondence with their children;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (21) parental resistance to compliance with the 
        harsh no-contact policy described in paragraph (20) resulted in 
        the parents being incarcerated or losing access to basic human 
        rights, food rations, and clothing;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (22) in 2013, post-traumatic stress disorder rates 
        among American Indian and Alaska Native youth were 3-times the 
        general public, the same rates for post-traumatic stress 
        disorder among veterans;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (23) in 2014, the White House Report on Native 
        Youth declared a state of emergency due to a suicide epidemic 
        among American Indian and Alaska Native youth;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (24) the 2018 Broken Promises Report published by 
        the United States Commission on Civil Rights reported that 
        American Indian and Alaska Native communities continue to 
        experience intergenerational trauma resulting from experiences 
        in Indian boarding schools, which divided cultural family 
        structures, damaged Indigenous identities, and inflicted 
        chronic psychological ramifications on American Indian and 
        Alaska Native children and families;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (25) the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences 
        Study shows that adverse or traumatic childhood experiences 
        disrupt brain development, leading to a higher likelihood of 
        negative health outcomes as adults, including heart disease, 
        obesity, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and early 
        death;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (26) American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native 
        Hawaiians suffer from disproportional rates of each of the 
        diseases described in paragraph (25) compared to the national 
        average;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (27) the longstanding intended consequences and 
        ramifications of the treatment of American Indian, Alaska 
        Native, and Native Hawaiian children, families, and communities 
        because of Federal policies and the funding of Indian boarding 
        schools continue to impact Native communities through 
        intergenerational trauma, cycles of violence and abuse, 
        disappearance, health disparities, substance abuse, premature 
        deaths, additional undocumented physical, sexual, 
        psychological, industrial, and spiritual abuse and neglect, and 
        trauma;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (28) according to the Child Removal Survey 
        conducted by the National Native American Boarding School 
        Healing Coalition, the First Nations Repatriation Institute, 
        and the University of Minnesota, 75 percent of Indian boarding 
        school survivors who responded to the survey had attempted 
        suicide, and nearly half of respondents to the survey reported 
        being diagnosed with a mental health condition;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (29) the continuing lasting implications of the 
        Indian Boarding School Policies and the physical, sexual, 
        psychological, industrial, and spiritual abuse and neglect of 
        American Indian and Alaska Native children and families 
        influenced the present-day operation of Bureau of Indian 
        Education-operated schools;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (30) Bureau of Indian Education-operated schools 
        have often failed to meet the many needs of nearly 50,000 
        American Indian and Alaska Native students across 23 
        States;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (31) in Alaska, where there are no Bureau of 
        Indian Education-funded elementary and secondary schools, the 
        State public education system often fails to meet the needs of 
        Alaska Native students, families, and communities;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (32) the assimilation policies imposed on American 
        Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians during the Indian 
        boarding school era have been replicated through other Federal 
        actions and programs, including the Indian Adoption Project in 
        effect from 1958 to 1967, which placed American Indian and 
        Alaska Native children in non-Indian households and 
        institutions for foster care or adoption;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (33) the Association on American Indian Affairs 
        reported that the continuation of assimilation policies through 
        Federal American Indian and Alaska Native adoption and foster 
        care programs between 1941 to 1967 separated as many as one-
        third of American Indian and Alaska Native children from their 
        families in Tribal communities;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (34) in some States, greater than 50 percent of 
        foster care children in State adoption systems are American 
        Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian children, including 
        in Alaska, where over 60 percent of children in foster care are 
        Alaska Native;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (35) the general lack of public awareness, 
        accountability, education, information, and acknowledgment of 
        the ongoing and direct impacts of the Indian Boarding School 
        Policies and related intergenerational trauma persists, 
        signaling the overdue need for an investigative Federal 
        commission to further document and expose assimilation and 
        termination efforts to eradicate the cultures and languages of 
        Indigenous peoples implemented under Indian Boarding School 
        Policies; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (36) in the secretarial memorandum entitled 
        ``Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative'' and dated June 
        22, 2021, Secretary of the Interior Debra Haaland stated the 
        following: ``The assimilationist policies of the past are 
        contrary to the doctrine of trust responsibility, under which 
        the Federal Government must promote Tribal self-governance and 
        cultural integrity. Nevertheless, the legacy of Indian boarding 
        schools remains, manifesting itself in Indigenous communities 
        through intergenerational trauma, cycles of violence and abuse, 
        disappearance, premature deaths, and other undocumented bodily 
        and mental impacts.''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. PURPOSES.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    The purposes of this Act are to establish a Truth and 
Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United 
States--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) to formally investigate and document--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the attempted termination of cultures 
                and languages of Indigenous peoples, assimilation 
                practices, and human rights violations that occurred 
                against American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native 
                Hawaiians through Indian Boarding School Policies in 
                furtherance of the motto to ``kill the Indian in him 
                and save the man''; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the impacts and ongoing effects of 
                historical and intergenerational trauma in Native 
                communities, including the effects of the attempted 
                cultural, religious, and linguistic termination of 
                American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, 
                resulting from Indian Boarding School 
                Policies;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) to hold culturally respectful and meaningful 
        public hearings for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native 
        Hawaiian survivors, victims, families, communities, 
        organizations, and Tribal leaders to testify, discuss, and add 
        to the documentation of, the impacts of the physical, 
        psychological, and spiritual violence of Indian boarding 
        schools;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) to collaborate and exchange information with 
        the Department of the Interior with respect to the review of 
        the Indian Boarding School Policies announced by Secretary of 
        the Interior Debra Haaland in the secretarial memorandum 
        entitled ``Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative'' and 
        dated June 22, 2021; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) to further develop recommendations for the 
        Federal Government to acknowledge and heal the historical and 
        intergenerational trauma caused by the Indian Boarding School 
        Policies and other cultural and linguistic termination 
        practices carried out by the Federal Government and State and 
        local governments, including recommendations--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) for resources and assistance that the 
                Federal Government should provide to aid in the healing 
                of the trauma caused by the Indian Boarding School 
                Policies;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) to establish a nationwide hotline for 
                survivors, family members, or other community members 
                affected by the Indian Boarding School Policies; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) to prevent the continued removal of 
                American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
                children from their families and Native communities 
                under modern-day assimilation practices carried out by 
                State social service departments, foster care agencies, 
                and adoption services.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    In this Act:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Advisory committee.--The term ``Advisory 
        Committee'' means the Truth and Healing Advisory Committee 
        established by the Commission under section 5(g).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the 
        Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies 
        in the United States established by section 5(a).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Indian boarding school policies.--The term 
        ``Indian Boarding School Policies'' means--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the assimilation policies and 
                practices of the Federal Government, which began with 
                the enactment of the Act of March 3, 1819 (3 Stat. 516, 
                chapter 85) (commonly known as the ``Indian 
                Civilization Fund Act of 1819''), and the peace policy 
                with Tribal nations advanced by President Ulysses Grant 
                in 1868, under which more than 100,000 American Indian 
                and Alaska Native children were forcibly removed from 
                or coerced into leaving their family homes and placed 
                in Bureau of Indian Affairs-operated schools or church-
                run schools, including at least 367 known Indian 
                boarding schools, at which assimilation and 
                ``civilization'' practices were inflicted on those 
                children as part of the assimilation efforts of the 
                Federal Government, which were intended to terminate 
                the cultures and languages of Indigenous peoples in the 
                United States; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the assimilation practices inflicted 
                on Native Hawaiian children in boarding schools 
                following the arrival of Christian missionaries from 
                the United States in Hawai`i in 1820 who sought to 
                extinguish Hawaiian culture.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. TRUTH AND HEALING COMMISSION ON INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOL 
              POLICIES IN THE UNITED STATES.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Establishment.--There is established the Truth and 
Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United 
States.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Membership.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--The Commission shall include 10 
        members, of whom--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) 2 shall be appointed by the 
                President;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) 2 shall be appointed by the President 
                pro tempore of the Senate, on the recommendation of the 
                majority leader of the Senate;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) 2 shall be appointed by the President 
                pro tempore of the Senate, on the recommendation of the 
                minority leader of the Senate; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) 4 shall be appointed by the Speaker of 
                the House of Representatives, of whom not fewer than 2 
                shall be appointed on the recommendation of the 
                minority leader of the House of 
                Representatives.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Requirements for membership.--To the maximum 
        extent practicable, the President and the Members of Congress 
        shall appoint members of the Commission under paragraph (1) to 
        represent diverse experiences and backgrounds and so as to 
        include Tribal and Native representatives and experts who will 
        provide balanced points of view with regard to the duties of 
        the Commission, including Tribal and Native representatives and 
        experts--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) from diverse geographic 
                areas;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) who possess personal experience with, 
                diverse policy experience with, or specific expertise 
                in, Indian boarding school history and the Indian 
                Boarding School Policies; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) who possess expertise in truth and 
                healing endeavors that are traditionally and culturally 
                appropriate.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Presidential appointment.--The President shall 
        make appointments to the Commission under this subsection in 
        coordination with the Secretary of the Interior and the 
        Director of the Bureau of Indian Education.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Date.--The appointments of the members of the 
        Commission shall be made not later than 120 days after the date 
        of enactment of this Act.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) Period of appointment; vacancies; removal.--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) Period of appointment.--A member of 
                the Commission shall be appointed for a term of 5 
                years.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the 
                Commission--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) shall not affect the powers of 
                        the Commission; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) shall be filled in the same 
                        manner as the original appointment.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) Removal.--A quorum of members may 
                remove a member appointed by that President or Member 
                of Congress, respectively, only for neglect of duty or 
                malfeasance in office.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Meetings.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Initial meeting.--As soon as practicable after 
        the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall hold 
        the initial meeting of the Commission and begin 
        operations.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Subsequent meetings.--After the initial 
        meeting of the Commission is held under paragraph (1), the 
        Commission shall meet at the call of the Chairperson.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Format of meetings.--A meeting of the 
        Commission may be conducted in-person, virtually, or via 
        phone.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Commission 
shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may hold 
hearings.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (e) Chairperson and Vice Chairperson.--The Commission 
shall select a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from among the members 
of the Commission.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (f) Commission Personnel Matters.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Compensation of members.--A member of the 
        Commission who is not an officer or employee of the Federal 
        Government 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, 
        United States Code, for each day (including travel time) during 
        which the member is engaged in the performance of the duties of 
        the Commission.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Travel expenses.--A member of the Commission 
        shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 
        subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies 
        under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 
        Code, while away from their homes or regular places of business 
        in the performance of services for the Commission.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (g) Truth and Healing Advisory Committee.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Establishment.--The Commission shall establish 
        an advisory committee, to be known as the ``Truth and Healing 
        Advisory Committee''.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Membership.--The Advisory Committee shall 
        consist of--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) 1 representative from each of--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) the National Native American 
                        Boarding School Healing Coalition;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) the National Congress of 
                        American Indians;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) the National Indian 
                        Education Association;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) the National Indian Child 
                        Welfare Association;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (v) the Alaska Federation of 
                        Natives; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (vi) the Office of Hawaiian 
                        Affairs;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the Director of the Bureau of Indian 
                Education;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) the Director of the Office of Indian 
                Education of the Department of Education;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) the Commissioner of the Administration 
                for Native Americans of the Office of the 
                Administration for Children and Families of the 
                Department of Health and Human Services; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) not fewer than--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) 5 members of different Indian 
                        Tribes from diverse geographic areas, to be 
                        selected from among nominations submitted by 
                        Indian Tribes;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) 1 member representing Alaska 
                        Natives, to be selected by the Alaska 
                        Federation of Natives from nominations 
                        submitted by an Alaska Native individual, 
                        organization, or village;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) 1 member representing Native 
                        Hawaiians, to be selected by a process 
                        administered by the Office of Hawaiian 
                        Affairs;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) 2 health care or mental 
                        health practitioners, Native healers, 
                        counselors, or providers with experience in 
                        working with former students, or descendants of 
                        former students, of Indian boarding schools, to 
                        be selected from among nominations of Tribal 
                        chairs or elected Tribal leadership local to 
                        the region in which the practitioner, 
                        counselor, or provider works, in order to 
                        ensure that the Commission considers culturally 
                        responsive supports for victims, families, and 
                        communities;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (v) 3 members of different 
                        national American Indian, Alaska Native, or 
                        Native Hawaiian organizations, regional 
                        American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native 
                        Hawaiian organizations, or urban Indian 
                        organizations that are focused on, or have 
                        relevant expertise studying, the history and 
                        systemic and ongoing trauma associated with the 
                        Indian Boarding School Policies;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (vi) 2 family members of students 
                        who attended Indian boarding schools, who shall 
                        represent diverse regions of the United 
                        States;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (vii) 4 alumni who attended a 
                        Bureau of Indian Education-operated school, 
                        tribally controlled boarding school, State 
                        public boarding school, private nonprofit 
                        boarding school formerly operated by the 
                        Federal Government, parochial boarding school, 
                        or Bureau of Indian Education-operated college 
                        or university;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (viii) 2 current teachers who 
                        teach at an Indian boarding school;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ix) 2 students who, as of the 
                        date of enactment of this Act, attend an Indian 
                        boarding school;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (x) 1 representative of the 
                        International Indian Treaty Council or the 
                        Association on American Indian Affairs; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (xi) 1 trained archivist who has 
                        experience working with educational or church 
                        records.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Duties.--The Advisory Committee shall--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) serve as an advisory body to the 
                Commission; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) provide to the Commission advice and 
                recommendations, and submit to the Commission 
                materials, documents, testimony, and such other 
                information as the Commission determines to be 
                necessary, to carry out the duties of the Commission 
                under subsection (h).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Survivors subcommittee.--The Advisory 
        Committee shall establish a subcommittee that shall consist of 
        not fewer than 4 former students or survivors who attended an 
        Indian boarding school.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (h) Duties of the Commission.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--The Commission shall develop 
        recommendations on actions that the Federal Government can take 
        to adequately hold itself accountable for, and redress and 
        heal, the historical and intergenerational trauma inflicted by 
        the Indian Boarding School Policies, including developing 
        recommendations on ways--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) to protect unmarked graves and 
                accompanying land protections;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) to support repatriation and identify 
                the Tribal nations from which children were taken; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) to stop the continued removal of 
                American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
                children from their families and reservations under 
                modern-day assimilation practices.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Matters investigated.--The matters 
        investigated by the Commission under paragraph (1) shall 
        include--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the implementation of the Indian 
                Boarding School Policies and practices at--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) the schools operated by the 
                        Bureau of Indian Affairs; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) church-run Indian boarding 
                        schools;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) how the assimilation practices of the 
                Federal Government advanced the attempted cultural, 
                religious, and linguistic termination of American 
                Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native 
                Hawaiians;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) the impacts and ongoing effects of the 
                Indian Boarding School Policies;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) the location of American Indian, 
                Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children who are 
                still, as of the date of enactment of this Act, buried 
                at Indian boarding schools and off-campus cemeteries, 
                including notifying the Tribal nation from which the 
                children were taken; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) church and government records, 
                including records relating to attendance, infirmary, 
                deaths, land, Tribal affiliation, and other 
                correspondence.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Additional duties.--In carrying out paragraph 
        (1), the Commission shall--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) work to locate and identify unmarked 
                graves at Indian boarding school sites or off-campus 
                cemeteries;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) locate, document, analyze, and 
                preserve records from schools described in paragraph 
                (2)(A), including any records held at State and local 
                levels; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) provide to, and receive from, the 
                Department of the Interior any information that the 
                Commission determines to be relevant--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) to the work of the Commission; 
                        or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) to any investigation of the 
                        Indian Boarding School Policies being conducted 
                        by the Department of the Interior.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Testimony.--The Commission shall take 
        testimony from--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) survivors of schools described in 
                paragraph (2)(A), in order to identify how the 
                experience of those survivors impacts their lives, so 
                that their stories will be remembered as part of the 
                history of the United States; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) American Indian, Alaska Native, and 
                Native Hawaiian individuals, tribes, and organizations 
                directly impacted by assimilation practices supported 
                by the Federal Government, including assimilation 
                practices promoted by--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) religious groups receiving 
                        funding, or working closely with, the Federal 
                        Government;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) local, State, and territorial 
                        school systems;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) any other local, State, or 
                        territorial government body or agency; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) any other private entities; 
                        and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) those who have access to, or knowledge 
                of, historical events, documents, and items relating to 
                the Indian Boarding School Policies and the impacts of 
                those policies, including--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) churches;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) the Federal 
                        Government;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) State and local 
                        governments;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) individuals; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (v) organizations.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) Reports.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) Initial report.--Not later than 3 
                years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
                Commission shall make publicly available and submit to 
                the President, the White House Council on Native 
                American Affairs, the Secretary of the Interior, the 
                Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Health and 
                Human Services, the Committee on Indian Affairs of the 
                Senate, the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 
                of Representatives, and the Members of Congress making 
                appointments under subsection (b)(1), an initial report 
                containing--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) a detailed statement of the 
                        findings and conclusions of the 
                        Commission;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) the recommendations of the 
                        Commission for such legislation and 
                        administrative actions as the Commission 
                        considers appropriate;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) the recommendations of the 
                        Commission to provide or increase Federal 
                        funding to adequately fund--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (I) American Indian, 
                                Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
                                programs for mental health and 
                                traditional healing programs;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (II) a nationwide hotline 
                                for survivors, family members, or other 
                                community members affected by the 
                                Indian Boarding School Policies; 
                                and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (III) the development of 
                                materials to be offered for possible 
                                use in K-12 Native American and United 
                                States history curricula to address the 
                                history of Indian Boarding School 
                                Policies; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iv) other recommendations of the 
                        Commission to identify--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (I) possible ways to 
                                address historical and 
                                intergenerational trauma inflicted on 
                                American Indian, Alaska Native, and 
                                Native Hawaiian communities by the 
                                Indian Boarding School Policies; 
                                and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (II) ongoing and harmful 
                                practices and policies relating to or 
                                resulting from the Indian Boarding 
                                School Policies that continue in public 
                                education systems.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Final report.--Not later than 5 years 
                after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission 
                shall make available and submit a final report in 
                accordance with the requirements under subparagraph (A) 
                that have been agreed on by the vote of a majority of 
                the members of the Commission.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (i) Powers of Commission.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Hearings and evidence.--The Commission may, 
        for the purpose of carrying out this section--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) hold such hearings and sit and act at 
                such times and places, take such testimony, receive 
                such evidence, and administer such oaths, virtually or 
                in-person, as the Commission may determine advisable; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) subject to subparagraphs (A) and (B) 
                of paragraph (2), require, by subpoena or otherwise, 
                the attendance and testimony of such witnesses and the 
                production of such books, records, correspondence, 
                memoranda, papers, videos, oral histories, recordings, 
                documents, or any other paper or electronic material, 
                virtually or in-person, as the Commission may determine 
                advisable.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Subpoenas.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) Issuance of subpoenas.--
                        Subject to subparagraph (B), the Commission may 
                        issue subpoenas requiring the attendance and 
                        testimony of witnesses and the production of 
                        any evidence relating to any matter that the 
                        Commission is empowered to investigate under 
                        this section.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) Vote.--Subpoenas shall be 
                        issued under clause (i) by agreement between 
                        the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the 
                        Commission, or by the vote of a majority of the 
                        members of the Commission.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) Attendance of witnesses and 
                        production of evidence.--The attendance of 
                        witnesses and the production of evidence may be 
                        required from any place within the United 
                        States at any designated place of hearing 
                        within the United States.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Protection of person subject to a 
                subpoena.--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) In general.--When issuing a 
                        subpoena under subparagraph (A), the Commission 
                        shall--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (I) consider the cultural, 
                                emotional, and psychological well-being 
                                of survivors, family members, and 
                                community members affected by the 
                                Indian Boarding School Policies; 
                                and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (II) take reasonable steps 
                                to avoid imposing undue burden, 
                                including cultural, emotional, and 
                                psychological trauma, on a survivor, 
                                family member, or community member 
                                affected by the Indian Boarding School 
                                Policies.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) Quashing or modifying a 
                        subpoena.--On a timely motion, the district 
                        court of the United States in the judicial 
                        district in which compliance with the subpoena 
                        is required shall quash or modify a subpoena 
                        that subjects a person to undue burden as 
                        described in clause (i)(II).</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) Failure to obey a subpoena.--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) Order from a district court of 
                        the united states.--If a person does not obey a 
                        subpoena issued under subparagraph (A), the 
                        Commission is authorized to apply to a district 
                        court of the United States for an order 
                        requiring that person to appear before the 
                        Commission to give testimony, produce evidence, 
                        or both, relating to the matter under 
                        investigation.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) Location.--An application 
                        under clause (i) may be made within the 
                        judicial district where the hearing relating to 
                        the subpoena is conducted or where the person 
                        described in that clause is found, resides, or 
                        transacts business.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) Penalty.--Any failure to 
                        obey an order of a court described in clause 
                        (i) may be punished by the court as a civil 
                        contempt.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) Subject matter jurisdiction.--The 
                district court of the United States in which an action 
                is brought under subparagraph (C)(i) shall have 
                original jurisdiction over any civil action brought by 
                the Commission to enforce, secure a declaratory 
                judgment concerning the validity of, or prevent a 
                threatened refusal or failure to comply with, the 
                applicable subpoena issued by the Commission.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) Service of subpoenas.--The subpoenas 
                of the Commission shall be served in the manner 
                provided for subpoenas issued by a district court of 
                the United States under the Federal Rules of Civil 
                Procedure.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (F) Service of process.--All process of 
                any court to which an application is made under 
                subparagraph (C) may be served in the judicial district 
                in which the person required to be served resides or 
                may be found.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Additional personnel and services.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--The Chairperson of the 
                Commission may procure additional personnel and 
                services to ensure that the work of the Commission 
                avoids imposing an undue burden, including cultural, 
                emotional, and psychological trauma, on survivors, 
                family members, or other community members affected by 
                the Indian Boarding School Policies.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Compensation.--The Chairperson of the 
                Commission may fix the compensation of personnel 
                procured under subparagraph (A) without regard to 
                chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, 
                United States Code, relating to classification of 
                positions and General Schedule pay rates, except that 
                the rate of pay for such personnel may not exceed the 
                rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule 
                under section 5316 of that title.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Postal services.--The Commission may use the 
        United States mails in the same manner and under the same 
        conditions as other agencies of the Federal 
        Government.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) Gifts.--The Commission may accept, use, and 
        dispose of gifts or donations of services or property relating 
        to the purpose of the Commission</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (j) Application.--The Commission shall be subject to 
chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the 
``Federal Advisory Committee Act'').</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (k) Consultation With Indian Tribes.--In carrying out the 
duties of the Commission under subsection (h), the Commission shall 
consult with Indian Tribes.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (l) Collaboration by the Department of the Interior.--The 
Department of the Interior shall collaborate and exchange relevant 
information with the Commission in order for the Commission to 
effectively carry out the duties of the Commission under subsection 
(h).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (m) Termination of Commission.--The Commission shall 
terminate 90 days after the date on which the Commission submits the 
final report required under subsection (h)(5)(B).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (n) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
to be appropriated to the Commission to carry out this section such 
sums as may be necessary, to remain available until expended.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Truth and Healing 
Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act of 2023''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Purposes.
Sec. 4. Definitions.

                 TITLE I--COMMISSION AND SUBCOMMITTEES

  Subtitle A--Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School 
                     Policies in the United States

Sec. 101. Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School 
                            Policies in the United States.

                  Subtitle B--Duties of the Commission

Sec. 111. Duties of the Commission.

          Subtitle C--Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee

Sec. 121. Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee.

                     TITLE II--ADVISORY COMMITTEES

    Subtitle A--Native American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee

Sec. 201. Native American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee.

        Subtitle B--Federal Truth and Healing Advisory Committee

Sec. 211. Federal Truth and Healing Advisory Committee.

                     TITLE III--GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 301. Clarification.
Sec. 302. Burial management.
Sec. 303. Co-stewardship agreements.
Sec. 304. No right of action.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) attempts to destroy Native American cultures, 
        religions, and languages through assimilationist practices and 
        policies can be traced to the early 17th century and the 
        founding charters of some of the oldest educational 
        institutions in the United States;
            (2) in June 2021, and in light of the long history of the 
        assimilationist policies and practices referred to in paragraph 
        (1) and calls for reform from Native peoples, the Secretary of 
        the Interior directed the Department of the Interior to 
        investigate the role of the Federal Government in supporting 
        those policies and practices and the intergenerational impacts 
        of those policies and practices;
            (3) in May 2022, the Department of the Interior published 
        volume 1 of a report entitled ``Federal Indian Boarding School 
        Initiative Investigative Report'' (referred to in this section 
        as the ``Report''), which found that--
                    (A) as early as 1819, and until 1969, the Federal 
                Government directly or indirectly supported 
                approximately 408 Indian Boarding Schools across 37 
                States;
                    (B) American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native 
                Hawaiian children, as young as 3 years old, were 
                forcibly removed from their homes and sent to Indian 
                Boarding Schools located throughout the United States;
                    (C) Indian Boarding Schools used systematic, 
                violent, and militarized identity-altering methods, 
                such as physical, sexual, and psychological abuse and 
                neglect, to attempt to forcibly assimilate Native 
                children and strip them of their languages, cultures, 
                and social connections;
                    (D) the violent methods referred to in subparagraph 
                (C) were carried out for the purpose of--
                            (i) destroying the cultures, languages, and 
                        religions of Native peoples; and
                            (ii) dispossessing Native peoples of their 
                        ancestral lands;
                    (E) many of the children who were taken to Indian 
                Boarding Schools did not survive, and of those who did 
                survive, many never returned to their parents, extended 
                families, or communities;
                    (F) many of the children who were taken to Indian 
                Boarding Schools and did not survive were interred in 
                cemeteries and unmarked graves; and
                    (G) American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native 
                Hawaiian communities continue to experience 
                intergenerational trauma and cultural and familial 
                disruption from experiences rooted in Indian Boarding 
                Schools Policies, which divided family structures, 
                damaged cultures and individual identities, and 
                inflicted chronic physical and psychological 
                ramifications on American Indian, Alaska Native, and 
                Native Hawaiian children, families, and communities;
            (4) the ethos and rationale for Indian Boarding Schools is 
        infamously expressed in the following quote from the founder of 
        the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, Richard Henry Pratt: 
        ``Kill the Indian in him, and save the man.'';
            (5) the children who perished at Indian Boarding Schools or 
        in neighboring hospitals and other institutions were buried in 
        on-campus and off-campus cemeteries and unmarked graves;
            (6) parents of children who were forcibly removed from or 
        coerced into leaving their homes and placed in Indian Boarding 
        Schools were prohibited from visiting or engaging in 
        correspondence with their children;
            (7) parental resistance to compliance with the harsh, no-
        contact policy of Indian Boarding Schools resulted in parents 
        being incarcerated or losing access to basic human rights, food 
        rations, and clothing; and
            (8) the Federal Government has a responsibility to fully 
        investigate its role in, and the lasting effects of, Indian 
        Boarding School Policies.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to establish a Truth and Healing Commission on Indian 
        Boarding School Policies in the United States, including other 
        necessary advisory committees and subcommittees;
            (2) to formally investigate, document, and report on the 
        histories of Indian Boarding Schools, Indian Boarding School 
        Polices, and the systematic and long-term effects of those 
        schools and policies on Native American peoples;
            (3) to develop recommendations for Federal action based on 
        the findings of the Commission; and
            (4) to promote healing for survivors of Indian Boarding 
        Schools, the descendants of those survivors, and the 
        communities of those survivors.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Truth 
        and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in 
        the United States established by section 101(a).
            (2) Federal truth and healing advisory committee.--The term 
        ``Federal Truth and Healing Advisory Committee'' means the 
        Federal Truth and Healing Advisory Committee established by 
        section 211(a).
            (3) Indian.--The term ``Indian'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 6151 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
        Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7491).
            (4) Indian boarding school.--The term ``Indian Boarding 
        School'' means--
                    (A) a site of an institution that--
                            (i) provided on-site housing or overnight 
                        lodging;
                            (ii) was described in Federal records as 
                        providing formal academic or vocational 
                        training and instruction to American Indians, 
                        Alaska Natives, or Native Hawaiians;
                            (iii) received Federal funds or other 
                        Federal support; and
                            (iv) was operational before 1969;
                    (B) a site of an institution identified by the 
                Department of the Interior in appendices A and B of the 
                report entitled ``Federal Indian Boarding School 
                Initiative Investigative Report'' and dated May 2022 
                (or a successor report); or
                    (C) any other institution that implemented Indian 
                Boarding School Policies, including an Indian day 
                school.
            (5) Indian boarding school policies.--The term ``Indian 
        Boarding School Policies'' means Federal laws, policies, and 
        practices purported to ``assimilate'' and ``civilize'' American 
        Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians that included 
        psychological, physical, sexual, and mental abuse, forced 
        removal from home or community, and identity-altering practices 
        intended to terminate Native languages, cultures, religions, 
        social organizations, or connections to traditional land.
            (6) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
            (7) Native american.--The term ``Native American'' means an 
        individual who is--
                    (A) an Indian; or
                    (B) a Native Hawaiian.
            (8) Native american truth and healing advisory committee.--
        The term ``Native American Truth and Healing Advisory 
        Committee'' means the Native American Truth and Healing 
        Advisory Committee established by the Commission under section 
        201(a).
            (9) Native hawaiian.--The term ``Native Hawaiian'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 6207 of the Elementary and 
        Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517).
            (10) Native hawaiian organization.--The term ``Native 
        Hawaiian organization'' means a private nonprofit organization 
        that--
                    (A) serves and represents the interests of Native 
                Hawaiians;
                    (B) has as its primary and stated purpose the 
                provision of services to Native Hawaiians;
                    (C) has Native Hawaiians serving in substantive and 
                policymaking positions; and
                    (D) is recognized for having expertise in Native 
                Hawaiian affairs.
            (11) Office of hawaiian affairs.--The term ``Office of 
        Hawaiian Affairs'' has the meaning given the term in section 
        6207 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 7517).
            (12) Survivors truth and healing subcommittee.--The term 
        ``Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee'' means the 
        Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee established by section 
        121(a).
            (13) Trauma-informed care.--The term ``trauma-informed 
        care'' means holistic psychological and health care practices 
        that include promoting culturally responsive practices, patient 
        psychological, physical, and emotional safety, and environments 
        of healing, trust, peer support, and recovery.
            (14) Tribal organization.--The term ``Tribal organization'' 
        has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).

                 TITLE I--COMMISSION AND SUBCOMMITTEES

  Subtitle A--Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School 
                     Policies in the United States

SEC. 101. TRUTH AND HEALING COMMISSION ON INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOL 
              POLICIES IN THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established a commission, to be known 
as the ``Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School 
Policies in the United States''.
    (b) Membership.--
            (1) Membership.--
                    (A) In general.--The Commission shall include 5 
                members, to be jointly appointed by the majority and 
                minority leaders of the Senate, in consultation with 
                the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Committee 
                on Indian Affairs of the Senate, the Speaker of the 
                House of Representatives, the minority leader of the 
                House of Representatives, and the Chair and Ranking 
                Member of the Committee on Natural Resources of the 
                House of Representatives, from among the nominees 
                submitted under paragraph (2)(A), of whom--
                            (i) 1 shall be an individual with extensive 
                        experience and expertise as a principal 
                        investigator overseeing or leading complex 
                        research initiatives with and for Indian Tribes 
                        and Native Americans;
                            (ii) 1 shall be an individual (barred in 
                        good standing) with extensive experience and 
                        expertise in the area of indigenous human 
                        rights law and policy, including overseeing or 
                        leading broad-scale investigations of abuses of 
                        indigenous human rights;
                            (iii) 1 shall be an individual with 
                        extensive experience and expertise in Tribal 
                        court judicial and restorative justice systems 
                        and Federal agencies, such as participation as 
                        a Tribal judge, researcher, or former 
                        presidentially appointed commissioner;
                            (iv) 1 shall be an individual with 
                        extensive experience and expertise in providing 
                        and coordinating trauma-informed care and other 
                        health-related services to Indian Tribes and 
                        Native Americans; and
                            (v) 1 shall be a Native American individual 
                        recognized as a traditional cultural authority 
                        by their respective Native community.
                    (B) Additional requirements for membership.--In 
                addition to the requirements described in subparagraph 
                (A), members of the Commission shall be persons of 
                recognized integrity and empathy, with a demonstrated 
                commitment to the values of truth, reconciliation, 
                healing, and expertise in truth and healing endeavors 
                that are traditionally and culturally appropriate so as 
                to provide balanced points of view and expertise with 
                respect to the duties of the Commission.
            (2) Nominations.--
                    (A) In general.--Indian Tribes, Tribal 
                organizations, Native Americans, the Office of Hawaiian 
                Affairs, and Native Hawaiian organizations may submit 
                to the Secretary of the Interior nominations for 
                individuals to be appointed to the Commission not later 
                than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
                    (B) Native american preference.--Individuals 
                nominated under subparagraph (A) who are Native 
                American shall receive a preference in the selection 
                process for appointment to the Commission under 
                paragraph (1).
                    (C) Submission to congress.--Not later than 7 days 
                after the submission deadline for nominations described 
                in subparagraph (A), the Secretary of the Interior 
                shall submit to Congress a list of the individuals 
                nominated under that subparagraph.
            (3) Date.--Members of the Commission under paragraph (1) 
        shall be appointed not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act.
            (4) Period of appointment; vacancies; removal.--
                    (A) Period of appointment.--A member of the 
                Commission shall be appointed for a term that is the 
                shorter of--
                            (i) 6 years; and
                            (ii) the life of the Commission.
                    (B) Vacancies.--After all initial members of the 
                Commission are appointed and the initial business 
                meeting of the Commission has been convened under 
                subsection (c)(1), a single vacancy in the Commission--
                            (i) shall not affect the powers of the 
                        Commission; and
                            (ii) shall be filled within 90 days in the 
                        same manner as was the original appointment.
                    (C) Removal.--A quorum of members of the Commission 
                may remove a member of the Commission only for neglect 
                of duty or malfeasance.
            (5) Termination.--The Commission shall terminate 30 days 
        after the date on which the Commission completes its duties 
        under section 111(e)(5)(B).
            (6) Limitation.--No member of the Commission shall be an 
        officer or employee of the Federal Government.
    (c) Business Meetings.--
            (1) Initial business meeting.--90 days after the date on 
        which all of the members of the Commission are appointed under 
        subsection (b)(1)(A), the Commission shall hold the initial 
        business meeting of the Commission--
                    (A) to appoint a Chairperson, a Vice Chairperson, a 
                Secretary, and such other positions as determined 
                necessary by the Commission;
                    (B) to establish rules for meetings of the 
                Commission; and
                    (C) to appoint members of--
                            (i) the Survivors Truth and Healing 
                        Subcommittee under section 121(b)(1); and
                            (ii) the Native American Truth and Healing 
                        Advisory Committee under section 201(b)(1).
            (2) Subsequent business meetings.--After the initial 
        business meeting of the Commission is held under paragraph (1), 
        the Commission shall meet at the call of the Chairperson.
            (3) Advisory and subcommittee committees designees.--Each 
        Commission business meeting shall include participation by 2 
        non-voting designees from each of the Survivors Truth and 
        Healing Subcommittee, the Native American Truth and Healing 
        Advisory Committee, and the Federal Truth and Healing Advisory 
        Committee, as appointed in accordance with section 
        121(c)(1)(D), section 201(e)(1)(C), and section 211(c)(1)(C), 
        as applicable.
            (4) Format of meetings.--A business meeting of the 
        Commission may be conducted in-person, virtually, or via phone.
            (5) Quorum required.--A business meeting of the Commission 
        may only be held once a quorum, established in accordance with 
        subsection (d), is present.
    (d) Quorum.--A simple majority of the members of the Commission 
present shall constitute a quorum for a business meeting.
    (e) Rules.--The Commission may establish, by a majority vote, any 
rules for the conduct of Commission business, in accordance with this 
section and other applicable law.
    (f) Commission Personnel Matters.--
            (1) Compensation of commissioners.--A member of the 
        Commission shall be compensated at a daily equivalent of the 
        annual rate of basic pay prescribed for grade 14 of the General 
        Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, United States Code, for 
        each day, not to exceed 14 days per month, for which a member 
        is engaged in the performance of their duties under this Act, 
        including convening meetings, including business meetings or 
        public or private meetings to receive testimony in furtherance 
        of the duties of the Commission and the purposes of this Act.
            (2) Travel expenses.--A member of the Commission shall be 
        allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 
        subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies 
        under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 
        Code, while away from their homes or regular places of business 
        in the performance of services for the Commission.
            (3) Detail of government employees.--Any Federal Government 
        employee, with the approval of the head of the appropriate 
        Federal agency and at the request of the Commission, may be 
        detailed to the Commission without--
                    (A) reimbursement to the agency of that employee; 
                and
                    (B) interruption or loss of civil service status, 
                benefits, or privileges.
    (g) Powers of Commission.--
            (1) Hearings and evidence.--The Commission may, for the 
        purpose of carrying out this Act--
                    (A) hold such hearings and sit and act at such 
                times and places, take such testimony, and receive such 
                evidence, virtually or in-person, as the Commission may 
                determine necessary to accomplish the purposes of this 
                Act;
                    (B) conduct or request such interdisciplinary 
                research, investigation, or analysis of such 
                information and documents, records, or other evidence 
                as the Commission may determine necessary to accomplish 
                the purposes of this Act, including--
                            (i) securing, directly from a Federal 
                        agency, such information as the Commission 
                        considers necessary to accomplish the purposes 
                        of this Act; and
                            (ii) requesting the head of any relevant 
                        Tribal or State agency to provide to the 
                        Commission such information as the Commission 
                        considers necessary to accomplish the purposes 
                        of this Act;
                    (C) subject to paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection 
                (i), require, by subpoena or otherwise, the production 
                of such records, papers, correspondence, memoranda, 
                documents, books, videos, oral histories, recordings, 
                or any other paper or electronic material, as the 
                Commission may determine necessary to accomplish the 
                purposes of this Act;
                    (D) oversee, direct, and collaborate with the 
                Federal Truth and Healing Advisory Committee, the 
                Native American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee, 
                and the Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee to 
                accomplish the purposes of this Act; and
                    (E) coordinate with Federal and non-Federal 
                entities to preserve and archive, as appropriate, any 
                gifts, documents, or other property received while 
                carrying out the purposes of this Act.
            (2) Contracting; volunteer services.--
                    (A) Contracting.--The Commission may, to such 
                extent and in such amounts as are provided in 
                appropriations Acts, and in accordance with applicable 
                law, enter into contracts and other agreements with 
                public agencies, private organizations, and individuals 
                to enable the Commission to carry out the duties of the 
                Commission under this Act.
                    (B) Volunteer and uncompensated services.--
                Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, United States 
                Code, the Commission may accept and use such voluntary 
                and uncompensated services as the Commission determines 
                to be necessary.
                    (C) General services administration.--The 
                Administrator of General Services shall provide, on 
                request of the Commission, on a reimbursable basis, 
                administrative support and other services for the 
                performance of the functions of the Commission under 
                this Act.
            (3) Postal services.--The Commission may use the United 
        States mails in the same manner and under the same conditions 
        as other agencies of the Federal Government.
            (4) Gifts, fundraising, and disbursement.--
                    (A) Gifts and donations.--
                            (i) In general.--The Commission may accept, 
                        use, and dispose of any gift, donation, 
                        service, property, or other record or recording 
                        to accomplish the purposes of this Act.
                            (ii) Return of gifts and donations.--On 
                        termination of the Commission under subsection 
                        (b)(5), any gifts, unspent donations, property, 
                        or other record or recording accepted by the 
                        Commission under clause (i) shall be--
                                    (I) returned to the applicable 
                                donor that made the donation under that 
                                clause; or
                                    (II) archived under subparagraph 
                                (E).
                    (B) Fundraising.--The Commission may, on the 
                affirmative vote of \3/5\ of the members of the 
                Commission, solicit funds to accomplish the purposes of 
                this Act.
                    (C) Disbursement.--The Commission may, on the 
                affirmative vote of \3/5\ of the members of the 
                Commission, approve the expenditure of funds to 
                accomplish the purposes of this Act.
                    (D) Tax documents.--The Commission (or a designee) 
                shall, on request of a donor under subparagraph (A) or 
                (B), provide tax documentation to that donor for any 
                tax-deductible gift made by that donor under those 
                subparagraphs.
                    (E) Archiving.--The Commission shall coordinate 
                with the Library of Congress and the National Museum of 
                the American Indian to archive and preserve relevant 
                gifts or donations received under subparagraph (A) or 
                (B).
    (h) Convening.--
            (1) Convening protocol.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 45 days after the 
                initial business meeting of the Native American Truth 
                and Healing Advisory Committee, the Commission, 3 
                designees from the Native American Truth and Healing 
                Advisory Committee, and 3 designees from the Survivors 
                Truth and Healing Subcommittee shall hold a meeting to 
                establish rules, protocols, and formats for convenings 
                carried out under this subsection.
                    (B) Rules and protocols.--Not later than 45 days 
                after the initial meeting described in subparagraph 
                (A), the Commission shall finalize rules, protocols, 
                and formats for convenings carried out under this 
                subsection by a \3/5\ majority in attendance at a 
                meeting of the Commission.
                    (C) Additional meetings.--The Commission and 
                designees described in subparagraph (A) may hold 
                additional meetings, as necessary, to amend, by a \3/5\ 
                majority in attendance at a meeting of the Commission, 
                the rules, protocols, and formats for convenings 
                established under that subparagraph.
            (2) Announcement of convenings.--Not later than 30 days 
        before the date of a convening under this subsection, the 
        Commission shall announce the location and details of the 
        convening.
            (3) Minimum number of convenings.--The Commission shall 
        hold--
                    (A) not fewer than 1 convening in each of the 12 
                regions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Hawai`i 
                during the life of the Commission; and
                    (B) beginning 1 year after the date of enactment of 
                this Act, not fewer than 1 convening per quarter to 
                receive testimony each calendar year until the date on 
                which the Commission submits the final report of the 
                Commission under section 111(e)(3).
            (4) Opportunity to provide testimony.--No person or entity 
        shall be denied the opportunity to provide relevant testimony 
        at a convenings held under this subsection, subject to the 
        discretion of the Chairperson of the Commission (or a 
        designee).
    (i) Subpoenas.--
            (1) In general.--
                    (A) Issuance of subpoenas.--
                            (i) In general.--If a person fails to 
                        supply information requested by the Commission, 
                        the Commission may issue, on a unanimous vote 
                        of the Commission, a subpoena requiring from a 
                        person the production of any written or 
                        recorded evidence necessary to carry out the 
                        duties of the Commission under section 111.
                            (ii) Notification.--
                                    (I) In general.--Not later than 10 
                                days before the date on which the 
                                Commission issues a subpoena under 
                                clause (i), the Commission shall submit 
                                to the Attorney General a confidential, 
                                written notice of the intent to issue 
                                the subpoena.
                                    (II) Subpoena prohibited by 
                                attorney general.--
                                            (aa) In general.--The 
                                        Attorney General, on receiving 
                                        a notice under subclause (I), 
                                        may, on a showing of a 
                                        procedural or substantive 
                                        defect, and after the 
                                        Commission has a reasonable 
                                        opportunity to cure, prohibit 
                                        the issuance of the applicable 
                                        subpoena described in that 
                                        notice.
                                            (bb) Notification to 
                                        congress.--On prohibition of 
                                        the issuance of a subpoena 
                                        under item (aa), the Attorney 
                                        General shall submit to 
                                        Congress a report detailing the 
                                        reasons for that prohibition.
                    (B) Production of evidence.--The production of 
                evidence may be required from any place within the 
                United States.
            (2) Failure to obey a subpoena.--
                    (A) Order from a district court of the united 
                states.--If a person does not obey a subpoena issued 
                under paragraph (1), the Commission is authorized to 
                apply to a district court of the United States 
                described in subparagraph (B) for an order requiring 
                that person to comply with the subpoena.
                    (B) Location.--An application under subparagraph 
                (A) may be made within the judicial district where the 
                person described in that subparagraph resides or 
                transacts business.
                    (C) Penalty.--Any failure to obey an order of a 
                court described in subparagraph (A) may be punished by 
                the court as a civil contempt.
            (3) Subject matter jurisdiction.--The district court of the 
        United States in which an action is brought under paragraph 
        (2)(B) shall have original jurisdiction over any civil action 
        brought by the Commission to enforce, secure a declaratory 
        judgment concerning the validity of, or prevent a threatened 
        refusal or failure to comply with the applicable subpoena 
        issued by the Commission.
            (4) Service of subpoenas.--The subpoenas of the Commission 
        shall be served in the manner provided for subpoenas issued by 
        a district court of the United States under the Federal Rules 
        of Civil Procedure.
            (5) Service of process.--All process of any court to which 
        an application is made under paragraph (2) may be served in the 
        judicial district in which the person required to be served 
        resides or transacts business.
    (j) Nondisclosure.--
            (1) Privacy act of 1974 applicability.--Subsection (b) of 
        section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as 
        the ``Privacy Act of 1974''), shall not apply to the 
        Commission.
            (2) Freedom of information act applicability.--Records and 
        other communications provided to, from, between, or within the 
        Commission, the Federal Truth and Healing Advisory Committee, 
        the Native American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee, the 
        Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee, and related agencies 
        shall be exempt from disclosure under subsection (b)(3)(B) of 
        section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as 
        the ``Freedom of Information Act'').
            (3) Federal advisory committee act applicability.--Chapter 
        10 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the 
        ``Federal Advisory Committee Act''), shall not apply to the 
        Commission.
    (k) Consultation or Engagement With Native Americans, Indian 
Tribes, Tribal Organizations, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and 
Native Hawaiian Organizations.--In carrying out the duties of the 
Commission under section 111, the Commission shall meaningfully consult 
or engage, as appropriate, in a timely manner with Native Americans, 
Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, 
and Native Hawaiian organizations.
    (l) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Commission to carry out this Act $15,000,000 for 
each fiscal year, to remain available until expended.

                  Subtitle B--Duties of the Commission

SEC. 111. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

    (a) Investigation.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission shall conduct a 
        comprehensive interdisciplinary investigation of Indian 
        Boarding School Policies, including the social, cultural, 
        economic, emotional, and physical effects of Indian Boarding 
        School Policies in the United States on Native American 
        communities, Indian Tribes, survivors of Indian Boarding 
        Schools, families of those survivors, and their descendants.
            (2) Matters to be investigated.--The matters to be 
        investigated by the Commission under paragraph (1) shall 
        include, at a minimum--
                    (A) conducting a comprehensive review of existing 
                research and historical records of Indian Boarding 
                School Policies and any documentation, scholarship, or 
                other resources relevant to the purposes of this Act 
                from--
                            (i) any archive or any other document 
                        storage location, notwithstanding the location 
                        of that archive or document storage location; 
                        and
                            (ii) any research conducted by private 
                        individuals, private entities, and non-Federal 
                        Government entities, whether domestic or 
                        foreign, including religious institutions;
                    (B) collaborating with the Federal Truth and 
                Healing Advisory Committee to obtain all relevant 
                information from--
                            (i) the Department of the Interior, the 
                        Department of Health and Human Services, other 
                        relevant Federal agencies, and institutions or 
                        organizations, including religious institutions 
                        or organizations, that operated an Indian 
                        Boarding School, carried out Indian Boarding 
                        School Policies, or have information the 
                        Commission determines relevant to the 
                        investigation of the Commission; and
                            (ii) Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, 
                        Native Americans, the Office of Hawaiian 
                        Affairs, and Native Hawaiian organizations; and
                    (C) conducting a comprehensive assessment of the 
                impacts of Indian Boarding School Policies on American 
                Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian cultures, 
                traditions, and languages.
            (3) Research related to objects, artifacts, and real 
        property.--If the Commission conducts a comprehensive review of 
        research described in paragraph (2)(A)(ii) that focuses on 
        objects, artifacts, or real or personal property that are in 
        the possession or control of private individuals, private 
        entities, or non-Federal government entities within the United 
        States, the Commission may enter into a contract or agreement 
        to acquire, hold, curate, or maintain those objects, artifacts, 
        or real or personal property until the objects, artifacts, or 
        real or personal property can be properly repatriated or 
        returned, consistent with applicable Federal law and 
        regulations, subject to the condition that no Federal funds may 
        be used to purchase those objects, artifacts, or real or 
        personal property.
    (b) Meetings and Convenings.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission shall hold, with the advice 
        of the Native American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee and 
        the Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee, and in 
        coordination with, as relevant, Indian Tribes, Tribal 
        organizations, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and Native 
        Hawaiian organizations, as part of its investigation under 
        subsection (a), safe, trauma-informed, and culturally 
        appropriate public or private meetings or convenings to receive 
        testimony relating to that investigation.
            (2) Requirements.--The Commission shall ensure that 
        meetings and convenings held under paragraph (1) provide access 
        to adequate trauma-informed care services for participants, 
        attendees, and communities during and following the meetings 
        and convenings where the Commission receives testimony, 
        including ensuring private space is available for survivors and 
        descendants of survivors, family members, and other community 
        members to receive trauma-informed care services.
    (c) Recommendations.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission shall make recommendations 
        to Congress relating to the investigation carried out under 
        subsection (a), which shall be included in the final report 
        required under subsection (e)(3).
            (2) Inclusions.--Recommendations made under paragraph (1) 
        shall include, at a minimum, recommendations relating to--
                    (A) in light of Tribal and Native Hawaiian law, 
                Tribal customary law, tradition, custom, and practice, 
                how the Federal Government can meaningfully acknowledge 
                the role of the Federal Government in supporting Indian 
                Boarding School Policies in all issue areas that the 
                Commission determines relevant, including appropriate 
                forms of memorialization, preservation of records, 
                objects, artifacts, and burials;
                    (B) how modification of existing laws, procedures, 
                regulations, policies, budgets, and practices will, in 
                the determination of the Commission, address the 
                findings of the Commission and ongoing effects of 
                Indian Boarding School Policies; and
                    (C) how the Federal Government can promote public 
                awareness and education of Indian Boarding School 
                Policies and the impacts of those policies, including 
                through coordinating with the Native American Truth and 
                Healing Advisory Committee, the Survivors Truth and 
                Healing Subcommittee, the National Museum of the 
                American Indian, and other relevant institutions and 
                organizations.
    (d) Duties Related to Burials.--The Commission shall, with respect 
to burial sites associated with Indian Boarding Schools--
            (1) coordinate, as appropriate, with the Native American 
        Truth and Healing Advisory Committee, the Federal Truth and 
        Healing Advisory Committee, the Survivors Truth and Healing 
        Subcommittee, lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, the Office of 
        Hawaiian Affairs, Federal agencies, institutions, and 
        organizations to locate and identify, in a culturally 
        appropriate manner, marked and unmarked burial sites, including 
        cemeteries, unmarked graves, and mass burial sites, where 
        students of Indian Boarding Schools were originally or later 
        interred;
            (2) locate, document, analyze, and coordinate the 
        preservation or continued preservation of records and 
        information relating to the interment of students, including 
        any records held by Federal, State, international, or local 
        entities or religious institutions or organizations; and
            (3) share, to the extent practicable, with affected lineal 
        descendants, Indian Tribes, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs 
        burial locations and the identities of children that attended 
        Indian Boarding Schools.
    (e) Reports.--
            (1) Annual reports to congress.--Not less frequently than 
        annually each year until the year before the year in which the 
        Commission submits the final report under paragraph (3), the 
        Commission shall submit to the Committee on Indian Affairs of 
        the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 
        of Representatives a report that describes the activities of 
        the Committee during the previous year, including an accounting 
        of funds and gifts received and expenditures made, the progress 
        made, and any barriers encountered in carrying out this Act.
            (2) Commission initial report.--Not later than 4 years 
        after the date on which a majority of the members of the 
        Commission are appointed under section 101(b)(1), the 
        Commission shall submit to the individuals described in 
        paragraph (4), and make publicly available, an initial report 
        containing--
                    (A) a detailed review of existing research, 
                including documentation, scholarship, or other 
                resources shared with the Commission that further the 
                purposes of this Act;
                    (B) a detailed statement of the initial findings 
                and conclusions of the Commission; and
                    (C) a detailed statement of the initial 
                recommendations of the Commission.
            (3) Commission final report.--Not later than 6 years after 
        the date on which a majority of the members of the Commission 
        are appointed under section 101(b)(1), the Commission shall 
        submit to the individuals described in paragraph (4), and make 
        publicly available, a final report containing the findings, 
        conclusions, and recommendations of the Commission that have 
        been agreed on by the vote of a majority of the members of the 
        Commission and \3/5\ of the members of each of the Native 
        American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee and the Survivors 
        Truth and Healing Subcommittee.
            (4) Report recipients.--The individuals referred to in 
        paragraphs (2) and (3) are--
                    (A) the President;
                    (B) the Secretary of the Interior;
                    (C) the Attorney General;
                    (D) the Comptroller General of the United States;
                    (E) the Secretary of Education;
                    (F) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
                    (G) the Secretary of Defense;
                    (H) the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the 
                Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate;
                    (I) the Chairperson and Ranking Member of the 
                Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
                Representatives;
                    (J) the Chair and Co-Chair of the Congressional 
                Native American Caucus;
                    (K) the Executive Director of the White House 
                Council on Native American Affairs;
                    (L) the Director of the Office of Management and 
                Budget;
                    (M) the Archivist of the United States;
                    (N) the Librarian of Congress; and
                    (O) the Director of the National Museum of the 
                American Indian.
            (5) Additional commission responsibilities relating to the 
        publication of the initial and final reports.--
                    (A) Events relating to initial report.--
                            (i) In general.--The Commission shall hold 
                        not fewer than 2 events in each region of the 
                        Bureau of Indian Affairs and Hawai`i following 
                        publication of the initial report under 
                        paragraph (2) to receive comments on the 
                        initial report.
                            (ii) Timing.--The schedule of events 
                        referred to in clause (i) shall be announced 
                        not later than 90 days after the date on which 
                        the initial report under paragraph (2) is 
                        published.
                    (B) Publication of final report.--Not later than 
                180 days after the date on which the Commission submits 
                the final report under paragraph (3), the Commission, 
                the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 
                Education, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary 
                of Health and Human Services shall each make the final 
                report publicly available on the website of the 
                applicable agency.
            (6) Secretarial response to final report.--Not later than 
        120 days after the date on which the Secretary of the Interior, 
        the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Defense, and the 
        Secretary of Health and Human Services receive the final report 
        under paragraph (3), the Secretaries shall each make publicly 
        available a written response to recommendations for future 
        action by those agencies, if any, contained in the final 
        report, and submit the written response to--
                    (A) the President;
                    (B) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate;
                    (C) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 
                of Representatives; and
                    (D) the Comptroller General of the United States.

          Subtitle C--Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee

SEC. 121. SURVIVORS TRUTH AND HEALING SUBCOMMITTEE.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established a subcommittee of the 
Commission, to be known as the ``Survivors Truth and Healing 
Subcommittee''.
    (b) Membership, Nomination, and Appointment to the Survivors Truth 
and Healing Subcommittee.--
            (1) Membership.--The Survivors Truth and Healing 
        Subcommittee shall include 15 members, to be appointed by the 
        Commission, in consultation with the National Native American 
        Boarding School Healing Coalition, from among the nominees 
        submitted under paragraph (2)(A), of whom--
                    (A) 13 shall be representatives from each of the 12 
                regions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Hawai`i;
                    (B) 9 shall be individuals who attended an Indian 
                Boarding School, of whom--
                            (i) not fewer than 2 shall be individuals 
                        who graduated during the 5-year period 
                        preceding the date of enactment of this Act 
                        from--
                                    (I) an Indian Boarding School in 
                                operation as of that date of enactment; 
                                or
                                    (II) a Bureau of Indian Education-
                                funded school; and
                            (ii) all shall represent diverse regions of 
                        the United States;
                    (C) 5 shall be descendants of individuals who 
                attended Indian Boarding Schools, who shall represent 
                diverse regions of the United States; and
                    (D) 1 shall be an educator who, as of the date of 
                the appointment--
                            (i) is employed at an Indian Boarding 
                        School; or
                            (ii) was employed at an Indian Boarding 
                        School during the 5-year period preceding the 
                        date of enactment of this Act.
            (2) Nominations.--
                    (A) In general.--Indian Tribes, Tribal 
                organizations, Native Americans, the Office of Hawaiian 
                Affairs, and Native Hawaiian organizations may submit 
                to the Secretary of the Interior nominations for 
                individuals to be appointed to the Survivors Truth and 
                Healing Subcommittee not later than 90 days after the 
                date of enactment of this Act.
                    (B) Submission.--The Secretary of the Interior 
                shall provide the Commission with nominations submitted 
                under subparagraph (A) at the initial business meeting 
                of the Commission under section 101(c)(1) and the 
                Commission shall select the members of the Survivors 
                Truth and Healing Subcommittee from among those 
                nominees.
            (3) Date.--
                    (A) In general.--The Commission shall appoint all 
                members of the Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee 
                during the initial business meeting of the Commission 
                under section 101(c)(1).
                    (B) Failure to appoint.--If the Commission fails to 
                appoint all members of the Survivors Truth and Healing 
                Subcommittee in accordance with subparagraph (A), the 
                Chair of the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate, 
                with the concurrence of the Vice Chair of the Committee 
                on Indian Affairs of the Senate, shall appoint 
                individuals, in accordance with the requirements of 
                paragraph (1), to all vacant positions of the Survivors 
                Truth and Healing Subcommittee not later than 30 days 
                after the date of the initial business meeting of the 
                Commission under section 101(c)(1).
            (4) Period of appointment; vacancies; removal.--
                    (A) Period of appointment.--A member of the 
                Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee shall be 
                appointed for an automatically renewable term of 2 
                years.
                    (B) Vacancies.--
                            (i) In general.--A member of the Survivors 
                        Truth and Healing Subcommittee may self-vacate 
                        the position at any time and for any reason.
                            (ii) Effect; filling of vacancy.--A vacancy 
                        in the Survivors Truth and Healing 
                        Subcommittee--
                                    (I) shall not affect the powers of 
                                the Survivors Truth and Healing 
                                Subcommittee if a simple majority of 
                                the positions of the Survivors Truth 
                                and Healing Subcommittee are filled; 
                                and
                                    (II) shall be filled within 90 days 
                                in the same manner as was the original 
                                appointment.
                    (C) Removal.--A quorum of members of the Commission 
                may remove a member of the Survivors Truth and Healing 
                Subcommittee only for neglect of duty or malfeasance.
            (5) Termination.--The Survivors Truth and Healing 
        Subcommittee shall terminate 90 days after the date on which 
        the Commission submits the final report required under section 
        111(e)(3).
            (6) Limitation.--No member of the Survivors Truth and 
        Healing Subcommittee shall be an officer or employee of the 
        Federal Government.
    (c) Business Meetings.--
            (1) Initial meeting.--Not later 30 days after the date on 
        which all members of the Survivors Truth and Healing 
        Subcommittee are appointed under subsection (b)(1), the 
        Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee shall hold an initial 
        business meeting--
                    (A) to appoint--
                            (i) a Chairperson, who shall also serve as 
                        the Vice Chairperson of the Federal Truth and 
                        Healing Advisory Committee;
                            (ii) a Vice Chairperson, who shall also 
                        serve as the Vice Chairperson of the Native 
                        American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee; 
                        and
                            (iii) a Secretary;
                    (B) to establish, with the advice of the 
                Commission, rules for the Survivors Truth and Healing 
                Subcommittee;
                    (C) to appoint 3 designees to fulfill the 
                responsibilities described in section 101(h)(1)(A); and
                    (D) to appoint, with the advice of the Commission, 
                2 members of the Survivors Truth and Healing 
                Subcommittee to serve as non-voting designees on the 
                Commission in accordance with section 101(c)(3).
            (2) Subsequent business meetings.--After the initial 
        business meeting of the Survivors Truth and Healing 
        subcommittee is held under paragraph (1), the Survivors Truth 
        and Healing Subcommittee shall meet at the call of the 
        Chairperson.
            (3) Format of business meetings.--A business meeting of the 
        Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee may be conducted in-
        person, virtually, or via phone.
            (4) Quorum required.--A business meeting of the Survivors 
        Truth and Healing Subcommittee may only be held once a quorum, 
        established in accordance with subsection (d), is present.
    (d) Quorum.--A simple majority of the members of the Survivors 
Truth and Healing Subcommittee present shall constitute a quorum for a 
business meeting.
    (e) Rules.--The Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee, with the 
advice of the Commission, may establish, by a majority vote, any rules 
for the conduct of business, in accordance with this section and other 
applicable law.
    (f) Duties.--The Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee shall--
            (1) assist the Commission, the Native American Truth and 
        Healing Advisory Committee, and the Federal Truth and Healing 
        Advisory Committee in coordinating public and private 
        convenings, including--
                    (A) providing advice to the Commission on 
                developing criteria and protocols for convenings; and
                    (B) providing advice and evaluating Committee 
                recommendations relating to the commemoration and 
                public education relating to Indian Boarding Schools 
                and Indian Boarding School Policies; and
            (2) provide advice to, or fulfill such other requests by, 
        the Commission as the Commission may require to carry out the 
        purposes described in section 3.
    (g) Consultation or Engagement With Native Americans, Indian 
Tribes, Tribal Organizations, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and 
Native Hawaiian Organizations.--In carrying out the duties of the 
Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee under subsection (f), the 
Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee shall meaningfully consult or 
engage, as appropriate, in a timely manner with Native Americans, 
Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, 
and Native Hawaiian organizations.
    (h) Nondisclosure.--
            (1) Privacy act of 1974 applicability.--Subsection (b) of 
        section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as 
        the ``Privacy Act of 1974''), shall not apply to the Survivors 
        Truth and Healing Subcommittee.
            (2) Freedom of information act applicability.--Records and 
        other communications provided to, from, between, or within the 
        Commission, the Federal Truth and Healing Advisory Committee, 
        the Native American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee, the 
        Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee, and related agencies 
        shall be exempt from disclosure under subsection (b)(3)(B) of 
        section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as 
        the ``Freedom of Information Act'').
            (3) Federal advisory committee act applicability.--Chapter 
        10 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the 
        ``Federal Advisory Committee Act''), shall not apply to the 
        Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee.
    (i) Personnel Matters.--
            (1) Compensation of members.--A member of the Survivors 
        Truth and Healing Subcommittee shall be compensated at a daily 
        equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for grade 
        13 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, 
        United States Code, for each day, not to exceed 14 days per 
        month, for which a member of the Survivors Truth and Healing 
        Subcommittee is engaged in the performance of their duties 
        under this Act, including the convening of meetings, including 
        public and private meetings to receive testimony in furtherance 
        of the duties of the Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee 
        and the purposes of this Act.
            (2) Travel expenses.--A member of the Survivors Truth and 
        Healing Subcommittee shall be allowed travel expenses, 
        including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized 
        for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of 
        title 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or 
        regular places of business in the performance of services for 
        the Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee.

                     TITLE II--ADVISORY COMMITTEES

    Subtitle A--Native American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee

SEC. 201. NATIVE AMERICAN TRUTH AND HEALING ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

    (a) Establishment.--The Commission shall establish an advisory 
committee, to be known as the ``Native American Truth and Healing 
Advisory Committee''.
    (b) Membership, Nomination, and Appointment to the Native American 
Truth and Healing Advisory Committee .--
            (1) Membership.--
                    (A) In general.--The Native American Truth and 
                Healing Advisory Committee shall include 19 members, to 
                be appointed by the Commission from among the nominees 
                submitted under paragraph (2)(A), of whom--
                            (i) 1 shall be the Vice Chairperson of the 
                        Commission, who shall serve as the Chairperson 
                        of the Native American Truth and Healing 
                        Advisory Committee;
                            (ii) 1 shall be the Vice Chairperson of the 
                        Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee, who 
                        shall serve as the Vice Chairperson of the 
                        Native American Truth and Healing Advisory 
                        Committee;
                            (iii) 1 shall be the Secretary of the 
                        Interior, or a designee, who shall serve as the 
                        Secretary of the Native American Truth and 
                        Healing Advisory Committee;
                            (iv) 13 shall be representatives from each 
                        of the 12 regions of the Bureau of Indian 
                        Affairs and Hawai`i;
                            (v) 1 shall represent the National Native 
                        American Boarding School Healing Coalition;
                            (vi) 1 shall represent the National 
                        Association of Tribal Historic Preservation 
                        Officers; and
                            (vii) 1 shall represent the National Indian 
                        Education Association.
                    (B) Additional requirements.--Not fewer than 2 
                members of the Native American Truth and Healing 
                Advisory Committee shall have experience with health 
                care or mental health, traditional healing or cultural 
                practices, counseling, or working with survivors, or 
                descendants of survivors, of Indian Boarding Schools to 
                ensure that the Commission considers culturally 
                responsive support for survivors, families, and 
                communities.
            (2) Nominations.--
                    (A) In general.--Indian Tribes, Tribal 
                organizations, Native Americans, the Office of Hawaiian 
                Affairs, and Native Hawaiian organizations may submit 
                to the Secretary of the Interior nominations for 
                individuals to be appointed to the Native American 
                Truth and Healing Advisory Committee not later than 90 
                days after the date of enactment of this Act.
                    (B) Submission.--The Secretary of the Interior 
                shall provide the Commission with nominations submitted 
                under subparagraph (A) at the initial business meeting 
                of the Commission under section 101(c)(1) and the 
                Commission shall select the members of the Native 
                American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee from 
                among those nominees.
            (3) Date.--
                    (A) In general.--The Commission shall appoint all 
                members of the Native American Truth and Healing 
                Advisory Committee during the initial business meeting 
                of the Commission under section 101(c)(1).
                    (B) Failure to appoint.--If the Commission fails to 
                appoint all members of the Native American Truth and 
                Healing Advisory Committee in accordance with 
                subparagraph (A), the Chair of the Committee on Indian 
                Affairs of the Senate, with the concurrence of the Vice 
                Chair of the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate, 
                shall appoint, in accordance with the requirements of 
                paragraph (1), individuals to all vacant positions of 
                the Native American Truth and Healing Advisory 
                Committee not later than 30 days after the date of the 
                initial business meeting of the Commission under 
                section 101(c)(1).
            (4) Period of appointment; vacancies.--
                    (A) Period of appointment.--A member of the Native 
                American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee shall be 
                appointed for an automatically renewable term of 2 
                years.
                    (B) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Native American 
                Truth and Healing Advisory Committee--
                            (i) shall not affect the powers of the 
                        Native American Truth and Healing Advisory 
                        Committee if a simple majority of the positions 
                        of the Native American Truth and Healing 
                        Advisory Committee are filled; and
                            (ii) shall be filled within 90 days in the 
                        same manner as was the original appointment.
            (5) Termination.--The Native American Truth and Healing 
        Advisory Committee shall terminate 90 days after the date on 
        which the Commission submits the final report required under 
        section 111(e)(3).
            (6) Limitation.--No member of the Native American Truth and 
        Healing Advisory Committee (other than the member described in 
        paragraph (1)(A)(iii)) shall be an officer or employee of the 
        Federal Government.
    (c) Quorum.--A simple majority of the members of the Native 
American Truth and Healing Committee shall constitute a quorum.
    (d) Removal.--A quorum of members of the Native American Truth and 
Healing Committee may remove another member only for neglect of duty or 
malfeasance.
    (e) Business Meetings.--
            (1) Initial business meeting.--Not later than 30 days after 
        the date on which all members of the Native American Truth and 
        Healing Advisory Committee are appointed under subsection 
        (b)(1)(A), the Native American Truth and Healing Advisory 
        Committee shall hold an initial business meeting--
                    (A) to establish rules for the Native American 
                Truth and Healing Advisory Committee;
                    (B) to appoint 3 designees to fulfill the 
                responsibilities described in section 101(h)(1)(A); and
                    (C) to appoint 2 members of the Native American 
                Truth and Healing Advisory Committee to serve non-
                voting as designees on the Commission in accordance 
                with section 101(c)(3).
            (2) Subsequent business meetings.--After the initial 
        business meeting of the Native American Truth and Healing 
        Advisory Committee is held under paragraph (1), the Native 
        American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee shall meet at the 
        call of the Chairperson.
            (3) Format of business meetings.--A meeting of the Native 
        American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee may be conducted 
        in-person, virtually, or via phone.
            (4) Quorum required.--A business meeting of the Native 
        American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee may only be held 
        once a quorum, established in accordance with subsection (c), 
        is present.
    (f) Rules.--The Native American Truth and Healing Advisory 
Committee may establish, with the advice of the Commission, by a 
majority vote, any rules for the conduct of business, in accordance 
with this section and other applicable law.
    (g) Duties.--The Native American Truth and Healing Advisory 
Committee shall--
            (1) serve as an advisory body to the Commission;
            (2) assist the Commission in organizing and carrying out 
        culturally appropriate public and private convenings relating 
        to the duties of the Commission;
            (3) assist the Commission in determining what documentation 
        from Federal and religious organizations and institutions may 
        be necessary to fulfill the duties of the Commission;
            (4) assist the Commission in the production of the initial 
        report and final report required under paragraphs (2) and (3), 
        respectively, of section 111(e);
            (5) coordinate with the Federal Truth and Healing Advisory 
        Committee and the Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee; and
            (6) provide advice to, or fulfill such other requests by, 
        the Commission as the Commission may require to carry out the 
        purposes described in section 3.
    (h) Consultation or Engagement With Native Americans, Indian 
Tribes, Tribal Organizations, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and 
Native Hawaiian Organizations.--In carrying out the duties of the 
Native American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee under subsection 
(g), the Native American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee shall 
meaningfully consult or engage, as appropriate, in a timely manner with 
Native Americans, Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, the Office of 
Hawaiian Affairs, and Native Hawaiian organizations.
    (i) Nondisclosure.--
            (1) Privacy act of 1974 applicability.--Subsection (b) of 
        section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as 
        the ``Privacy Act of 1974''), shall not apply to the Native 
        American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee.
            (2) Freedom of information act applicability.--Records and 
        other communications provided to, from, between, or within the 
        Commission, the Federal Truth and Healing Advisory Committee, 
        the Native American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee, the 
        Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee, and related agencies 
        shall be exempt from disclosure under subsection (b)(3)(B) of 
        section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as 
        the ``Freedom of Information Act'').
            (3) Federal advisory committee act applicability.--Chapter 
        10 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the 
        ``Federal Advisory Committee Act''), shall not apply to the 
        Native American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee.
    (j) Personnel Matters.--
            (1) Compensation of members.--A member of the Native 
        American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee shall be 
        compensated at a daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic 
        pay prescribed for grade 13 of the General Schedule under 
        section 5332 of title 5, United States Code, for each day, not 
        to exceed 14 days per month, for which a member is engaged in 
        the performance of their duties under this Act, including the 
        convening of meetings, including public and private meetings to 
        receive testimony in furtherance of the duties of the Native 
        American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee and the purposes 
        of this Act.
            (2) Travel expenses.--A member of the Native American Truth 
        and Healing Advisory Committee shall be allowed travel 
        expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates 
        authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of 
        chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from 
        their homes or regular places of business in the performance of 
        services for the Native American Truth and Healing Advisory 
        Committee.

        Subtitle B--Federal Truth and Healing Advisory Committee

SEC. 211. FEDERAL TRUTH AND HEALING ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established within the Department of 
the Interior an advisory committee, to be known as the ``Federal Truth 
and Healing Advisory Committee''.
    (b) Membership and Appointment to the Federal Truth and Healing 
Advisory Committee.--
            (1) Membership.--The Federal Truth and Healing Advisory 
        Committee shall include 17 members, of whom--
                    (A) 1 shall be the Chairperson of the Commission, 
                who shall serve as the Chairperson of the Federal Truth 
                and Healing Advisory Committee;
                    (B) 1 shall be the Chairperson of the Survivors 
                Truth and Healing Subcommittee, who shall serve as the 
                Vice Chairperson of the Federal Truth and Healing 
                Advisory Committee;
                    (C) 1 shall be the White House Domestic Policy 
                Advisor, who shall serve as the Secretary of the 
                Federal Truth and Healing Advisory Committee;
                    (D) 1 shall be the Director of the Bureau of Trust 
                Funds Administration (or a designee);
                    (E) 1 shall be the Archivist of the United States 
                (or a designee);
                    (F) 1 shall be the Librarian of Congress (or a 
                designee);
                    (G) 1 shall be the Director of the Department of 
                the Interior Library (or a designee);
                    (H) 1 shall be the Director of the Indian Health 
                Service (or a designee);
                    (I) 1 shall be the Assistant Secretary for Mental 
                Health and Substance Abuse of the Department of Health 
                and Human Services (or a designee);
                    (J) 1 shall be the Commissioner of the 
                Administration for Native Americans of the Department 
                of Health and Human Services (or a designee);
                    (K) 1 shall be the Director of the National 
                Institutes of Health (or a designee);
                    (L) 1 shall be the Senior Program Director of the 
                Office of Native Hawaiian Relations of the Department 
                of the Interior (or a designee);
                    (M) 1 shall be the Director of the Office of Indian 
                Education of the Department of Education (or a 
                designee);
                    (N) 1 shall be the Director of the Rural, Insular, 
                and Native American Achievement Programs of the 
                Department of Education (or a designee);
                    (O) 1 shall be the Chair of the Advisory Council on 
                Historic Preservation (or a designee);
                    (P) 1 shall be the Assistant Secretary of Indian 
                Affairs (or a designee); and
                    (Q) 1 shall be the Director of the Bureau of Indian 
                Education (or a designee).
            (2) Period of service; vacancies; removal.--
                    (A) Period of service.--A member of the Federal 
                Truth and Healing Advisory Committee shall serve for an 
                automatically renewable term of 2 years.
                    (B) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Federal Truth and 
                Healing Advisory Committee--
                            (i) shall not affect the powers of the 
                        Federal Truth and Healing Advisory Committee if 
                        a simple majority of the positions of the 
                        Federal Truth and Healing Advisory Committee 
                        are filled; and
                            (ii) shall be filled within 90 days in the 
                        same manner as was the original appointment.
                    (C) Removal.--A quorum of members of the Federal 
                Truth and Healing Advisory Committee may remove a 
                member of the Federal Truth and Healing Advisory 
                Committee only for neglect of duty or malfeasance.
            (3) Termination.--The Federal Truth and Healing Advisory 
        Committee shall terminate 90 days after the date on which the 
        Commission submits the final report required under section 
        111(e)(3).
    (c) Business Meetings.--
            (1) Initial business meeting.--Not later than 30 days after 
        the date of the initial business meeting of the Commission 
        under section 101(c)(1), the Federal Truth and Healing Advisory 
        Committee shall hold an initial business meeting--
                    (A) to establish rules for the Federal Truth and 
                Healing Advisory Committee; and
                    (B) to appoint 2 members of the Federal Truth and 
                Healing Advisory Committee to serve as non-voting 
                designees on the Commission in accordance with section 
                101(c)(3).
            (2) Subsequent business meetings.--After the initial 
        business meeting of the Federal Truth and Healing Advisory 
        Committee is held under paragraph (1), the Federal Truth and 
        Healing Advisory Committee shall meet at the call of the 
        Chairperson.
            (3) Format of business meetings.--A business meeting of the 
        Federal Truth and Healing Advisory Committee may be conducted 
        in-person, virtually, or via phone.
            (4) Quorum required.--A business meeting of the Federal 
        Truth and Healing Advisory Committee may only be held once a 
        quorum, established in accordance with subsection (d), is 
        present.
    (d) Quorum.--A simple majority of the members of the Federal Truth 
and Healing Advisory Committee present shall constitute a quorum for a 
business meeting.
    (e) Rules.--The Federal Truth and Healing Advisory Committee may 
establish, with the advice of the Commission, by a majority vote, any 
rules for the conduct of business, in accordance with this section and 
other applicable law.
    (f) Duties.--The Federal Truth and Healing Advisory Committee 
shall--
            (1) ensure the effective and timely coordination between 
        Federal agencies in furtherance of the purposes of this Act;
            (2) assist the Commission and the Native American Truth and 
        Healing Advisory Committee in coordinating--
                    (A) meetings and other related public and private 
                convenings; and
                    (B) the collection, organization, and preservation 
                of information obtained from witnesses and by other 
                Federal agencies; and
            (3) ensure the timely submission to the Commission of 
        materials, documents, testimony, and such other information as 
        the Commission determines to be necessary to carry out the 
        duties of the Commission.
    (g) Consultation or Engagement With Native Americans, Indian 
Tribes, Tribal Organizations, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and 
Native Hawaiian Organizations.--In carrying out the duties of the 
Federal Truth and Healing Advisory Committee under subsection (f), the 
Federal Truth and Healing Advisory Committee shall meaningfully consult 
or engage, as appropriate, in a timely manner with Native Americans, 
Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, 
and Native Hawaiian organizations.
    (h) Nondisclosure.--
            (1) Privacy act of 1974 applicability.--Subsection (b) of 
        section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as 
        the ``Privacy Act of 1974''), shall not apply to the Federal 
        Truth and Healing Advisory Committee.
            (2) Freedom of information act applicability.--Records and 
        other communications provided to, from, between, or within the 
        Commission, the Federal Truth and Healing Advisory Committee, 
        the Native American Truth and Healing Advisory Committee, the 
        Survivors Truth and Healing Subcommittee, and related agencies 
        shall be exempt from disclosure under subsection (b)(3)(B) of 
        section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as 
        the ``Freedom of Information Act'').
            (3) Federal advisory committee act applicability.--Chapter 
        10 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the 
        ``Federal Advisory Committee Act''), shall not apply to the 
        Federal Truth and Healing Advisory Committee.

                     TITLE III--GENERAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 301. CLARIFICATION.

    Any human remains or associated or unassociated funerary objects 
located on Federal land, on land managed by a Federal agency, or land 
otherwise curated by a Federal agency and relating to an Indian 
Boarding School shall be considered collections or holdings over which 
a Federal agency has possession or control and the Native American 
Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) shall 
apply.

SEC. 302. BURIAL MANAGEMENT.

    A Federal agency that carries out activities pursuant to this Act 
or that created or controls a cemetery with remains of an individual 
who attended an Indian Boarding School may rebury the remains of that 
individual and any associated funerary items that have been repatriated 
pursuant to section 7 of the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3005), consistent with Tribal practices, on 
any Federal land as agreed to by the relevant parties.

SEC. 303. CO-STEWARDSHIP AGREEMENTS.

    A Federal agency that carries out activities pursuant to this Act 
or that created or controls a cemetery with remains of an individual 
who attended an Indian Boarding School or an Indian Boarding School may 
enter into a co-stewardship agreement for the management of the 
cemetery or Indian Boarding School.

SEC. 304. NO RIGHT OF ACTION.

    Nothing in this Act creates a private right of action to seek 
administrative or judicial relief.
                                                       Calendar No. 432

118th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 1723

                          [Report No. 118-187]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To establish the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School 
         Policies in the United States, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                              July 8, 2024

                       Reported with an amendment