[Senate Report 118-9]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 34
118th Congress} { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 118-9
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TO AMEND THE NATIVE AMERICAN TOURISM AND IMPROVING VISITOR EXPERIENCE
ACT TO AUTHORIZE GRANTS TO INDIAN TRIBES, TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS, AND
NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGANIZATIONS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
_______
April 18, 2023.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Schatz, from the Committee on Indian Affairs,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 385]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the
bill (S. 385) to amend the Native American Tourism and
Improving Visitor Experience Act to authorize grants to Indian
tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian
organizations, and for other purposes, having considered the
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and
recommends that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 385 is to clarify that the U.S.
Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and
the Office of Native Hawaiian Relations (ONHR) have the
authority to issue grants established under the Native American
Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience (NATIVE) Act and
authorizes appropriations for those purposes. The legislation
also confirms that other federal agencies have the authority to
issue NATIVE Act grants.
BACKGROUND
In 2016, Congress enacted the NATIVE Act.\1\ A key purpose
of the NATIVE Act is to provide grants, loans, and technical
assistance to Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and Native
Hawaiian organizations to assist in developing tourism in
Native communities and enhancing opportunities for visitors to
learn about Native American history, cultures, traditional
foods, languages, and arts.
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\1\Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act,
Pub. L. No. 114-221, 130 Stat. 847 (2016).
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NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The NATIVE Act provides funding for grants to meet the
purposes of the law, but it does not authorize BIA or ONHR to
issue the grants, which led to implementation challenges.\2\ S.
385 corrects this issue by clearly authorizing the BIA and
ONHR, along with several other federal agencies, to issue these
grants to Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, or Native
Hawaiian organizations, and authorizes appropriations of $35
million for fiscal years 2023-2027.
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\2\For example, in FY 2022, the Department of the Interior
partnered with the National Park Service to issue NATIVE Act grants to
eligible Native Hawaiian organizations because ONHR currently does not
have grant issuing authority.
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LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-
AK) introduced S. 385 on February 9, 2023. The bill was
referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs on the same day.
The Committee held a business meeting to consider S. 385 on
February 15, 2023 and ordered the bill to be reported favorably
without amendment.
117th Congress. On March 10, 2022, Senator Brian Schatz (D-
HI) introduced S. 3789, a similar predecessor bill. The Senate
referred the bill to the Committee on the same day, and on
March 23, 2022, the Committee held a legislative hearing to
consider the bill. On May 17, 2022, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-
AK) joined as a co-sponsor. On May 18, 2022, the Committee met
at a duly convened business meeting to consider S. 3789.
Senator Schatz timely filed one amendment in the nature of a
substitute to provide additional federal agencies with
authority to implement the NATIVE Act grant program. Senator
Schatz withdrew this amendment. Senators Schatz and Murkowski
filed an untimely amendment in the nature of a substitute to
provide additional federal agencies with authority to implement
the NATIVE Act grant program. Pursuant to Committee Rule 5(c),
the Schatz-Murkowski amendment was adopted and S. 3789 was
ordered to be reported favorably with an amendment in the
nature of a substitute. On December 6, 2022, the Committee
reported S. 3789 with an amendment in the nature of a
substitute, and the bill was placed on the Senate calendar the
same day. No further action was taken on the bill before the
conclusion of the 117th Congress.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF S. 385 AS ORDERED REPORTED
Section 1--Native American tourism grant programs
This section amends the NATIVE Act (25 U.S.C. 4351 et seq.)
with technical edits in order to authorize the BIA and ONHR to
make grants to Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and Native
Hawaiian organizations. This section also clarifies that heads
of other federal agencies, including the Secretaries of
Commerce, Transportation, Agriculture, Health and Human
Services, and Labor, may also make grants to and enter into
agreements with Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and Native
Hawaiian organizations to carry out the purposes of the NATIVE
Act. This section also authorizes appropriations in the amount
of $35 million to implement the grant program for fiscal years
2023 through 2027.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
March 27, 2023.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. 385 would authorize the appropriation of $35 million
over the 2023 through 2027 period to carry out a grant program
to support Native American tourism. Under the bill, the Bureau
of Indian Affairs, the Office of Native Hawaiian Relations, and
other federal agencies would award grants to Indian tribes,
tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations.
For this estimate, CBO assumes that the bill will be
enacted before the end of fiscal year 2023 and that the
authorized amount will be provided in 2023. Based on spending
patterns for similar programs, CBO estimates that implementing
S. 385 would cost $35 million over the 2023-2028 period,
assuming appropriation of the authorized amount.
The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall
within budget function 450 (community and regional
development).
TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION UNDER S. 385
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By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
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2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2023-2028
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Authorizationa................................. 35 0 0 0 0 0 35
Estimated Outlays.............................. * 15 9 6 3 2 35
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* = between zero and $500,000.
aThe bill would authorize the appropriation of $35 million over the 2023-2027 period but does not specify
amounts for specific years. For this estimate, CBO has placed the entire authorized amount in 2023.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Julia Aman. The
estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director
of Budget Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director, Congressional Budget Office.
REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT
Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the
Senate requires each report accompanying a bill to evaluate the
regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in
carrying out the bill. The Committee believes that S. 385 will
have minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The Committee has received no communications from the
Executive Branch regarding S. 385.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
On February 9, 2023 the Committee unanimously approved a
motion to waive subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing
Rules of the Senate. In the opinion of the Committee, it is
necessary to dispense with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate to expedite the business of the
Senate.
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