In the House of Representatives, U. S.,
December 3, 2020.
Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 212) entitled “An Act to amend the Native American Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000, the Buy Indian Act, and the Native American Programs Act of 1974 to provide industry and economic development opportunities to Indian communities.”, do pass with the following
AMENDMENT:
This Act may be cited as the “Indian Community Economic Enhancement Act of 2020”.
Congress finds that—
(1) (A) to bring industry and economic development to Indian communities, Indian Tribes must overcome a number of barriers, including—
(4) the input of Indian Tribes in developing Federal policy and programs leads to more meaningful and effective measures to assist Indian Tribes and Indian entrepreneurs in building Tribal economies;
(6) (A) Federal capital improvement programs, such as those that facilitate tax-exempt bond financing and loan guarantees, are tools that help improve or replace crumbling infrastructure;
(B) lack of parity in treatment of an Indian Tribe as a governmental entity under Federal tax and certain other regulatory laws impedes, in part, the ability of Indian Tribes to raise capital through issuance of tax exempt debt, invest as an accredited investor, and benefit from other investment incentives accorded to State and local governmental entities; and
(7) there are a number of Federal loan guarantee programs available to facilitate financing of business, energy, economic, housing, and community development projects in Indian communities, and those programs may support public-private partnerships for infrastructure development, but improvements and support are needed for those programs specific to Indian communities to facilitate more effectively private financing for infrastructure and other urgent development needs; and
SEC. 3. Native American Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000.
(a) Findings; purposes.—Section 2 of the Native American Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4301) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(c) Applicability to Indian-Owned businesses.—The findings and purposes in subsections (a) and (b) shall apply to any Indian-owned business governed—
“(2) pursuant to section 5 of the Act of August 15, 1876 (19 Stat. 200, chapter 289; 25 U.S.C. 261).”.
(b) Definitions.—Section 3 of the Native American Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4302) is amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (6) and paragraphs (7) through (9), as paragraphs (2) through (7) and paragraphs (9) through (11), respectively;
(c) Office of Native American Business Development.—Section 4 of the Native American Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4303) is amended—
(2) by adding at the end the following:
“(c) Duties of Director.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall serve as—
(d) Indian community development initiatives.—The Native American Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 is amended—
(1) by redesignating section 8 (25 U.S.C. 4307) as section 10; and
(2) by inserting after section 7 (25 U.S.C. 4306) the following:
“SEC. 8. Indian community development initiatives.
“(a) Interagency coordination.—Not later than 1 year after the enactment of this section, the Secretary, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of the Treasury shall coordinate—
“(1) to develop initiatives that—
“(A) encourage, promote, and provide education regarding investments in Indian communities through—
“(i) the loan guarantee program of Bureau of Indian Affairs under section 201 of the Indian Financing Act of 1974 (25 U.S.C. 1481);
“(ii) programs carried out using amounts in the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund established under section 104(a) of the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4703(a)); and
“(2) to consult with Indian Tribes and with the Securities and Exchange Commission to study, and collaborate to establish, regulatory changes necessary to qualify an Indian Tribe as an accredited investor for the purposes of sections 230.500 through 230.508 of title 17, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), consistent with the goals of promoting capital formation and ensuring qualifying Indian Tribes have the ability to withstand investment loss, on a basis comparable to other legal entities that qualify as accredited investors who are not natural persons;
“(3) to identify regulatory, legal, or other barriers to increasing investment, business, and economic development, including qualifying or approving collateral structures, measurements of economic strength, and contributions of Indian economies in Indian communities through the Authority established under section 4 of the Indian Tribal Regulatory Reform and Business Development Act of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4301 note);
“(4) to ensure consultation with Indian Tribes regarding increasing investment in Indian communities and the development of the report required in paragraph (5); and
“(5) not less than once every 2 years, to provide a report to Congress regarding—
“(A) improvements to Indian communities resulting from such initiatives and recommendations for promoting sustained growth of the Tribal economies;
“(b) Waiver.—For assistance provided pursuant to section 108 of the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4707) to benefit Native Community Development Financial Institutions, as defined by the Secretary of the Treasury, section 108(e) of such Act shall not apply.
“(c) Indian economic development feasibility study.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—The Government Accountability Office shall conduct a study and, not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this subsection, submit to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report on the findings of the study and recommendations.
“(2) CONTENTS.—The study shall include an assessment of each of the following:
“(A) IN GENERAL.—The study shall assess current Federal capitalization and related programs and services that are available to assist Indian communities with business and economic development, including manufacturing, physical infrastructure (such as telecommunications and broadband), community development, and facilities construction for such purposes. For each of the Federal programs and services identified, the study shall assess the current use and demand by Indian Tribes, individuals, businesses, and communities of the programs, the capital needs of Indian Tribes, businesses, and communities related to economic development, the extent to which the programs and services overlap or are duplicative, and the extent that similar programs have been used to assist non-Indian communities compared to the extent used for Indian communities.
“(B) FINANCING ASSISTANCE.—The study shall assess and quantify the extent of assistance provided to non-Indian borrowers and to Indian (both Tribal and individual) borrowers (including information about such assistance as a percentage of need for Indian borrowers and for non-Indian borrowers, assistance to Indian borrowers and to non-Indian borrowers as a percentage of total applicants, and such assistance to Indian borrowers as individuals as compared to such assistance to Indian Tribes) through the loan programs, the loan guarantee programs, or bond guarantee programs of the—
(e) Conforming and technical amendments.—The Native American Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4301 et seq.) is amended—
Section 23 of the Act of June 25, 1910 (commonly known as the “Buy Indian Act”) (36 Stat. 861, chapter 431; 25 U.S.C. 47), is amended to read as follows:
“SEC. 23. Employment of Indian labor and purchase of products of Indian industry; participation in Mentor-Protege Program.
“(a) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) INDIAN ECONOMIC ENTERPRISE.—The term ‘Indian economic enterprise’ has the meaning given the term in section 1480.201 of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations).
“(2) MENTOR FIRM; PROTEGE FIRM.—The terms ‘mentor firm’ and ‘protege firm’ have the meanings given those terms in section 831(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 (10 U.S.C. 2302 note; Public Law 101–510).
“(b) Enterprise development.—
“(2) MENTOR-PROTEGE PROGRAM.—
“(A) IN GENERAL.—Participation in the Mentor-Protege Program established under section 831(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 (10 U.S.C. 2302 note; Public Law 101–510) or receipt of assistance under a developmental assistance agreement under that program shall not render any individual or entity involved in the provision of Indian labor or an Indian industry product ineligible to receive assistance under this section.
“(B) TREATMENT.—For purposes of this section, no determination of affiliation or control (whether direct or indirect) may be found between a protege firm and a mentor firm on the basis that the mentor firm has provided, or agreed to provide, to the protege firm, pursuant to a mentor-protege agreement, any form of developmental assistance described in section 831(f) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 (10 U.S.C. 2302 note; Public Law 101–510).
“(c) Implementation.—In carrying out this section, the Secretaries shall—
“(3) promulgate regulations in accordance with this section and with the regulations under part 1480 of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), to harmonize the procurement procedures of the Department of the Interior and the Department of Health and Human Services, to the maximum extent practicable;
“(4) require regional offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service to aggregate data regarding compliance with this section;
“(d) Report.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, and not less frequently than once every 2 years thereafter, each of the Secretaries shall submit to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report describing, during the period covered by the report, the implementation of this section by each of the respective Secretaries.
“(2) CONTENTS.—Each report under this subsection shall include, for each fiscal year during the period covered by the report—
“(A) the names of each agency under the respective jurisdiction of each of the Secretaries to which this section has been applied, and efforts made by additional agencies within the Secretaries' respective Departments to use the procurement procedures under this Act;
“(B) a summary of the types of purchases made from, and contracts (including any relevant modifications, extensions, or renewals) awarded to, Indian economic enterprises, expressed by agency region;
“(C) a description of the percentage increase or decrease in total dollar value and number of purchases and awards made within each agency region, as compared to the totals of the region for the preceding fiscal year;
“(D) a description of the methods used by applicable contracting officers and employees to conduct market searches to identify qualified Indian economic enterprises;
“(E) a summary of all deviations granted under section 1480.403 of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), including a description of—
“(F) a summary of all determinations made to provide awards to Indian economic enterprises, including a description of the dollar value of the awards;
“(G) a description or summary of the total number and value of all purchases of, and contracts awarded for, supplies, services, and construction (including the percentage increase or decrease, as compared to the preceding fiscal year) from—
“(H) any administrative, procedural, legal, or other barriers to achieving the purposes of this section, together with recommendations for legislative or administrative actions to address those barriers; and
SEC. 5. Native American Programs Act of 1974.
(a) Financial assistance for Native American projects.—Section 803 of the Native American Programs Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 2991b) is amended—
(2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
“(b) Economic development.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner may provide assistance under subsection (a) for projects relating to the purposes of this title to a Native community development financial institution, as defined by the Secretary of the Treasury.
“(2) PRIORITY.—With regard to not less than 50 percent of the total amount available for assistance under this section, the Commissioner shall give priority to any application seeking assistance for—
“(A) the development of a Tribal code or court system for purposes of economic development, including commercial codes, training for court personnel, regulation pursuant to section 5 of the Act of August 15, 1876 (19 Stat. 200, chapter 289; 25 U.S.C. 261), and the development of nonprofit subsidiaries or other Tribal business structures;
(b) Technical assistance and training.—Section 804 of the Native American Programs Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 2991c) is amended—
(c) Authorization of appropriations.—Section 816 of the Native American Programs Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 2992d) is amended—
(d) Conforming and technical amendments.—The Native American Programs Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 2991 et seq.) is amended—
Attest:
Clerk.
| |||||
AMENDMENT | |||||