II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1779 

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 and Mr. DORGAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

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. 

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’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

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. 

3 TITLE I—THROUGH HIGHER 

4 EDUCATION: PROMOTING 

5 THE ADVANCEMENT OF TRIB6 AL HEALTH 

7 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

8 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Through Higher Edu9 cation: Promoting the Advancement of Tribal Health Act’’ 

10 or ‘‘THE PATH Act’’. 

11 SEC. 102. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

12 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) because there is a significant lack of health2 related education and training opportunities for In3 dians, few Indians are represented in the health-re4 lated workforce of the United States; 

5 (2) tribal colleges and universities remain the 

6 most poorly-funded institutions of higher education 

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

8 tribal colleges and universities serve as true catalysts 

9 for positive change in Indian communities; 

10 (3) tribal colleges and universities with nursing 

11 programs train hundreds of students to hold criti12 cally-needed leadership and management positions in 

13 the Indian Health Service, tribal health organiza14 tions, and private and community agencies serving 

15 rural Indian populations; 

16 (4) to the extent that tribal colleges and univer17 sities are able, the colleges and universities have 

18 begun to address the many societal challenges faced 

19 by Indian communities; 

20 (5) tribal colleges and universities offer criti21 cally-needed education and outreach programs, in22 cluding— 

23 (A) community health fairs; 

24 (B) HIV–AIDS education programs; 

25 (C) extensive diabetes programs; 


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1 (D) nutritional and obesity programs, in2 cluding community garden programs; 

3 (E) substance abuse prevention programs; 

4 (F) youth-at-risk programs; 

5 (G) parenting classes; and 

6 (H) child and elder care services; and 

7 (6) due to a chronic lack of operational and tar8 geted program funding, together with the unwilling9 ness of certain Federal agencies to recognize tribal 

10 colleges and universities as valuable partners in ad11 dressing rural community issues, including health 

12 issues, tribal colleges and universities have limited 

13 resources available to adequately address the peren14 nial health challenges of the rural communities 

15 served by the tribal colleges and universities. 

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

17 tribal colleges and universities to strengthen Indian com18 munities through the provision of health promotion and 

19 disease prevention education, outreach, and workforce de20 velopment programs, including through program imple21 mentation, research, and capacity-building. 

22 SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this title: 

24 (1) DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term 

25 ‘‘Deputy Assistant Secretary’’ means the Deputy AsVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:15 Jul 14, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1779.IS S1779

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1 sistant Secretary for Minority Health, within the Of2 fice of Public Health and Science. 

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

4 the Director of the National Institutes of Health. 

5 (3) INDIAN.—The term ‘‘Indian’’ has the mean6 ing given the term in section 4 of the Indian Health 

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

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

9 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

10 (5) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.—The 

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

12 (A) an institution that is eligible to receive 

13 funds under the Tribally Controlled College or 

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

15 1801 et seq.); 

16 (B) Dine ́ College; and 

17 (C) any 1 of the 1994 Institutions (as de18 fined in section 532 of the Equity in Edu19 cational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 

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

21 SEC. 104. ADMINISTRATION BY COORDINATING OFFICER. 

22 (a) DESIGNATION.—The Deputy Assistant Secretary 

23 shall serve as the coordinating officer with respect to pro24 grams of tribal colleges and universities relating to health 

25 promotion and disease prevention. 


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1 (b) STAFF.—The Secretary shall appoint such addi2 tional staff as the Secretary determines to be necessary— 

3 (1) to assist the Deputy Assistant Secretary in 

4 carrying out the duties under this section; and 

5 (2) to provide appropriate technical assistance 

6 to tribal colleges and universities that receive grants 

7 or enter into cooperative agreements under this title. 

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

9 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec10 retary, in consultation with the Deputy Assistant Sec11 retary, shall develop and implement a formal memo12 randum of agreement with the American Indian Higher 

13 Education Consortium to establish programs— 

14 (1) to ensure that Native American commu15 nities, through tribal colleges and universities, par16 ticipate equitably in employment programs, services, 

17 and resources of the Department of Health and 

18 Human Services; and 

19 (2) to provide necessary technical assistance to 

20 the tribal colleges and universities. 

21 SEC. 105. COMMUNITY-BASED HEALTH AND WELLNESS 

22 FAIRS. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

24 through the Deputy Assistant Secretary, shall establish a 

25 program under which the Secretary shall provide grants 


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1 to, or offer to enter into cooperative agreements with, trib2 al colleges and universities to carry out annual, commu3 nity-based, and culturally relevant health and wellness 

4 fairs at the tribal colleges and universities. 

5 (b) FUNDING.— 

6 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

7 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec8 retary to carry out this section for each of fiscal 

9 years 2009 through 2017 an amount equal to the 

10 sum of— 

11 (A) the product obtained by multiplying— 

12 (i) the number of tribal colleges and 

13 universities in operation on October 1 of 

14 the fiscal year; and 

15 (ii) $15,000; and 

16 (B) such amount as the Secretary deter17 mines to be necessary for the costs of admin18 istering the program under this section. 

19 (2) TOTAL AMOUNT.—Subject to paragraph 

20 (3), the Secretary shall use all amounts made avail21 able under paragraph (1)(A) to provide grants or 

22 enter into cooperative agreements pursuant to this 

23 section. 

24 (3) NONAPPLICABILITY OF LIMITATION.—The 

25 limitation under section 1703(c) of the Public 


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

2 apply to this section. 

3 SEC. 106. HEALTH PROMOTION AND DISEASE PREVENTION 

4 TARGETED PROGRAMS; WELLNESS CENTERS. 

5 (a) HEALTH PROMOTION AND DISEASE PREVENTION

6 TARGETED PROGRAMS.— 

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, or offer to enter into cooperative 

11 agreements with, tribal colleges and universities to 

12 carry out activities to improve and expand the ca13 pacity of the tribal colleges and universities— 

14 (A) to carry out activities relating to 

15 health promotion and disease prevention; and 

16 (B) to eliminate health disparities in tribal 

17 communities, to the maximum extent prac18 ticable. 

19 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In providing grants and 

20 entering into cooperative agreements under this sub21 section, the Secretary, to the maximum extent prac22 ticable, shall— 

23 (A) approve applications on a competitive 

24 basis; and 


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1 (B) ensure maximum and equitable dis2 tribution among eligible tribal colleges and uni3 versities. 

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) INCLUSION.—An application under 

12 subparagraph (A) shall include a description of 

13 a 5-year strategy of the applicable tribal college 

14 or university for meeting the health promotion 

15 and disease prevention needs of Indians or 

16 Alaska Natives, as appropriate, in the area 

17 served by the tribal college or university. 

18 (C) STREAMLINED PROCEDURE.—The Sec19 retary shall ensure, to the maximum extent 

20 practicable, a simplified and streamlined proce21 dure for the submission and approval of appli22 cations under subparagraph (A), taking into 

23 consideration the limited number of institutions 

24 that are eligible to receive assistance under this 

25 subsection. 


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

2 that receives a grant or enters into a cooperative 

3 agreement under this subsection may use the grant 

4 or cooperative agreement to develop and carry out 

5 activities to address targeted areas of health pro6 motion and disease prevention in tribal communities, 

7 including activities relating to— 

8 (A) diabetes education and prevention; 

9 (B) injury prevention; 

10 (C) substance abuse, including meth11 amphetamine abuse; 

12 (D) HIV–AIDS prevention; 

13 (E) emerging health promotion and disease 

14 prevention program and response development; 

15 and 

16 (F) obesity and nutrition. 

17 (5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

18 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

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

20 2009 through 2017. 

21 (b) WELLNESS CENTERS.— 

22 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

23 through the Deputy Assistant Secretary, shall estab24 lish a program under which the Secretary shall proVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:15 Jul 14, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1779.IS S1779

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1 vide grants to tribal colleges and universities for 

2 purposes of— 

3 (A) construction, renovation, and mod4 ernization of community wellness centers lo5 cated on the campuses of the tribal colleges and 

6 universities; and 

7 (B) construction, renovation, and mod8 ernization of outpatient student health clinics 

9 located on those campuses. 

10 (2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.— 

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

12 subparagraph (B), the maximum amount of a 

13 grant provided under paragraph (1) shall not 

14 exceed an amount equal to 95 percent of the 

15 cost of the project carried out by the applicable 

16 tribal college or university. 

17 (B) EXCEPTION.—The limitation under 

18 subparagraph (A) shall not apply to a tribal 

19 college or university located in, as determined 

20 by the Secretary— 

21 (i) an urban area; or 

22 (ii) a poor rural area. 

23 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

24 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 


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

2 2009 through 2017. 

3 SEC. 107. DEVELOPMENT AND EXPANSION OF PUBLIC 

4 HEALTH PROFESSIONAL DEGREE PRO5 GRAMS. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

7 through the Administrator of the Health Resources and 

8 Services Administration, shall establish a program under 

9 which the Secretary shall provide grants to tribal colleges 

10 and universities for purposes of developing curricula, 

11 courses, and degree and in-service programs for health12 related professions. 

13 (b) APPLICATION.— 

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

15 grant under this subsection, a tribal college or uni16 versity shall submit to the Secretary an application 

17 at such time and in such manner as the Secretary 

18 may reasonably require. 

19 (2) INCLUSION.—An application under para20 graph (1) shall include a description of a 5-year 

21 strategy of the applicable tribal college or university 

22 for increasing the number of Indians in the health 

23 workforce of the United States. 

24 (3) STREAMLINED PROCEDURE.—The Secretary 

25 shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, a 


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1 simplified and streamlined procedure for the submis2 sion and approval of applications under paragraph 

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

4 institutions that are eligible to receive assistance 

5 under this section. 

6 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

7 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection 

8 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2017. 

9 SEC. 108. TRIBAL COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY RURAL 

10 HEALTH EQUITY ENDOWMENT FUND. 

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

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

13 ‘‘Tribal College and University Rural Health Equity En14 dowment Fund’’ (referred to in this section as the 

15 ‘‘Fund’’), consisting of— 

16 (1) such amounts as are appropriated to the 

17 Fund under subsection (b); and 

18 (2) any interest earned on those amounts. 

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

20 the Fund, out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise ap21 propriated, $9,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 

22 through 2017. 

23 (c) INVESTMENTS.—The Secretary shall invest 

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

25 United States. 


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1 (d) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.— 

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

3 September 30 of fiscal year 2009 and annually 

4 thereafter through September 30, 2017, on request 

5 by the Secretary, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

6 transfer from the Fund to the Secretary an amount 

7 equal to the amount of interest income earned on 

8 amounts in the Fund during the preceding fiscal 

9 year. 

10 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—An amount 

11 not exceeding 1 percent of the annual interest yield 

12 distributed to tribal colleges and universities shall be 

13 available for each fiscal year to pay the administra14 tive expenses necessary to carry out this section. 

15 (e) DISTRIBUTION OF AMOUNTS.—Of amounts trans16 ferred under subsection (d)(1), the Secretary shall dis17 tribute— 

18 (1) 60 percent to tribal colleges and universities 

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

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

21 section 2(a) of the Tribally Controlled College 

22 or University Assistance Act of 1978 (25 

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

24 for the applicable fiscal year; bears to 


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1 (B) the Indian student count of all tribal 

2 colleges and universities for that fiscal year; 

3 and 

4 (2) 40 percent in payments of equal amounts to 

5 each tribal college and university. 

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

7 shall use amounts received under this section to establish 

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

9 tribal college or university. 

10 SEC. 109. OFFICES OF SPONSORED PROGRAMS. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

12 through the Director, shall establish a program under 

13 which the Secretary shall provide grants to tribal colleges 

14 and universities to establish and maintain at the tribal col15 leges and universities offices of sponsored programs de16 scribed in subsection (b). 

17 (b) SPONSORED PROGRAMS.—The sponsored pro18 grams referred to in subsection (a) include programs for— 

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

20 collection, and analyses, through a method that en21 sures— 

22 (A) proper documentation of relevant ap23 plications; and 

24 (B) compliance with applicable regulations 

25 and guidelines; 


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1 (2) advancing specific institutional grant appli2 cation procedures and processes through coordina3 tion of external funding sources and faculty, staff, 

4 and financial officers; 

5 (3) assisting in negotiations with Federal fund6 ing sources; 

7 (4) providing liaisons with Federal counterparts 

8 of tribal colleges and universities— 

9 (A) to train and assist principal investiga10 tors, faculty, and college staff with respect to 

11 grant management, reporting, and program im12 plementation; and 

13 (B) to ensure that applicable deadlines are 

14 met and required reports are completed; 

15 (5) coordinating partnerships between tribal 

16 colleges and universities, Federal agencies, and the 

17 private sector for collaborative programs and activi18 ties; and 

19 (6) in consultation with Federal agencies, iden20 tifying and proposing solutions to— 

21 (A) obstacles relating to Federal agency 

22 grant application procedures and requirements; 

23 and 

24 (B) other problems relating to Federal 

25 grant program structures and requirements. 


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1 (c) APPLICATION.— 

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

3 grant under this section, a tribal college or univer4 sity shall submit to the Secretary an application at 

5 such time and in such manner as the Secretary may 

6 reasonably require. 

7 (2) INCLUSION.—An application under para8 graph (1) shall include a description of a 5-year 

9 strategy of the applicable tribal college or university 

10 for carrying out a sponsored program at the tribal 

11 college or university, including performance indica12 tors by which success of the tribal college or univer13 sity will be evaluated. 

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

15 years 2009 through 2017, the Secretary, acting through 

16 the Director, shall provide to each tribal college and uni17 versity the application of which is approved under sub18 section (c) a grant in an amount equal to the quotient 

19 obtained by dividing— 

20 (1) the total amount made available under sub21 section (f) for the fiscal year; by 

22 (2) the number of tribal colleges and univer23 sities the applications of which are approved under 

24 subsection (c) for the fiscal year. 


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

2 2018, each tribal college or university that receives a grant 

3 under this section shall submit to the Director a report 

4 describing the success of the office of sponsored programs 

5 of the tribal college or university during the preceding fis6 cal year, as determined in accordance with the perform7 ance indicators contained in the application of the tribal 

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

9 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

10 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section for 

11 each of fiscal years 2009 through 2017 an amount equal 

12 to the product obtained by multiplying— 

13 (1) the number of tribal colleges and univer14 sities in operation on October 1 of the applicable fis15 cal year; and 

16 (2) $50,000. 

17 SEC. 110. HEALTH PROMOTION AND DISEASE PREVENTION 

18 RESEARCH PROGRAMS. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

20 through the Director, shall establish a program under 

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

22 enter into cooperative agreements with, tribal colleges and 

23 universities to conduct research relating to health pro24 motion and disease prevention at the tribal colleges and 

25 universities. 


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1 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 (1) COMPETITION.—The Secretary shall provide 

3 grants and offer to enter into cooperative agree4 ments under subsection (a) on a competitive basis. 

5 (2) GENERAL TERMS AND AMOUNTS.—Except 

6 as provided in paragraph (3)— 

7 (A) the term of a grant or cooperative 

8 agreement under subsection (a) shall be not 

9 more than 3 years; and 

10 (B) the minimum amount of a grant under 

11 subsection (a) for a fiscal year shall be 

12 $150,000. 

13 (3) UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

14 PROGRAMS.—With respect to a grant or cooperative 

15 agreement provided for an undergraduate research 

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

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

18 agreement shall be not more than 1 year; and 

19 (B) the minimum amount of such a grant 

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

21 (c) APPLICATION.— 

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

23 grant, or to enter into a cooperative agreement, 

24 under this subsection, a tribal college or university 

25 shall submit to the Secretary an application at such 


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1 time and in such manner as the Secretary may rea2 sonably require. 

3 (2) STREAMLINED PROCEDURE.—The Secretary 

4 shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, a 

5 simplified and streamlined procedure for the submis6 sion and approval of applications under paragraph 

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

8 institutions that are eligible to receive assistance 

9 under this section. 

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

11 receives a grant or enters into a cooperative agreement 

12 under this section may use the grant or cooperative agree13 ment to carry out activities, including— 

14 (1) research on culturally relevant and innova15 tive health promotion and disease prevention strate16 gies; 

17 (2) epidemiological research on the health sta18 tus of Indian populations and communities; and 

19 (3) undergraduate research experience pro20 grams as the tribal college or university determines 

21 to be appropriate. 

22 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

23 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

24 $12,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2017. 


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1 TITLE II—ADVANCING TRIBES 

2 THROUGH TRIBAL COLLEGES 

3 AND UNIVERSITIES 

4 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

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

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

7 TCUs Act’’. 

8 SEC. 202. FINDINGS. 

9 Congress finds that— 

10 (1) a primary goal of providing Federal support 

11 for higher education is to ensure social and economic 

12 self-sufficiency and growth for all residents of the 

13 United States; 

14 (2) social and economic underdevelopment is 

15 the primary obstacle to the self-sufficiency of Indian 

16 communities and families; 

17 (3) research has demonstrated that higher edu18 cation is a primary method of achieving economic 

19 and social development for Indian communities; 

20 (4) tribal colleges and universities are institu21 tions of higher education created by Indians for In22 dians primarily on rural and isolated Indian reserva23 tions, which were virtually excluded from the general 

24 system of higher education in the United States; 


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1 (5) underlying goals of tribal colleges and uni2 versities are— 

3 (A) to improve the lives of Indians through 

4 higher education; and 

5 (B) to assist Indians in achieving self-suffi6 ciency; 

7 (6) tribal colleges and universities— 

8 (A) offer a variety of social services for 

9 students and community members; and 

10 (B) often serve as community centers, li11 braries, tribal archives, career and business cen12 ters, economic development centers, public 

13 meeting places, and childcare and wellness cen14 ters; 

15 (7) tribal colleges and universities and students 

16 of those colleges or universities contribute signifi17 cantly to the economic and social health of Indian 

18 communities; 

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

20 more successful than any other institution of higher 

21 education in educating and helping to retain Indians 

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

23 (B) data from 2005 indicates that— 


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

2 tribal colleges and universities pursue advanced 

3 education; and 

4 (ii) of those graduates, more than 86 per5 cent pursue bachelor’s degrees; 

6 (9) individuals, including Indians, with bach7 elor’s or advanced degrees earn— 

8 (A) almost 4 times as much as individuals 

9 who do not graduate from high school; and 

10 (B) more than twice as much as individ11 uals with high school diplomas; 

12 (10) of the 155 indigenous languages spoken in 

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

14 Act, 135 are spoken only by Indian elders; 

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

16 of the mission of each tribal college and university; 

17 (B) tribal colleges and universities— 

18 (i) play a strong leadership role in Native 

19 American language immersion; and 

20 (ii) are responsible for the majority of the 

21 approximately 50 Native American language 

22 immersion programs in the United States; and 

23 (12) despite the proven success of Native Amer24 ican language preservation and vitalization efforts of 

25 tribal colleges and universities, only minimal Federal 


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1 and private sector resources are used for the activi2 ties. 

3 SEC. 203. OFFICE ON TRIBAL COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY 

4 PROGRAMS. 

5 Section 803B of the Native American Programs Act 

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

7 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub8 section (f); and 

9 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol10 lowing: 

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

12 PROGRAMS.— 

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

14 within the Administration on Native Americans an 

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

16 and University Programs’ (referred to in this sub17 section as the ‘Office’), for the purposes of— 

18 ‘‘(A) administering the programs author19 ized by this Act; and 

20 ‘‘(B) coordinating intra- and inter-depart21 mental activities relating to tribal colleges and 

22 universities. 

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

24 Director of the Office, who shall— 

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


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

2 paragraph (1). 

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

4 additional staff as the Secretary determines to be 

5 necessary— 

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

7 the duties described in paragraph (1); and 

8 ‘‘(B) to provide appropriate technical as9 sistance to tribal colleges and universities that 

10 receive grants or enter into cooperative agree11 ments under this Act. 

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

13 tribal colleges and universities receive timely, equi14 table, and culturally-relevant technical assistance 

15 under section 804, the Secretary, acting through the 

16 Commissioner, may enter into any cooperative agree17 ment the Secretary determines to be necessary with 

18 the American Indian Higher Education Consor19 tium.’’. 

20 SEC. 204. NATIVE PROSPERITY AND NATIVE AMERICAN 

21 LANGUAGE VITALIZATION AND TRAINING 

22 PROGRAMS AT TCUS. 

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

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

25 (42 U.S.C. 2991b–3) the following: 


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

2 LANGUAGE VITALIZATION AND TRAINING 

3 PROGRAMS AT TCUS. 

4 ‘‘(a) NATIVE PROSPERITY PROGRAM.— 

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

6 through the Commissioner, shall establish a pro7 gram, to be known as the ‘Native Prosperity Pro8 gram’, under which the Secretary shall provide 

9 grants to, or offer to enter into cooperative agree10 ments with, eligible tribal colleges and universities to 

11 promote economic development, entrepreneurship, 

12 community development, and sound fiscal leadership 

13 in Indian communities. 

14 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

16 subparagraph (B)— 

17 ‘‘(i) the Secretary shall provide grants 

18 and offer to enter into cooperative agree19 ments under paragraph (1) on a competi20 tive basis; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the term of a grant or coopera22 tive agreement under paragraph (1) shall 

23 be not more than 5 years. 

24 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If the Secretary deter25 mines that a tribal college or university that re26 ceives a grant or enters into a cooperative 


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1 agreement under this subsection has performed 

2 satisfactorily throughout the initial 5-year term 

3 of the grant or cooperative agreement under 

4 subparagraph (A)(ii)— 

5 ‘‘(i) the tribal college or university 

6 may submit to the Secretary an application 

7 to extend the grant or cooperative agree8 ment, as applicable, for a period of not 

9 more than 3 additional years; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary may waive the 

11 competitiveness requirement of subpara12 graph (A)(i) with respect to the applica13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re16 ceive a grant or enter into a cooperative agree17 ment under this subsection, a tribal college or 

18 university shall submit to the Secretary an ap19 plication at such time and in such manner as 

20 the Secretary may reasonably require. 

21 ‘‘(B) PROGRAM PLAN.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An application 

23 under subparagraph (A) shall include a 

24 plan for the program proposed to be car25 ried out by the eligible tribal college or 


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1 university using the grant or pursuant to 

2 the cooperative agreement, as applicable. 

3 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSIONS.—A program plan 

4 under subparagraph (A) shall include— 

5 ‘‘(I) a description of a 5-year 

6 strategy of the applicable tribal col7 lege or university for meeting the 

8 needs of Indians or Alaska Natives, as 

9 appropriate, in the area served by the 

10 tribal college or university; 

11 ‘‘(II) an identification of the pop12 ulation to be served by the tribal col13 lege or university; 

14 ‘‘(III) an identification of the 

15 education and employment needs of 

16 that population and a description of 

17 the manner in which the program 

18 will— 

19 ‘‘(aa) strengthen the eco20 nomic development potential of 

21 the population; or 

22 ‘‘(bb) contribute to the de23 velopment of high-quality local 

24 and community services; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) a description of the serv2 ices to be provided under the pro3 gram, including the manner in which 

4 the services will be integrated with 

5 other appropriate activities; and 

6 ‘‘(V) a description, to be pre7 pared in consultation with the Sec8 retary, of the performance measures 

9 to be used to assess the performance 

10 of the tribal college or university in 

11 carrying out the program. 

12 ‘‘(iii) REQUIREMENT.—A program 

13 plan shall be consistent with the purposes 

14 of this section, as determined by the Sec15 retary. 

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

17 that receives a grant or enters into a cooperative 

18 agreement under this subsection may use the grant 

19 or cooperative agreement to carry out activities, in20 cluding— 

21 ‘‘(A) microenterprise development; 

22 ‘‘(B) business development and administra23 tion courses and degree programs; 

24 ‘‘(C) entrepreneurship programs; 


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1 ‘‘(D) municipality planning and adminis2 tration courses, degree programs, and in-service 

3 training; and 

4 ‘‘(E) executive leadership training in eco5 nomic development, planning, and emerging 

6 management issues. 

7 ‘‘(5) 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 ‘‘(b) NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE VITALIZATION

12 AND TRAINING PROGRAM.— 

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

14 through the Commissioner, shall establish a pro15 gram, to be known as the ‘Native American Lan16 guage Vitalization and Training Program’, under 

17 which the Secretary shall provide grants to, or offer 

18 to enter into cooperative agreements with, eligible 

19 tribal colleges and universities to promote the pres20 ervation, revitalization, relevancy, and use of Native 

21 American languages. 

22 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

24 subparagraph (B)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the Secretary shall provide grants 

2 and offer to enter into cooperative agree3 ments under paragraph (1) on a competi4 tive basis; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) the term of a grant or coopera6 tive agreement under paragraph (1) shall 

7 be not more than 5 years. 

8 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If the Secretary deter9 mines that a tribal college or university that re10 ceives a grant or enters into a cooperative 

11 agreement under this subsection has performed 

12 satisfactorily throughout the initial 5-year term 

13 of the grant or cooperative agreement under 

14 subparagraph (A)(ii)— 

15 ‘‘(i) the tribal college or university 

16 may submit to the Secretary an application 

17 to extend the grant or cooperative agree18 ment, as applicable, for a period of not 

19 more than 3 additional years; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary may waive the 

21 competitiveness requirement of subpara22 graph (A)(i) with respect to the applica23 tion. 

24 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re2 ceive a grant or enter into a cooperative agree3 ment under this subsection, a tribal college or 

4 university shall submit to the Secretary an ap5 plication at such time and in such manner as 

6 the Secretary may reasonably require. 

7 ‘‘(B) PROGRAM PLAN.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An application 

9 under subparagraph (A) shall include a 

10 plan for the program proposed to be car11 ried out by the eligible tribal college or 

12 university using the grant or pursuant to 

13 the cooperative agreement, as applicable. 

14 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSIONS.—A program plan 

15 under subparagraph (A) shall include— 

16 ‘‘(I) a description of a 5-year 

17 strategy of the applicable tribal col18 lege or university for meeting the 

19 needs of Indians or Alaska Natives, as 

20 appropriate, in the area served by the 

21 tribal college or university; 

22 ‘‘(II) an identification of the pop23 ulation to be served by the tribal col24 lege or university; 


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1 ‘‘(III) an identification of the 

2 status of Native American language 

3 understanding and use within that 

4 population and a description of the 

5 manner in which the program will 

6 help preserve and revitalize the rel7 evant Native American language; 

8 ‘‘(IV) a description of the serv9 ices to be provided under the pro10 gram, including the manner in which 

11 the services will be integrated with 

12 other appropriate activities; and 

13 ‘‘(V) a description, to be pre14 pared in consultation with the Sec15 retary, of the performance measures 

16 to be used to assess the performance 

17 of the tribal college or university in 

18 carrying out the program. 

19 ‘‘(iii) REQUIREMENT.—A program 

20 plan shall be consistent with the purposes 

21 of this section, as determined by the Sec22 retary. 

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

24 that receives a grant or enters into a cooperative 

25 agreement under this subsection may use the grant 


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1 or cooperative agreement to carry out activities, in2 cluding— 

3 ‘‘(A) curricula development and academic 

4 instruction, including educational activities, pro5 grams, and partnerships relating to students in 

6 prekindergarten through grade 12; 

7 ‘‘(B) professional development for college 

8 and university faculty and in-service training 

9 programs for prekindergarten through grade 12 

10 instructors and administrators; and 

11 ‘‘(C) innovative Native American language 

12 programs for students in prekindergarten 

13 through grade 12, including language immer14 sion programs. 

15 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

16 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

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

18 2009 through 2012.’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The section head20 ing of section 803C of the Native American Programs Act 

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

22 ‘‘GENERAL’’ before ‘‘GRANT PROGRAM’’. 


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1 SEC. 205. TRIBAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES NATIVE 

2 COMMUNITIES RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

3 Section 805 of the Native American Programs Act 

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

5 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub6 section (c); and 

7 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(b) TRIBAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES NATIVE

10 COMMUNITIES RESEARCH PROGRAM.— 

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

12 through the Commissioner, shall provide grants to, 

13 or offer to enter into cooperative agreements with, 

14 eligible tribal colleges and universities to conduct re15 search in accordance with the purposes of this Act. 

16 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

18 provide grants and offer to enter into coopera19 tive agreements under paragraph (1) on a com20 petitive basis. 

21 ‘‘(B) TERM.—The term of a grant or coop22 erative agreement under paragraph (1) shall be 

23 not more than 3 years. 

24 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 

25 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re26 ceive a grant or enter into a cooperative agreeVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:33 Jul 14, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1779.IS S1779

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1 ment under this subsection, a tribal college or 

2 university shall submit to the Secretary an ap3 plication at such time and in such manner as 

4 the Secretary may reasonably require. 

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

6 subparagraph (A) shall include a plan for the 

7 program proposed to be carried out by the eligi8 ble tribal college or university using the grant 

9 or pursuant to the cooperative agreement, as 

10 applicable. 

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 carry out activities, in15 cluding— 

16 ‘‘(A) community-based social science re17 search; 

18 ‘‘(B) Native American language preserva19 tion and vitalization research; and 

20 ‘‘(C) economic development research, in21 cluding research relating to— 

22 ‘‘(i) workforce inventory and indus23 trial analysis; 

24 ‘‘(ii) community development through 

25 coordinated planning; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) multistakeholder partnership 

2 models. 

3 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

4 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

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

6 2009 through 2012.’’. 

7 SEC. 206. DEFINITIONS. 

8 Section 815 of the Native American Programs Act 

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

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

11 end; 

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

13 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

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

16 means— 

17 ‘‘(A) an institution that is eligible to re18 ceive funds under the Tribally Controlled Col19 lege or University Assistance Act of 1978 (25 

20 U.S.C. 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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1 SEC. 207. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 Section 816 of the Native American Programs Act 

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

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

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

6 place it appears and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2008 

7 through 2012’’; 

8 (2) in subsections (a) and (b), by striking ‘‘sub9 section (e)’’ each place it appears and inserting 

10 ‘‘subsection (d)’’; 

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

12 (4) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub13 section (d). 

Æ 


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