[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 77 (Friday, April 19, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28748-28749]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08414]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Minority Business Development Agency

[Docket No.: 240229-0064]


Minority Business Development Agency's Request for Public Comment 
and Notice of Tribal Consultation Meetings

AGENCY: Minority Business Development Agency, Department of Commerce

ACTION: Notice of meeting and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) plans to 
establish a period for the submission and acceptance of written 
comments from the public through Sunday, June 16, 2024 and conduct 
virtual Tribal consultation meetings on Friday, May 17, 2024.

DATES: The Tribal consultation meetings will be held virtually on 
Friday, May 17, 2024. Additional information regarding the consultation 
meetings will be posted on MBDA's website at https://www.mbda.gov/tribalconsult2024. The Tribal consultation meetings will be recorded 
and transcribed so that MBDA can retain valuable input and feedback.

ADDRESSES: Please submit all comments in response to the questions 
presented in this notice at www.regualtions.gov. To access the docket 
where comments may be submitted, please enter ``DOC-2024-0003'' in the 
search bar. Written comments must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. 
EDT, June 16, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Curtis Doster, Jr., Associate 
Director, Office of Legislative, Education and Intergovernmental 
Affairs, Minority Business Development Agency, at (202) 482-2332; or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Pursuant to Executive Order 13175, ``Consultation and Coordination 
with Indian Tribal Governments,'' the Federal government has 
established a practice of conducting consultations with Tribal 
governments that are designed to provide ``regular and meaningful 
consultation and collaboration with Tribal officials in the development 
of Federal policies that have Tribal implications[.]'' The requirements 
under E.O. 13175 are currently implemented by the United States 
Department of Commerce under Department Administrative Order (DAO) 218-
8, effective April 26, 2012. The Department of Commerce further sets 
out its policy in the Tribal Consultation Policy of the U.S. Department 
of Commerce, available at: https://www.commerce.gov/files/tribal-consultation-and-coordination-policy-us-department-commerce. The U.S. 
Government has additionally reiterated its commitment to improving 
accountable consultation processes in Executive Order 14112, 
``Reforming Federal Funding and Support for Tribal Nations to Better 
Embrace Our Trust Responsibilities and Promote the Next Era of Tribal 
Self-Determination,'' the Presidential Memorandum of November 30, 2022 
(Uniform Standards for Tribal Consultation), and the Presidential 
Memorandum of January 26, 2021 (Tribal Consultation and Strengthening 
Nation-to-Nation Relationships).
    MBDA's Office of Legislative, Education, and Intergovernmental 
Affairs (OLEIA) serves as the focal point for Tribal consultation on 
policy, regulatory and legislative issues that will have a direct 
impact on American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian (AIANNH) 
communities. The Tribal consultation meetings will be conducted in 
conjunction with MBDA's Office of Business Centers, Office of Data, 
Research and Evaluation and Office of Grants Management which document 
evidence and design and manage business development services, including 
services that may be of interest to Native American, Alaska Native and 
Native Hawaiian entrepreneurs and Tribe-owned businesses. Outreach 
specific to the AIANNH populations is one part of the overall efforts 
of MBDA to ensure members of Native communities are able to learn about 
and access programs and services.
    MBDA is the only Federal agency created specifically to foster the 
growth and global competitiveness of minority business enterprises 
(MBEs). MBDA actively promotes the growth and expansion of MBEs by 
offering management and technical assistance, including through a 
nationwide network of AIANNH projects.
    AIANNH projects address strategic initiatives that may include 
innovation and entrepreneurship (e.g., business training, access to 
capital, incubators, accelerators, Federal program coaching); strategic 
planning (e.g., fostering, developing and/or implementing 
entrepreneurial and economic development); and transformative projects 
(e.g., support for MBEs involved in infrastructure focused public-
private partnerships, and broadband).

[[Page 28749]]

    MBDA awarded thirteen AIANNH projects during the 2021 competition 
cycle under funding opportunity number MBDA-OBD-2021-2006916. MBDA 
designated at least one award in each of these service locations: (1) 
Alaska; (2) California; (3) Northwest Area (Idaho, Oregon and 
Washington); (4) Rocky Mountain Area (Montana and Wyoming); (5) Western 
Area (Arizona, Nevada, and Utah); (6) Southwest Area (Colorado and New 
Mexico); (7) Great Plains Area (Nebraska, North Dakota and South 
Dakota); (8) Southern Plains Area (Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas); (9) 
Midwest Area (Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin); (10) Eastern 
Area (Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, 
Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, 
Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, 
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, 
Virginia, West Virginia); and (11) Hawaii.
    The AIANNH project cycle spanned from September 2021 through August 
2023 and was extended through August 2024. The one-year extension 
allowed MBDA to conduct an analysis of current AIANNH projects, 
outcomes, and impact and to obtain public feedback through Tribal 
consultation and open comment period for future program design. The 
current AIANNH project awards will expire in August 2024.

II. Consultation Meetings

    The purpose of the consultation meetings is, consistent with E.O. 
13175 and DAO 218-8, to provide an accountable and transparent process 
that ensures meaningful and timely input from Tribal officials 
regarding MBDA's business development and entrepreneurial services in 
Indian Country, Alaska, and Hawaii and the implications that these 
programs have in these communities. The consultation meetings are 
closed to the public.

III. Questions for Public Comment

    Members of the general public are invited to submit responses to 
the following questions. Please provide comments on any or all of the 
following issues and identify the specific AIANNH community addressed 
by these comments:
    1. What is the primary challenge (or top three challenges) 
businesses encounter in AIANNH communities? What solutions do you think 
would help to address the challenge(s)?
    2. What are some best practices that you have seen implemented that 
positively address the business challenges experienced by your AIANNH 
community through self-funded and/or externally funded programs (e.g., 
Federal, State, local government, foundations, etc.)?
    3. If you have direct or indirect experience with a MBDA AIANNH 
project, please provide your thoughts on which services and activities 
were most beneficial and which could have been more effective.
    For comments to be considered, they must include the following 
identification of the commenter: name; title (if applicable); Tribe, 
Alaska Native Corporation, or native community (if applicable); 
organization or business (if applicable); city and state; and they must 
be submitted in written form at www.regulations.gov. To access the 
docket where comments may be submitted, please enter ``DOC-2024-0003'' 
in the search bar. Comments must be received no later than 11:59 p.m., 
EDT, Sunday, June 16, 2024.

    Dated: April 16, 2024.
Eric Morrissette,
Acting Under Secretary, Minority Business Development Agency, U.S. 
Department of Commerce.
[FR Doc. 2024-08414 Filed 4-17-24; 11:15 am]
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