H.R. 4506 — what changed

changed This title may be cited as the “Indian Community Economic Enhancement Act of 2017”.2018”.

added “(c) Applicability to Indian-Owned businesses—The findings and purposes in subsections (a) and (b) shall apply to any Indian-owned business governed—

added “(1) by tribal laws regulating trade or commerce on Indian lands; or

added “(2) pursuant to section 5 of the Act of August 15, 1876 (19 Stat. 200, chapter 289; 25 U.S.C. 261).”

added “(1) Director—The term Director means the Director of Native American Business Development appointed pursuant to section 4(a)(2).”

added “(8) Office—The term Office means the Office of Native American Business Development established by section 4(a)(1).”

removed Congress finds that—

added “(c) Duties of Director

added “(1) In general—The Director shall serve as—

added “(A) the program and policy advisor to the Secretary with respect to the trust and governmental relationship between the United States and Indian tribes; and

added “(B) the point of contact for Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Indians regarding—

added “(i) policies and programs of the Department of Commerce; and

added “(ii) other matters relating to economic development and doing business in Indian lands.

added “(2) Departmental coordination—The Director shall coordinate with all offices and agencies within the Department of Commerce to ensure that each office and agency has an accountable process to ensure—

added “(A) meaningful and timely coordination and assistance, as required by this Act; and

added “(B) consultation with Indian tribes regarding the policies, programs, assistance, and activities of the offices and agencies.”

added “8. Indian community development initiatives

added “(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—

added “(1) to develop initiatives that—

added “(A) encourage, promote, and provide education regarding investments in Indian communities through—

added “(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);

added “(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

added “(iii) other capital development programs;

added “(B) examine and develop alternatives that would qualify as collateral for financing in Indian communities; and

added “(C) provide entrepreneur and other training relating to economic development through tribally controlled colleges and universities and other Indian organizations with experience in providing such training;

added “(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;

added “(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);

added “(4) to ensure consultation with Indian tribes regarding increasing investment in Indian communities and the development of the report required in paragraph (5); and

added “(5) to provide a report to Congress regarding improvements to Indian communities resulting from such initiatives and recommendations for promoting sustained growth of the tribal economies.

added “(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.

added “(c) Indian economic development feasibility study

added “(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.

added “(2) Contents—The study shall include an assessment of each of the following:

added “(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, and the extent that similar programs have been used to assist non-Indian communities compared to the extent used for Indian communities.

added “(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—

added “(i) Department of the Interior;

added “(ii) Department of Agriculture;

added “(iii) Department of Housing and Urban Development;

added “(iv) Department of Energy;

added “(v) Small Business Administration; and

added “(vi) Community Development Financial Institutions Fund of the Department of the Treasury.

added “(C) Tax incentives—The study shall assess and quantify the extent of the assistance and allocations afforded for non-Indian projects and for Indian projects pursuant to each of the following tax incentive programs:

added “(i) New market tax credit.

added “(ii) Low income housing tax credit.

added “(iii) Investment tax credit.

added “(iv) Renewable energy tax incentives.

added “(v) Accelerated depreciation.

added “(D) Tribal investment incentive—The study shall assess various alternative incentives that could be provided to enable and encourage tribal governments to invest in an Indian community development investment fund or bank.”

added 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:

added “23. Employment of Indian labor and purchase of products of Indian industry; participation in Mentor-Protege Program

added “(a) Definitions—In this section:

added “(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).

added “(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).

added “(3) Secretaries—The term Secretaries means—

added “(A) the Secretary of the Interior; and

added “(B) the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

added “(b) Enterprise development

added “(1) In general—Unless determined by one of the Secretaries to be impracticable and unreasonable—

added “(A) Indian labor shall be employed; and

added “(B) purchases of Indian industry products (including printing and facilities construction, notwithstanding any other provision of law) may be made in open market by the Secretaries.

added “(2) Mentor-Protege Program

added “(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.

added “(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).

added “(c) Implementation—In carrying out this section, the Secretaries shall—

added “(1) conduct outreach to Indian industrial entities;

added “(2) provide training;

added “(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; and

added “(4) require procurement management reviews by their respective Departments to include a review of the implementation of this section.”

removed “(c) Applicability to Indian-Owned businesses—The findings and purposes in subsections (a) and (b) shall apply to any Indian-owned business governed—

removed “(1) by tribal laws regulating trade or commerce on Indian lands; or

removed “(2) pursuant to section 5 of the Act of August 15, 1876 (19 Stat. 200, chapter 289; 25 U.S.C. 261).”

removed “(1) Director—The term Director means the Director of Native American Business Development appointed pursuant to section 4(a)(2).”

removed “(8) Office—The term Office means the Office of Native American Business Development established by section 4(a)(1).”

removed “(c) Duties of Director

removed “(1) In general—The Director shall serve as—

removed “(A) the program and policy advisor to the Secretary with respect to the trust and governmental relationship between the United States and Indian tribes; and

removed “(B) the point of contact for Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Indians regarding—

removed “(i) policies and programs of the Department of Commerce; and

removed “(ii) other matters relating to economic development and doing business in Indian lands.

removed “(2) Departmental coordination—The Director shall coordinate with all offices and agencies within the Department of Commerce to ensure that each office and agency has an accountable process to ensure—

removed “(A) meaningful and timely coordination and assistance, as required by this Act; and

removed “(B) consultation with Indian tribes regarding the policies, programs, assistance, and activities of the offices and agencies.

removed “(3) Office operations—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section not more than $2,000,000 for each fiscal year.”

removed “8. Indian community development initiatives

removed “(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—

removed “(1) to develop initiatives that—

removed “(A) encourage, promote, and provide education regarding investments in Indian communities through—

removed “(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);

removed “(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

removed “(iii) other capital development programs;

removed “(B) examine and develop alternatives that would qualify as collateral for financing in Indian communities; and

removed “(C) provide entrepreneur and other training relating to economic development through tribally controlled colleges and universities and other Indian organizations with experience in providing such training;

removed “(2) to consult with Indian tribes and with the Securities and Exchange Commission to determine, and collaborate to establish, statutory or 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);

removed “(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);

removed “(4) to ensure consultation with Indian tribes regarding increasing investment in Indian communities and the development of the report required in paragraph (5); and

removed “(5) not less than once every 3 years, to provide a report to Congress regarding improvements to Indian communities resulting from such initiatives and recommendations for promoting sustained growth of the tribal economies.

removed “(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.

removed “(c) Indian economic development feasibility study

removed “(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.

removed “(2) Contents—The study shall include an assessment of each of the following:

removed “(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, and the extent that similar programs have been used to assist non-Indian communities compared to the extent used for Indian communities.

removed “(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 through the loan programs, the loan guarantee programs, or bond guarantee programs of the—

removed “(i) Department of the Interior;

removed “(ii) Department of Agriculture;

removed “(iii) Department of Housing and Urban Development;

removed “(iv) Department of Energy;

removed “(v) Small Business Administration; and

removed “(vi) Community Development Financial Institutions Fund of the Department of the Treasury.

removed “(C) Tax incentives—The study shall assess and quantify the extent of the assistance and allocations afforded for non-Indian projects and for Indian projects pursuant to each of the following tax incentive programs:

removed “(i) New market tax credit.

removed “(ii) Low income housing tax credit.

removed “(iii) Investment tax credit.

removed “(iv) Renewable energy tax incentives.

removed “(v) Accelerated depreciation.

removed “(D) Tribal investment incentive—The study shall assess various alternative incentives that could be provided to enable and encourage tribal governments to invest in an Indian community development investment fund or bank.”

added “(b) Economic development

added “(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.

added “(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—

added “(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;

added “(B) the development of a community development financial institution, including training and administrative expenses; or

added “(C) the development of a tribal master plan for community and economic development and infrastructure.”

added “(a) In general—The Commissioner”

added “(b) Priority—In providing assistance under subsection (a), the Commissioner shall give priority to any application described in section 803(b)(2).”

removed 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:

removed “23. Employment of Indian labor and purchase of products of Indian industry; participation in Mentor-Protege Program

removed “(a) Definitions—In this section:

removed “(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).

removed “(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).

removed “(3) Secretaries—The term Secretaries means—

removed “(A) the Secretary of the Interior; and

removed “(B) the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

removed “(b) Enterprise development

removed “(1) In general—Unless determined by one of the Secretaries to be impracticable and unreasonable—

removed “(A) Indian labor shall be employed; and

removed “(B) purchases of Indian industry products (including printing and facilities construction, notwithstanding any other provision of law) may be made in open market by the Secretaries.

removed “(2) Mentor-Protege Program

removed “(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.

removed “(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).

removed “(c) Implementation—In carrying out this section, the Secretaries shall—

removed “(1) conduct outreach to Indian industrial entities;

removed “(2) provide training;

removed “(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;

removed “(4) require regional offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service to aggregate data regarding compliance with this section;

removed “(5) require procurement management reviews by their respective Departments to include a review of the implementation of this section; and

removed “(6) consult with Indian tribes, Indian industrial entities, and other stakeholders regarding methods to facilitate compliance with—

removed “(A) this section; and

removed “(B) other small business or procurement goals.

removed “(d) Report

removed “(1) In general—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subsection, 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.

removed “(2) Contents—Each report under this subsection shall include, for each fiscal year during the period covered by the report—

removed “(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;

removed “(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;

removed “(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;

removed “(D) a description of the methods used by applicable contracting officers and employees to conduct market searches to identify qualified Indian economic enterprises;

removed “(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—

removed “(i) the types of alternative procurement methods used, including any Indian owned businesses reported under other procurement goals; and

removed “(ii) the dollar value of any awards made pursuant to those deviations;

removed “(F) a summary of all determinations made to provide awards to Indian economic enterprises, including a description of the dollar value of the awards;

removed “(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—

removed “(i) Indian economic enterprises; and

removed “(ii) non-Indian economic enterprises; and

removed “(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.

removed “(e) Goals—Each agency shall establish an annual minimum percentage goal for procurement in compliance with this section.”

changed Congress finds that—In this title:

removed In this title:

added The Secretary shall facilitate the establishment of relationships between eligible applicants receiving funds through the program and educational institutions serving Native American communities, including tribal colleges and universities.

changed Not later than 180 days after The Secretary shall coordinate with the date Secretary of enactment Agriculture, the Secretary of this title, Commerce, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations of the Treasury, and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to implement ensure, to the program.maximum extent practicable, that business incubators receiving grant funds under the program have the information and materials needed to provide Native businesses and Native entrepreneurs with the information and assistance necessary to apply for business and entrepreneurial development programs administered by the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Treasury, and the Small Business Administration.