II 

Calendar No. 1110 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1779 

[Report No. 110–519] 

To establish a program for tribal colleges and universities within the Department of Health and Human Services and to amend the Native American 

Programs Act of 1974 to authorize the provision of grants and cooperative agreements to tribal colleges and universities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 12, 2007 

Mr. TESTER (for himself, Mr. DORGAN, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. BINGAMAN, and 

Mr. JOHNSON) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

OCTOBER 1 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 17), 2008 

Reported by Mr. DORGAN, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To establish a program for tribal colleges and universities 

within the Department of Health and Human Services 

and to amend the Native American Programs Act of 

1974 to authorize the provision of grants and cooperative 

agreements to tribal colleges and universities, and for 

other purposes. 


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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 Health Promotion and Tribal Colleges and Uni6 versities Advancement Act of 2007’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—THROUGH HIGHER EDUCATION: PROMOTING THE 

ADVANCEMENT OF TRIBAL HEALTH 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Sec. 102. Findings and purpose. 

Sec. 103. Definitions. 

Sec. 104. Administration by coordinating officer. 

Sec. 105. Community-based health and wellness fairs. 

Sec. 106. Health promotion and disease prevention targeted programs; wellness 

centers. 

Sec. 107. Development and expansion of public health professional degree programs. 

Sec. 108. Tribal College and University Rural Health Equity Endowment 

Fund. 

Sec. 109. Offices of sponsored programs. 

Sec. 110. Health promotion and disease prevention research programs. 

TITLE II—ADVANCING TRIBES THROUGH TRIBAL COLLEGES AND 

UNIVERSITIES 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Findings. 

Sec. 203. Office on Tribal College and University Programs. 

Sec. 204. Native Prosperity and Native American Language Vitalization and 

Training Programs at TCUs. 

Sec. 205. Tribal colleges and universities native communities research program. 

Sec. 206. Definitions. 

Sec. 207. Authorization of appropriations. 


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1 TITLE I—THROUGH HIGHER 

2 EDUCATION: PROMOTING 

3 THE ADVANCEMENT OF TRIB4 AL HEALTH 

5 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

6 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Through Higher Edu7 cation: Promoting the Advancement of Tribal Health Act’’ 

8 or ‘‘THE PATH Act’’. 

9 SEC. 102. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

10 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

11 (1) because there is a significant lack of health12 related education and training opportunities for In13 dians, few Indians are represented in the health-re14 lated workforce of the United States; 

15 (2) tribal colleges and universities remain the 

16 most poorly-funded institutions of higher education 

17 in the United States, yet, as engaged institutions, 

18 tribal colleges and universities serve as true catalysts 

19 for positive change in Indian communities; 

20 (3) tribal colleges and universities with nursing 

21 programs train hundreds of students to hold criti22 cally-needed leadership and management positions in 

23 the Indian Health Service, tribal health organiza24 tions, and private and community agencies serving 

25 rural Indian populations; 


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1 (4) to the extent that tribal colleges and univer2 sities are able, the colleges and universities have 

3 begun to address the many societal challenges faced 

4 by Indian communities; 

5 (5) tribal colleges and universities offer criti6 cally-needed education and outreach programs, in7 cluding— 

8 (A) community health fairs; 

9 (B) HIV–AIDS education programs; 

10 (C) extensive diabetes programs; 

11 (D) nutritional and obesity programs, in12 cluding community garden programs; 

13 (E) substance abuse prevention programs; 

14 (F) youth-at-risk programs; 

15 (G) parenting classes; and 

16 (H) child and elder care services; and 

17 (6) due to a chronic lack of operational and tar18 geted program funding, together with the unwilling19 ness of certain Federal agencies to recognize tribal 

20 colleges and universities as valuable partners in ad21 dressing rural community issues, including health 

22 issues, tribal colleges and universities have limited 

23 resources available to adequately address the peren24 nial health challenges of the rural communities 

25 served by the tribal colleges and universities. 


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1 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is to assist 

2 tribal colleges and universities to strengthen Indian com3 munities through the provision of health promotion and 

4 disease prevention education, outreach, and workforce de5 velopment programs, including through program imple6 mentation, research, and capacity-building. 

7 SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this title: 

9 (1) DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term 

10 ‘‘Deputy Assistant Secretary’’ means the Deputy As11 sistant Secretary for Minority Health, within the Of12 fice of Public Health and Science. 

13 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

14 the Director of the National Institutes of Health. 

15 (3) INDIAN.—The term ‘‘Indian’’ has the mean16 ing given the term in section 4 of the Indian Health 

17 Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603). 

18 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

19 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

20 (5) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.—The 

21 term ‘‘tribal college or university’’ means— 

22 (A) an institution that is eligible to receive 

23 funds under the Tribally Controlled College or 

24 University Assistance Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 

25 1801 et seq.); 


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1 (B) Din ́e College; and 

2 (C) any 1 of the 1994 Institutions (as de3 fined in section 532 of the Equity in Edu4 cational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 

5 U.S.C. 301 note; Public Law 103–382)). 

6 SEC. 104. ADMINISTRATION BY COORDINATING OFFICER. 

7 (a) DESIGNATION.—The Deputy Assistant Secretary 

8 shall serve as the coordinating officer with respect to pro9 grams of tribal colleges and universities relating to health 

10 promotion and disease prevention. 

11 (b) STAFF.—The Secretary shall appoint such addi12 tional staff as the Secretary determines to be necessary— 

13 (1) to assist the Deputy Assistant Secretary in 

14 carrying out the duties under this section; and 

15 (2) to provide appropriate technical assistance 

16 to tribal colleges and universities that receive grants 

17 or enter into cooperative agreements under this title. 

18 (c) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—Not later than 

19 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec20 retary, in consultation with the Deputy Assistant Sec21 retary, shall develop and implement a formal memo22 randum of agreement with the American Indian Higher 

23 Education Consortium to establish programs— 

24 (1) to ensure that Native American commu25 nities, through tribal colleges and universities, parVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:48 Oct 02, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1779.RS S1779

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1 ticipate equitably in employment programs, services, 

2 and resources of the Department of Health and 

3 Human Services; and 

4 (2) to provide necessary technical assistance to 

5 the tribal colleges and universities. 

6 SEC. 105. COMMUNITY-BASED HEALTH AND WELLNESS 

7 FAIRS. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

9 through the Deputy Assistant Secretary, shall establish a 

10 program under which the Secretary shall provide grants 

11 to, or offer to enter into cooperative agreements with, trib12 al colleges and universities to carry out annual, commu13 nity-based, and culturally relevant health and wellness 

14 fairs at the tribal colleges and universities. 

15 (b) FUNDING.— 

16 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

17 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec18 retary to carry out this section for each of fiscal 

19 years 2009 through 2017 an amount equal to the 

20 sum of— 

21 (A) the product obtained by multiplying— 

22 (i) the number of tribal colleges and 

23 universities in operation on October 1 of 

24 the fiscal year; and 

25 (ii) $15,000; and 


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1 (B) such amount as the Secretary deter2 mines to be necessary for the costs of admin3 istering the program under this section. 

4 (2) TOTAL AMOUNT.—Subject to paragraph 

5 (3), the Secretary shall use all amounts made avail6 able under paragraph (1)(A) to provide grants or 

7 enter into cooperative agreements pursuant to this 

8 section. 

9 (3) NONAPPLICABILITY OF LIMITATION.—The 

10 limitation under section 1703(c) of the Public 

11 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u–2(c)) shall not 

12 apply to this section. 

13 SEC. 106. HEALTH PROMOTION AND DISEASE PREVENTION 

14 TARGETED PROGRAMS; WELLNESS CENTERS. 

15 (a) HEALTH PROMOTION AND DISEASE PREVENTION

16 TARGETED PROGRAMS.— 

17 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

18 through the Deputy Assistant Secretary, shall estab19 lish a program under which the Secretary shall pro20 vide grants to, or offer to enter into cooperative 

21 agreements with, tribal colleges and universities to 

22 carry out activities to improve and expand the ca23 pacity of the tribal colleges and universities— 

24 (A) to carry out activities relating to 

25 health promotion and disease prevention; and 


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1 (B) to eliminate health disparities in tribal 

2 communities, to the maximum extent prac3 ticable. 

4 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In providing grants and 

5 entering into cooperative agreements under this sub6 section, the Secretary, to the maximum extent prac7 ticable, shall— 

8 (A) approve applications on a competitive 

9 basis; and 

10 (B) ensure maximum and equitable dis11 tribution among eligible tribal colleges and uni12 versities. 

13 (3) APPLICATION.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive 

15 a grant or enter into a cooperative agreement 

16 under this subsection, a tribal college or univer17 sity shall submit to the Secretary an application 

18 at such time and in such manner as the Sec19 retary may reasonably require. 

20 (B) INCLUSION.—An application under 

21 subparagraph (A) shall include a description of 

22 a 5-year strategy of the applicable tribal college 

23 or university for meeting the health promotion 

24 and disease prevention needs of Indians or 


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1 Alaska Natives, as appropriate, in the area 

2 served by the tribal college or university. 

3 (C) STREAMLINED PROCEDURE.—The Sec4 retary shall ensure, to the maximum extent 

5 practicable, a simplified and streamlined proce6 dure for the submission and approval of appli7 cations under subparagraph (A), taking into 

8 consideration the limited number of institutions 

9 that are eligible to receive assistance under this 

10 subsection. 

11 (4) ACTIVITIES.—A tribal college or university 

12 that receives a grant or enters into a cooperative 

13 agreement under this subsection may use the grant 

14 or cooperative agreement to develop and carry out 

15 activities to address targeted areas of health pro16 motion and disease prevention in tribal communities, 

17 including activities relating to— 

18 (A) diabetes education and prevention; 

19 (B) injury prevention; 

20 (C) substance abuse, including meth21 amphetamine abuse; 

22 (D) HIV–AIDS prevention; 

23 (E) emerging health promotion and disease 

24 prevention program and response development; 

25 and 


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1 (F) obesity and nutrition. 

2 (5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

3 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

4 this subsection $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

5 2009 through 2017. 

6 (b) WELLNESS CENTERS.— 

7 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

8 through the Deputy Assistant Secretary, shall estab9 lish a program under which the Secretary shall pro10 vide grants to tribal colleges and universities for 

11 purposes of— 

12 (A) construction, renovation, and mod13 ernization of community wellness centers lo14 cated on the campuses of the tribal colleges and 

15 universities; and 

16 (B) construction, renovation, and mod17 ernization of outpatient student health clinics 

18 located on those campuses. 

19 (2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

21 subparagraph (B), the maximum amount of a 

22 grant provided under paragraph (1) shall not 

23 exceed an amount equal to 95 percent of the 

24 cost of the project carried out by the applicable 

25 tribal college or university. 


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1 (B) EXCEPTION.—The limitation under 

2 subparagraph (A) shall not apply to a tribal 

3 college or university located in, as determined 

4 by the Secretary— 

5 (i) an urban area; or 

6 (ii) a poor rural area. 

7 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

9 this subsection $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

10 2009 through 2017. 

11 SEC. 107. DEVELOPMENT AND EXPANSION OF PUBLIC 

12 HEALTH PROFESSIONAL DEGREE PRO13 GRAMS. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

15 through the Administrator of the Health Resources and 

16 Services Administration, shall establish a program under 

17 which the Secretary shall provide grants to tribal colleges 

18 and universities for purposes of developing curricula, 

19 courses, and degree and in-service programs for health20 related professions. 

21 (b) APPLICATION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

23 grant under this subsection, a tribal college or uni24 versity shall submit to the Secretary an application 


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1 at such time and in such manner as the Secretary 

2 may reasonably require. 

3 (2) INCLUSION.—An application under para4 graph (1) shall include a description of a 5-year 

5 strategy of the applicable tribal college or university 

6 for increasing the number of Indians in the health 

7 workforce of the United States. 

8 (3) STREAMLINED PROCEDURE.—The Secretary 

9 shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, a 

10 simplified and streamlined procedure for the submis11 sion and approval of applications under paragraph 

12 (1), taking into consideration the limited number of 

13 institutions that are eligible to receive assistance 

14 under this section. 

15 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

16 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection 

17 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2017. 

18 SEC. 108. TRIBAL COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY RURAL 

19 HEALTH EQUITY ENDOWMENT FUND. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

21 Treasury of the United States a fund, to be known as the 

22 ‘‘Tribal College and University Rural Health Equity En23 dowment Fund’’ (referred to in this section as the 

24 ‘‘Fund’’), consisting of— 


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1 (1) such amounts as are appropriated to the 

2 Fund under subsection (b); and 

3 (2) any interest earned on those amounts. 

4 (b) TRANSFERS TO FUND.—There is appropriated to 

5 the Fund, out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise ap6 propriated, $9,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 

7 through 2017. 

8 (c) INVESTMENTS.—The Secretary shall invest 

9 amounts in the Fund in interest-bearing obligations of the 

10 United States. 

11 (d) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), on 

13 September 30 of fiscal year 2009 and annually 

14 thereafter through September 30, 2017, on request 

15 by the Secretary, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

16 transfer from the Fund to the Secretary an amount 

17 equal to the amount of interest income earned on 

18 amounts in the Fund during the preceding fiscal 

19 year. 

20 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—An amount 

21 not exceeding 1 percent of the annual interest yield 

22 distributed to tribal colleges and universities shall be 

23 available for each fiscal year to pay the administra24 tive expenses necessary to carry out this section. 


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1 (e) DISTRIBUTION OF AMOUNTS.—Of amounts trans2 ferred under subsection (d)(1), the Secretary shall dis3 tribute— 

4 (1) 60 percent to tribal colleges and universities 

5 on a pro rata basis, based on the proportion that— 

6 (A) the Indian student count (as defined in 

7 section 2(a) of the Tribally Controlled College 

8 or University Assistance Act of 1978 (25 

9 U.S.C. 1801(a)) of a tribal college or university 

10 for the applicable fiscal year; bears to 

11 (B) the Indian student count of all tribal 

12 colleges and universities for that fiscal year; 

13 and 

14 (2) 40 percent in payments of equal amounts to 

15 each tribal college and university. 

16 (f) USE OF FUNDS.—A tribal college or university 

17 shall use amounts received under this section to establish 

18 an endowment for a rural health-related program at the 

19 tribal college or university. 

20 SEC. 109. OFFICES OF SPONSORED PROGRAMS. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

22 through the Director, shall establish a program under 

23 which the Secretary shall provide grants to tribal colleges 

24 and universities to establish and maintain at the tribal colVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:48 Oct 02, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1779.RS S1779

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1 leges and universities offices of sponsored programs de2 scribed in subsection (b). 

3 (b) SPONSORED PROGRAMS.—The sponsored pro4 grams referred to in subsection (a) include programs for— 

5 (1) pre- and post-grant award research, data 

6 collection, and analyses, through a method that en7 sures— 

8 (A) proper documentation of relevant ap9 plications; and 

10 (B) compliance with applicable regulations 

11 and guidelines; 

12 (2) advancing specific institutional grant appli13 cation procedures and processes through coordina14 tion of external funding sources and faculty, staff, 

15 and financial officers; 

16 (3) assisting in negotiations with Federal fund17 ing sources; 

18 (4) providing liaisons with Federal counterparts 

19 of tribal colleges and universities— 

20 (A) to train and assist principal investiga21 tors, faculty, and college staff with respect to 

22 grant management, reporting, and program im23 plementation; and 

24 (B) to ensure that applicable deadlines are 

25 met and required reports are completed; 


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1 (5) coordinating partnerships between tribal 

2 colleges and universities, Federal agencies, and the 

3 private sector for collaborative programs and activi4 ties; and 

5 (6) in consultation with Federal agencies, iden6 tifying and proposing solutions to— 

7 (A) obstacles relating to Federal agency 

8 grant application procedures and requirements; 

9 and 

10 (B) other problems relating to Federal 

11 grant program structures and requirements. 

12 (c) APPLICATION.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

14 grant under this section, a tribal college or univer15 sity shall submit to the Secretary an application at 

16 such time and in such manner as the Secretary may 

17 reasonably require. 

18 (2) INCLUSION.—An application under para19 graph (1) shall include a description of a 5-year 

20 strategy of the applicable tribal college or university 

21 for carrying out a sponsored program at the tribal 

22 college or university, including performance indica23 tors by which success of the tribal college or univer24 sity will be evaluated. 


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1 (d) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—For each of fiscal 

2 years 2009 through 2017, the Secretary, acting through 

3 the Director, shall provide to each tribal college and uni4 versity the application of which is approved under sub5 section (c) a grant in an amount equal to the quotient 

6 obtained by dividing— 

7 (1) the total amount made available under sub8 section (f) for the fiscal year; by 

9 (2) the number of tribal colleges and univer10 sities the applications of which are approved under 

11 subsection (c) for the fiscal year. 

12 (e) REPORTS.—For each of fiscal years 2010 through 

13 2018, each tribal college or university that receives a grant 

14 under this section shall submit to the Director a report 

15 describing the success of the office of sponsored programs 

16 of the tribal college or university during the preceding fis17 cal year, as determined in accordance with the perform18 ance indicators contained in the application of the tribal 

19 college or university under subsection (c)(2). 

20 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

21 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section for 

22 each of fiscal years 2009 through 2017 an amount equal 

23 to the product obtained by multiplying— 


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1 (1) the number of tribal colleges and univer2 sities in operation on October 1 of the applicable fis3 cal year; and 

4 (2) $50,000. 

5 SEC. 110. HEALTH PROMOTION AND DISEASE PREVENTION 

6 RESEARCH PROGRAMS. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

8 through the Director, shall establish a program under 

9 which the Secretary shall provide grants to, or offer to 

10 enter into cooperative agreements with, tribal colleges and 

11 universities to conduct research relating to health pro12 motion and disease prevention at the tribal colleges and 

13 universities. 

14 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

15 (1) COMPETITION.—The Secretary shall provide 

16 grants and offer to enter into cooperative agree17 ments under subsection (a) on a competitive basis. 

18 (2) GENERAL TERMS AND AMOUNTS.—Except 

19 as provided in paragraph (3)— 

20 (A) the term of a grant or cooperative 

21 agreement under subsection (a) shall be not 

22 more than 3 years; and 

23 (B) the minimum amount of a grant under 

24 subsection (a) for a fiscal year shall be 

25 $150,000. 


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1 (3) UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

2 PROGRAMS.—With respect to a grant or cooperative 

3 agreement provided for an undergraduate research 

4 experience program under subsection (d)(3)— 

5 (A) the term of such a grant or cooperative 

6 agreement shall be not more than 1 year; and 

7 (B) the minimum amount of such a grant 

8 for a fiscal year shall be $10,000. 

9 (c) APPLICATION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

11 grant, or to enter into a cooperative agreement, 

12 under this subsection, a tribal college or university 

13 shall submit to the Secretary an application at such 

14 time and in such manner as the Secretary may rea15 sonably require. 

16 (2) STREAMLINED PROCEDURE.—The Secretary 

17 shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, a 

18 simplified and streamlined procedure for the submis19 sion and approval of applications under paragraph 

20 (1), taking into consideration the limited number of 

21 institutions that are eligible to receive assistance 

22 under this section. 

23 (d) ACTIVITIES.—A tribal college or university that 

24 receives a grant or enters into a cooperative agreement 


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1 under this section may use the grant or cooperative agree2 ment to carry out activities, including— 

3 (1) research on culturally relevant and innova4 tive health promotion and disease prevention strate5 gies; 

6 (2) epidemiological research on the health sta7 tus of Indian populations and communities; and 

8 (3) undergraduate research experience pro9 grams as the tribal college or university determines 

10 to be appropriate. 

11 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

12 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

13 $12,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2017. 

14 TITLE II—ADVANCING TRIBES 

15 THROUGH TRIBAL COLLEGES 

16 AND UNIVERSITIES 

17 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

18 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Advancing Tribes 

19 Through Tribal Colleges and Universities Act’’ or the ‘‘AT 

20 TCUs Act’’. 

21 SEC. 202. FINDINGS. 

22 Congress finds that— 

23 (1) a primary goal of providing Federal support 

24 for higher education is to ensure social and economic 


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1 self-sufficiency and growth for all residents of the 

2 United States; 

3 (2) social and economic underdevelopment is 

4 the primary obstacle to the self-sufficiency of Indian 

5 communities and families; 

6 (3) research has demonstrated that higher edu7 cation is a primary method of achieving economic 

8 and social development for Indian communities; 

9 (4) tribal colleges and universities are institu10 tions of higher education created by Indians for In11 dians primarily on rural and isolated Indian reserva12 tions, which were virtually excluded from the general 

13 system of higher education in the United States; 

14 (5) underlying goals of tribal colleges and uni15 versities are— 

16 (A) to improve the lives of Indians through 

17 higher education; and 

18 (B) to assist Indians in achieving self-suffi19 ciency; 

20 (6) tribal colleges and universities— 

21 (A) offer a variety of social services for 

22 students and community members; and 

23 (B) often serve as community centers, li24 braries, tribal archives, career and business cen25 ters, economic development centers, public 


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1 meeting places, and childcare and wellness cen2 ters; 

3 (7) tribal colleges and universities and students 

4 of those colleges or universities contribute signifi5 cantly to the economic and social health of Indian 

6 communities; 

7 (8)(A) tribal colleges and universities have been 

8 more successful than any other institution of higher 

9 education in educating and helping to retain Indians 

10 in high-need fields, such as nursing and teaching; 

11 (B) data from 2005 indicates that— 

(i) approximately 1 12 ⁄2 of all graduates of 

13 tribal colleges and universities pursue advanced 

14 education; and 

15 (ii) of those graduates, more than 86 per16 cent pursue bachelor’s degrees; 

17 (9) individuals, including Indians, with bach18 elor’s or advanced degrees earn— 

19 (A) almost 4 times as much as individuals 

20 who do not graduate from high school; and 

21 (B) more than twice as much as individ22 uals with high school diplomas; 

23 (10) of the 155 indigenous languages spoken in 

24 the United States as of the date of enactment of this 

25 Act, 135 are spoken only by Indian elders; 


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1 (11)(A) language and culture are at the heart 

2 of the mission of each tribal college and university; 

3 (B) tribal colleges and universities— 

4 (i) play a strong leadership role in Native 

5 American language immersion; and 

6 (ii) are responsible for the majority of the 

7 approximately 50 Native American language 

8 immersion programs in the United States; and 

9 (12) despite the proven success of Native Amer10 ican language preservation and vitalization efforts of 

11 tribal colleges and universities, only minimal Federal 

12 and private sector resources are used for the activi13 ties. 

14 SEC. 203. OFFICE ON TRIBAL COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY 

15 PROGRAMS. 

16 Section 803B of the Native American Programs Act 

17 of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 2991b–2) is amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub19 section (f); and 

20 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(e) OFFICE ON TRIBAL COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY

23 PROGRAMS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 

25 within the Administration on Native Americans an 


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1 office, to be known as the ‘Office on Tribal College 

2 and University Programs’ (referred to in this sub3 section as the ‘Office’), for the purposes of— 

4 ‘‘(A) administering the programs author5 ized by this Act; and 

6 ‘‘(B) coordinating intra- and inter-depart7 mental activities relating to tribal colleges and 

8 universities. 

9 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The Secretary shall appoint a 

10 Director of the Office, who shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) serve on a full-time basis; and 

12 ‘‘(B) carry out the duties described in 

13 paragraph (1). 

14 ‘‘(3) STAFF.—The Secretary shall appoint such 

15 additional staff as the Secretary determines to be 

16 necessary— 

17 ‘‘(A) to assist the Director in carrying out 

18 the duties described in paragraph (1); and 

19 ‘‘(B) to provide appropriate technical as20 sistance to tribal colleges and universities that 

21 receive grants or enter into cooperative agree22 ments under this Act. 

23 ‘‘(4) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—To ensure that 

24 tribal colleges and universities receive timely, equi25 table, and culturally-relevant technical assistance 


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1 under section 804, the Secretary, acting through the 

2 Commissioner, may enter into any cooperative agree3 ment the Secretary determines to be necessary with 

4 the American Indian Higher Education Consor5 tium.’’. 

6 SEC. 204. NATIVE PROSPERITY AND NATIVE AMERICAN 

7 LANGUAGE VITALIZATION AND TRAINING 

8 PROGRAMS AT TCUS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Native American Programs 

10 Act of 1974 is amended by inserting after section 803C 

11 (42 U.S.C. 2991b–3) the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 803D. NATIVE PROSPERITY AND NATIVE AMERICAN 

13 LANGUAGE VITALIZATION AND TRAINING 

14 PROGRAMS AT TCUS. 

15 ‘‘(a) NATIVE PROSPERITY PROGRAM.— 

16 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

17 through the Commissioner, shall establish a pro18 gram, to be known as the ‘Native Prosperity Pro19 gram’, under which the Secretary shall provide 

20 grants to, or offer to enter into cooperative agree21 ments with, eligible tribal colleges and universities to 

22 promote economic development, entrepreneurship, 

23 community development, and sound fiscal leadership 

24 in Indian communities. 

25 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 subparagraph (B)— 

3 ‘‘(i) the Secretary shall provide grants 

4 and offer to enter into cooperative agree5 ments under paragraph (1) on a competi6 tive basis; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) the term of a grant or coopera8 tive agreement under paragraph (1) shall 

9 be not more than 5 years. 

10 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If the Secretary deter11 mines that a tribal college or university that re12 ceives a grant or enters into a cooperative 

13 agreement under this subsection has performed 

14 satisfactorily throughout the initial 5-year term 

15 of the grant or cooperative agreement under 

16 subparagraph (A)(ii)— 

17 ‘‘(i) the tribal college or university 

18 may submit to the Secretary an application 

19 to extend the grant or cooperative agree20 ment, as applicable, for a period of not 

21 more than 3 additional years; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary may waive the 

23 competitiveness requirement of subpara24 graph (A)(i) with respect to the applica25 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re3 ceive a grant or enter into a cooperative agree4 ment under this subsection, a tribal college or 

5 university shall submit to the Secretary an ap6 plication at such time and in such manner as 

7 the Secretary may reasonably require. 

8 ‘‘(B) PROGRAM PLAN.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An application 

10 under subparagraph (A) shall include a 

11 plan for the program proposed to be car12 ried out by the eligible tribal college or 

13 university using the grant or pursuant to 

14 the cooperative agreement, as applicable. 

15 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSIONS.—A program plan 

16 under subparagraph (A) shall include— 

17 ‘‘(I) a description of a 5-year 

18 strategy of the applicable tribal col19 lege or university for meeting the 

20 needs of Indians or Alaska Natives, as 

21 appropriate, in the area served by the 

22 tribal college or university; 

23 ‘‘(II) an identification of the pop24 ulation to be served by the tribal col25 lege or university; 


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1 ‘‘(III) an identification of the 

2 education and employment needs of 

3 that population and a description of 

4 the manner in which the program 

5 will— 

6 ‘‘(aa) strengthen the eco7 nomic development potential of 

8 the population; or 

9 ‘‘(bb) contribute to the de10 velopment of high-quality local 

11 and community services; 

12 ‘‘(IV) a description of the serv13 ices to be provided under the pro14 gram, including the manner in which 

15 the services will be integrated with 

16 other appropriate activities; and 

17 ‘‘(V) a description, to be pre18 pared in consultation with the Sec19 retary, of the performance measures 

20 to be used to assess the performance 

21 of the tribal college or university in 

22 carrying out the program. 

23 ‘‘(iii) REQUIREMENT.—A program 

24 plan shall be consistent with the purposes 


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1 of this section, as determined by the Sec2 retary. 

3 ‘‘(4) ACTIVITIES.—A tribal college or university 

4 that receives a grant or enters into a cooperative 

5 agreement under this subsection may use the grant 

6 or cooperative agreement to carry out activities, in7 cluding— 

8 ‘‘(A) microenterprise development; 

9 ‘‘(B) business development and administra10 tion courses and degree programs; 

11 ‘‘(C) entrepreneurship programs; 

12 ‘‘(D) municipality planning and adminis13 tration courses, degree programs, and in-service 

14 training; and 

15 ‘‘(E) executive leadership training in eco16 nomic development, planning, and emerging 

17 management issues. 

18 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

19 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

20 this subsection $12,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

21 2009 through 2012. 

22 ‘‘(b) NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE VITALIZATION

23 AND TRAINING PROGRAM.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

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1 gram, to be known as the ‘Native American Lan2 guage Vitalization and Training Program’, under 

3 which the Secretary shall provide grants to, or offer 

4 to enter into cooperative agreements with, eligible 

5 tribal colleges and universities to promote the pres6 ervation, revitalization, relevancy, and use of Native 

7 American languages. 

8 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

10 subparagraph (B)— 

11 ‘‘(i) the Secretary shall provide grants 

12 and offer to enter into cooperative agree13 ments under paragraph (1) on a competi14 tive basis; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the term of a grant or coopera16 tive agreement under paragraph (1) shall 

17 be not more than 5 years. 

18 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If the Secretary deter19 mines that a tribal college or university that re20 ceives a grant or enters into a cooperative 

21 agreement under this subsection has performed 

22 satisfactorily throughout the initial 5-year term 

23 of the grant or cooperative agreement under 

24 subparagraph (A)(ii)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the tribal college or university 

2 may submit to the Secretary an application 

3 to extend the grant or cooperative agree4 ment, as applicable, for a period of not 

5 more than 3 additional years; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary may waive the 

7 competitiveness requirement of subpara8 graph (A)(i) with respect to the applica9 tion. 

10 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re12 ceive a grant or enter into a cooperative agree13 ment under this subsection, a tribal college or 

14 university shall submit to the Secretary an ap15 plication at such time and in such manner as 

16 the Secretary may reasonably require. 

17 ‘‘(B) PROGRAM PLAN.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An application 

19 under subparagraph (A) shall include a 

20 plan for the program proposed to be car21 ried out by the eligible tribal college or 

22 university using the grant or pursuant to 

23 the cooperative agreement, as applicable. 

24 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSIONS.—A program plan 

25 under subparagraph (A) shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(I) a description of a 5-year 

2 strategy of the applicable tribal col3 lege or university for meeting the 

4 needs of Indians or Alaska Natives, as 

5 appropriate, in the area served by the 

6 tribal college or university; 

7 ‘‘(II) an identification of the pop8 ulation to be served by the tribal col9 lege or university; 

10 ‘‘(III) an identification of the 

11 status of Native American language 

12 understanding and use within that 

13 population and a description of the 

14 manner in which the program will 

15 help preserve and revitalize the rel16 evant Native American language; 

17 ‘‘(IV) a description of the serv18 ices to be provided under the pro19 gram, including the manner in which 

20 the services will be integrated with 

21 other appropriate activities; and 

22 ‘‘(V) a description, to be pre23 pared in consultation with the Sec24 retary, of the performance measures 

25 to be used to assess the performance 


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1 of the tribal college or university in 

2 carrying out the program. 

3 ‘‘(iii) REQUIREMENT.—A program 

4 plan shall be consistent with the purposes 

5 of this section, as determined by the Sec6 retary. 

7 ‘‘(4) ACTIVITIES.—A tribal college or university 

8 that receives a grant or enters into a cooperative 

9 agreement under this subsection may use the grant 

10 or cooperative agreement to carry out activities, in11 cluding— 

12 ‘‘(A) curricula development and academic 

13 instruction, including educational activities, pro14 grams, and partnerships relating to students in 

15 prekindergarten through grade 12; 

16 ‘‘(B) professional development for college 

17 and university faculty and in-service training 

18 programs for prekindergarten through grade 12 

19 instructors and administrators; and 

20 ‘‘(C) innovative Native American language 

21 programs for students in prekindergarten 

22 through grade 12, including language immer23 sion programs. 

24 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

25 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 


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1 this subsection $12,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

2 2009 through 2012.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The section head4 ing of section 803C of the Native American Programs Act 

5 of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 2991b–3) is amended by inserting 

6 ‘‘GENERAL’’ before ‘‘GRANT PROGRAM’’. 

7 SEC. 205. TRIBAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES NATIVE 

8 COMMUNITIES RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

9 Section 805 of the Native American Programs Act 

10 of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 2991d) is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub12 section (c); and 

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

15 ‘‘(b) TRIBAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES NATIVE

16 COMMUNITIES RESEARCH PROGRAM.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

18 through the Commissioner, shall provide grants to, 

19 or offer to enter into cooperative agreements with, 

20 eligible tribal colleges and universities to conduct re21 search in accordance with the purposes of this Act. 

22 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) COMPETITION.—The Secretary shall 

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1 tive agreements under paragraph (1) on a com2 petitive basis. 

3 ‘‘(B) TERM.—The term of a grant or coop4 erative agreement under paragraph (1) shall be 

5 not more than 3 years. 

6 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re8 ceive a grant or enter into a cooperative agree9 ment under this subsection, a tribal college or 

10 university shall submit to the Secretary an ap11 plication at such time and in such manner as 

12 the Secretary may reasonably require. 

13 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—An application under 

14 subparagraph (A) shall include a plan for the 

15 program proposed to be carried out by the eligi16 ble tribal college or university using the grant 

17 or pursuant to the cooperative agreement, as 

18 applicable. 

19 ‘‘(4) ACTIVITIES.—A tribal college or university 

20 that receives a grant or enters into a cooperative 

21 agreement under this subsection may use the grant 

22 or cooperative agreement to carry out activities, in23 cluding— 

24 ‘‘(A) community-based social science re25 search; 


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1 ‘‘(B) Native American language preserva2 tion and vitalization research; and 

3 ‘‘(C) economic development research, in4 cluding research relating to— 

5 ‘‘(i) workforce inventory and indus6 trial analysis; 

7 ‘‘(ii) community development through 

8 coordinated planning; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) multistakeholder partnership 

10 models. 

11 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

12 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

13 this subsection $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

14 2009 through 2012.’’. 

15 SEC. 206. DEFINITIONS. 

16 Section 815 of the Native American Programs Act 

17 of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 2992c) is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

19 end; 

20 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at 

21 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

23 ‘‘(7) the term ‘tribal college or university’ 

24 means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) an institution that is eligible to re2 ceive funds under the Tribally Controlled Col3 lege or University Assistance Act of 1978 (25 

4 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.); 

5 ‘‘(B) Din ́e College; and 

6 ‘‘(C) any 1 of the 1994 Institutions (as de7 fined in section 532 of the Equity in Edu8 cational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 

9 U.S.C. 301 note; Public Law 103–382)).’’. 

10 SEC. 207. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 Section 816 of the Native American Programs Act 

12 of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 2992d) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsections (a), (c), and (e), by striking 

14 ‘‘fiscal years 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002’’ each 

15 place it appears and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2008 

16 through 2012’’; 

17 (2) in subsections (a) and (b), by striking ‘‘sub18 section (e)’’ each place it appears and inserting 

19 ‘‘subsection (d)’’; 

20 (3) by striking subsection (d); and 

21 (4) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub22 section (d). 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Tribal Health Promotion and Tribal Colleges and Univer4 sities Advancement Act of 2008’’. 

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

6 Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—THROUGH HIGHER EDUCATION: PROMOTING THE 

ADVANCEMENT OF TRIBAL HEALTH 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Sec. 102. Findings and purpose. 

Sec. 103. Definitions. 

Sec. 104. Administration by coordinating officer. 

Sec. 105. Community-based health and wellness fairs. 

Sec. 106. Health promotion and disease prevention targeted programs. 

Sec. 107. Development and expansion of public health professional degree programs. 

Sec. 108. Tribal College and University Rural Health Equity Endowment Fund. 

Sec. 109. Offices of sponsored programs. 

Sec. 110. Health promotion and disease prevention research programs. 

TITLE II—ADVANCING TRIBES THROUGH TRIBAL COLLEGES AND 

UNIVERSITIES 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Findings. 

Sec. 203. Native Prosperity Programs at TCUs. 

Sec. 204. Definitions. 

7 TITLE I—THROUGH HIGHER 

8 EDUCATION: PROMOTING THE 

9 ADVANCEMENT OF TRIBAL 

10 HEALTH 

11 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

12 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Through Higher Edu13 cation: Promoting the Advancement of Tribal Health Act’’ 

14 or ‘‘THE PATH Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 102. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

3 (1) because there is a significant lack of acces4 sible health-related education and training opportuni5 ties for Indians, few Indians are represented in the 

6 health-related workforce of the United States; 

7 (2) tribal colleges and universities remain the 

8 most poorly-funded institutions of higher education in 

9 the United States, yet, as engaged institutions, tribal 

10 colleges and universities serve as catalysts for positive 

11 change in Indian communities; 

12 (3) tribal colleges and universities with nursing 

13 programs train hundreds of students to hold criti14 cally-needed professional and management positions 

15 in the Indian Health Service, tribal health organiza16 tions, and private and community agencies serving 

17 rural Indian populations; 

18 (4) to the extent that tribal colleges and univer19 sities are able, the colleges and universities have 

20 begun to address the many societal challenges faced by 

21 Indian communities; 

22 (5) tribal colleges and universities offer criti23 cally-needed education and outreach programs, in24 cluding— 

25 (A) community health fairs; 

26 (B) HIV–AIDS education programs; 


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1 (C) diabetes education programs; 

2 (D) nutritional and obesity programs, in3 cluding community garden programs; 

4 (E) substance abuse prevention programs; 

5 (F) youth-at-risk programs; 

6 (G) parenting classes; and 

7 (H) child and elder care services; and 

8 (6) due to a chronic lack of operational and tar9 geted program funding, together with the unwilling10 ness of certain Federal agencies to recognize tribal 

11 colleges and universities as valuable partners in ad12 dressing rural community issues, including health 

13 care professional shortages, tribal colleges and univer14 sities have limited resources available to help ade15 quately address the perennial health challenges of 

16 rural Indian communities. 

17 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is to assist 

18 tribal colleges and universities to strengthen Indian com19 munities through the provision of health promotion and dis20 ease prevention education, outreach, and workforce develop21 ment programs, including program implementation, re22 search, and capacity-building. 

23 SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this title: 


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1 (1) DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term 

2 ‘‘Deputy Assistant Secretary’’ means the Deputy As3 sistant Secretary for Minority Health, within the Of4 fice of Public Health and Science. 

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

6 Director of the National Institutes of Health. 

7 (3) INDIAN.—The term ‘‘Indian’’ has the mean8 ing given the term in section 4 of the Indian Health 

9 Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603). 

10 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

11 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

12 (5) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.—The term 

13 ‘‘tribal college or university’’ means— 

14 (A) an institution that is eligible to receive 

15 funds under the Tribally Controlled College or 

16 University Assistance Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 

17 1801 et seq.); 

18 (B) Dine ́ College; and 

19 (C) any 1 of the 1994 Institutions (as de20 fined in section 532 of the Equity in Edu21 cational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 

22 U.S.C. 301 note; Public Law 103–382)). 


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1 SEC. 104. ADMINISTRATION BY COORDINATING OFFICER. 

2 (a) DESIGNATION.—The Deputy Assistant Secretary 

3 shall serve as the coordinating officer with respect to pro4 grams of tribal colleges and universities relating to— 

5 (1) health care workforce development; and 

6 (2) health promotion and disease prevention. 

7 (b) STAFF.—The Secretary shall appoint such addi8 tional staff as the Secretary determines to be necessary— 

9 (1) to assist the Deputy Assistant Secretary in 

10 carrying out the duties under this section; and 

11 (2) to provide appropriate technical assistance to 

12 tribal colleges and universities eligible to receive 

13 grants or enter into cooperative agreements under this 

14 title. 

15 (c) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—Not later than 

16 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec17 retary shall develop and implement a formal memorandum 

18 of agreement with the American Indian Higher Education 

19 Consortium to establish programs— 

20 (1) to help ensure that Native American commu21 nities, through tribal colleges and universities, par22 ticipate equitably in programs, services, and resources 

23 of the Department of Health and Human Services; 

24 and 

25 (2) to provide necessary technical assistance to 

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1 lishing collaborations among tribal colleges and uni2 versities and institutions of higher education or other 

3 organizations that carry out activities for culturally 

4 integrated education and training and research pro5 grams, delivered onsite or though distance learning. 

6 SEC. 105. COMMUNITY-BASED HEALTH AND WELLNESS 

7 FAIRS. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting through 

9 the Deputy Assistant Secretary, shall establish a program 

10 under which the Secretary shall provide grants to, or offer 

11 to enter into cooperative agreements with, tribal colleges 

12 and universities to carry out annual, community-based, 

13 and culturally relevant health and wellness fairs at the trib14 al colleges and universities. 

15 (b) FUNDING.— 

16 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

17 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec18 retary to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 

19 2009 through 2017 an amount equal to the sum of— 

20 (A) the product obtained by multiplying— 

21 (i) the number of tribal colleges and 

22 universities in operation on October 1 of the 

23 fiscal year; and 

24 (ii) $15,000; and 


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1 (B) such amount as the Secretary deter2 mines to be necessary for the costs of admin3 istering the program under this section. 

4 (2) TOTAL AMOUNT.—Subject to paragraph (3), 

5 the Secretary shall use all amounts made available 

6 under paragraph (1)(A) to provide grants or enter 

7 into cooperative agreements pursuant to this section. 

8 (3) NONAPPLICABILITY OF LIMITATION.—The 

9 limitation under section 1703(c) of the Public Health 

10 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u–2(c)) shall not apply to 

11 this section. 

12 SEC. 106. HEALTH PROMOTION AND DISEASE PREVENTION 

13 TARGETED PROGRAMS. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting through 

15 the Deputy Assistant Secretary, shall establish a program 

16 under which the Secretary shall provide grants to, or offer 

17 to enter into cooperative agreements with, tribal colleges 

18 and universities to assist the tribal colleges and universities 

19 to build and expand the capacity to work collaboratively 

20 with relevant Indian tribes— 

21 (1) to conduct coordinated community-based 

22 health promotion and disease prevention activities; 

23 and 


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1 (2) to jointly plan and implement programs to 

2 help reduce health disparities in tribal communities, 

3 to the maximum extent practicable. 

4 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In providing grants and enter5 ing into cooperative agreements under this section, the Sec6 retary, to the maximum extent practicable, shall— 

7 (1) approve applications on a competitive basis; 

8 and 

9 (2) ensure maximum and equitable distribution 

10 among eligible tribal colleges and universities. 

11 (c) APPLICATION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

13 grant or enter into a cooperative agreement under 

14 this section, a tribal college or university shall submit 

15 to the Secretary an application at such time and in 

16 such manner as the Secretary may reasonably re17 quire. 

18 (2) INCLUSIONS.—An application under para19 graph (1) shall include— 

20 (A) a signed agreement between the tribal 

21 college or university and each relevant Indian 

22 tribe that— 

23 (i) requires the entities to establish a 

24 partnership to implement the proposed com25 munity-based program; and 


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1 (ii) specifies the roles of each entity; 

2 (B) a jointly prepared 5-year plan for ad3 dressing the health promotion and disease pre4 vention needs of Indians or Alaska Natives, as 

5 appropriate, in the area served by the tribal col6 lege or university; 

7 (C) a demonstration of need for the pro8 posed program; 

9 (D) an assurance that measures will be im10 plemented and monitored to minimize duplica11 tion of services; and 

12 (E) an assurance that, under the proposed 

13 program, the tribal college or university shall not 

14 be a direct provider of any health care treatment 

15 or service. 

16 (3) STREAMLINED PROCEDURE.—The Secretary 

17 shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, a 

18 simplified and streamlined procedure for the submis19 sion and approval of applications under paragraph 

20 (1), taking into consideration the limited number of 

21 institutions that are eligible to receive assistance 

22 under this section. 

23 (d) ACTIVITIES.—A tribal college or university that re24 ceives a grant or enters into a cooperative agreement under 

25 this section may use the grant or cooperative agreement to 


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1 develop and carry out activities to address targeted areas 

2 of health promotion and disease prevention in tribal com3 munities, including activities described in a partnership 

4 agreement under subsection (c)(2)(A) relating to— 

5 (1) diabetes education and prevention; 

6 (2) injury prevention; 

7 (3) substance abuse, including methamphetamine 

8 abuse; 

9 (4) HIV–AIDS prevention; 

10 (5) emerging health promotion and disease pre11 vention program and response development; and 

12 (6) obesity and nutrition education. 

13 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

14 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

15 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2017. 

16 SEC. 107. DEVELOPMENT AND EXPANSION OF PUBLIC 

17 HEALTH PROFESSIONAL DEGREE PROGRAMS. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting through 

19 the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Ad20 ministration, shall establish a program under which the 

21 Secretary shall provide grants to tribal colleges and univer22 sities (which may include consortia of tribal colleges and 

23 universities and other institutions of higher education) for 

24 purposes of— 


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1 (1) developing curricula, courses, degree, and in2 service programs for health-related professions; and 

3 (2) strengthening those programs through the ac4 quisition of basic and advanced laboratory, research, 

5 and classroom equipment, instruments, and com6 puters (including software). 

7 (b) APPLICATION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

9 grant under this subsection, a tribal college or univer10 sity shall submit to the Secretary an application at 

11 such time and in such manner as the Secretary may 

12 reasonably require. 

13 (2) INCLUSION.—An application under para14 graph (1) shall include a description of a 5-year 

15 strategy of the applicable tribal college or university 

16 for increasing the number of Indians in the health 

17 workforce of the United States. 

18 (3) STREAMLINED PROCEDURE.—The Secretary 

19 shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, a 

20 simplified and streamlined procedure for the submis21 sion and approval of applications under paragraph 

22 (1), taking into consideration the limited number of 

23 institutions that are eligible to receive assistance 

24 under this section. 


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1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection 

3 $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2017. 

4 SEC. 108. TRIBAL COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY RURAL 

5 HEALTH EQUITY ENDOWMENT FUND. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

7 Treasury of the United States a fund, to be known as the 

8 ‘‘Tribal College and University Rural Health Equity En9 dowment Fund’’ (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Fund’’), 

10 consisting of— 

11 (1) such amounts as are appropriated to the 

12 Fund under subsection (b); and 

13 (2) any interest earned on those amounts. 

14 (b) TRANSFERS TO FUND.—There is appropriated to 

15 the Fund, out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise appro16 priated, $9,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 

17 2017. 

18 (c) INVESTMENTS.—The Secretary shall invest 

19 amounts in the Fund in interest-bearing obligations of the 

20 United States. 

21 (d) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), on 

23 September 30 of fiscal year 2009 and annually there24 after through September 30, 2017, on request by the 

25 Secretary, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer 


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1 from the Fund to the Secretary an amount equal to 

2 the amount of interest income earned on amounts in 

3 the Fund during the preceding fiscal year. 

4 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—An amount 

5 not exceeding 1 percent of the annual interest yield 

6 distributed to tribal colleges and universities shall be 

7 available for each fiscal year to pay the administra8 tive expenses necessary to carry out this section. 

9 (e) DISTRIBUTION OF AMOUNTS.—Of amounts trans10 ferred under subsection (d)(1), the Secretary shall dis11 tribute— 

12 (1) 60 percent to tribal colleges and universities 

13 on a pro rata basis, based on the proportion that— 

14 (A) the Indian student count (as defined in 

15 section 2(a) of the Tribally Controlled College or 

16 University Assistance Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 

17 1801(a)) of a tribal college or university for the 

18 applicable fiscal year; bears to 

19 (B) the Indian student count of all tribal 

20 colleges and universities for that fiscal year; and 

21 (2) 40 percent in payments of equal amounts to 

22 each tribal college and university. 

23 (f) USE OF FUNDS.—A tribal college or university 

24 shall use amounts received under this section to establish 

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1 force development program at the tribal college or univer2 sity. 

3 SEC. 109. OFFICES OF SPONSORED PROGRAMS. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting through 

5 the Director, shall establish a program under which the Sec6 retary shall provide grants to tribal colleges and univer7 sities to establish and maintain at the tribal colleges and 

8 universities offices of sponsored programs described in sub9 section (b). 

10 (b) SPONSORED PROGRAMS.—The sponsored programs 

11 referred to in subsection (a) include programs for— 

12 (1) pre- and post-grant award research, data col13 lection, and analyses, through a method that en14 sures— 

15 (A) proper documentation of relevant appli16 cations; and 

17 (B) compliance with applicable regulations 

18 and guidelines; 

19 (2) advancing specific institutional grant appli20 cation procedures and processes through coordination 

21 of external funding sources and faculty, staff, and fi22 nancial officers; 

23 (3) assisting in negotiations with Federal fund24 ing sources; 


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1 (4) providing liaisons with Federal counterparts 

2 of tribal colleges and universities— 

3 (A) to train and assist principal investiga4 tors, faculty, and college staff with respect to 

5 grant management, reporting, and program im6 plementation; and 

7 (B) to ensure that applicable deadlines are 

8 met and required reports are completed; 

9 (5) coordinating partnerships between tribal col10 leges and universities, Federal agencies, and the pri11 vate sector for collaborative programs and activities; 

12 and 

13 (6) in consultation with Federal agencies, identi14 fying and proposing solutions to— 

15 (A) obstacles relating to Federal agency 

16 grant application procedures and requirements; 

17 and 

18 (B) other problems relating to Federal grant 

19 program structures and requirements. 

20 (c) APPLICATION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

22 grant under this section, a tribal college or university 

23 shall submit to the Secretary an application at such 

24 time and in such manner as the Secretary may rea25 sonably require. 


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1 (2) INCLUSION.—An application under para2 graph (1) shall include a description of a 5-year 

3 strategy of the applicable tribal college or university 

4 for carrying out a sponsored program at the tribal 

5 college or university, including performance indica6 tors by which success of the tribal college or university 

7 will be evaluated. 

8 (d) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—For each of fiscal 

9 years 2009 through 2017, the Secretary, acting through the 

10 Director, shall provide to each tribal college and university 

11 the application of which is approved under subsection (c) 

12 a grant in an amount equal to the quotient obtained by 

13 dividing— 

14 (1) the total amount made available under sub15 section (f) for the fiscal year; by 

16 (2) the number of tribal colleges and universities 

17 the applications of which are approved under sub18 section (c) for the fiscal year. 

19 (e) REPORTS.—For each of fiscal years 2010 through 

20 2018, each tribal college or university that receives a grant 

21 under this section shall submit to the Director a report de22 scribing the success of the office of sponsored programs of 

23 the tribal college or university during the preceding fiscal 

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1 dicators contained in the application of the tribal college 

2 or university under subsection (c)(2). 

3 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section for 

5 each of fiscal years 2009 through 2017 an amount equal 

6 to the product obtained by multiplying— 

7 (1) the number of tribal colleges and universities 

8 in operation on October 1 of the applicable fiscal 

9 year; and 

10 (2) $50,000. 

11 SEC. 110. HEALTH PROMOTION AND DISEASE PREVENTION 

12 RESEARCH PROGRAMS. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting through 

14 the Director, shall establish a program under which the Sec15 retary shall provide grants to, or offer to enter into coopera16 tive agreements with, tribal colleges and universities to con17 duct research relating to health promotion and disease pre18 vention at the tribal colleges and universities. 

19 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

20 (1) COMPETITION.—The Secretary shall provide 

21 grants and offer to enter into cooperative agreements 

22 under subsection (a) on a competitive basis. 

23 (2) GENERAL TERMS AND AMOUNTS.—Except as 

24 provided in paragraph (3)— 


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1 (A) the term of a grant or cooperative 

2 agreement under subsection (a) shall be not more 

3 than 3 years; and 

4 (B) the minimum amount of a grant under 

5 subsection (a) for a fiscal year shall be $150,000. 

6 (3) UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

7 PROGRAMS.—With respect to a grant or cooperative 

8 agreement provided for an undergraduate research ex9 perience program under subsection (d)(3)— 

10 (A) the term of such a grant or cooperative 

11 agreement shall be not more than 1 year; and 

12 (B) the minimum amount of such a grant 

13 for a fiscal year shall be $10,000. 

14 (c) APPLICATION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

16 grant, or to enter into a cooperative agreement, under 

17 this subsection, a tribal college or university shall 

18 submit to the Secretary an application at such time 

19 and in such manner as the Secretary may reasonably 

20 require. 

21 (2) STREAMLINED PROCEDURE.—The Secretary 

22 shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, a 

23 simplified and streamlined procedure for the submis24 sion and approval of applications under paragraph 

25 (1), taking into consideration the limited number of 


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1 institutions that are eligible to receive assistance 

2 under this section. 

3 (d) ACTIVITIES.—A tribal college or university that re4 ceives a grant or enters into a cooperative agreement under 

5 this section may use the grant or cooperative agreement to 

6 carry out activities, including— 

7 (1) research on culturally relevant and innova8 tive health promotion and disease prevention strate9 gies; 

10 (2) epidemiological research on the health status 

11 of Indian populations and communities; and 

12 (3) undergraduate research experience programs 

13 as the tribal college or university determines to be ap14 propriate. 

15 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

16 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

17 $12,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2017. 

18 TITLE II—ADVANCING TRIBES 

19 THROUGH TRIBAL COLLEGES 

20 AND UNIVERSITIES 

21 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

22 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Advancing Tribes 

23 Through Tribal Colleges and Universities Act’’ or the ‘‘AT 

24 TCUs Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 202. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) a primary goal of providing Federal support 

4 for higher education is to ensure social and economic 

5 self-sufficiency and growth for all residents of the 

6 United States; 

7 (2) social and economic underdevelopment is the 

8 primary obstacle to the self-sufficiency of Indian com9 munities and families; 

10 (3) research has demonstrated that higher edu11 cation is a primary method of achieving economic 

12 and social development for Indian communities; 

13 (4) tribal colleges and universities are institu14 tions of higher education created by Indians for Indi15 ans primarily on rural and isolated Indian reserva16 tions, which were virtually excluded from the general 

17 system of higher education in the United States; 

18 (5) underlying goals of tribal colleges and uni19 versities are— 

20 (A) to improve the lives of Indians through 

21 higher education; and 

22 (B) to assist Indians in achieving self-suffi23 ciency; 

24 (6) tribal colleges and universities— 

25 (A) offer a variety of social services for stu26 dents and community members; and 


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1 (B) often serve as community centers, li2 braries, tribal archives, career and business cen3 ters, economic development centers, public meet4 ing places, and childcare and wellness centers; 

5 (7) tribal colleges and universities and students 

6 of those colleges or universities contribute signifi7 cantly to the economic and social health of Indian 

8 communities; 

9 (8)(A) tribal colleges and universities have been 

10 more successful than any other institution of higher 

11 education in educating and helping to retain Indians 

12 in high-need fields, such as nursing and teaching; 

13 (B) data from 2005 indicates that— 

(i) approximately 1 14 ⁄2 of all graduates of 

15 tribal colleges and universities pursue advanced 

16 education; and 

17 (ii) of those graduates, more than 86 per18 cent pursue bachelor’s degrees; 

19 (9) individuals, including Indians, with bach20 elor’s or advanced degrees earn— 

21 (A) almost 4 times as much as individuals 

22 who do not graduate from high school; and 

23 (B) more than twice as much as individuals 

24 with high school diplomas; 


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1 (10) of the 155 indigenous languages spoken in 

2 the United States as of the date of enactment of this 

3 Act, 135 are spoken only by Indian elders; 

4 (11)(A) language and culture are at the heart of 

5 the mission of each tribal college and university; 

6 (B) tribal colleges and universities— 

7 (i) play a strong leadership role in Native 

8 American language immersion; and 

9 (ii) are responsible for the majority of the 

10 approximately 50 Native American language im11 mersion programs in the United States; and 

12 (12) despite the proven success of Native Amer13 ican language preservation and vitalization efforts of 

14 tribal colleges and universities, only minimal Federal 

15 and private sector resources are used for the activities. 

16 SEC. 203. NATIVE PROSPERITY PROGRAMS AT TCUS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 166 of the Workforce In18 vestment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2911) is amended by add19 ing at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(k) NATIVE PROSPERITY PROGRAMS AT TCUS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es22 tablish a program, to be known as the ‘TCU Native 

23 Prosperity Program’, under which the Secretary shall 

24 provide grants to, or offer to enter into cooperative 

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1 sities to promote economic development, entrepreneur2 ship, community development, and sound fiscal lead3 ership in Indian communities. 

4 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

6 subparagraph (B)— 

7 ‘‘(i) the Secretary shall provide grants 

8 and offer to enter into cooperative agree9 ments under paragraph (1) on a competi10 tive basis; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the term of a grant or cooperative 

12 agreement under paragraph (1) shall be 5 

13 years. 

14 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If the Secretary deter15 mines that a tribal college or university that re16 ceives a grant or enters into a cooperative agree17 ment under this subsection has performed satis18 factorily throughout the initial 5-year term of 

19 the grant or cooperative agreement under sub20 paragraph (A)(ii)— 

21 ‘‘(i) the tribal college or university 

22 may submit to the Secretary an application 

23 to extend the grant or cooperative agree24 ment, as applicable, for a period of not 

25 more than 3 additional years; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary may waive the com2 petitiveness requirement of subparagraph 

3 (A)(i) with respect to the application. 

4 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive 

6 a grant or enter into a cooperative agreement 

7 under this subsection, a tribal college or univer8 sity shall submit to the Secretary an application 

9 at such time and in such manner as the Sec10 retary may reasonably require. 

11 ‘‘(B) PROGRAM PLAN.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An application 

13 under subparagraph (A) shall include a 

14 plan for the program proposed to be carried 

15 out by the eligible tribal college or univer16 sity using the grant or pursuant to the co17 operative agreement, as applicable. 

18 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSIONS.—A program plan 

19 under subparagraph (A) shall include— 

20 ‘‘(I) a description of a 5-year 

21 plan for the applicable tribal college or 

22 university, developed in consultation 

23 with, and approved by, each relevant 

24 Indian tribe, through which the tribal 

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1 ratively to meet the needs of Indians or 

2 Alaska Natives, as appropriate, in the 

3 area served by the tribal college or uni4 versity; 

5 ‘‘(II) an identification of the pop6 ulation to be served by the tribal col7 lege or university; 

8 ‘‘(III) an identification of the 

9 education and employment needs of 

10 that population and a description of 

11 the manner in which the program 

12 will— 

13 ‘‘(aa) strengthen the eco14 nomic development potential of 

15 the population; or 

16 ‘‘(bb) contribute to the devel17 opment of high-quality local and 

18 community services; 

19 ‘‘(IV) a description of the services 

20 to be provided under the program, in21 cluding the manner in which the serv22 ices will be integrated with other ap23 propriate activities to minimize dupli24 cation of services; and 


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1 ‘‘(V) a description, to be prepared 

2 in consultation with the Secretary, of 

3 the performance measures to be used to 

4 assess the performance of the tribal col5 lege or university in carrying out the 

6 program. 

7 ‘‘(iii) REQUIREMENT.—A program 

8 plan shall be consistent with the purposes of 

9 this section, as determined by the Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(4) ACTIVITIES.—A tribal college or university 

11 that receives a grant or enters into a cooperative 

12 agreement under this subsection may use the grant or 

13 cooperative agreement to carry out activities, includ14 ing— 

15 ‘‘(A) microenterprise development; 

16 ‘‘(B) business development and administra17 tion courses and degree programs; 

18 ‘‘(C) entrepreneurship programs; 

19 ‘‘(D) municipality planning and adminis20 tration courses, degree programs, and in-service 

21 training; and 

22 ‘‘(E) executive leadership training in eco23 nomic development, planning, and emerging 

24 management issues. 


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1 ‘‘(5) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—To ensure that 

2 tribal colleges and universities receive timely, equi3 table, and culturally relevant technical assistance, the 

4 Secretary may enter into any cooperative agreement 

5 the Secretary determines to be necessary with the 

6 American Indian Higher Education Consortium. 

7 ‘‘(6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

9 this subsection $12,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

10 2009 through 2012.’’ 

11 SEC. 204. DEFINITIONS. 

12 Section 166(b) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 

13 (29 U.S.C. 2911(b)) is amended by adding at the end the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(4) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.—The 

16 term ‘tribal college or university’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) an institution that is eligible to receive 

18 funds under the Tribally Controlled College or 

19 University Assistance Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 

20 1801 et seq.); 

21 ‘‘(B) Dine ́ College; and 

22 ‘‘(C) any 1 of the 1994 Institutions (as de23 fined in section 532 of the Equity in Edu24 cational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 

25 U.S.C. 301 note; Public Law 103–382)).’’. 


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Calendar No. 1110 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1779 

[Report No. 110–519] 

A BILL 

To establish a program for tribal colleges and uniOposes. tribal colleges and universities, and for other pur- vision of grants and cooperative agreements to ican Programs Act of 1974 to authorize the pro- Human Services and to amend the Native Amer- versities within the Department of Health and CTOBER 1 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 17), 2008 

Reported with an amendment 


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