I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8318 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat Indian Tribal Governments in the same manner as State governments for certain Federal 

tax purposes, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 8, 2024 

Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin (for herself, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. 

KELLY of Pennsylvania, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. COLE, Mr. KILMER, and Mr. 

MOOLENAAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on 

Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined 

by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 

within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat Indian 

Tribal Governments in the same manner as State governments for certain Federal tax purposes, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Tribal Tax and Investment Reform Act of 2024’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Treatment of Indian tribes as States with respect to excise taxes and 

bond issuance. 

Sec. 4. Treatment of pension and employee benefit plans maintained by Tribal 

Governments. 

Sec. 5. Treatment of Tribal foundations and charities like charities funded and 

controlled by other governmental funders and sponsors. 

Sec. 6. Improving effectiveness of Tribal child support enforcement agencies. 

Sec. 7. Recognizing Indian tribal governments for purposes of determining 

under the adoption credit whether a child has special needs. 

Sec. 8. New markets tax credit for tribal area investments. 

Sec. 9. Inclusion of Indian areas as difficult development areas for purposes of 

certain buildings. 

Sec. 10. Tribal general welfare and trust programs clarification. 

Sec. 11. Indian employment tax credit. 

Sec. 12. Exclusion from gross income for payments under Indian health service 

loan repayment program. 

Sec. 13. Exclusion of certain amounts received under Indian Health Professions 

Scholarships Program. 

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

4 The Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) There is a unique Federal legal and political 

6 relationship between the United States and Indian 

7 Tribes. 

8 (2) Indian Tribes have the responsibility and 

9 authority to provide governmental programs and 

10 services to Tribal citizens, develop Tribal economies, 

11 and build community infrastructure to ensure that 

12 Indian reservation lands serve as livable, permanent 

13 homes. 

14 (3) The United States Constitution, United 

15 States Federal Court decisions, Executive orders, 

16 and numerous other Federal laws and regulations 


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1 recognize that Indian Tribes are governments, re2 taining the inherent authority to tax and operate as 

3 other governments, including (inter alia) financing 

4 projects with government bonds and maintaining eli5 gibility for general tax exemptions via their govern6 ment status. 

7 (4) Codifying tax parity with respect to Tribal 

8 Governments is consistent with Federal treaties rec9 ognizing the sovereignty of Tribal Governments. 

10 (5) That Indian Tribes face historic disadvan11 tages in accessing the underlying capital to build the 

12 necessary infrastructure for job creation, and that 

13 certain statutory restrictions on Tribal governance 

14 further inhibit Tribes’ ability to develop strong gov15 ernance and economies. 

16 (6) Indian Tribes are sometimes excluded from 

17 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 in key provisions 

18 which results in unfair tax treatment for Tribal citi19 zens or unequal enforcement authority for Tribal en20 forcement agencies. 

21 (7) Congress is vested with the authority to 

22 regulate commerce with Indian Tribes, and hereby 

23 exercises that authority in a manner which furthers 

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1 firms the United States government-to-government 

2 relationship with Indian Tribes. 

3 SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF INDIAN TRIBES AS STATES WITH 

4 RESPECT TO EXCISE TAXES AND BOND 

5 ISSUANCE. 

6 (a) REPEAL OF ESSENTIAL GOVERNMENTAL FUNC7 TION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 7871 of the Internal Rev8 enue Code of 1986 is amended by striking subsections (b) 

9 and (e) and redesignating subsections (c), (d), and (f) as 

10 subsections (b), (c), and (d), respectively. 

11 (b) SPECIAL RULES FOR TAX-EXEMPT BONDS.— 

12 Subsection (b) of section 7871 of such Code, as redesig13 nated by subsection (a), is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULES FOR TAX-EXEMPT BONDS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In applying section 146 to 

16 bonds issued by Indian Tribal Governments, the 

17 Secretary shall annually— 

18 ‘‘(A) establish a national bond volume cap 

19 based on the greater of— 

20 ‘‘(i) the amount determined under 

21 section 146(d)(1)(A), determined by sub22 stituting ‘the national Tribal population es23 timates supplied annually by the Secretary 

24 of the Interior, as measured by the total 


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1 number of enrolled Tribal citizens of each 

2 tribe’for ‘State population’, and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the minimum State ceiling 

4 amount in section 146(d)(1)(B) (as ad5 justed in accordance with the cost of living 

6 provision in section 146(d)(2)), and 

7 ‘‘(B) under regulations prescribed by the 

8 Secretary, allocate such national bond volume 

9 cap among all Indian Tribal Governments seek10 ing such an allocation in a particular year. 

11 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION OF GEOGRAPHIC RESTRIC12 TION.—In the case of national bond volume cap allo13 cated under paragraph (1), section 146(k)(1) shall 

14 not apply to the extent that such cap is used with 

15 respect to financing for a facility located on qualified 

16 Indian lands. 

17 ‘‘(3) RESTRICTION ON FINANCING OF CERTAIN

18 GAMING FACILITIES.—No portion of proceeds from 

19 an obligation issued by an Indian Tribal Government 

20 (or subdivision thereof) under section 103 may be 

21 used with respect to the financing of any portion of 

22 a building in which class II or class III gaming (as 

23 defined in section 4 of the Indian Gaming Regu24 latory Act (25 U.S.C. 2703)) is conducted or housed 


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1 or any property actually used in the conduct of such 

2 gaming. 

3 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—For 

4 purposes of this subsection— 

5 ‘‘(A) INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The 

6 term ‘Indian Tribal Government’ means the 

7 recognized governing body of any Indian or 

8 Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, vil9 lage, community, component band, or compo10 nent reservation, individually identified (includ11 ing parenthetically) pursuant to section 104 of 

12 the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act 

13 of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 

14 ‘‘(B) INTERTRIBAL CONSORTIA, ETC.— 

15 Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary, 

16 an Indian Tribal Government (or a partnership 

17 of Indian Tribal Governments) may authorize 

18 an intertribal consortium, an organization, or 

19 an Alaska Native regional or village corpora20 tion, as defined in, or established pursuant to, 

21 the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, to 

22 plan for, coordinate or otherwise administer 

23 services, finances, functions, or activities on its 

24 behalf under this subsection, except that the 

25 authorized entity shall have the rights and reVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:24 Jun 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8318.IH H8318

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1 sponsibilities of the authorizing Indian Tribal 

2 Government (or Indian Tribal Governments) 

3 only to the extent provided in the authorizing 

4 resolution. 

5 ‘‘(C) QUALIFIED INDIAN LANDS.—The 

6 term ‘qualified Indian lands’ means— 

7 ‘‘(i) Indian lands within the meaning 

8 of section 29(j)(8) of the Stevenson-Wydler 

9 Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 

10 U.S.C. 3722b(j)(8)), 

11 ‘‘(ii) land held in fee simple by an In12 dian Tribal Government, 

13 ‘‘(iii) land held by incorporated Native 

14 groups, regional corporations, and village 

15 corporations under the provisions of the 

16 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 

17 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), 

18 ‘‘(iv) Hawaiian Home Lands (as de19 fined in section 801 of the Native Amer20 ican Housing Assistance and Self-Deter21 mination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4221), 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(v) under regulations prescribed by 

24 the Secretary, lands where the facility is to 

25 be placed in service in connection with— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the active conduct of a trade 

2 or business by an Indian Tribe on, 

3 contiguous to, within reasonable prox4 imity of, or with a substantial connec5 tion to lands described in clause (i), 

6 (ii), (iii), or (iv), or 

7 ‘‘(II) infrastructure (including 

8 roads, power lines, water systems, 

9 railroad spurs, and communication fa10 cilities) serving lands described in 

11 clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv).’’. 

12 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

13 (1) Section 7871(a) of such Code is amended— 

14 (A) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘subject 

15 to subsection (b),’’, and 

16 (B) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘sub17 section (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)’’. 

18 (2) Subparagraph (B) of section 45(c)(9) of 

19 such Code is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(B) INDIAN TRIBE.—For purposes of this 

21 paragraph, the term ‘Indian Tribe’ means any 

22 Indian Tribe, band, nation, or other organized 

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1 vided by the United States to Indians because 

2 of their status as Indians.’’. 

3 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

4 (1) TAX-EXEMPT BONDS.—The amendments 

5 made by this section shall apply to obligations issued 

6 in calendar years beginning after the date of the en7 actment of this Act. 

8 (2) EXCISE TAXES.—The amendments made by 

9 this section with respect to any excise tax referred 

10 to in section 7871(a)(2) of such Code shall take ef11 fect on and after the first day of the first calendar 

12 quarter beginning more than 60 days after the date 

13 of the enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 4. TREATMENT OF PENSION AND EMPLOYEE BENEFIT 

15 PLANS MAINTAINED BY TRIBAL GOVERN16 MENTS. 

17 (a) AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE

18 CODE OF 1986.— 

19 (1) QUALIFIED PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYEE.— 

20 Section 72(t)(10)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code 

21 of 1986 (defining qualified public safety employee) is 

22 amended by— 

23 (A) striking ‘‘or political subdivision of a 

24 State’’ and inserting ‘‘, political subdivision of 

25 a State, or Indian tribal government’’; and 


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1 (B) striking ‘‘such State or political sub2 division’’ and inserting ‘‘such State, political 

3 subdivision, or Indian tribal government’’. 

4 (2) GOVERNMENTAL PLAN.—The last sentence 

5 of section 414(d) of such Code (defining govern6 mental plan) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘The 

7 term ‘governmental plan’ includes a plan established 

8 or maintained for its employees by an Indian tribal 

9 government, an agency, instrumentality, or subdivi10 sion of an Indian tribal government, or an entity es11 tablished under Federal, State, or Tribal law which 

12 is wholly owned or controlled by any of the fore13 going.’’. 

14 (3) EXEMPT GOVERNMENTAL DEFERRED COM15 PENSATION PLAN.—Section 3121(v)(3) of such Code 

16 (defining governmental deferred compensation plan) 

17 is amended by inserting ‘‘by an Indian tribal govern18 ment, an agency, instrumentality, or subdivision of 

19 an Indian tribal government, or an entity established 

20 under Federal, State, or Tribal law which is wholly 

21 owned or controlled by any of the foregoing,’’ after 

22 ‘‘political subdivision thereof,’’. 

23 (4) GRANDFATHER OF CERTAIN DEFERRED

24 COMPENSATION PLANS.—Section 457 of such Code 


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1 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

2 subsection: 

3 ‘‘(h) CERTAIN TRIBAL GOVERNMENT PLANS GRAND4 FATHERED.—Plans established before the date of enact5 ment of this subsection and maintained by an Indian tribal 

6 government, an agency, instrumentality, or subdivision of 

7 an Indian tribal government, or an entity established 

8 under Federal, State, or Tribal law which is wholly owned 

9 or controlled by any of the foregoing, in compliance with 

10 subsection (b) shall be treated as if established by an eligi11 ble employer under subsection (e)(1)(A). Such plans may 

12 be maintained in compliance with section 457 or may be 

13 converted to or merged into a section 401(k) cash or de14 ferred arrangement maintained by such government, agen15 cy, instrumentality, subdivision, or entity.’’. 

16 (5) LONG-TERM, PART-TIME WORKERS.—Sec17 tion 401(k)(15)(C) of such Code is amended to read 

18 as follows: 

19 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION OF STANDARDS TO

20 CERTAIN EMPLOYEES AND PLANS.—The provi21 sions of paragraph (2)(D)(ii) shall not apply 

22 to— 

23 ‘‘(i) employees described in section 

24 410(b)(3), and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a governmental plan within the 

2 meaning of section 414(d)).’’. 

3 (b) ENFORCEMENT MORATORIUM RELATED TO PEN4 SION PROTECTION ACT OF 2006.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—No Indian tribal govern6 ment, an agency, instrumentality, or subdivision of 

7 an Indian tribal government, or an entity established 

8 under Federal, State, or Tribal law which is wholly 

9 owned or controlled by any of the foregoing, shall be 

10 subject to a Federal agency enforcement action 

11 based on changes under the Internal Revenue Code 

12 of 1986 or Employee Retirement Income and Secu13 rity Act of 1974 enacted under the Pension Protec14 tion Act of 2006, for any periods prior to the publi15 cation of agency regulations thereunder. 

16 (2) INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—For pur17 poses of this subsection, the term ‘‘Indian tribal gov18 ernment’’ has the meaning given such term in sec19 tion 7701(a)(40) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

20 1986. 

21 (3) REGULATORY GUIDANCE.—The Secretary 

22 shall work with the Tribal Advisory Committee es23 tablished pursuant to section 3 of the Tribal General 

24 Welfare Exclusion Act of 2014, and in consultation 

25 with Indian tribal governments and relevant governVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:24 Jun 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8318.IH H8318

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1 mental agencies, to develop regulatory guidance 

2 under this section. 

3 (c) UNIFORM PROTECTIONS AND FIDUCIARY STAND4 ARDS FOR TRIBAL PLANS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 77 of such Code is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 7531. UNIFORM PROTECTIONS AND FIDUCIARY 

8 STANDARDS FOR TRIBAL PENSION PLANS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A Tribal pension plan shall be 

10 subject to the uniform protections and fiduciary standards 

11 for Tribal pension plans. 

12 ‘‘(b) PERSONAL LIABILITY.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who is a fidu14 ciary with respect to a Tribal pension plan who 

15 breaches any of the responsibilities, obligations, or 

16 duties imposed upon fiduciaries by the uniform pro17 tection and fiduciary standards for Tribal pension 

18 plans, shall be personally liable to make good to 

19 such plan any losses to the plan resulting from each 

20 such breach, and to restore to such plan any profits 

21 of such fiduciary which have been made through use 

22 of assets of the plan by the fiduciary, and shall be 

23 subject to such other equitable or remedial relief as 

24 the court may deem appropriate, including removal 

25 of such fiduciary. 


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1 ‘‘(2) NO LIABILITY FOR PRIOR BREACH.—No fi2 duciary shall be liable with respect to a breach of fi3 duciary duty under this section if such breach was 

4 committed before the fiduciary became a fiduciary or 

5 after the fiduciary ceased to be a fiduciary. 

6 ‘‘(c) NONDISCRIMINATION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) NO INTERFERENCE WITH PROTECTED

8 RIGHTS.—It shall be unlawful for any person to dis9 charge, fine, suspend, expel, discipline, or discrimi10 nate against a participant or beneficiary for exer11 cising any right to which the participant or bene12 ficiary is entitled under the provisions of a Tribal 

13 pension plan or under the uniform protection and fi14 duciary standards for Tribal pension plans, or for 

15 the purpose of interfering with the attainment of 

16 any right to which such participant or beneficiary 

17 may become entitled under such plan or the uniform 

18 protection and fiduciary standards for Tribal pen19 sion plans. 

20 ‘‘(2) NONDISCRIMINATION.—Contributions or 

21 benefits provided under a Tribal pension plan shall 

22 not discriminate in favor of highly compensated em23 ployees (within the meaning of section 414(q)). 

24 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—For pur25 poses of this section— 


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1 ‘‘(1) TRIBAL PENSION PLAN.—The term ‘Tribal 

2 pension plan’ means any qualified employer retire3 ment plan (as defined in section 72(d)(1)(G)) 

4 which— 

5 ‘‘(A) is a governmental plan (as defined in 

6 section 414(d)), 

7 ‘‘(B) has at least 500 active participants, 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(C) is established or maintained for the 

10 employees of an Indian tribal government, an 

11 agency, instrumentality, or subdivision of an In12 dian tribal government, or an entity established 

13 under Federal, State, or Tribal law which is 

14 wholly owned or controlled by any of the fore15 going. 

16 ‘‘(2) UNIFORM PROTECTION AND FIDUCIARY

17 STANDARDS FOR TRIBAL PENSION PLANS.—The 

18 term ‘uniform protections and fiduciary standards 

19 for Tribal pension plans’ means that in connection 

20 with a fiduciary’s duties with respect to a Tribal 

21 pension plan the fiduciary shall discharge those du22 ties— 

23 ‘‘(A) solely in the interest of the partici24 pants and beneficiaries, 


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1 ‘‘(B) for the exclusive purpose of providing 

2 benefits to participants and beneficiaries, 

3 ‘‘(C) to defray reasonable expenses of ad4 ministering the plan, 

5 ‘‘(D) with the care, skill, prudence, and 

6 diligence under the circumstances then pre7 vailing that a prudent person acting in a like 

8 capacity and familiar with such matters would 

9 use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like 

10 character and with like aims, 

11 ‘‘(E) by diversifying the investments of the 

12 plan so as to minimize the risk of large losses, 

13 unless under the circumstances it is clearly pru14 dent not to do so, and 

15 ‘‘(F) in accordance with the documents 

16 and instruments governing the plan insofar as 

17 such documents and instruments are consistent 

18 with the requirements of the preceding subpara19 graphs. 

20 ‘‘(3) CONTROL OVER ASSETS BY PARTICIPANT

21 OR BENEFICIARY.—In the case of a Tribal pension 

22 plan which provides for individual accounts and per23 mits a participant or beneficiary to exercise control 

24 over the assets in their account, if a participant or 


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1 beneficiary exercises control over the assets in their 

2 account— 

3 ‘‘(A) such participant or beneficiary shall 

4 not be deemed to be a fiduciary by reason of 

5 such exercise, and 

6 ‘‘(B) no person who is otherwise a fidu7 ciary shall be liable under this section for any 

8 loss, or by reason of any breach, which results 

9 from such participant’s or beneficiary’s exercise 

10 of control. 

11 ‘‘(e) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.—The plan adminis12 trator for any Tribal pension plan shall cause to be fur13 nished to each participant covered under the plan a sum14 mary plan description. The summary plan description and 

15 any notice of material modifications shall be provided or 

16 made available to participants within a reasonable period 

17 following the effective date of a participant’s coverage or 

18 the effective date of material changes to the plan, as appli19 cable. The summary plan description shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) be written in a manner calculated to be 

21 understood by the average plan participant, 

22 ‘‘(2) be sufficiently accurate and comprehensive 

23 to reasonably apprise such participants and bene24 ficiaries of their rights and obligations under the 

25 plan, and 


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1 ‘‘(3) specify any material modification in the 

2 terms to the plan made after the previous summary 

3 plan description. 

4 ‘‘(f) PERSONS EMPOWERED TO BRING A CIVIL AC5 TION.—In the case of a Tribal pension plan, a civil action 

6 may be brought— 

7 ‘‘(1) by a participant or beneficiary to recover 

8 benefits due under the terms of the plan, to enforce 

9 rights under the terms of the plan, or to clarify 

10 rights to future benefits under the terms of the plan; 

11 ‘‘(2) by a participant, beneficiary, or fiduciary 

12 for relief for any loss for which a fiduciary is person13 ally liable under this section; and 

14 ‘‘(3) by a participant, beneficiary, or fidu15 ciary— 

16 ‘‘(A) to enjoin any act or practice which 

17 violates any provision of the uniform protection 

18 and protections and fiduciary standards for 

19 Tribal pension plans, or 

20 ‘‘(B) to obtain other appropriate equitable 

21 relief— 

22 ‘‘(i) to redress such violations, or 

23 ‘‘(ii) to enforce any provisions of the 

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1 ards for Tribal pension plans or the terms 

2 of the plan. 

3 ‘‘(g) STATUS OF TRIBAL PENSION PLAN AS ENTI4 TY.—A Tribal pension plan may sue or be sued under this 

5 section as an entity. Service of summons, subpoena, or 

6 other legal process of a court upon a trustee or an admin7 istrator of a Tribal pension plan in such capacity shall 

8 constitute service upon the Tribal pension plan. Any 

9 money judgment under this section against a Tribal pen10 sion plan shall be enforceable only against the plan as an 

11 entity and shall not be enforceable against any other per12 son or entity. 

13 ‘‘(h) JURISDICTION.—Enforcement actions related to 

14 the uniform protections and fiduciary standards for Tribal 

15 pension plans shall be in the applicable Tribal court unless 

16 the Indian tribal government has opted to limit Tribal 

17 court jurisdiction for such actions in favor of Federal 

18 court enforcement. In the absence of an established Tribal 

19 court, or for Indian tribal governments who have elected 

20 to limit their Tribal court’s jurisdiction to exclude claims 

21 for enforcing the uniform protections and fiduciary stand22 ards for Tribal pension plans, a participant or beneficiary 

23 may seek enforcement in the district court of the United 

24 States for the district where the plan has its principal of25 fice, or in the United States District for the District of 


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1 Columbia. When applicable, the district courts of the 

2 United States shall have jurisdiction without respect to 

3 the amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties. 

4 ‘‘(i) ATTORNEY’S FEES AND COSTS.—The court, in 

5 its discretion, may allow an award of reasonable attorney’s 

6 fees and costs to a participant, beneficiary, or fiduciary 

7 who prevails in an action to enforce the uniform protec8 tions and fiduciary standards for Tribal pension plans. 

9 ‘‘(j) COORDINATION WITH OTHER TRIBAL LAWS

10 AND PROTECTIONS.—Nothing in this section shall pre11 empt or otherwise prevent an Indian Tribe from adopting 

12 additional laws and protections not inconsistent with this 

13 section. 

14 ‘‘(k) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall work with 

15 the Tribal Advisory Committee established pursuant to 

16 section 3 of the Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act of 

17 2014, and in consultation with Indian tribal governments 

18 and relevant governmental agencies, to develop regulatory 

19 guidance under this section, as well as the enforcement 

20 of such standards.’’. 

21 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec22 tions for chapter 77 of such Code is amended by 

23 adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 7531. Uniform protections and fiduciary standards for Tribal pension 

plans.’’. 


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1 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The last sentence 

2 of section 3(32) of the Employee Retirement Income Secu3 rity Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1002(32)) is amended to read 

4 as follows: ‘‘The term ‘governmental plan’ includes a plan 

5 established or maintained for its employees by an Indian 

6 tribal government, an agency, instrumentality, or subdivi7 sion of an Indian tribal government, or an entity estab8 lished under Federal, State, or Tribal law which is wholly 

9 owned or controlled by any of the foregoing.’’. 

10 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

11 this section shall apply to years beginning after the date 

12 of the enactment of this Act. 

13 (f) TRANSITION PROVISIONS.—The Secretary of the 

14 Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) shall, in consulta15 tion with the Tribal Advisory Committee established under 

16 section 3 of the Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act of 

17 2014 (26 U.S.C. 139E note), and in consultation with In18 dian tribal governments, develop guidance on the transi19 tion of plans to meet requirements added or changed by 

20 the amendments made by this section, including publica21 tion of transition relief if appropriate. The Secretary of 

22 the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) is authorized 

23 to extend deadlines imposed by the Internal Revenue Code 

24 of 1986 to reflect any such transition relief (and to coordi25 nate such transition relief with relevant governmental 


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1 agencies) as well as time for plan sponsors to adopt 

2 amendments and implement required changes. 

3 SEC. 5. TREATMENT OF TRIBAL FOUNDATIONS AND CHAR4 ITIES LIKE CHARITIES FUNDED AND CON5 TROLLED BY OTHER GOVERNMENTAL 

6 FUNDERS AND SPONSORS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 170(b)(1)(A) of the Inter8 nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following: ‘‘For purposes of clause (vi), the term 

10 ‘governmental unit’ includes an Indian tribal government, 

11 an agency, instrumentality, or subdivision of an Indian 

12 tribal government, or an entity established under Federal, 

13 State, or Tribal law which is wholly owned or controlled 

14 by any of the foregoing.’’. 

15 (b) CERTAIN SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS.—Sec16 tion 509(a) of such Code is amended by adding at the 

17 end the following: ‘‘For purposes of paragraph (3), an or18 ganization described in paragraph (2) shall be deemed to 

19 include an Indian tribal government, an agency, instru20 mentality, or subdivision of an Indian tribal government, 

21 or an entity established under Federal, State, or Tribal 

22 law which is wholly owned or controlled by any of the fore23 going .’’. 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 6. IMPROVING EFFECTIVENESS OF TRIBAL CHILD 

5 SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES. 

6 (a) AMENDMENT TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.— 

7 Section 464 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 664) 

8 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(d) APPLICABILITY TO INDIAN TRIBES AND TRIBAL

10 ORGANIZATIONS ELIGIBLE FOR A GRANT UNDER THIS

11 PART.—This section, except for the requirement to dis12 tribute amounts in accordance with section 457, shall 

13 apply to an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization eligible 

14 for a grant under section 455(f) in the same manner in 

15 which this section applies to a State with a plan approved 

16 under this part.’’. 

17 (b) AMENDMENT TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE

18 CODE.—Subsection (c) of section 6402 of the Internal 

19 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end 

20 the following: ‘‘For purposes of this subsection, any ref21 erence to a State shall include a reference to any Indian 

22 Tribe or Tribal organization described in section 464(d) 

23 of the Social Security Act.’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. RECOGNIZING INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS FOR 

2 PURPOSES OF DETERMINING UNDER THE 

3 ADOPTION CREDIT WHETHER A CHILD HAS 

4 SPECIAL NEEDS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 23(d)(3) of the Internal 

6 Revenue Code of 1986 (defining child with special needs) 

7 is amended— 

8 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or In9 dian tribal government’’ after ‘‘a State’’; and 

10 (2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘or In11 dian tribal government’’ after ‘‘such State’’. 

12 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

13 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

14 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

15 SEC. 8. NEW MARKETS TAX CREDIT FOR TRIBAL AREA IN16 VESTMENTS. 

17 (a) ADDITIONAL ALLOCATIONS FOR TRIBAL AREA.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 45D(f) of the Inter19 nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 

20 the end the following new paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL ALLOCATIONS FOR TRIBAL

22 AREA INVESTMENTS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of each 

24 calendar year after 2024, there is (in addition 

25 to any limitation under any other paragraph of 

26 this subsection) a new markets tribal area tax 


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1 credit limitation of $175,000,000 which shall be 

2 allocated by the Secretary as provided in para3 graph (2) except— 

4 ‘‘(i) that such allocation shall only be 

5 allocated with respect to qualified tribal 

6 area investments, and 

7 ‘‘(ii) in addition to the priorities de8 scribed in paragraph (2), the Secretary 

9 may give priority to any entity with a 

10 record of having successfully provided cap11 ital or technical assistance in tribal statis12 tical areas. 

13 ‘‘(B) CARRYOVER OF UNUSED NEW MAR14 KETS TRIBAL AREA TAX CREDIT LIMITATION.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the new mar16 kets tribal area tax credit limitation under 

17 subparagraph (A) for any calendar year 

18 exceeds the amount of such limitation allo19 cated by the Secretary for such calendar 

20 year, such limitation for the succeeding 

21 calendar year shall be increased by the 

22 amount of such excess. 

23 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION ON CARRYOVER.— 

24 No amount of new markets tribal area tax 

25 credit limitation may be carried under 


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1 clause (i) past the 5th calendar year fol2 lowing the calendar year in which such 

3 amount of new markets tribal area tax 

4 credit limitation arose. 

5 ‘‘(iii) TRANSFER OF EXPIRED NEW

6 MARKETS TRIBAL AREA TAX CREDIT LIMI7 TATION TO GENERAL LIMITATION.—In the 

8 case of any amount of new markets tribal 

9 area tax credit limitation which would (but 

10 for clause (ii)) be carried under clause (i) 

11 to the 6th calendar year following the cal12 endar year in which such amount of new 

13 markets tribal area credit limitation arose, 

14 the new market tax credit limitation under 

15 paragraph (1) for such 6th calendar year 

16 shall be increased by the amount of such 

17 new markets tribal area tax credit limita18 tion. 

19 ‘‘(C) ALLOCATIONS RESTRICTED TO

20 QUALIFIED TRIBAL AREA INVESTMENTS.—In 

21 the case of any new markets tribal area tax 

22 credit limitation— 

23 ‘‘(i) subsection (b)(1)(B) shall be ap24 plied by substituting ‘qualified tribal area 


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1 investments’ for ‘qualified low-income com2 munity investments’, and 

3 ‘‘(ii) subsections (b)(2) and (g)(3)(B) 

4 shall be applied separately with respect to 

5 such limitation. 

6 ‘‘(D) QUALIFIED TRIBAL AREA INVEST7 MENTS.—For purposes of this paragraph, the 

8 term ‘qualified tribal area investment’ means— 

9 ‘‘(i) any capital or equity investment 

10 in, or loan to, any qualified active tribal 

11 community business, 

12 ‘‘(ii) the purchase from another com13 munity development entity of any loan 

14 made by such entity which is a qualified 

15 tribal area investment, 

16 ‘‘(iii) financial counseling and other 

17 services specified in regulations prescribed 

18 by the Secretary to businesses located in, 

19 and residents of, tribal statistical areas, 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(iv) any equity investment in, or loan 

22 to, any qualified community development 

23 entity if substantially all of the proceeds of 

24 such investment or loan are used by such 


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1 qualified community development entity to 

2 make qualified tribal area investments. 

3 ‘‘(E) QUALIFIED ACTIVE TRIBAL COMMU4 NITY BUSINESS.—For purposes of this para5 graph— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘quali7 fied active tribal community business’ has 

8 the meaning which would be given the 

9 term ‘qualified active low-income commu10 nity business’ under subsection (d)(2) if 

11 ‘tribal statistical area’ were substituted for 

12 ‘low-income community’ each place it ap13 pears therein. 

14 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSION OF CERTAIN QUALI15 FIED ACTIVE LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY

16 BUSINESSES WHICH SERVE TRIBAL

17 AREAS.—The term ‘qualified active tribal 

18 community business’ includes any qualified 

19 active low-income community business 

20 which— 

21 ‘‘(I) provides good or services to 

22 a significant population of Tribal, 

23 Alaska Native village, or Native Ha24 waiian community members, who are 


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1 residents of a tribal statistical area, 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(II) obtains a written statement 

4 from one or more relevant Indian trib5 al governments (as defined in section 

6 7871(b)(4)(A)) (or, in the case of Na7 tive Hawaiian community members, 

8 the Department of Hawaiian Home 

9 Lands, as defined in section 801 of 

10 the Native American Housing Assist11 ance and Self-Determination Act of 

12 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4221)) that docu13 ments the eligibility of such qualified 

14 active low-income community business 

15 with respect to the requirement of 

16 subclause (I). 

17 ‘‘(F) TRIBAL STATISTICAL AREA.— For 

18 purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘tribal sta19 tistical area’ means any low-income community 

20 which is located in any area determined by the 

21 Secretary, after consultation with the Bureau of 

22 the Census, as a Tribal Census Tract, Okla23 homa Tribal Statistical Area, Tribal-Designated 

24 Statistical Area, Alaska Native Village Statis25 tical Area, or Hawaiian Home Lands.’’. 


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1 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

2 by this subsection shall apply to new markets tribal 

3 area tax credit limitation determined for calendar 

4 years after December 31, 2024. 

5 (b) EDUCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE RE6 LATED TO QUALIFIED TRIBAL AREA INVESTMENTS.— 

7 Section 45D of such Code is amended by redesignating 

8 subsection (i) as subsection (j) and by inserting after sub9 section (h) the following new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(i) EDUCATION AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE RE11 LATED TO INVESTMENTS WITH RESPECT TO TRIBAL STA12 TISTICAL AREAS.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

13 of the enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary, after 

14 consultation with the Office of Tribal and Native Affairs, 

15 the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, 

16 and other appropriate Federal agencies, shall establish a 

17 program to provide educational and technical assistance 

18 to qualified community development entities with respect 

19 to— 

20 ‘‘(1) applications for, and the appropriate use 

21 of— 

22 ‘‘(A) new markets tribal area tax credit 

23 limitation, and 


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1 ‘‘(B) new markets tax credit limitation 

2 with respect to investments with respect to trib3 al statistical areas, and 

4 ‘‘(2) in the case of any qualified community de5 velopment entity which has been allocated limitation 

6 described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph 

7 (1), technical issues specifically associated with in8 vestments with respect to tribal statistical areas.’’. 

9 SEC. 9. INCLUSION OF INDIAN AREAS AS DIFFICULT DE10 VELOPMENT AREAS FOR PURPOSES OF CER11 TAIN BUILDINGS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subclause (I) of section 

13 42(d)(5)(B)(iii) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

14 amended by inserting before the period the following: ‘‘, 

15 and any Indian area’’. 

16 (b) INDIAN AREA.—Clause (iii) of section 

17 42(d)(5)(B) of such Code is amended by redesignating 

18 subclause (II) as subclause (IV) and by inserting after 

19 subclause (I) the following new subclauses: 

20 ‘‘(II) INDIAN AREA.—For pur21 poses of subclause (I), the term ‘In22 dian area’ means any Indian area (as 

23 defined in section 4(11) of the Native 

24 American Housing Assistance and 


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1 Self Determination Act of 1996 (25 

2 U.S.C. 4103(11))). 

3 ‘‘(III) SPECIAL RULE FOR

4 BUILDINGS IN INDIAN AREAS.—In the 

5 case of an area which is a difficult de6 velopment area solely because it is an 

7 Indian area, a building shall not be 

8 treated as located in such area unless 

9 such building is assisted or financed 

10 under the Native American Housing 

11 Assistance and Self Determination 

12 Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.) 

13 or the project sponsor is an Indian 

14 Tribe (as defined in section 

15 45A(c)(6)), a tribally designated hous16 ing entity (as defined in section 4(22) 

17 of such Act (25 U.S.C. 4103(22))), or 

18 wholly owned or controlled by such an 

19 Indian Tribe or tribally designated 

20 housing entity.’’. 

21 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

22 this section shall apply to buildings placed in service after 

23 December 31, 2024. 


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1 SEC. 10. TRIBAL GENERAL WELFARE AND TRUST PRO2 GRAMS CLARIFICATION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1612(b) of the Social Se4 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1382a(b)) is amended by striking 

5 ‘‘; and’’ at the end of paragraph (25), by striking the pe6 riod at the end of paragraph (26) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, 

7 and by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(27) any Indian general welfare benefit (as de9 fined in section 139E of the Internal Revenue Code 

10 of 1986).’’. 

11 (b) EXCLUSION FROM RESOURCES.—Section 

12 1613(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382b(a)) 

13 is amended by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end of paragraph 

14 (16) and by inserting after paragraph (17) the following 

15 new paragraphs: 

16 ‘‘(18) for the 9-month period beginning after 

17 the month in which received, any Indian general wel18 fare benefit (within the meaning of section 139E of 

19 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986); and 

20 ‘‘(19) any grantor trust established by an In21 dian tribe for the benefit of Indians and for which 

22 the Indian tribe is the grantor (within the meaning 

23 of subpart E of part 1 of subchapter J of chapter 

24 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986).’’. 


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1 SEC. 11. INDIAN EMPLOYMENT TAX CREDIT. 

2 (a) EXTENSION.—Section 45A of the Internal Rev3 enue Code of 1986 is amended by striking subsection (f). 

4 (b) MODIFICATION OF DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT

5 OF CREDIT.—Paragraph (2) of section 45A(a) of such 

6 Code is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(2) the quotient of— 

8 ‘‘(A) the sum of the qualified wages and 

9 qualified employee health insurance costs which 

10 were paid or incurred by the employer (or any 

11 predecessor) during the two most recent cal12 endar years ending before the beginning of such 

13 taxable year, divided by 

14 ‘‘(B) 2.’’. 

15 (c) INCREASED LIMITATION.—Section 45A(b)(3) of 

16 such Code is amended by striking ‘‘$20,000’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘$30,000’’. 

18 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

19 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

20 December 31, 2024. 

21 SEC. 12. EXCLUSION FROM GROSS INCOME FOR PAYMENTS 

22 UNDER INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE LOAN RE23 PAYMENT PROGRAM. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (4) of section 108(f) 

25 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:24 Jun 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8318.IH H8318

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1 serting ‘‘under section 108 of the Indian Health Care Im2 provement Act,’’ after ‘‘338I of such Act,’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The heading for sec4 tion 108(f)(4) of such Code is amended by inserting ‘‘, 

5 INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE LOAN REPAYMENT PRO6 GRAM,’’ before ‘‘AND CERTAIN’’. 

7 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

8 this section shall apply to payments made after the date 

9 of the enactment of this Act. 

10 SEC. 13. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN AMOUNTS RECEIVED 

11 UNDER INDIAN HEALTH PROFESSIONS 

12 SCHOLARSHIPS PROGRAM. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 117(c) 

14 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by strik15 ing ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph (B), by striking the 

16 period at the end of subparagraph (C) and inserting ‘‘, 

17 or’’, and by adding at the end the following new subpara18 graph: 

19 ‘‘(D) the Indian Health Professions Schol20 arships Program under section 104 of the In21 dian Health Care Improvement Act.’’. 

22 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

23 subsection (a) shall apply to amounts received in taxable 

24 years beginning after December 31, 2024. 

Æ 


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