[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 132 (Thursday, July 31, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5101-S5102]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3326. Ms. SMITH (for herself and Mr. Rounds) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 2296, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2026 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle F of title X, add the following:
SEC. 1067. NATIVE CDFI RELENDING PROGRAM.
Section 502 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1472) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(j) Set Aside for Native Community Development Financial
Institutions.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
``(A) the term `Alaska Native' has the meaning given the
term `Native' in section 3(b) of the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(b));
``(B) the term `appropriate congressional committees'
means--
``(i) the Committee on Agriculture of the Senate;
``(ii) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate;
``(iii) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate;
``(iv) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives;
``(v) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives; and
``(vi) the Committee on Financial Services of the House of
Representatives;
``(C) the term `community development financial
institution' has the meaning given the term in section 103 of
the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions
Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4702);
``(D) the term `Indian Tribe' has the meaning given the
term `Indian tribe' in section 4 of the Native American
Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25
U.S.C. 4103);
``(E) the term `Native community development financial
institution' means an entity--
``(i) that has been certified as a community development
financial institution by the Secretary of the Treasury;
``(ii) that is not less than 51 percent owned or controlled
by members of Indian Tribes, Alaska Native communities, or
Native Hawaiian communities; and
``(iii) for which not less than 51 percent of the
activities of the entity serve Indian Tribes, Alaska Native
communities, or Native Hawaiian communities;
``(F) the term `Native Hawaiian' has the meaning given the
term in section 801 of the Native American Housing Assistance
and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4221); and
``(G) the term `priority Tribal land' means--
``(i) any land located within the boundaries of--
``(I) an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria; or
``(II) a former reservation within Oklahoma;
``(ii) any land not located within the boundaries of an
Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria, the title to which
is held--
``(I) in trust by the United States for the benefit of an
Indian Tribe or an individual Indian;
``(II) by an Indian Tribe or an individual Indian, subject
to restriction against alienation under laws of the United
States; or
``(III) by a dependent Indian community;
``(iii) any land located within a region established
pursuant to section 7(a) of the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1606(a));
``(iv) Hawaiian Home Lands, as defined in section 801 of
the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination
Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4221); or
``(v) those areas or communities designated by the
Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs of the Department of
the Interior that are near, adjacent, or contiguous to
reservations where financial assistance and social service
programs are provided to Indians because of their status as
Indians.
``(2) Purpose.--The purpose of this subsection is to--
``(A) increase homeownership opportunities for Indian
Tribes, Alaska Native Communities, and Native Hawaiian
communities in rural areas; and
``(B) provide capital to Native community development
financial institutions to increase the number of mortgage
transactions carried out by those institutions.
``(3) Set aside for native cdfis.--Of amounts appropriated
to make direct loans under this section for each fiscal year,
the Secretary may use not more than $50,000,000 to make
direct loans to Native community development financial
institutions in accordance with this subsection.
``(4) Application requirements.--A Native community
development financial institution desiring a loan under this
subsection shall demonstrate that the institution--
``(A) can provide the non-Federal cost share required under
paragraph (6); and
``(B) is able to originate and service loans for single
family homes.
``(5) Lending requirements.--A Native community development
financial institution that receives a loan pursuant to this
subsection shall--
``(A) use those amounts to make loans to borrowers--
``(i) who otherwise meet the requirements for a loan under
this section; and
``(ii) who--
``(I) are members of an Indian Tribe, an Alaska Native
community, or a Native Hawaiian community; or
``(II) maintain a household in which not less than 1 member
is a member of an Indian Tribe, an Alaska Native community,
or a Native Hawaiian community; and
``(B) in making loans under subparagraph (A), give priority
to borrowers described in that subparagraph who are residing
on priority Tribal land.
``(6) Non-federal cost share.--
``(A) In general.--A Native community development financial
institution that receives a loan under this section shall be
required to match not less than 20 percent of the amount
received.
``(B) Waiver.--In the case of a loan for which amounts are
used to make loans to borrowers described in paragraph
(5)(B), the Secretary shall waive the non-Federal cost share
requirement described in subparagraph (A) with respect to
those loan amounts.
``(7) Reporting.--
``(A) Annual report by native cdfis.--Each Native community
development financial institution that receives a loan
pursuant to this subsection shall submit an annual report to
the Secretary on the lending activities of the institution
using the loan amounts, which shall include--
``(i) a description of the outreach efforts of the
institution in local communities to identify eligible
borrowers;
``(ii) a description of how the institution leveraged
additional capital to reach prospective borrowers;
``(iii) the number of loan applications received, approved,
and deployed;
``(iv) the average loan amount;
``(v) the number of finalized loans that were made on
Tribal trust lands and not on Tribal trust lands; and
``(vi) the number of finalized loans that were made on
priority Tribal land and not priority Tribal land.
``(B) Annual report to congress.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this subsection, and every
year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the
appropriate congressional communities a report that
includes--
``(i) a list of loans made to Native community development
financial institutions pursuant to this subsection, including
the name of the institution and the loan amount;
``(ii) the percentage of loans made under this section to
members of Indian Tribes, Alaska Native communities, and
Native Hawaiian communities, respectively, including a
breakdown of loans made to households residing on and not on
Tribal trust lands; and
``(iii) the average loan amount made by Native community
development financial institutions pursuant to this
subsection.
``(C) Evaluation of program.--Not later than 3 years after
the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary and
the Secretary of the Treasury shall conduct an evaluation of
and submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
report on the program under this subsection, which shall--
``(i) evaluate the effectiveness of the program, including
an evaluation of the demand for loans under the program; and
``(ii) include recommendations relating to the program,
including whether--
``(I) the program should be expanded to such that all
community development financial institutions may make loans
under the program to the borrowers described in paragraph
(5); and
``(II) the set aside amount paragraph (3) should be
modified in order to match demand under the program.
``(8) Grants for operational support.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall make grants to
Native community development financial institutions that
receive a loan under this section to provide operational
support and other related services to those institutions,
subject to--
``(i) the satisfactory performance, as determined by the
Secretary, of a Native community development financial
institution in carrying out this section; and
``(ii) the availability of funding.
``(B) Amount.--A Native community development financial
institution that receives a loan under this section shall be
eligible to receive a grant described in subparagraph (A) in
an amount equal to 20 percent of the direct loan amount
received by the Native community development financial
institution under the program under this section as
[[Page S5102]]
of the date on which the direct loan is awarded.
``(9) Outreach and technical assistance.--There is
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $1,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027--
``(A) to provide technical assistance to Native community
development financial institutions--
``(i) relating to homeownership and other housing-related
assistance provided by the Secretary; and
``(ii) to assist those institutions to perform outreach to
eligible homebuyers relating to the loan program under this
section; or
``(B) to provide funding to a national organization
representing Native American housing interests to perform
outreach and provide technical assistance as described in
clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, of subparagraph (A).
``(10) Administrative costs.--In addition to other
available funds, the Secretary may use not more than 3
percent of the amounts made available to carry out this
subsection for administration of the programs established
under this subsection.''.
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