115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1116 

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. 

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Indian Community 

3 Economic Enhancement Act of 2018’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

6 (1)(A) to bring industry and economic develop7 ment to Indian communities, Indian tribes must 

8 overcome a number of barriers, including— 

9 (i) geographical location; 

10 (ii) lack of infrastructure or capacity; 

11 (iii) lack of sufficient collateral and capital; 

12 and 

13 (iv) regulatory bureaucracy relating to— 

14 (I) development; and 

15 (II) access to services provided by the 

16 Federal Government; and 

17 (B) the barriers described in subparagraph (A) 

18 often add to the cost of doing business in Indian 

19 communities; 

20 (2) Indian tribes— 

21 (A) enact laws and exercise sovereign gov22 ernmental powers; 

23 (B) determine policy for the benefit of trib24 al members; and 

25 (C) produce goods and services for con26 sumers; 
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1 (3) the Federal Government has— 

2 (A) an important government-to-govern3 ment relationship with Indian tribes; and 

4 (B) a role in facilitating healthy and sus5 tainable tribal economies; 

6 (4) the input of Indian tribes in developing 

7 Federal policy and programs leads to more meaning8 ful and effective measures to assist Indian tribes and 

9 Indian entrepreneurs in building tribal economies; 

10 (5)(A) many components of tribal infrastruc11 ture need significant repair or replacement; and 

12 (B) access to private capital for projects in In13 dian communities— 

14 (i) may not be available; or 

15 (ii) may come at a higher cost than such 

16 access for other projects; 

17 (6)(A) Federal capital improvement programs, 

18 such as those that facilitate tax-exempt bond financ19 ing and loan guarantees, are tools that help improve 

20 or replace crumbling infrastructure; 

21 (B) lack of parity in treatment of an Indian 

22 tribe as a governmental entity under Federal tax 

23 and certain other regulatory laws impedes, in part, 

24 the ability of Indian tribes to raise capital through 

25 issuance of tax exempt debt, invest as an accredited 
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1 investor, and benefit from other investment incen2 tives accorded to State and local governmental enti3 ties; and 

4 (C) as a result of the disparity in treatment of 

5 Indian tribes described in subparagraph (B), inves6 tors may avoid financing, or demand a premium to 

7 finance, projects in Indian communities, making the 

8 projects more costly or inaccessible; 

9 (7) there are a number of Federal loan guar10 antee programs available to facilitate financing of 

11 business, energy, economic, housing, and community 

12 development projects in Indian communities, and 

13 those programs may support public-private partner14 ships for infrastructure development, but improve15 ments and support are needed for those programs 

16 specific to Indian communities to facilitate more ef17 fectively private financing for infrastructure and 

18 other urgent development needs; and 

19 (8)(A) most real property held by Indian tribes 

20 is trust or restricted land that essentially cannot be 

21 held as collateral; and 

22 (B) while creative solutions, such as leasehold 

23 mortgages, have been developed in response to the 

24 problem identified in subparagraph (A), some solu25 tions remain subject to review and approval by the 
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1 Bureau of Indian Affairs, adding additional costs 

2 and delay to tribal projects. 

3 SEC. 3. NATIVE AMERICAN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, 

4 TRADE PROMOTION, AND TOURISM ACT OF 

5 2000. 

6 (a) FINDINGS; PURPOSES.—Section 2 of the Native 

7 American Business Development, Trade Promotion, and 

8 Tourism Act of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4301) is amended by 

9 adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(c) APPLICABILITY TO INDIAN-OWNED BUSI11 NESSES.—The findings and purposes in subsections (a) 

12 and (b) shall apply to any Indian-owned business gov13 erned— 

14 ‘‘(1) by tribal laws regulating trade or com15 merce on Indian lands; or 

16 ‘‘(2) pursuant to section 5 of the Act of August 

17 15, 1876 (19 Stat. 200, chapter 289; 25 U.S.C. 

18 261).’’. 

19 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 of the Native American 

20 Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism 

21 Act of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4302) is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 

23 (6) and paragraphs (7) through (9), as paragraphs 

24 (2) through (7) and paragraphs (9) through (11), 

25 respectively; 
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1 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as redes2 ignated by paragraph (1)) the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

4 the Director of Native American Business Develop5 ment appointed pursuant to section 4(a)(2).’’; and 

6 (3) by inserting after paragraph (7) (as redesig7 nated by paragraph (1)) the following: 

8 ‘‘(8) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means the Of9 fice of Native American Business Development es10 tablished by section 4(a)(1).’’. 

11 (c) OFFICE OF NATIVE AMERICAN BUSINESS DEVEL12 OPMENT.—Section 4 of the Native American Business De13 velopment, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 

14 (25 U.S.C. 4303) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

17 (i) by striking ‘‘Department of Com18 merce’’ and inserting ‘‘Office of the Sec19 retary’’; and 

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘(referred to in this 

21 Act as the ‘Office’)’’; and 

22 (B) in paragraph (2), in the first sentence, 

23 by striking ‘‘(referred to in this Act as the ‘Di24 rector’)’’; and 

25 (2) by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(c) DUTIES OF DIRECTOR.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall serve 

3 as— 

4 ‘‘(A) the program and policy advisor to the 

5 Secretary with respect to the trust and govern6 mental relationship between the United States 

7 and Indian tribes; and 

8 ‘‘(B) the point of contact for Indian tribes, 

9 tribal organizations, and Indians regarding— 

10 ‘‘(i) policies and programs of the De11 partment of Commerce; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) other matters relating to eco13 nomic development and doing business in 

14 Indian lands. 

15 ‘‘(2) DEPARTMENTAL COORDINATION.—The Di16 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 re23 garding the policies, programs, assistance, and 

24 activities of the offices and agencies. 
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1 ‘‘(3) OFFICE OPERATIONS.—There are author2 ized to be appropriated to carry out this section not 

3 more than $2,000,000 for each fiscal year.’’. 

4 (d) INDIAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INITIA5 TIVES.—The Native American Business Development, 

6 Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating section 8 (25 U.S.C. 4307) 

8 as section 10; and 

9 (2) by inserting after section 7 (25 U.S.C. 

10 4306) the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 8. INDIAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES. 

12 ‘‘(a) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—Not later than 

13 1 year after the enactment of this section, the Secretary, 

14 the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of the 

15 Treasury shall coordinate— 

16 ‘‘(1) to develop initiatives that— 

17 ‘‘(A) encourage, promote, and provide edu18 cation regarding investments in Indian commu19 nities through— 

20 ‘‘(i) the loan guarantee program of 

21 Bureau of Indian Affairs under section 

22 201 of the Indian Financing Act of 1974 

23 (25 U.S.C. 1481); 

24 ‘‘(ii) programs carried out using 

25 amounts in the Community Development 
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1 Financial Institutions Fund established 

2 under section 104(a) of the Community 

3 Development Banking and Financial Insti4 tutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4703(a)); 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(iii) other capital development pro7 grams; 

8 ‘‘(B) examine and develop alternatives that 

9 would qualify as collateral for financing in In10 dian communities; and 

11 ‘‘(C) provide entrepreneur and other train12 ing relating to economic development through 

13 tribally controlled colleges and universities and 

14 other Indian organizations with experience in 

15 providing such training; 

16 ‘‘(2) to consult with Indian tribes and with the 

17 Securities and Exchange Commission to study, and 

18 collaborate to establish, regulatory changes nec19 essary to qualify an Indian tribe as an accredited in20 vestor for the purposes of sections 230.500 through 

21 230.508 of title 17, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

22 successor regulations), consistent with the goals of 

23 promoting capital formation and ensuring qualifying 

24 Indian tribes have the ability to withstand invest25 ment loss, on a basis comparable to other legal enti-
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1 ties that qualify as accredited investors who are not 

2 natural persons; 

3 ‘‘(3) to identify regulatory, legal, or other bar4 riers to increasing investment, business, and eco5 nomic development, including qualifying or approv6 ing collateral structures, measurements of economic 

7 strength, and contributions of Indian economies in 

8 Indian communities through the Authority estab9 lished under section 4 of the Indian Tribal Regu10 latory Reform and Business Development Act of 

11 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4301 note); 

12 ‘‘(4) to ensure consultation with Indian tribes 

13 regarding increasing investment in Indian commu14 nities and the development of the report required in 

15 paragraph (5); and 

16 ‘‘(5) not less than once every 2 years, to pro17 vide a report to Congress regarding— 

18 ‘‘(A) improvements to Indian communities 

19 resulting from such initiatives and rec20 ommendations for promoting sustained growth 

21 of the tribal economies; 

22 ‘‘(B) results of the study and collaboration 

23 regarding the necessary changes referenced in 

24 paragraph (2) and the impact of allowing In-
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1 dian tribes to qualify as an accredited investor; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(C) the identified regulatory, legal, and 

4 other barriers referenced in paragraph (3). 

5 ‘‘(b) WAIVER.—For assistance provided pursuant to 

6 section 108 of the Community Development Banking and 

7 Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4707) to 

8 benefit Native Community Development Financial Institu9 tions, as defined by the Secretary of the Treasury, section 

10 108(e) of such Act shall not apply. 

11 ‘‘(c) INDIAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FEASIBILITY

12 STUDY.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Government Account14 ability Office shall conduct a study and, not later 

15 than 18 months after the date of enactment of this 

16 subsection, submit to the Committee on Indian Af17 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Natural 

18 Resources of the House of Representatives a report 

19 on the findings of the study and recommendations. 

20 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The study shall include an 

21 assessment of each of the following: 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The study shall assess 

23 current Federal capitalization and related pro24 grams and services that are available to assist 

25 Indian communities with business and economic 
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1 development, including manufacturing, physical 

2 infrastructure (such as telecommunications and 

3 broadband), community development, and facili4 ties construction for such purposes. For each of 

5 the Federal programs and services identified, 

6 the study shall assess the current use and de7 mand by Indian tribes, individuals, businesses, 

8 and communities of the programs, the capital 

9 needs of Indian tribes, businesses, and commu10 nities related to economic development, and the 

11 extent that similar programs have been used to 

12 assist non-Indian communities compared to the 

13 extent used for Indian communities. 

14 ‘‘(B) FINANCING ASSISTANCE.—The study 

15 shall assess and quantify the extent of assist16 ance provided to non-Indian borrowers and to 

17 Indian (both tribal and individual) borrowers 

18 (including information about such assistance as 

19 a percentage of need for Indian borrowers and 

20 for non-Indian borrowers, assistance to Indian 

21 borrowers and to non-Indian borrowers as a 

22 percentage of total applicants, and such assist23 ance to Indian borrowers as individuals as com24 pared to such assistance to Indian tribes) 
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1 through the loan programs, the loan guarantee 

2 programs, or bond guarantee programs of the— 

3 ‘‘(i) Department of the Interior; 

4 ‘‘(ii) Department of Agriculture; 

5 ‘‘(iii) Department of Housing and 

6 Urban Development; 

7 ‘‘(iv) Department of Energy; 

8 ‘‘(v) Small Business Administration; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(vi) Community Development Finan11 cial Institutions Fund of the Department 

12 of the Treasury. 

13 ‘‘(C) TAX INCENTIVES.—The study shall 

14 assess and quantify the extent of the assistance 

15 and allocations afforded for non-Indian projects 

16 and for Indian projects pursuant to each of the 

17 following tax incentive programs: 

18 ‘‘(i) New market tax credit. 

19 ‘‘(ii) Low income housing tax credit. 

20 ‘‘(iii) Investment tax credit. 

21 ‘‘(iv) Renewable energy tax incentives. 

22 ‘‘(v) Accelerated depreciation. 

23 ‘‘(D) TRIBAL INVESTMENT INCENTIVE.— 

24 The study shall assess various alternative incen25 tives that could be provided to enable and en-
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1 courage tribal governments to invest in an In2 dian community development investment fund 

3 or bank.’’. 

4 SEC. 4. BUY INDIAN ACT. 

5 Section 23 of the Act of June 25, 1910 (commonly 

6 known as the ‘‘Buy Indian Act’’) (36 Stat. 861, chapter 

7 431; 25 U.S.C. 47), is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 23. EMPLOYMENT OF INDIAN LABOR AND PURCHASE 

9 OF PRODUCTS OF INDIAN INDUSTRY; PAR10 TICIPATION IN MENTOR-PROTEGE PROGRAM. 

11 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 ‘‘(1) INDIAN ECONOMIC ENTERPRISE.—The 

13 term ‘Indian economic enterprise’ has the meaning 

14 given the term in section 1480.201 of title 48, Code 

15 of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations). 

16 ‘‘(2) MENTOR FIRM; PROTEGE FIRM.—The 

17 terms ‘mentor firm’ and ‘protege firm’ have the 

18 meanings given those terms in section 831(c) of the 

19 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 

20 1991 (10 U.S.C. 2302 note; Public Law 101–510). 

21 ‘‘(3) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘Secretaries’ 

22 means— 

23 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of the Interior; and 

24 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Health and Human 

25 Services. 
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1 ‘‘(b) ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Unless determined by one 

3 of the Secretaries to be impracticable and unreason4 able— 

5 ‘‘(A) Indian labor shall be employed; and 

6 ‘‘(B) purchases of Indian industry prod7 ucts (including printing and facilities construc8 tion, notwithstanding any other provision of 

9 law) may be made in open market by the Secre10 taries. 

11 ‘‘(2) MENTOR-PROTEGE PROGRAM.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Participation in the 

13 Mentor-Protege Program established under sec14 tion 831(a) of the National Defense Authoriza15 tion Act for Fiscal Year 1991 (10 U.S.C. 2302 

16 note; Public Law 101–510) or receipt of assist17 ance under a developmental assistance agree18 ment under that program shall not render any 

19 individual or entity involved in the provision of 

20 Indian labor or an Indian industry product in21 eligible to receive assistance under this section. 

22 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT.—For purposes of this 

23 section, no determination of affiliation or con24 trol (whether direct or indirect) may be found 

25 between a protege firm and a mentor firm on 
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1 the basis that the mentor firm has provided, or 

2 agreed to provide, to the protege firm, pursuant 

3 to a mentor-protege agreement, any form of de4 velopmental assistance described in section 

5 831(f) of the National Defense Authorization 

6 Act for Fiscal Year 1991 (10 U.S.C. 2302 note; 

7 Public Law 101–510). 

8 ‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION.—In carrying out this sec9 tion, the Secretaries shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) conduct outreach to Indian industrial enti11 ties; 

12 ‘‘(2) provide training; 

13 ‘‘(3) promulgate regulations in accordance with 

14 this section and with the regulations under part 

15 1480 of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

16 successor regulations), to harmonize the procure17 ment procedures of the Department of the Interior 

18 and the Department of Health and Human Services, 

19 to the maximum extent practicable; 

20 ‘‘(4) require regional offices of the Bureau of 

21 Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service to ag22 gregate data regarding compliance with this section; 

23 ‘‘(5) require procurement management reviews 

24 by their respective Departments to include a review 

25 of the implementation of this section; and 
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1 ‘‘(6) consult with Indian tribes, Indian indus2 trial entities, and other stakeholders regarding meth3 ods to facilitate compliance with— 

4 ‘‘(A) this section; and 

5 ‘‘(B) other small business or procurement 

6 goals. 

7 ‘‘(d) REPORT.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

9 the date of enactment of this subsection, and not 

10 less frequently than once every 2 years thereafter, 

11 each of the Secretaries shall submit to the Com12 mittee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Com13 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep14 resentatives a report describing, during the period 

15 covered by the report, the implementation of this 

16 section by each of the respective Secretaries. 

17 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each report under this sub18 section shall include, for each fiscal year during the 

19 period covered by the report— 

20 ‘‘(A) the names of each agency under the 

21 respective jurisdiction of each of the Secretaries 

22 to which this section has been applied, and ef23 forts made by additional agencies within the 

24 Secretaries’ respective Departments to use the 

25 procurement procedures under this Act; 
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1 ‘‘(B) a summary of the types of purchases 

2 made from, and contracts (including any rel3 evant modifications, extensions, or renewals) 

4 awarded to, Indian economic enterprises, ex5 pressed by agency region; 

6 ‘‘(C) a description of the percentage in7 crease or decrease in total dollar value and 

8 number of purchases and awards made within 

9 each agency region, as compared to the totals 

10 of the region for the preceding fiscal year; 

11 ‘‘(D) a description of the methods used by 

12 applicable contracting officers and employees to 

13 conduct market searches to identify qualified 

14 Indian economic enterprises; 

15 ‘‘(E) a summary of all deviations granted 

16 under section 1480.403 of title 48, Code of 

17 Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), 

18 including a description of— 

19 ‘‘(i) the types of alternative procure20 ment methods used, including any Indian 

21 owned businesses reported under other 

22 procurement goals; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) the dollar value of any awards 

24 made pursuant to those deviations; 
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1 ‘‘(F) a summary of all determinations 

2 made to provide awards to Indian economic en3 terprises, including a description of the dollar 

4 value of the awards; 

5 ‘‘(G) a description or summary of the total 

6 number and value of all purchases of, and con7 tracts awarded for, supplies, services, and con8 struction (including the percentage increase or 

9 decrease, as compared to the preceding fiscal 

10 year) from— 

11 ‘‘(i) Indian economic enterprises; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) non-Indian economic enterprises; 

13 ‘‘(H) any administrative, procedural, legal, 

14 or other barriers to achieving the purposes of 

15 this section, together with recommendations for 

16 legislative or administrative actions to address 

17 those barriers; and 

18 ‘‘(I) for each agency region— 

19 ‘‘(i) the total amount spent on pur20 chases made from, and contracts awarded 

21 to, Indian economic enterprises; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) a comparison of the amount de23 scribed in clause (i) to the total amount 

24 that the agency region would likely have 

25 spent on the same purchases made from a 
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1 non-Indian economic enterprise or con2 tracts awarded to a non-Indian economic 

3 enterprise. 

4 ‘‘(e) GOALS.—Each agency shall establish an annual 

5 minimum percentage goal for procurement in compliance 

6 with this section.’’. 

7 SEC. 5. NATIVE AMERICAN PROGRAMS ACT OF 1974. 

8 (a) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR NATIVE AMERICAN

9 PROJECTS.—Section 803 of the Native American Pro10 grams Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 2991b) is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) through (d) 

12 as subsections (c) through (e), respectively; and 

13 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(b) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner may 

17 provide assistance under subsection (a) for projects 

18 relating to the purposes of this title to a Native com19 munity development financial institution, as defined 

20 by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

21 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—With regard to not less than 

22 50 percent of the total amount available for assist23 ance under this section, the Commissioner shall give 

24 priority to any application seeking assistance for— 
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1 ‘‘(A) the development of a tribal code or 

2 court system for purposes of economic develop3 ment, including commercial codes, training for 

4 court personnel, regulation pursuant to section 

5 5 of the Act of August 15, 1876 (19 Stat. 200, 

6 chapter 289; 25 U.S.C. 261), and the develop7 ment of nonprofit subsidiaries or other tribal 

8 business structures; 

9 ‘‘(B) the development of a community de10 velopment financial institution, including train11 ing and administrative expenses; or 

12 ‘‘(C) the development of a tribal master 

13 plan for community and economic development 

14 and infrastructure.’’. 

15 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING.—Sec16 tion 804 of the Native American Programs Act of 1974 

17 (42 U.S.C. 2991c) is amended— 

18 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

19 striking ‘‘The Commissioner’’ and inserting the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner’’; and 

22 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—In providing assistance under sub24 section (a), the Commissioner shall give priority to any 

25 application described in section 803(b)(2).’’. 
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1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

2 816 of the Native American Programs Act of 1974 (42 

3 U.S.C. 2992d) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘803(d)’’ each place it appears 

5 and inserting ‘‘803(e)’’; and 

6 (2) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘such sums as may be nec8 essary’’ and inserting ‘‘$34,000,000’’; and 

9 (B) by striking ‘‘1999, 2000, 2001, and 

10 2002’’ and inserting ‘‘2019 through 2023’’. 

Passed the Senate March 22, 2018. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1116 

AN ACT 

To amend the Native American Business Developdian communities. and economic development opportunities to In- ican Programs Act of 1974 to provide industry 2000, the Buy Indian Act, and the Native Amer- ment, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of