[Senate Report 118-9]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                    Calendar No. 34

118th Congress}                                            { Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session  }                                            { 118-9

======================================================================
 
 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                          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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
                                                ----------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   2023     2024     2025     2026     2027     2028   2023-2028
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Authorizationa.................................       35        0        0        0        0        0        35
Estimated Outlays..............................        *       15        9        6        3        2        35
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* = 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.

                                  [all]