I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2507 

To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a demonstration program 

to adapt the lessons of providing foreign aid to underdeveloped economies 

to the provision of Federal economic development assistance to certain 

similarly situated individuals, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 19, 2009 

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska (for himself and Mr. ABERCROMBIE) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a demonstration program to adapt the lessons of providing 

foreign aid to underdeveloped economies to the provision 

of Federal economic development assistance to certain 

similarly situated individuals, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Native American Chal5 lenge Demonstration Project Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are— 


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1 (1) to adapt the lessons of foreign aid to under2 developed economies, such as the experience of the 

3 Millennium Challenge Corporation, to the provision 

4 of Federal economic development assistance to simi5 larly situated remote Native American communities; 

6 (2) to provide Federal economic development 

7 assistance for Native American communities through 

8 the Native American Challenge Demonstration 

9 Project; 

10 (3) to administer Federal economic development 

11 assistance in a manner that— 

12 (A) promotes economic growth and the 

13 elimination of poverty; and 

14 (B) strengthens good governance, entrepre15 neurship, and investment in Native American 

16 communities; 

17 (4) to improve the effectiveness of Federal eco18 nomic development assistance by encouraging the in19 tegration and coordination of the assistance in Na20 tive American communities; 

21 (5) to promote sustainable economic growth and 

22 poverty reduction policies in Native American com23 munities in a manner that promotes self-determina24 tion and self-sufficiency among remote Native AmerVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:46 May 21, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2507.IH H2507

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1 ican communities while preserving the cultural val2 ues of those communities; 

3 (6) to enhance the capacity of Alaska Native 

4 communities to meet the challenges posed by climate 

5 change and the effects of climate change on those 

6 communities; and 

7 (7) to establish a demonstration project that, if 

8 successful, may be broadly applied to other Native 

9 American communities in the United States. 

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) COMMITMENT TO DEVELOPMENT.—The 

13 term ‘‘commitment to development’’ means a com14 mitment to poverty reduction and economic growth, 

15 as demonstrated through activities for— 

16 (A) entrepreneurship and job creation; 

17 (B) an increase in worker productivity and 

18 innovation; or 

19 (C) the promotion of market forces and the 

20 private sector. 

21 (2) COMPACT.—The term ‘‘compact’’ means a 

22 binding agreement with the United States entered 

23 into pursuant to this Act. 


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1 (3) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY.—The 

2 term ‘‘economic development strategy’’ means a 

3 strategy— 

4 (A) written by an eligible entity and de5 signed to achieve sustainable economic growth 

6 and reduce poverty over a defined period; and 

7 (B) developed in consultation with public 

8 and private sector entities, as appropriate to 

9 the geographical area and intended beneficiaries 

10 of the compact. 

11 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘ eligible en12 tity’’ means— 

13 (A) in the State of Alaska, not more than 

14 2 regional Alaska Native nonprofit organiza15 tions, to be determined by the Secretary, in 

16 consultation with the Secretary of the Interior 

17 and the Alaska Federation of Natives, with pri18 ority given to organizations serving regions with 

19 high poverty levels; 

20 (B) in the State of Hawaii, a consortia of 

21 local Native Hawaiian community organiza22 tions, to be determined by the Secretary, in 

23 consultation with the Secretary of the Interior 

24 and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; and 


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1 (C) in the 48 contiguous States, not more 

2 than 3 organizations, to be determined by the 

3 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

4 the Interior, which may be Indian tribes, con5 sortia of Indian tribes, or nongovernmental en6 tities authorized by 1 or more Indian tribes. 

7 (5) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

8 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

9 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

10 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

11 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of Commerce. 

13 SEC. 4. NATIVE AMERICAN MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE DEM14 ONSTRATION PROJECT. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

16 and implement in the Department of Commerce a dem17 onstration project, to be known as the ‘‘Native American 

18 Millennium Challenge Demonstration Project’’ (referred 

19 to in this section as the ‘‘demonstration project’’). 

20 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.—In carrying 

21 out the demonstration project, the Secretary may provide 

22 assistance to any eligible entity that enters into a compact 

23 with the United States pursuant to this Act. 

24 (c) FORM OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance under the 

25 demonstration project— 


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1 (1) shall be provided in the form of funding 

2 agreements established under the applicable com3 pact; 

4 (2) may not be provided in the form of loans; 

5 and 

6 (3) may not be used for gaming activities cov7 ered by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 

8 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.). 

9 (d) COORDINATION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—To improve the effectiveness 

11 of Federal economic development assistance by en12 couraging the integration and coordination of that 

13 assistance in Indian communities, except as specifi14 cally prohibited by any other provision of law (in15 cluding regulations), the provision of assistance 

16 under this section may be coordinated with Federal 

17 economic development assistance provided for Indi18 ans by— 

19 (A) the Department of Agriculture; 

20 (B) the Department of Commerce; 

21 (C) the Department of Energy; 

22 (D) the Department of Health and Human 

23 Services; 

24 (E) the Department of Housing and Urban 

25 Development; 


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1 (F) the Department of the Interior; 

2 (G) the Small Business Administration; 

3 and 

4 (H) such other Federal agencies and in5 strumentalities as the Secretary determines to 

6 be appropriate. 

7 (2) INTEGRATED FUNDING.—On execution of a 

8 compact with an eligible entity, the Secretary, in co9 operation with the heads of other Federal depart10 ments and agencies and in accordance with para11 graph (1), may authorize the eligible entity to co12 ordinate the federally funded economic development 

13 assistance programs of the eligible entity in a man14 ner that integrates the program services into a sin15 gle, coordinated program. 

16 (e) PROGRAMS AFFECTED.—The programs that may 

17 be integrated under the demonstration project include any 

18 program— 

19 (1) under which an Indian tribe is eligible for 

20 receipt of funds under a statutory or administrative 

21 formula for economic development purposes; and 

22 (2) for which there is no specific statutory or 

23 regulatory prohibition preventing agency or depart24 mental participation. 


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1 (f) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—On receipt of an executed 

2 compact, the Secretary shall consult with the eligible enti3 ty that is a party to the compact and the Secretary of 

4 each Federal agency or department that provides funds 

5 to be used to implement the compact to identify any waiv6 er of statutory requirements or applicable regulations, 

7 policies, or procedures necessary to enable the eligible enti8 ty to implement the compact. 

9 SEC. 5. NATIVE AMERICAN CHALLENGE COMPACTS. 

10 (a) COMPACTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 

12 and recommend procedures for consideration of pro13 posals for compacts submitted by eligible entities. 

14 (2) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may provide 

15 assistance to an eligible entity only if the eligible en16 tity enters into a compact with the United States, to 

17 be known as a ‘‘Native American Challenge Com18 pact’’, that establishes a multiyear plan for achieving 

19 development objectives in furtherance of the pur20 poses of this Act. 

21 (b) APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary shall develop and 

22 recommend procedures for considering applications for 

23 compacts submitted by eligible entities. 

24 (c) CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF ELIGIBLE ENTI25 TIES.—The Secretary shall develop an application process 


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1 and criteria for selecting eligible entities to enter into com2 pacts under this Act, taking into consideration— 

3 (1) the purposes of this Act; 

4 (2) the economic development strategy of the el5 igible entity; 

6 (3) the remoteness of the community to be 

7 served by the eligible entity; 

8 (4) the general economic status of the commu9 nity to be served by the eligible entity; 

10 (5) the poverty rate of the community to be 

11 served by the eligible entity; 

12 (6) the service capacity of the eligible entity; 

13 and 

14 (7) the commitment to development of the com15 munity to be served by the eligible entity. 

16 (d) ASSISTANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF COM17 PACTS.—To the extent that funds are appropriated in ad18 vance to carry out this section, the Secretary may enter 

19 into contracts with, or make grants to, any eligible entity 

20 for the purposes of facilitating the development and imple21 mentation of a compact between the United States and 

22 the eligible entity. 

23 (e) DURATION AND EXTENSION.— 

24 (1) DURATION.—The term of an initial compact 

25 under this section shall not exceed 5 years. 


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1 (2) SUBSEQUENT COMPACTS.—An eligible enti2 ty and the United States may enter into 1 or more 

3 subsequent compacts in accordance with this Act. 

4 (3) EXTENSIONS.—If a compact is approaching 

5 expiration or has expired, the eligible entity that is 

6 a party to the compact and the United States may 

7 renegotiate or extend the compact for such number 

8 of terms as the parties may agree, with each term 

9 not to exceed 10 years. 

10 (f) ELEMENTS.—In furtherance of the economic de11 velopment strategy of the applicable eligible entity, each 

12 compact shall contain— 

13 (1) a description of the specific objectives for 

14 the sustainable economic development and reduction 

15 of poverty that the eligible entity and the United 

16 States expect to achieve during the term of the com17 pact; 

18 (2) a description of the respective roles and re19 sponsibilities of the eligible entity and the United 

20 States in the achievement of those objectives; 

21 (3) a list and description of regular benchmarks 

22 to measure progress toward achieving those objec23 tives; 


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1 (4) an identification of the intended bene2 ficiaries, disaggregated by income level, gender, and 

3 age, to the maximum extent practicable; and 

4 (5) a multiyear financial plan to guide the im5 plementation of the compact, including the estimated 

6 level of funding and other contributions by the 

7 United States and the eligible entity, proposed 

8 mechanisms to execute the plan, and periodic assess9 ments to determine whether the requirements of 

10 paragraphs (1) through (4) are being met. 

11 (g) SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION OF ASSIST12 ANCE.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may suspend 

14 or terminate assistance, in whole or in part, for an 

15 eligible entity that has entered into a compact with 

16 the United States if the Secretary determines that— 

17 (A) the eligible entity has failed to meet 

18 the responsibilities of the eligible entity under 

19 the compact; or 

20 (B) the eligible entity has engaged in a 

21 pattern of actions that is inconsistent with the 

22 purposes of this Act. 

23 (2) REINSTATEMENT.—The Secretary may re24 instate assistance for an eligible entity only if the 

25 Secretary determines that the eligible entity has 


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1 demonstrated a commitment to correcting each con2 dition for which assistance was suspended or termi3 nated under paragraph (1). 

4 SEC. 6. PROGRAM ASSESSMENTS AND REPORTS. 

5 (a) REPORTS OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Not later 

6 than March 15, 2010, and annually thereafter, each eligi7 ble entity shall prepare and submit to the Secretary a writ8 ten report describing the assistance provided to the eligible 

9 entity under this Act during the preceding fiscal year. 

10 (b) REPORT CONTENTS.—A report required under 

11 subsection (a) shall include— 

12 (1) a description of the amount of obligations 

13 and expenditures for assistance provided during the 

14 preceding fiscal year; 

15 (2) a description of the programs and activities 

16 conducted by the eligible entity in furtherance of the 

17 economic development strategy of the eligible entity 

18 and the purposes of this Act; 

19 (3) an assessment of the effectiveness of the as20 sistance provided and progress made by the eligible 

21 entity toward achieving the economic development 

22 strategy of the eligible entity and the purposes of 

23 this Act; and 


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1 (4) such other information as the eligible entity 

2 considers to be relevant, taking into consideration 

3 the purposes of this Act. 

4 (c) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than May 

5 15, 2010, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall sub6 mit the reports required under subsection (a), with such 

7 other information as the Secretary considers to be rel8 evant, to— 

9 (1) the Committees on Energy and Commerce 

10 and Natural Resources of the House of Representa11 tives; and 

12 (2) the Committees on Indian Affairs, Com13 merce, Science, and Transportation, and Energy and 

14 Natural Resources of the Senate. 

15 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 (a) AUTHORIZATION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

18 appropriated to carry out this Act $20,000,000 for 

19 each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014, to remain 

20 available until expended. 

21 (2) UNAPPROPRIATED AMOUNTS.—Any funds 

22 authorized but not appropriated for any fiscal year 

23 under paragraph (1) may be appropriated for a sub24 sequent fiscal year, subject to the condition that the 

25 cumulative amount authorized to be appropriated for 


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1 any of fiscal years 2010 through 2014 shall not ex2 ceed $100,000,000. 

3 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE AND PROGRAM OVERSIGHT EX4 PENSES.—Of the funds made available to carry out this 

5 Act, not more than 5 percent may be used by the Sec6 retary for— 

7 (1) the administrative expenses of carrying out 

8 this Act; and 

9 (2) oversight of programs under this Act. 

Æ 


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