Indian Community Economic Enhancement Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1937 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. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 27, 2019 Mrs. TORRES of California (for herself and Ms. HAALAND) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL 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 op- portunities to Indian communities. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Indian Community 4 Economic Enhancement Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:34 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1937.IH H1937 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1937 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds that— 2 (1)(A) to bring industry and economic develop- 3 ment to Indian communities, Indian Tribes must 4 overcome a number of barriers, including— 5 (i) geographical location; 6 (ii) lack of infrastructure or capacity; 7 (iii) lack of sufficient collateral and capital; 8 and 9 (iv) regulatory bureaucracy relating to— 10 (I) development; and 11 (II) access to services provided by the 12 Federal Government; and 13 (B) the barriers described in subparagraph (A) 14 often add to the cost of doing business in Indian 15 communities; 16 (2) Indian Tribes— 17 (A) enact laws and exercise sovereign gov- 18 ernmental powers; 19 (B) determine policy for the benefit of 20 Tribal members; and 21 (C) produce goods and services for con- 22 sumers; 23 (3) the Federal Government has— 24 (A) an important government-to-govern- 25 ment relationship with Indian Tribes; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:34 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1937.IH H1937 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1937 IH (B) a role in facilitating healthy and sus- 1 tainable Tribal economies; 2 (4) the input of Indian Tribes in developing 3 Federal policy and programs leads to more meaning- 4 ful and effective measures to assist Indian Tribes 5 and Indian entrepreneurs in building Tribal econo- 6 mies; 7 (5)(A) many components of Tribal infrastruc- 8 ture need significant repair or replacement; and 9 (B) access to private capital for projects in In- 10 dian communities— 11 (i) may not be available; or 12 (ii) may come at a higher cost than such 13 access for other projects; 14 (6)(A) Federal capital improvement programs, 15 such as those that facilitate tax-exempt bond financ- 16 ing and loan guarantees, are tools that help improve 17 or replace crumbling infrastructure; 18 (B) lack of parity in treatment of an Indian 19 Tribe as a governmental entity under Federal tax 20 and certain other regulatory laws impedes, in part, 21 the ability of Indian Tribes to raise capital through 22 issuance of tax exempt debt, invest as an accredited 23 investor, and benefit from other investment incen- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:34 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1937.IH H1937 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1937 IH tives accorded to State and local governmental enti- 1 ties; and 2 (C) as a result of the disparity in treatment of 3 Indian Tribes described in subparagraph (B), inves- 4 tors may avoid financing, or demand a premium to 5 finance, projects in Indian communities, making the 6 projects more costly or inaccessible; 7 (7) there are a number of Federal loan guar- 8 antee programs available to facilitate financing of 9 business, energy, economic, housing, and community 10 development projects in Indian communities, and 11 those programs may support public-private partner- 12 ships for infrastructure development, but improve- 13 ments and support are needed for those programs 14 specific to Indian communities to facilitate more ef- 15 fectively private financing for infrastructure and 16 other urgent development needs; and 17 (8)(A) most real property held by Indian Tribes 18 is trust or restricted land that essentially cannot be 19 held as collateral; and 20 (B) while creative solutions, such as leasehold 21 mortgages, have been developed in response to the 22 problem identified in subparagraph (A), some solu- 23 tions remain subject to review and approval by the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:34 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1937.IH H1937 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1937 IH Bureau of Indian Affairs, adding additional costs 1 and delay to Tribal projects. 2 SEC. 3. NATIVE AMERICAN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, 3 TRADE PROMOTION, AND TOURISM ACT OF 4 2000. 5 (a) FINDINGS; PURPOSES.—Section 2 of the Native 6 American Business Development, Trade Promotion, and 7 Tourism Act of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4301) is amended by 8 adding at the end the following: 9 ‘‘(c) APPLICABILITY TO INDIAN-OWNED BUSI- 10 NESSES.—The findings and purposes in subsections (a) 11 and (b) shall apply to any Indian-owned business gov- 12 erned— 13 ‘‘(1) by Tribal laws regulating trade or com- 14 merce on Indian lands; or 15 ‘‘(2) pursuant to section 5 of the Act of August 16 15, 1876 (19 Stat. 200, chapter 289; 25 U.S.C. 17 261).’’. 18 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 of the Native American 19 Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism 20 Act of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4302) is amended— 21 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 22 (6) and paragraphs (7) through (9), as paragraphs 23 (2) through (7) and paragraphs (9) through (11), 24 respectively; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:34 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1937.IH H1937 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1937 IH (2) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as redes- 1 ignated by paragraph (1)) the following: 2 ‘‘(1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 3 the Director of Native American Business Develop- 4 ment appointed pursuant to section 4(a)(2).’’; and 5 (3) by inserting after paragraph (7) (as redesig- 6 nated by paragraph (1)) the following: 7 ‘‘(8) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means the Of- 8 fice of Native American Business Development es- 9 tablished by section 4(a)(1).’’. 10 (c) OFFICE OF NATIVE AMERICAN BUSINESS DEVEL- 11 OPMENT.—Section 4 of the Native American Business De- 12 velopment, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 13 (25 U.S.C. 4303) is amended— 14 (1) in subsection (a)— 15 (A) in paragraph (1)— 16 (i) by striking ‘‘Department of Com- 17 merce’’ and inserting ‘‘Office of the Sec- 18 retary’’; and 19 (ii) by striking ‘‘(referred to in this 20 Act as the ‘Office’)’’; and 21 (B) in paragraph (2), in the first sentence, 22 by striking ‘‘(referred to in this Act as the ‘Di- 23 rector’)’’; and 24 (2) by adding at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:34 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1937.IH H1937 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1937 IH ‘‘(c) DUTIES OF DIRECTOR.— 1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall serve 2 as— 3 ‘‘(A) the program and policy advisor to the 4 Secretary with respect to the trust and govern- 5 mental relationship between the United States 6 and Indian Tribes; and 7 ‘‘(B) the point of contact for Indian 8 Tribes, Tribal organizations, and Indians re- 9 garding— 10 ‘‘(i) policies and programs of the De- 11 partment of Commerce; and 12 ‘‘(ii) other matters relating to eco- 13 nomic development and doing business in 14 Indian lands. 15 ‘‘(2) DEPARTMENTAL COORDINATION.—The Di- 16 rector shall coordinate with all offices and agencies 17 within the Department of Commerce to ensure that 18 each office and agency has an accountable process to 19 ensure— 20 ‘‘(A) meaningful and timely coordination 21 and assistance, as required by this Act; and 22 ‘‘(B) consultation with Indian Tribes re- 23 garding the policies, programs, assistance, and 24 activities of the offices and agencies. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:34 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1937.IH H1937 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1937 IH ‘‘(3) OFFICE OPERATIONS.—There are author- 1 ized to be appropriated to carry out this section not 2 more than $2,000,000 for each fiscal year.’’. 3 (d) INDIAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INITIA- 4 TIVES.—The Native American Business Development, 5 Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 is amended— 6 (1) by redesignating section 8 (25 U.S.C. 4307) 7 as section 10; and 8 (2) by inserting after section 7 (25 U.S.C. 9 4306) the following: 10 ‘‘SEC. 8. INDIAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES. 11 ‘‘(a) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—Not later than 12 1 year after the enactment of this section, the Secretary, 13 the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of the 14 Treasury shall coordinate— 15 ‘‘(1) to develop initiatives that— 16 ‘‘(A) encourage, promote, and provide edu- 17 cation regarding investments in Indian commu- 18 nities through— 19 ‘‘(i) the loan guarantee program of 20 Bureau of Indian Affairs under section 21 201 of the Indian Financing Act of 1974 22 (25 U.S.C. 1481); 23 ‘‘(ii) programs carried out using 24 amounts in the Community Development 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:34 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1937.IH H1937 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1937 IH Financial Institutions Fund established 1 under section 104(a) of the Community 2 Development Banking and Financial Insti- 3 tutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4703(a)); 4 and 5 ‘‘(iii) other capital development pro- 6 grams; 7 ‘‘(B) examine and develop alternatives that 8 would qualify as collateral for financing in In- 9 dian communities; and 10 ‘‘(C) provide entrepreneur and other train- 11 ing relating to economic development through 12 tribally controlled colleges and universities and 13 other Indian organizations with experience in 14 providing such training; 15 ‘‘(2) to consult with Indian Tribes and with the 16 Securities and Exchange Commission to study, and 17 collaborate to establish, regulatory changes nec- 18 essary to qualify an Indian Tribe as an accredited 19 investor for the purposes of sections 230.500 20 through 230.508 of title 17, Code of Federal Regu- 21 lations (or successor regulations), consistent with the 22 goals of promoting capital formation and ensuring 23 qualifying Indian Tribes have the ability to with- 24 stand investment loss, on a basis comparable to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:34 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1937.IH H1937 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1937 IH other legal entities that qualify as accredited inves- 1 tors who are not natural persons; 2 ‘‘(3) to identify regulatory, legal, or other bar- 3 riers to increasing investment, business, and eco- 4 nomic development, including qualifying or approv- 5 ing collateral structures, measurements of economic 6 strength, and contributions of Indian economies in 7 Indian communities through the Authority estab- 8 lished under section 4 of the Indian Tribal Regu- 9 latory Reform and Business Development Act of 10 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4301 note); 11 ‘‘(4) to ensure consultation with Indian Tribes 12 regarding increasing investment in Indian commu- 13 nities and the development of the report required in 14 paragraph (5); and 15 ‘‘(5) not less than once every 2 years, to pro- 16 vide a report to Congress regarding— 17 ‘‘(A) improvements to Indian communities 18 resulting from such initiatives and rec- 19 ommendations for promoting sustained growth 20 of the Tribal economies; 21 ‘‘(B) results of the study and collaboration 22 regarding the necessary changes referenced in 23 paragraph (2) and the impact of allowing In- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:34 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1937.IH H1937 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1937 IH dian Tribes to qualify as an accredited investor; 1 and 2 ‘‘(C) the identified regulatory, legal, and 3 other barriers referenced in paragraph (3). 4 ‘‘(b) WAIVER.—For assistance provided pursuant to 5 section 108 of the Community Development Banking and 6 Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4707) to 7 benefit Native Community Development Financial Institu- 8 tions, as defined by the Secretary of the Treasury, section 9 108(e) of such Act shall not apply. 10 ‘‘(c) INDIAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FEASIBILITY 11 STUDY.— 12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Government Account- 13 ability Office shall conduct a study and, not later 14 than 18 months after the date of enactment of this 15 subsection, submit to the Committee on Indian Af- 16 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Natural 17 Resources of the House of Representatives a report 18 on the findings of the study and recommendations. 19 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The study shall include an 20 assessment of each of the following: 21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The study shall assess 22 current Federal capitalization and related pro- 23 grams and services that are available to assist 24 Indian communities with business and economic 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:34 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1937.IH H1937 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1937 IH development, including manufacturing, physical 1 infrastructure (such as telecommunications and 2 broadband), community development, and facili- 3 ties construction for such purposes. For each of 4 the Federal programs and services identified, 5 the study shall assess the current use and de- 6 mand by Indian Tribes, individuals, businesses, 7 and communities of the programs, the capital 8 needs of Indian Tribes, businesses, and commu- 9 nities related to economic development, and the 10 extent that similar programs have been used to 11 assist non-Indian communities compared to the 12 extent used for Indian communities. 13 ‘‘(B) FINANCING ASSISTANCE.—The study 14 shall assess and quantify the extent of assist- 15 ance provided to non-Indian borrowers and to 16 Indian (both Tribal and individual) borrowers 17 (including information about such assistance as 18 a percentage of need for Indian borrowers and 19 for non-Indian borrowers, assistance to Indian 20 borrowers and to non-Indian borrowers as a 21 percentage of total ap [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]