106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 401

AN ACT

To provide for business development and trade promotion

for Native Americans, and for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Native American Busi5 ness Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of

6 1999’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

3 (1) clause 3 of section 8 of article I of the

4 United States Constitution recognizes the special re5 lationship between the United States and Indian

6 tribes;

7 (2) beginning in 1970, with the inauguration by

8 the Nixon Administration of the Indian self-deter9 mination era, each President has reaffirmed the spe10 cial government-to-government relationship between

11 Indian tribes and the United States;

12 (3) in 1994, President Clinton issued an Execu13 tive memorandum to the heads of departments and

14 agencies that obligated all Federal departments and

15 agencies, particularly those that have an impact on

16 economic development, to evaluate the potential im17 pacts of their actions on Indian tribes;

18 (4) consistent with the principles of inherent

19 tribal sovereignty and the special relationship be20 tween Indian tribes and the United States, Indian

21 tribes retain the right to enter into contracts and

22 agreements to trade freely, and seek enforcement of

23 treaty and trade rights;

24 (5) Congress has carried out the responsibility

25 of the United States for the protection and preserva26 tion of Indian tribes and the resources of Indian
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1 tribes through the endorsement of treaties, and the

2 enactment of other laws, including laws that provide

3 for the exercise of administrative authorities;

4 (6) the United States has an obligation to

5 guard and preserve the sovereignty of Indian tribes

6 in order to foster strong tribal governments, Indian

7 self-determination, and economic self-sufficiency

8 among Indian tribes;

9 (7) the capacity of Indian tribes to build strong

10 tribal governments and vigorous economies is hin11 dered by the inability of Indian tribes to engage

12 communities that surround Indian lands and outside

13 investors in economic activities on Indian lands;

14 (8) despite the availability of abundant natural

15 resources on Indian lands and a rich cultural legacy

16 that accords great value to self-determination, self17 reliance, and independence, Native Americans suffer

18 higher rates of unemployment, poverty, poor health,

19 substandard housing, and associated social ills than

20 those of any other group in the United States;

21 (9) the United States has an obligation to as22 sist Indian tribes with the creation of appropriate

23 economic and political conditions with respect to In24 dian lands to—
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1 (A) encourage investment from outside

2 sources that do not originate with the tribes;

3 and

4 (B) facilitate economic ventures with out5 side entities that are not tribal entities;

6 (10) the economic success and material well7 being of Native American communities depends on

8 the combined efforts of the Federal Government,

9 tribal governments, the private sector, and individ10 uals;

11 (11) the lack of employment and entrepre12 neurial opportunities in the communities referred to

13 in paragraph (7) has resulted in a multigenerational

14 dependence on Federal assistance that is—

15 (A) insufficient to address the magnitude

16 of needs; and

17 (B) unreliable in availability; and

18 (12) the twin goals of economic self-sufficiency

19 and political self-determination for Native Americans

20 can best be served by making available to address

21 the challenges faced by those groups—

22 (A) the resources of the private market;

23 (B) adequate capital; and

24 (C) technical expertise.
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1 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol2 lows:

3 (1) To revitalize economically and physically

4 distressed Native American economies by—

5 (A) encouraging the formation of new busi6 nesses by eligible entities, and the expansion of

7 existing businesses; and

8 (B) facilitating the movement of goods to

9 and from Indian lands and the provision of

10 services by Indians.

11 (2) To promote private investment in the econo12 mies of Indian tribes and to encourage the sustain13 able development of resources of Indian tribes and

14 Indian-owned businesses.

15 (3) To promote the long-range sustained growth

16 of the economies of Indian tribes.

17 (4) To raise incomes of Indians in order to re18 duce the number of Indians at poverty levels and

19 provide the means for achieving a higher standard of

20 living on Indian reservations.

21 (5) To encourage intertribal, regional, and

22 international trade and business development in

23 order to assist in increasing productivity and the

24 standard of living of members of Indian tribes and
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1 improving the economic self-sufficiency of the gov2 erning bodies of Indian tribes.

3 (6) To promote economic self-sufficiency and

4 political self-determination for Indian tribes and

5 members of Indian tribes.

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

7 In this Act:

8 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ has the mean9 ing given that term in the first section of the Act

10 entitled ‘‘To provide for the establishment, oper11 ation, and maintenance of foreign-trade zones in

12 ports of entry in the United States, to expedite and

13 encourage foreign commerce, and for other pur14 poses’’, approved June 18, 1934 (19 U.S.C. 81a).

15 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti16 ty’’ means an Indian tribe or tribal organization, an

17 Indian arts and crafts organization, as that term is

18 defined in section 2 of the Act of August 27, 1935

19 (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Arts and Crafts

20 Act’’) (49 Stat. 891, chapter 748; 25 U.S.C. 305a),

21 a tribal enterprise, a tribal marketing cooperative

22 (as that term is defined by the Secretary, in con23 sultation with the Secretary of the Interior), or any

24 other Indian-owned business.
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1 (3) INDIAN.—The term ‘‘Indian’’ has the mean2 ing given that term in section 4(d) of the Indian

3 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act

4 (25 U.S.C. 450b(d)).

5 (4) INDIAN GOODS AND SERVICES.—The term

6 ‘‘Indian goods and services’’ means—

7 (A) Indian goods, within the meaning of

8 section 2 of the Act of August 27, 1935 (com9 monly known as the ‘‘Indian Arts and Crafts

10 Act’’) (49 Stat. 891, chapter 748; 25 U.S.C.

11 305a);

12 (B) goods produced or originated by an eli13 gible entity; and

14 (C) services provided by eligible entities.

15 (5) INDIAN LANDS.—

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Indian

17 lands’’ includes lands under the definition of—

18 (i) the term ‘‘Indian country’’ under

19 section 1151 of title 18, United States

20 Code; or

21 (ii) the term ‘‘reservation’’ under—

22 (I) section 3(d) of the Indian Fi23 nancing Act of 1974 (25 U.S.C.

24 1452(d)); or
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1 (II) section 4(10) of the Indian

2 Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C.

3 1903(10)).

4 (B) FORMER INDIAN RESERVATIONS IN

5 OKLAHOMA.—For purposes of applying section

6 3(d) of the Indian Financing Act of 1974 (25

7 U.S.C. 1452(d)) under subparagraph (A)(ii),

8 the term ‘‘former Indian reservations in Okla9 homa’’ shall be construed to include lands that

10 are—

11 (i) within the jurisdictional areas of

12 an Oklahoma Indian tribe (as determined

13 by the Secretary of the Interior); and

14 (ii) recognized by the Secretary of the

15 Interior as eligible for trust land status

16 under part 151 of title 25, Code of Federal

17 Regulations (as in effect on the date of en18 actment of this Act).

19 (6) INDIAN-OWNED BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘In20 dian-owned business’’ means an entity organized for

21 the conduct of trade or commerce with respect to

22 which at least 50 percent of the property interests

23 of the entity are owned by Indians or Indian tribes

24 (or a combination thereof).
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1 (7) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’

2 has the meaning given that term in section 4(e) of

3 the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist4 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)).

5 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

6 the Secretary of Commerce.

7 (9) TRIBAL ENTERPRISE.—The term ‘‘tribal en8 terprise’’ means a commercial activity or business

9 managed or controlled by an Indian tribe.

10 (10) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘tribal

11 organization’’ has the meaning given that term in

12 section 4(l) of the Indian Self-Determination and

13 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(l)).

14 SEC. 4. OFFICE OF NATIVE AMERICAN BUSINESS DEVELOP15 MENT.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—

17 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established

18 within the Department of Commerce an office

19 known as the Office of Native American Business

20 Development (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Of21 fice’’).

22 (2) DIRECTOR.—The Office shall be headed by

23 a Director, appointed by the Secretary, whose title

24 shall be the Director of Native American Business

25 Development (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Direc-
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1 tor’’). The Director shall be compensated at a rate

2 not to exceed level V of the Executive Schedule

3 under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code.

4 (b) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting

6 through the Director, shall ensure the coordination

7 of Federal programs that provide assistance, includ8 ing financial and technical assistance, to eligible en9 tities for increased business, the expansion of trade

10 by eligible entities, and economic development on In11 dian lands.

12 (2) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Sec13 retary, acting through the Director, shall coordinate

14 Federal programs relating to Indian economic devel15 opment, including any such program of the Depart16 ment of the Interior, the Small Business Adminis17 tration, the Department of Labor, or any other Fed18 eral agency charged with Indian economic develop19 ment responsibilities.

20 (3) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the duties de21 scribed in paragraph (1), the Secretary, acting

22 through the Director, shall ensure the coordination

23 of, or, as appropriate, carry out—
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1 (A) Federal programs designed to provide

2 legal, accounting, or financial assistance to eli3 gible entities;

4 (B) market surveys;

5 (C) the development of promotional mate6 rials;

7 (D) the financing of business development

8 seminars;

9 (E) the facilitation of marketing;

10 (F) the participation of appropriate Fed11 eral agencies or eligible entities in trade fairs;

12 (G) any activity that is not described in

13 subparagraphs (A) through (F) that is related

14 to the development of appropriate markets; and

15 (H) any other activity that the Secretary,

16 in consultation with the Director, determines to

17 be appropriate to carry out this section.

18 (4) ASSISTANCE.—In conjunction with the ac19 tivities described in paragraph (3), the Secretary,

20 acting through the Director, shall provide—

21 (A) financial assistance, technical assist22 ance, and administrative services to eligible en23 tities to assist those entities with—

24 (i) identifying and taking advantage

25 of business development opportunities; and
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1 (ii) compliance with appropriate laws

2 and regulatory practices; and

3 (B) such other assistance as the Secretary,

4 in consultation with the Director, determines to

5 be necessary for the development of business

6 opportunities for eligible entities to enhance the

7 economies of Indian tribes.

8 (5) PRIORITIES.—In carrying out the duties

9 and activities described in paragraphs (3) and (4),

10 the Secretary, acting through the Director, shall give

11 priority to activities that—

12 (A) provide the greatest degree of eco13 nomic benefits to Indians; and

14 (B) foster long-term stable economies of

15 Indian tribes.

16 (6) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary may not pro17 vide under this section assistance for any activity re18 lated to the operation of a gaming activity on Indian

19 lands pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory

20 Act (25 U.S.C. 2710 et seq.).

21 SEC. 5. NATIVE AMERICAN TRADE AND EXPORT PRO22 MOTION.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the

24 Director, shall carry out a Native American export and
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1 trade promotion program (referred to in this section as

2 the ‘‘program’’).

3 (b) COORDINATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS AND

4 SERVICES.—In carrying out the program, the Secretary,

5 acting through the Director, and in cooperation with the

6 heads of appropriate Federal agencies, shall ensure the co7 ordination of Federal programs and services designed to—

8 (1) develop the economies of Indian tribes; and

9 (2) stimulate the demand for Indian goods and

10 services that are available from eligible entities.

11 (c) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the duties described

12 in subsection (b), the Secretary, acting through the Direc13 tor, shall ensure the coordination of, or, as appropriate,

14 carry out—

15 (1) Federal programs designed to provide tech16 nical or financial assistance to eligible entities;

17 (2) the development of promotional materials;

18 (3) the financing of appropriate trade missions;

19 (4) the marketing of Indian goods and services;

20 (5) the participation of appropriate Federal

21 agencies or eligible entities in international trade

22 fairs; and

23 (6) any other activity related to the develop24 ment of markets for Indian goods and services.
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1 (d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—In conjunction with

2 the activities described in subsection (c), the Secretary,

3 acting through the Director, shall provide technical assist4 ance and administrative services to eligible entities to as5 sist those entities with—

6 (1) the identification of appropriate markets for

7 Indian goods and services;

8 (2) entering the markets referred to in para9 graph (1);

10 (3) compliance with foreign or domestic laws

11 and practices with respect to financial institutions

12 with respect to the export and import of Indian

13 goods and services; and

14 (4) entering into financial arrangements to pro15 vide for the export and import of Indian goods and

16 services.

17 (e) PRIORITIES.—In carrying out the duties and ac18 tivities described in subsections (b) and (c), the Secretary,

19 acting through the Director, shall give priority to activities

20 that—

21 (1) provide the greatest degree of economic ben22 efits to Indians; and

23 (2) foster long-term stable international mar24 kets for Indian goods and services.
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1 SEC. 6. INTERTRIBAL TOURISM DEMONSTRATION

2 PROJECTS.

3 (a) PROGRAM TO CONDUCT TOURISM PROJECTS.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting

5 through the Director, shall conduct a Native Amer6 ican tourism program to facilitate the development

7 and conduct of tourism demonstration projects by

8 Indian tribes, on a tribal, intertribal, or regional

9 basis.

10 (2) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Under the program es12 tablished under this section, in order to assist

13 in the development and promotion of tourism

14 on and in the vicinity of Indian lands, the Sec15 retary, acting through the Director, shall, in co16 ordination with the Under Secretary of Agri17 culture for Rural Development, assist eligible

18 entities in the planning, development, and im19 plementation of tourism development dem20 onstration projects that meet the criteria de21 scribed in subparagraph (B).

22 (B) PROJECTS DESCRIBED.—In selecting

23 tourism development demonstration projects

24 under this section, the Secretary, acting

25 through the Director, shall select projects that

26 have the potential to increase travel and tour-
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1 ism revenues by attracting visitors to Indian

2 lands and lands in the vicinity of Indian lands,

3 including projects that provide for—

4 (i) the development and distribution

5 of educational and promotional materials

6 pertaining to attractions located on and

7 near Indian lands;

8 (ii) the development of educational re9 sources to assist in private and public tour10 ism development on and in the vicinity of

11 Indian lands; and

12 (iii) the coordination of tourism-re13 lated joint ventures and cooperative efforts

14 between eligible entities and appropriate

15 State and local governments that have ju16 risdiction over areas in the vicinity of In17 dian lands.

18 (3) GRANTS.—To carry out the program under

19 this section, the Secretary, acting through the Direc20 tor, may award grants or enter into other appro21 priate arrangements with Indian tribes, tribal orga22 nizations, intertribal consortia, or other tribal enti23 ties that the Secretary, in consultation with the Di24 rector, determines to be appropriate.
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1 (4) LOCATIONS.—In providing for tourism de2 velopment demonstration projects under the pro3 gram under this section, the Secretary, acting

4 through the Director, shall provide for a demonstra5 tion project to be conducted—

6 (A) for Indians of the Four Corners area

7 located in the area adjacent to the border be8 tween Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mex9 ico;

10 (B) for Indians of the northwestern area

11 that is commonly known as the Great North12 west (as determined by the Secretary);

13 (C) for the Oklahoma Indians in Okla14 homa;

15 (D) for the Indians of the Great Plains

16 area (as determined by the Secretary); and

17 (E) for Alaska Natives in Alaska.

18 (b) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary, acting through the

19 Director, shall provide financial assistance, technical as20 sistance, and administrative services to participants that

21 the Secretary, acting through the Director, selects to carry

22 out a tourism development project under this section, with

23 respect to—

24 (1) feasibility studies conducted as part of that

25 project;
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1 (2) market analyses;

2 (3) participation in tourism and trade missions;

3 and

4 (4) any other activity that the Secretary, in

5 consultation with the Director, determines to be ap6 propriate to carry out this section.

7 (c) INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT.—The dem8 onstration projects conducted under this section shall in9 clude provisions to facilitate the development and financ10 ing of infrastructure, including the development of Indian

11 reservation roads in a manner consistent with title 23,

12 United States Code.

13 SEC. 7. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the

15 date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter,

16 the Secretary, in consultation with the Director, shall pre17 pare and submit to the Committee on Indian Affairs of

18 the Senate and the Committee on Resources of the House

19 of Representatives a report on the operation of the Office.

20 (b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—Each report prepared

21 under subsection (a) shall include—

22 (1) for the period covered by the report, a sum23 mary of the activities conducted by the Secretary,

24 acting through the Director, in carrying out sections

25 4 through 6; and
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1 (2) any recommendations for legislation that

2 the Secretary, in consultation with the Director, de3 termines to be necessary to carry out sections 4

4 through 6.

5 SEC. 8. FOREIGN-TRADE ZONE PREFERENCES.

6 (a) PREFERENCE IN ESTABLISHMENT OF FOREIGN7 TRADE ZONES IN INDIAN ENTERPRISE ZONES.—In proc8 essing applications for the establishment of foreign-trade

9 zones pursuant to the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for

10 the establishment, operation, and maintenance of foreign11 trade zones in ports of entry of the United States, to expe12 dite and encourage foreign commerce, and for other pur13 poses’’, approved June 18, 1934 (19 U.S.C. 81a et seq.),

14 the Board shall consider, on a priority basis, and expedite,

15 to the maximum extent practicable, the processing of any

16 application involving the establishment of a foreign-trade

17 zone on Indian lands, including any Indian lands des18 ignated as an empowerment zone or enterprise community

19 pursuant to section 1391 of the Internal Revenue Code

20 of 1986.

21 (b) APPLICATION PROCEDURE.—In processing appli22 cations for the establishment of ports of entry pursuant

23 to the Act entitled ‘‘An Act making appropriations for

24 sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal year

25 ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and fifteen, and
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1 for other purposes’’, approved August 1, 1914 (19 U.S.C.

2 2), the Secretary of the Treasury shall, with respect to

3 any application involving the establishment of a port of

4 entry that is necessary to permit the establishment of a

5 foreign-trade zone on Indian lands—

6 (1) consider that application on a priority basis;

7 and

8 (2) expedite, to the maximum extent prac9 ticable, the processing of that application.

10 (c) APPLICATION EVALUATION.—In evaluating appli11 cations for the establishment of foreign-trade zones and

12 ports of entry in connection with Indian lands, to the max13 imum extent practicable and consistent with applicable

14 law, the Board and the Secretary of the Treasury shall

15 approve the applications.

16 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

17 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

18 as are necessary to carry out this Act, to remain available

19 until expended.

Passed the Senate September 15, 1999.

Attest:

Secretary.
106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 401

AN ACT

To provide for business development and trade promotion for Native Americans, and for other purposes.