S. 212 

One Hundred Sixteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and twenty 

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. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

Enhancement Act of 2020’’. 

SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

Congress finds that— 

(1)(A) to bring industry and economic development to 

Indian communities, Indian Tribes must overcome a number 

of barriers, including— 

(i) geographical location; 

(ii) lack of infrastructure or capacity; 

(iii) lack of sufficient collateral and capital; and 

(iv) regulatory bureaucracy relating to— 

(I) development; and 

(II) access to services provided by the Federal 

Government; and 

(B) the barriers described in subparagraph (A) often add 

to the cost of doing business in Indian communities; 

(2) Indian Tribes— 

(A) enact laws and exercise sovereign governmental 

powers; 

(B) determine policy for the benefit of Tribal members; 

and 

(C) produce goods and services for consumers; 

(3) the Federal Government has— 

(A) an important government-to-government relationship with Indian Tribes; and 

(B) a role in facilitating healthy and sustainable Tribal 

economies; 

(4) the input of Indian Tribes in developing Federal policy 

and programs leads to more meaningful and effective measures 

to assist Indian Tribes and Indian entrepreneurs in building 

Tribal economies; 

(5)(A) many components of Tribal infrastructure need 

significant repair or replacement; and 

(B) access to private capital for projects in Indian communities— 
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(i) may not be available; or 

(ii) may come at a higher cost than such access for 

other projects; 

(6)(A) Federal capital improvement programs, such as those 

that facilitate tax-exempt bond financing and loan guarantees, 

are tools that help improve or replace crumbling infrastructure; 

(B) lack of parity in treatment of an Indian Tribe as a 

governmental entity under Federal tax and certain other regulatory laws impedes, in part, the ability of Indian Tribes to 

raise capital through issuance of tax exempt debt, invest as 

an accredited investor, and benefit from other investment incentives accorded to State and local governmental entities; and 

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

Tribes described in subparagraph (B), investors may avoid 

financing, or demand a premium to finance, projects in Indian 

communities, making the projects more costly or inaccessible; 

(7) there are a number of Federal loan guarantee programs 

available to facilitate financing of business, energy, economic, 

housing, and community development projects in Indian 

communities, and those programs may support public-private 

partnerships for infrastructure development, but improvements 

and support are needed for those programs specific to Indian 

communities to facilitate more effectively private financing for 

infrastructure and other urgent development needs; and 

(8)(A) most real property held by Indian Tribes is trust 

or restricted land that essentially cannot be held as collateral; 

and 

(B) while creative solutions, such as leasehold mortgages, 

have been developed in response to the problem identified in 

subparagraph (A), some solutions remain subject to review 

and approval by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, adding additional 

costs and delay to Tribal projects. 

SEC. 3. NATIVE AMERICAN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, TRADE PROMOTION, AND TOURISM ACT OF 2000. 

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

Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 

(25 U.S.C. 4301) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(c) APPLICABILITY TO INDIAN-OWNED BUSINESSES.—The 

findings and purposes in subsections (a) and (b) shall apply to 

any Indian-owned business governed— 

‘‘(1) by Tribal laws regulating trade or commerce on Indian 

lands; or 

‘‘(2) pursuant to section 5 of the Act of August 15, 1876 

(19 Stat. 200, chapter 289; 25 U.S.C. 261).’’. 

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

Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 

4302) is amended— 

(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (6) and paragraphs (7) through (9), as paragraphs (2) through (7) and paragraphs (9) through (11), respectively; 

(2) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as redesignated by 

paragraph (1)) the following: 

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

of Native American Business Development appointed pursuant 

to section 4(a)(2).’’; and 
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(3) by inserting after paragraph (7) (as redesignated by 

paragraph (1)) the following: 

‘‘(8) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means the Office of Native 

American Business Development established by section 

4(a)(1).’’. 

(c) OFFICE OF NATIVE AMERICAN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.— 

Section 4 of the Native American Business Development, Trade 

Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4303) is amended— 

(1) in subsection (a)— 

(A) in paragraph (1)— 

(i) by striking ‘‘Department of Commerce’’ and 

inserting ‘‘Office of the Secretary’’; and 

(ii) by striking ‘‘(referred to in this Act as the 

‘Office’)’’; and 

(B) in paragraph (2), in the first sentence, by striking 

‘‘(referred to in this Act as the ‘Director’)’’; and 

(2) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(c) DUTIES OF DIRECTOR.— 

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

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

with respect to the trust and governmental relationship 

between the United States and Indian Tribes; and 

‘‘(B) the point of contact for Indian Tribes, Tribal 

organizations, and Indians regarding— 

‘‘(i) policies and programs of the Department of 

Commerce; and 

‘‘(ii) other matters relating to economic development and doing business in Indian lands. 

‘‘(2) DEPARTMENTAL COORDINATION.—The Director shall 

coordinate with all offices and agencies within the Department 

of Commerce to ensure that each office and agency has an 

accountable process to ensure— 

‘‘(A) meaningful and timely coordination and assistance, as required by this Act; and 

‘‘(B) consultation with Indian Tribes regarding the policies, programs, assistance, and activities of the offices and 

agencies. 

‘‘(3) OFFICE OPERATIONS.—There are authorized to be 

appropriated to carry out this section not more than $2,000,000 

for each fiscal year.’’. 

(d) INDIAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES.—The Native 

American Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism 

Act of 2000 is amended— 

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

10; and 

(2) by inserting after section 7 (25 U.S.C. 4306) the following: 

‘‘SEC. 8. INDIAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES. 

‘‘(a) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—Not later than 1 year after 

the enactment of this section, the Secretary, the Secretary of the 

Interior, and the Secretary of the Treasury shall coordinate— 

‘‘(1) to develop initiatives that— 

‘‘(A) encourage, promote, and provide education 

regarding investments in Indian communities through— 
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‘‘(i) the loan guarantee program of Bureau of 

Indian Affairs under section 201 of the Indian 

Financing Act of 1974 (25 U.S.C. 1481); 

‘‘(ii) programs carried out using amounts in the 

Community Development Financial Institutions Fund 

established under section 104(a) of the Community 

Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act 

of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4703(a)); and 

‘‘(iii) other capital development programs; 

‘‘(B) examine and develop alternatives that would 

qualify as collateral for financing in Indian communities; 

and 

‘‘(C) provide entrepreneur and other training relating 

to economic development through tribally controlled colleges and universities and other Indian organizations with 

experience in providing such training; 

‘‘(2) to consult with Indian Tribes and with the Securities 

and Exchange Commission to study, and collaborate to establish, regulatory changes necessary to qualify an Indian Tribe 

as an accredited investor for the purposes of sections 230.500 

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

successor regulations), consistent with the goals of promoting 

capital formation and ensuring qualifying Indian Tribes have 

the ability to withstand investment loss, on a basis comparable 

to other legal entities that qualify as accredited investors who 

are not natural persons; 

‘‘(3) to identify regulatory, legal, or other barriers to 

increasing investment, business, and economic development, 

including qualifying or approving collateral structures, 

measurements of economic strength, and contributions of Indian 

economies in Indian communities through the Authority established under section 4 of the Indian Tribal Regulatory Reform 

and Business Development Act of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4301 note); 

‘‘(4) to ensure consultation with Indian Tribes regarding 

increasing investment in Indian communities and the development of the report required in paragraph (5); and 

‘‘(5) not less than once every 2 years, to provide a report 

to Congress regarding— 

‘‘(A) improvements to Indian communities resulting 

from such initiatives and recommendations for promoting 

sustained growth of the Tribal economies; 

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

the necessary changes referenced in paragraph (2) and 

the impact of allowing Indian Tribes to qualify as an accredited investor; and 

‘‘(C) the identified regulatory, legal, and other barriers 

referenced in paragraph (3). 

‘‘(b) WAIVER.—For assistance provided pursuant to section 108 

of the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions 

Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4707) to benefit Native Community Development Financial Institutions, as defined by the Secretary of the 

Treasury, section 108(e) of such Act shall not apply. 

‘‘(c) INDIAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FEASIBILITY STUDY.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Government Accountability Office 

shall conduct a study and, not later than 18 months after 

the date of enactment of this subsection, submit to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 
S. 212—5 

on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report 

on the findings of the study and recommendations. 

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

of each of the following: 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The study shall assess current Federal capitalization and related programs and services that 

are available to assist Indian communities with business 

and economic development, including manufacturing, physical infrastructure (such as telecommunications and 

broadband), community development, and facilities 

construction for such purposes. For each of the Federal 

programs and services identified, the study shall assess 

the current use and demand by Indian Tribes, individuals, 

businesses, and communities of the programs, the capital 

needs of Indian Tribes, businesses, and communities 

related to economic development, the extent to which the 

programs and services overlap or are duplicative, and the 

extent that similar programs have been used to assist 

non-Indian communities compared to the extent used for 

Indian communities. 

‘‘(B) FINANCING ASSISTANCE.—The study shall assess 

and quantify the extent of assistance provided to nonIndian borrowers and to Indian (both Tribal and individual) 

borrowers (including information about such assistance as 

a percentage of need for Indian borrowers and for nonIndian borrowers, assistance to Indian borrowers and to 

non-Indian borrowers as a percentage of total applicants, 

and such assistance to Indian borrowers as individuals 

as compared to such assistance to Indian Tribes) through 

the loan programs, the loan guarantee programs, or bond 

guarantee programs of the— 

‘‘(i) Department of the Interior; 

‘‘(ii) Department of Agriculture; 

‘‘(iii) Department of Housing and Urban Development; 

‘‘(iv) Department of Energy; 

‘‘(v) Small Business Administration; and 

‘‘(vi) Community Development Financial Institutions Fund of the Department of the Treasury. 

‘‘(C) TAX INCENTIVES.—The study shall assess and 

quantify the extent of the assistance and allocations 

afforded for non-Indian projects and for Indian projects 

pursuant to each of the following tax incentive programs: 

‘‘(i) New market tax credit. 

‘‘(ii) Low income housing tax credit. 

‘‘(iii) Investment tax credit. 

‘‘(iv) Renewable energy tax incentives. 

‘‘(v) Accelerated depreciation. 

‘‘(D) TRIBAL INVESTMENT INCENTIVE.—The study shall 

assess various alternative incentives that could be provided 

to enable and encourage Tribal governments to invest in 

an Indian community development investment fund or 

bank.’’. 

(e) CONFORMING AND TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—The Native 

American Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism 

Act of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4301 et seq.) is amended— 

(1) in section 3— 
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(A) in each of paragraphs (1), (4), and (8), by striking 

‘‘tribe’’ and inserting ‘‘Tribe’’; and 

(B) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘The term ‘Indian 

tribe’ has the meaning given that term’’ and inserting 

‘‘The term ‘Indian Tribe’ has the meaning given the term 

‘Indian tribe’ ’’; 

(2) by striking ‘‘tribes’’ each place the term appears and 

inserting ‘‘Tribes’’; and 

(3) by striking ‘‘tribal’’ each place the term appears and 

inserting ‘‘Tribal’’. 

SEC. 4. BUY INDIAN ACT. 

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

as the ‘‘Buy Indian Act’’) (36 Stat. 861, chapter 431; 25 U.S.C. 

47), is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘SEC. 23. EMPLOYMENT OF INDIAN LABOR AND PURCHASE OF PRODUCTS OF INDIAN INDUSTRY; PARTICIPATION IN MENTORPROTEGE PROGRAM. 

‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

‘‘(1) INDIAN ECONOMIC ENTERPRISE.—The term ‘Indian economic enterprise’ has the meaning given the term in section 

1480.201 of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor 

regulations). 

‘‘(2) MENTOR FIRM; PROTEGE FIRM.—The terms ‘mentor firm’ 

and ‘protege firm’ have the meanings given those terms in 

section 831(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act for 

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

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

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

‘‘(B) the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

‘‘(b) ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Unless determined by one of the Secretaries to be impracticable and unreasonable— 

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

‘‘(B) purchases of Indian industry products (including 

printing and facilities construction, notwithstanding any 

other provision of law) may be made in open market by 

the Secretaries. 

‘‘(2) MENTOR-PROTEGE PROGRAM.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Participation in the Mentor-Protege 

Program established under section 831(a) of the National 

Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 (10 U.S.C. 

2302 note; Public Law 101–510) or receipt of assistance 

under a developmental assistance agreement under that 

program shall not render any individual or entity involved 

in the provision of Indian labor or an Indian industry 

product ineligible to receive assistance under this section. 

‘‘(B) TREATMENT.—For purposes of this section, no 

determination of affiliation or control (whether direct or 

indirect) may be found between a protege firm and a mentor 

firm on the basis that the mentor firm has provided, or 

agreed to provide, to the protege firm, pursuant to a 

mentor-protege agreement, any form of developmental 

assistance described in section 831(f) of the National 

Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 (10 U.S.C. 

2302 note; Public Law 101–510). 
S. 212—7 

‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION.—In carrying out this section, the Secretaries shall— 

‘‘(1) conduct outreach to Indian industrial entities; 

‘‘(2) provide training; 

‘‘(3) promulgate regulations in accordance with this section 

and with the regulations under part 1480 of title 48, Code 

of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), to harmonize 

the procurement procedures of the Department of the Interior 

and the Department of Health and Human Services, to the 

maximum extent practicable; 

‘‘(4) require regional offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs 

and the Indian Health Service to aggregate data regarding 

compliance with this section; 

‘‘(5) require procurement management reviews by their 

respective Departments to include a review of the implementation of this section; and 

‘‘(6) consult with Indian Tribes, Indian industrial entities, 

and other stakeholders regarding methods to facilitate compliance with— 

‘‘(A) this section; and 

‘‘(B) other small business or procurement goals. 

‘‘(d) REPORT.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

of enactment of this section, and not less frequently than once 

every 2 years thereafter, each of the Secretaries shall submit 

to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the 

Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report describing, during the period covered by the 

report, the implementation of this section by each of the respective Secretaries. 

‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each report under this subsection shall 

include, for each fiscal year during the period covered by the 

report— 

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

jurisdiction of each of the Secretaries to which this section 

has been applied, and efforts made by additional agencies 

within the Secretaries’ respective Departments to use the 

procurement procedures under this Act; 

‘‘(B) a summary of the types of purchases made from, 

and contracts (including any relevant modifications, extensions, or renewals) awarded to, Indian economic enterprises, expressed by agency region; 

‘‘(C) a description of the percentage increase or 

decrease in total dollar value and number of purchases 

and awards made within each agency region, as compared 

to the totals of the region for the preceding fiscal year; 

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

contracting officers and employees to conduct market 

searches to identify qualified Indian economic enterprises; 

‘‘(E) a summary of all deviations granted under section 

1480.403 of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), including a description of— 

‘‘(i) the types of alternative procurement methods 

used, including any Indian owned businesses reported 

under other procurement goals; and 

‘‘(ii) the dollar value of any awards made pursuant 

to those deviations; 
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‘‘(F) a summary of all determinations made to provide 

awards to Indian economic enterprises, including a description of the dollar value of the awards; 

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

and value of all purchases of, and contracts awarded for, 

supplies, services, and construction (including the percentage increase or decrease, as compared to the preceding 

fiscal year) from— 

‘‘(i) Indian economic enterprises; and 

‘‘(ii) non-Indian economic enterprises; 

‘‘(H) any administrative, procedural, legal, or other 

barriers to achieving the purposes of this section, together 

with recommendations for legislative or administrative 

actions to address those barriers; and 

‘‘(I) for each agency region— 

‘‘(i) the total amount spent on purchases made 

from, and contracts awarded to, Indian economic enterprises; and 

‘‘(ii) a comparison of the amount described in 

clause (i) to the total amount that the agency region 

would likely have spent on the same purchases made 

from a non-Indian economic enterprise or contracts 

awarded to a non-Indian economic enterprise. 

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

percentage goal for procurement in compliance with this section.’’. 

SEC. 5. NATIVE AMERICAN PROGRAMS ACT OF 1974. 

(a) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR NATIVE AMERICAN PROJECTS.— 

Section 803 of the Native American Programs Act of 1974 (42 

U.S.C. 2991b) is amended— 

(1) by redesignating subsections (b) through (d) as subsections (c) through (e), respectively; and 

(2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following: 

‘‘(b) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner may provide assistance under subsection (a) for projects relating to the purposes 

of this title to a Native community development financial 

institution, as defined by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—With regard to not less than 50 percent 

of the total amount available for assistance under this section, 

the Commissioner shall give priority to any application seeking 

assistance for— 

‘‘(A) the development of a Tribal code or court system 

for purposes of economic development, including commercial codes, training for court personnel, regulation pursuant 

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

chapter 289; 25 U.S.C. 261), and the development of nonprofit subsidiaries or other Tribal business structures; 

‘‘(B) the development of a community development 

financial institution, including training and administrative 

expenses; or 

‘‘(C) the development of a Tribal master plan for 

community and economic development and infrastructure.’’. 

(b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING.—Section 804 of the 

Native American Programs Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 2991c) is 

amended— 
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(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘The 

Commissioner’’ and inserting the following: 

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

(2) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—In providing assistance under subsection (a), 

the Commissioner shall give priority to any application described 

in section 803(b)(2).’’. 

(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 816 of the 

Native American Programs Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 2992d) is 

amended— 

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

‘‘803(e)’’; and 

(2) in subsection (a)— 

(A) by striking ‘‘such sums as may be necessary’’ and 

inserting ‘‘$34,000,000’’; and 

(B) by striking ‘‘1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002’’ and 

inserting ‘‘2021 through 2025’’. 

(d) CONFORMING AND TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—The Native 

American Programs Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 2991 et seq.) is 

amended— 

(1) by striking ‘‘tribe’’ each place the term appears and 

inserting ‘‘Tribe’’; 

(2) by striking ‘‘tribes’’ each place the term appears and 

inserting ‘‘Tribes’’; and 

(3) by striking ‘‘tribal’’ each place the term appears and 

inserting ‘‘Tribal’’. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.