II

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1121

To establish the National Indian Research Institute.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 16 (legislative day, June 15), 1993

Mr. INOUYE (for himself, and Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. CAMPBELL, Mr. DOMENICI,

Mrs. KASSEBAUM, and Mr. SIMON) introduced the following bill; which

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

A BILL

To establish the National Indian Research Institute.

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 ‘‘National Indian

5 Research Institute Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 (a) FINDINGS OF CONGRESS.—The Congress finds

8 that:

9 (1) The policy of the United States toward In10 dian and Alaska Native tribes which has emerged
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1 over the course of 200 years of relationships is based

2 upon the following fundamental principles:

3 (A) Federal-Indian policy is premised upon

4 the government-to-government relationship be5 tween the United States and Indian tribal gov6 ernments;

7 (B) the United States has a trust respon8 sibility to protect, maintain, and manage Indian

9 lands and related natural resources, including

10 water, fisheries, game and game habitat, and to

11 preserve permanent homelands for native people

12 within this Nation;

13 (C) tribal rights of self-government are

14 recognized under the United States Constitu15 tion and numerous treaties, intergovernmental

16 agreements, statutes and Executive orders, and

17 have been consistently upheld by the highest

18 courts of the United States;

19 (D) the goals of economic self-sufficiency

20 and improvement of the social well-being of

21 tribal communities, with the objective of achiev22 ing parity with the general United States popu23 lation as evidenced by national averages for

24 health care, per capita income and rates of em25 ployment and educational achievement, are rec-
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1 ognized as the basis of numerous Federal stat2 utes and administrative policies;

3 (E) the unique cultural heritage of tribal

4 people in the United States, including mainte5 nance of native language proficiency, the prac6 tice of traditional ceremonies, and religious and

7 artistic expression, is recognized in numerous

8 Acts of Congress as an irreplaceable national

9 heritage to be supported and protected; and

10 (F) for nearly two decades, the United

11 States has consistently endorsed and advanced

12 the principle of Indian self-determination, with

13 the objective of ending Federal domination of

14 programs affecting Indians and ensuring that

15 tribal governments are empowered to plan, con16 duct, and administer such programs themselves.

17 (2) Despite broad agreement on the underlying

18 principles of United States Indian policy, laws en19 acted by the Congress and regulations adopted by

20 Federal agencies do not invariably reflect such prin21 ciples owing to the large number of executive branch

22 agencies and the large number of congressional com23 mittees determining policy and owing to the absence

24 of an institutional resource from which agencies and

25 congressional committees might obtain objective and
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1 reliable data, information, and analyses based upon

2 the fullest knowledge of the underlying policy prin3 ciples.

4 (3) Performance of its trust responsibility to

5 American Indians consistent with the highest fidu6 ciary standards requires the United States to assure

7 that accurate and reliable information and scholarly

8 analyses are available to institutions shaping public

9 policy.

10 (4) Federal Indian policy impacts the lives and

11 property of all American citizens, Indian and non-In12 dian, living on or near reservations throughout In13 dian country.

14 (5) Establishment of an independent, non15 partisan, institute to provide data, information, and

16 analyses related to Indian issues would assist insti17 tutions in shaping sound and consistent public policy

18 and its establishment is warranted.

19 (6) The establishment of an institute is not in20 tended, nor should it be construed as, a delegation

21 of the responsibilities of the United States in formu22 lating and adopting public policy.

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

24 For purposes of this Act:
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1 (1) The term ‘‘Indian’’ means any person who

2 is a member of an Indian tribe.

3 (2) The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ means any tribe,

4 band, nation, or other organized group or commu5 nity of Indians including any Alaska Native village

6 which is recognized by the United States as eligible

7 for special programs and services provided by the

8 United States to Indians because of their status as

9 Indians.

10 (3) The term ‘‘Institute’’ means the National

11 Indian Research Institute established by this Act.

12 (4) The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Board of Di13 rectors of the Institute.

14 (5) The term ‘‘president’’ means the president

15 of the George Washington University located in

16 Washington, District of Columbia.

17 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF INSTITUTE.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a federally

19 chartered corporation to be known as the ‘‘National In20 dian Research Institute’’ which shall be located in Wash21 ington, District of Columbia, and, with the consent of

22 George Washington University, as indicated by the accept23 ance by it of the grant authorized under section 12 of this

24 Act, within the George Washington University for pur25 poses of administration and management. For purposes
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1 of policy and direction, the Institute shall be under the

2 control of the Board of Directors established under section

3 7 of this Act.

4 (b) SUCCESSION AND AMENDMENT OF CHARTER.—

5 The Federal corporation established by this Act shall have

6 succession, subject to the review provided for in subsection

7 (c), until dissolved by Act of Congress. The Congress shall

8 have exclusive authority to revise or amend the provisions

9 of this Act involving the establishment and operation of

10 such corporation.

11 (c) REVIEW.—No later than 60 months after enact12 ment of this Act, the Congress shall review the activities

13 and performance of the Institute and of George Washing14 ton University in support of the Institute’s purposes to

15 determine whether amendments to this Act are required.

16 SEC. 5. FUNCTIONS.

17 (a) RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS.—The Institute shall,

18 at the request of institutions shaping policies affecting In19 dians or upon its own initiative, conduct or commission

20 research and analysis to be carried out, in accordance with

21 the highest standards of scholarship and independence, on

22 issues related to the development of public policy affecting

23 Indians. The Institute shall adopt criteria and procedures

24 to guide the selection of research projects. Priority consid25 eration shall be given to policy initiatives proposed for con-
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1 sideration by the executive or legislative branches of the

2 Federal Government. In conducting or commissioning re3 search and analysis on issues relating to the development

4 of public policy affecting Indians, the Institute shall en5 sure that such research shall consider all factors affecting

6 Indian policy including the impact of such policy upon

7 other Americans.

8 (b) DATA AND INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE.—

9 The Institute shall establish a data base to make acces10 sible information and data maintained by Government

11 agencies, academic institutions, and Indian and other or12 ganizations, and shall develop computer and telecommuni13 cation networks to make such information recoverable by

14 policymakers and the public. Where it is determined that

15 developing a new and specific data base is required, the

16 Institute shall undertake to meet such need.

17 (c) FORUMS AND SYMPOSIA.—The Institute shall

18 conduct periodic public forums to identify and explore

19 emerging Indian policy issues and to identify needs for

20 data, information, or analyses, and shall conduct

21 symposia, when appropriate, to clarify options for policy22 makers and to advance an understanding of complex and

23 interrelated public policy issues as they affect Indian peo24 ple and the formulation of Indian policy.
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1 (d) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—(1) The Institute shall

2 publish and make available to the executive and legislative

3 branches of the Federal Government, tribal governments,

4 tribal colleges, and the public, the products of its research

5 and reports of other activities by disseminating informa6 tion about such research and reports as deemed appro7 priate by the Board.

8 (2) Nothing in paragraph (1) or any other provision

9 of this Act shall be construed as prohibiting any Indian

10 tribal government from imposing any condition, limitation,

11 or other restriction on the use or dissemination of any in12 formation or other data made available by such tribal gov13 ernment to the Institute under this Act.

14 SEC. 6. GENERAL POWERS OF INSTITUTE.

15 (a) POWERS OF INSTITUTE.—In carrying out the

16 provisions of this Act, the Institute shall have the power,

17 consistent with the provisions of this Act—

18 (1) to adopt, use and alter a corporate seal;

19 (2) to make, subject to the availability of funds,

20 agreements and contracts with persons, Indian tribal

21 governments, tribal organizations, and private or

22 governmental entities, and to make payments or ad23 vance payments under such agreements or contracts

24 without regard to the provisions of section 3324 of

25 title 31, United States Code;
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1 (3) to sue and be sued in its corporate name

2 and to complain and defend in any court of com3 petent jurisdiction;

4 (4) to represent itself, or to contract for rep5 resentation, in all judicial, legal, and other proceed6 ings;

7 (5) with the approval of the Federal agency

8 concerned and on a reimbursable basis, to make use

9 of services, facilities, and property of any board,

10 commission, independent establishment, or executive

11 agency or department of the Federal Government in

12 carrying out the provisions of this Act, and to pay

13 for such use;

14 (6) to solicit, accept, and dispose of gifts, be15 quests, devises of money, securities, and other prop16 erties of whatever character, for the benefit of the

17 Institute;

18 (7) to receive grants from, and subject to the

19 availability of funds, enter into contracts and other

20 arrangements with Federal, State, tribal, or local

21 governments, public and private agencies, organiza22 tions, institutions, and individuals;

23 (8) to acquire, hold, maintain, use, operate, and

24 dispose of such real property, including improve25 ments thereon, personal property, equipment, and
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1 other items, as may be necessary to enable the Insti2 tute to carry out the provisions of this Act;

3 (9) to obtain insurance or make other provi4 sions against losses;

5 (10) to use any funds or property received by

6 the Institute to carry out the purpose of this Act ex7 cept that any funds received by, or under the control

8 of the Institute that are not Federal funds shall be

9 accounted for separately from Federal funds; and

10 (11) to exercise all other lawful powers nec11 essarily or reasonably related to the establishment of

12 the Institute in order to carry out the provisions of

13 this Act and the exercise of the powers, purposes,

14 functions, duties, and authorized activities of the In15 stitute.

16 SEC. 7. BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

17 (a) COMPOSITION.—

18 (1) The Board of Directors of the Institute

19 shall consist of the following members:

20 (A) Seven individuals appointed within 12

21 months following the date of enactment of this

22 Act by the President pro tempore of the Senate

23 and 7 individuals appointed within the same pe24 riod by the Speaker of the House of Represent25 atives, who are representative of a broad range
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1 of Indian policy expertise as evidenced by estab2 lished credentials in the different disciplines

3 which make up the diverse field of Indian pol4 icy, including degrees from recognized academic

5 institutions, leadership in public policymaking

6 positions, or affiliation with public and private

7 institutions which are known for their signifi8 cant contributions to the public interest. The

9 President pro tempore shall appoint from a list

10 of persons submitted by the chairman of the

11 Committee on Indian Affairs, and the Speaker

12 shall appoint from a list of persons submitted

13 by the chairman of the Committee on Natural

14 Resources of the House of Representatives.

15 (B) Two individuals appointed by the

16 president of George Washington University

17 within 12 months following the date of the en18 actment of this Act from among the faculty, of19 ficers, or employees of George Washington Uni20 versity. Members appointed pursuant to this

21 subparagraph shall serve at the pleasure of the

22 president.

23 (C) The president of George Washington

24 University, or his or her designee, and the Di-
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1 rector of the Institute, both of whom shall serve

2 as ex officio voting members of the Board.

3 (2) In making appointments under subsection

4 (a)(1)(A), the appointing authorities shall—

5 (A) consult with Indian tribal governments

6 and tribal organizations;

7 (B) solicit nominations from Indian public

8 policy specialists, Indian tribal governments,

9 tribal colleges, other Indian organizations, aca10 demic institutions and public officials with In11 dian policy responsibilities; and

12 (C) ensure that a majority of appointments

13 are Indians who are broadly representative of

14 Indian country.

15 (b) INTERIM BOARD.—The Planning Committee, ap16 pointed by the president of George Washington University

17 to assist with the feasibility study for the establishment

18 of a National Center for Native American Studies and In19 dian Policy Development, as authorized by section 11 of

20 Public Law 101–301, and composed of those individuals

21 serving at the time of enactment of this Act, shall serve

22 as the interim Board until the appointments authorized

23 in subsection (a)(1) have been made. Their service shall

24 terminate on the date that all members authorized to be
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1 appointed under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph

2 (1) of subsection (a) are appointed.

3 (c) TERMS OF OFFICE.—

4 (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section,

5 members of the Board of Directors appointed pursu6 ant to subsection (a)(1)(A) shall be appointed for

7 terms of office of 3 years.

8 (2) Of the members first appointed under sub9 section (a)(1)(A) of this section—

10 (A) 5 shall have a term of office of 12

11 months;

12 (B) 5 shall have a term of office of 24

13 months; and

14 (C) 4 shall have a term of office of 36

15 months.

16 (3) The term of office assigned to each of the

17 initial members of the Board as provided under

18 paragraph (2) shall be determined by the appointing

19 authorities at the time of appointment, except that

20 no member shall be eligible to serve in excess of 2

21 consecutive terms, but may continue to serve until

22 such member’s successor is appointed.

23 (d) VACANCIES.—Any member of the Board ap24 pointed under subsection (a) of this section to fill a va25 cancy occurring before the expiration of the term to which
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1 such member’s predecessor was appointed shall be ap2 pointed for the remainder of such term.

3 (e) REMOVAL.—No member of the Board appointed

4 pursuant to subsection (a)(1)(A) of this section may be

5 removed during the term of office of such member except

6 for just and sufficient cause. However, absence from 3

7 consecutive meetings shall be considered just and suffi8 cient cause.

9 (f) POWERS OF BOARD.—The Board is authorized

10 to—

11 (1) formulate policy for the Institute and pro12 vide direction for its management, in consultation

13 with George Washington University; and

14 (2) make such bylaws and rules as it deems

15 necessary for the administration of its functions

16 under this Act, including the organization and oper17 ating procedures of the Board.

18 (g) OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.—The

19 Board shall select from among its members an executive

20 committee to be comprised of a co-chair selected by the

21 Board to serve with a co-chair designated by George

22 Washington University, and a vice chair, secretary, treas23 urer, and one at-large member selected by the Board. In

24 accordance with the bylaws of the Board, such members

25 shall provide direction for the Board, and serve in lieu of
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1 the Board on matters requiring Board action, subject to

2 review and action by the Board as the members of the

3 Board may deem appropriate.

4 (h) COMMITTEES.—The Board may establish such

5 committees, task forces, and working groups as it deems

6 appropriate and necessary.

7 (i) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Board ap8 pointed under subsection (a)(1)(A) shall, for each day they

9 are engaged in the performance of their duties, receive

10 compensation at the rate of $125 per day, including travel

11 time. All members of the Board, while so serving away

12 from their homes or regular place of business, shall be

13 allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of sub14 sistence.

15 SEC. 8. RESOURCE ADVISORY COUNCIL.

16 (a) RESOURCE ADVISORY COUNCIL.—There is estab17 lished the Resource Advisory Council to the National In18 dian Research Institute (hereafter referred to as the

19 ‘‘Council’’) which shall provide assistance in the develop20 ment and operations of the Institute.

21 (b) COMPOSITION.—The membership of the Council

22 is as follows:

23 (1) Secretary of Health and Human Services;

24 (2) Secretary of Interior;

25 (3) Secretary of Education;
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1 (4) Secretary, Smithsonian Institution;

2 (5) Secretary of Commerce;

3 (6) Secretary of Labor;

4 (7) Administrator of the Environmental Protec5 tion Agency;

6 (8) Director, National Academy of Sciences;

7 (9) Librarian of Congress;

8 (10) Director, Office of Technology Assessment

9 (11) Director, National Institutes of Health;

10 (12) Chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs,

11 United States Senate; and

12 (13) Chairman, Committee on Natural Re13 sources, United States House of Representatives.

14 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The Council, which is advisory only

15 and exercises no executive authority—

16 (1) shall make recommendations to the Board

17 of Directors regarding research procedures and or18 ganizational development;

19 (2) shall provide professional and technical as20 sistance upon request of the Board of Directors, in21 cluding staff support for the activities of the Coun22 cil;

23 (3) when biannual meetings are called by the

24 chairmen of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs

25 and the Committee on Natural Resources of the
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1 House of Representatives, shall attend such meet2 ings or shall designate an individual or individuals to

3 attend on behalf of the Council; and

4 (4) may make reports and recommendations to

5 the Board of Directors and to the Congress as they

6 may from time to time request, or as the Council

7 may consider necessary to more effectively accom8 plish the purposes of this Act.

9 SEC. 9. OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.

10 (a) DIRECTOR.—The Board of Directors, with the

11 concurrence of the president, shall appoint a Director of

12 the Institute. The Director may only be removed from of13 fice by the Board in accordance with the bylaws of the

14 Institute.

15 (b) RESPONSIBILITY OF DIRECTOR.—Subject to the

16 direction of the Board, and the general supervision of the

17 president, the Director shall have the responsibility for

18 carrying out the policies and functions of the Institute,

19 and shall have authority over all personnel and activities

20 of the Institute.

21 (c) EMPLOYEES.—The Director, with the approval of

22 the Board, shall have the authority to appoint and fix the

23 compensation and duties of such officers and employees

24 as may be necessary for the efficient administration of the

25 Institute.
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1 (d) PREFERENCE.—In implementing this section, the

2 Board and the Director shall afford preference to Amer3 ican Indians.

4 SEC. 10. NONPROFIT AND NONPOLITICAL NATURE OF IN5 STITUTE.

6 (a) NOT AN ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION.—The Insti7 tute shall not engage in the advocacy of public policy alter8 natives, represent itself as the voice of tribal governments,

9 or take other actions that might be construed as interfer10 ing with or diminishing the government-to-government re11 lationship between tribal governments and the United

12 States.

13 (b) NO SUPPORT TO POLITICAL PARTIES.—The In14 stitute may not contribute to, or otherwise support, any

15 political party or candidate for elective public office.

16 (c) OTHER.—No part of the income or assets of the

17 Institute shall inure to the benefit of any director, officer,

18 employee, or any other individual, except as salary or rea19 sonable compensation for services.

20 SEC. 11. TAX STATUS OF INSTITUTE.

21 The Institute and the franchise, capital, reserves, in22 come and property of the Institute is exempt from all tax23 ation imposed by the United States, by any Indian tribal

24 government, or by any State or political subdivision there25 of, or the District of Columbia.
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1 SEC. 12. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS AND ADMINISTRATION

2 BY THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY.

3 (a) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.—There are trans4 ferred to the Institute, and such Institute shall perform,

5 the functions set forth under section 11 of Public Law

6 101–301 relating to the National Center for Native Amer7 ican Studies and Indian Policy Development, and section

8 816(e) of the Native American Programs Act of 1974 (42

9 U.S.C. 2991 et seq.).

10 (b) GRANT.—Subject to an appropriation by the Con11 gress for this purpose, within 30 days following the date

12 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and

13 Human Services shall award a grant to the George Wash14 ington University for all activities of the Institute and to

15 enable the University to provide such management, tech16 nical and support assistance to the Institute as may be

17 reasonable or necessary to operate the Institute, including

18 audit, accounting, computer services and building and

19 maintenance services. Subject to the availability of funds,

20 the grant shall be automatically renewable, at the option

21 of the University, on an annual basis until such time as

22 Congress may provide otherwise. No offsets or matching

23 requirements may be imposed.

24 SEC. 13. RELATIONSHIP WITH TRIBAL COLLEGES.

25 The Director of the Institute, pursuant to the direc26 tion of, and in consultation with, the Board of Directors,
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1 is authorized to enter into contracts, memoranda of under2 standing and agreements with—

3 (1) tribally controlled community colleges as de4 fined by section 2(a)(4) of the Tribally Controlled

5 Community College Assistance Act of 1978; and

6 (2) the United Tribes Technical College, South7 west Indian Polytechnic Institute, Haskell Indian

8 Junior College, and Crownpoint Institute of Tech9 nology;

10 for the purpose of conducting research, developing issue

11 papers, or to assist the Institute in carrying out its respon12 sibilities under this Act.

13 SEC. 14. REPORTS.

14 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Director of the Institute

15 shall submit an annual report to the chairman of the Sen16 ate Committee on Indian Affairs, the chairman of the

17 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep18 resentatives, and to the Board concerning the activities

19 and status of the Institute during the 12-month period

20 preceding the date of the report. Such report shall include,

21 among other matters, a comprehensive summary of stud22 ies performed and activities carried out, a detailed state23 ment of private and public funds, gifts, and other items

24 of a monetary value received by the Institute during such

25 12-month period, and the disposition thereof, as well as
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1 any recommendations for improving the Institute. Such

2 report shall also be provided to all tribal governments.

3 (b) BUDGET PROPOSAL.—(1) The Board shall sub4 mit a budget proposal for the Institute for fiscal year

5 1994, and each fiscal year thereafter, to the Secretary of

6 Health and Human Services. The Secretary of Health and

7 Human Services shall transmit such budget proposal, to8 gether with the budget proposal of the Department of

9 Health and Human Services, to the President of the

10 United States. The budget proposal of the Institute shall

11 be included in the annual budget of the President of the

12 United States.

13 (2) In determining the amount of funds to be appro14 priated for any fiscal year to the Institute on the basis

15 of the budget of the Institute for that fiscal year, the Con16 gress shall not consider the amount of private fundraising

17 or bequests made on behalf of the Institute during any

18 preceding fiscal year.

19 SEC. 15. COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL LAWS.

20 For the purpose of administering the Federal crimi21 nal laws relating to larceny, embezzlement, or conversion

22 of property or funds, the Institute shall be considered to

23 be a Federal entity and subject to such laws.
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1 SEC. 16. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal

3 year 1994, $1,000,000, and for fiscal years 1995 and

4 1996 such sums as may be necessary, to carry out the

5 provisions of this Act. Funds appropriated pursuant to the

6 authorizations under this section shall remain available

7 without fiscal year limitation.

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