II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 126 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a demonstration program 

to adapt the successful practices of providing foreign aid to underdeveloped economies to the provision of Federal economic development 

assistance to Native communities in similarly situated remote areas in 

the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 15, 2019 

Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself and Mr. SCHATZ) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a demonstration program to adapt the successful practices of 

providing foreign aid to underdeveloped economies to the 

provision of Federal economic development assistance to 

Native communities in similarly situated remote areas 

in the United States, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Native American Mil5 lennium Challenge Demonstration Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act are— 

3 (1) to adapt the lessons of foreign aid to under4 developed economies, such as the experience of the 

5 Millennium Challenge Corporation, to the provision 

6 of Federal economic development assistance to simi7 larly situated remote Native American communities; 

8 (2) to provide Federal economic development 

9 assistance for Native American communities through 

10 the Native American Challenge Demonstration 

11 Project; 

12 (3) to administer Federal economic development 

13 assistance in a manner that— 

14 (A) promotes economic growth and the 

15 elimination of poverty; 

16 (B) strengthens good governance, entrepre17 neurship, and investment in Native American 

18 communities; and 

19 (C) builds the capacity of Native people to 

20 grow sustainable local economies; 

21 (4) to improve the effectiveness of Federal eco22 nomic development assistance by encouraging the in23 tegration and coordination of the assistance in re24 mote Native American communities; 

25 (5) to promote sustainable economic growth and 

26 poverty reduction policies in remote Native American 


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1 communities in a manner that promotes self-deter2 mination and self-sufficiency among remote Native 

3 American communities while preserving the cultural 

4 values of those communities; and 

5 (6) to establish a demonstration project within 

6 remote areas of noncontiguous States that experi7 ence high levels of poverty and lack access to tradi8 tional transportation infrastructure (highways, rail9 ways, and ports), which, if successful, could poten10 tially benefit other Native American communities in 

11 the United States. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) COMPACT.—The term ‘‘compact’’ means a 

15 binding agreement with the United States entered 

16 into pursuant to this Act. 

17 (2) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY.—The 

18 term ‘‘economic development strategy’’ means a 

19 strategy— 

20 (A) written by an eligible entity and de21 signed to achieve sustainable economic growth 

22 and reduce poverty over a defined period; and 

23 (B) developed in consultation with public 

24 and private sector entities, as appropriate to 


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1 the geographic area and intended beneficiaries 

2 of the compact. 

3 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible enti5 ty’’ means a consortium of Native organizations 

6 in a noncontiguous State, with priority given to 

7 organizations serving regions with the highest 

8 poverty levels. 

9 (B) ALASKA.—In the State of Alaska, a 

10 consortium shall be comprised of not more than 

11 2 regional Alaska Native nonprofit organiza12 tions, to be determined by the Secretary, in 

13 consultation with statewide Alaska Native orga14 nizations. 

15 (C) HAWAII.—In the State of Hawaii, a 

16 consortium shall be comprised of local Native 

17 Hawaiian nonprofit organizations that serve the 

18 interests of Native Hawaiians and in which Na19 tive Hawaiians serve in leadership and sub20 stantive policymaking positions. 

21 (4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

22 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

23 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

24 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 


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

2 the Secretary of the Interior. 

3 SEC. 4. MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE DEMONSTRATION 

4 PROJECT. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

6 and implement in the Department of the Interior a dem7 onstration project, to be known as the ‘‘Native American 

8 Millennium Challenge Demonstration Project’’ (referred 

9 to in this section as the ‘‘demonstration project’’). 

10 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.—In carrying 

11 out the demonstration project, the Secretary may provide 

12 assistance to any eligible entity that enters into a compact 

13 with the United States pursuant to this Act. 

14 (c) FORM OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance under the 

15 demonstration project— 

16 (1) shall be provided in the form of funding 

17 agreements established under the applicable com18 pact; 

19 (2) may not be provided in the form of loans; 

20 and 

21 (3) may not be used for gaming activities con22 ducted under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 

23 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.). 

24 (d) COORDINATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall coordi2 nate the provision of assistance under the dem3 onstration project, to the maximum extent prac4 ticable, with the Federal agencies listed in para5 graph (2) that administer economic development as6 sistance programs for Native Americans and in con7 sultation with the Millennium Challenge Corpora8 tion. The Department of the Interior shall be the 

9 lead Federal agency responsible for the coordination 

10 and consultation under this paragraph. 

11 (2) AGENCIES.—The Federal agencies referred 

12 to in paragraph (1) are— 

13 (A) the Department of Agriculture; 

14 (B) the Department of Commerce; 

15 (C) the Department of Energy; 

16 (D) the Department of Health and Human 

17 Services; 

18 (E) the Department of Housing and Urban 

19 Development; and 

20 (F) the Small Business Administration. 

21 (3) INTEGRATED FUNDING.—Notwithstanding 

22 any other provision of law, the Secretary’s execution 

23 of a compact with an eligible entity shall authorize 

24 the eligible entity to be the designated applicant for, 

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1 tion 7 and economic development assistance program 

2 funding that would otherwise be provided to an In3 dian Tribe located in the region or regions served by 

4 the eligible entity. The eligible entity shall integrate 

5 funds appropriated pursuant to section 7 and any 

6 such program funding and the operation of the pro7 grams’ services into a single, coordinated program 

8 under a demonstration project. 

9 (4) COMPETITIVE FUNDING.—An eligible entity 

10 may only be considered a designated applicant for 

11 funding from a competitive program that would oth12 erwise be provided to an Indian Tribe located in the 

13 region or regions served by the eligible entity if— 

14 (A) an Indian Tribe located in the region 

15 or regions served by the eligible entity des16 ignates the eligible entity in a resolution passed 

17 by its governing body as authorized to apply for 

18 the funding in lieu of the Indian Tribe and 

19 forgoes applying for the funding; 

20 (B) the Indian Tribe has submitted the 

21 resolution to the Secretary and any Secretary 

22 who administers the program; and 

23 (C) the applicable Secretaries have cer24 tified in writing to the eligible entity that they 

25 are in receipt of the resolution. 


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1 (5) OTHER FUNDING.—An eligible entity may 

2 only be considered a designated recipient of funding 

3 from a formula based program or noncompetitive 

4 program that is otherwise provided to a particular 

5 Indian Tribe located in the region or regions served 

6 by the eligible entity if— 

7 (A) the Indian Tribe designates the eligible 

8 entity in a resolution passed by its governing 

9 body as authorized to receive the funding in lieu 

10 of the Indian Tribe and forgoes receipt of the 

11 funding; 

12 (B) the Indian Tribe has submitted the 

13 resolution to the Secretary and any Secretary 

14 that administers the program; and 

15 (C) the applicable Secretaries have cer16 tified in writing to the eligible entity that they 

17 are in receipt of the resolution. 

18 (6) AUTHORITY TO RESCIND.—An Indian Tribe 

19 that has submitted a designating resolution under 

20 this subsection may, at any time, submit to the ap21 plicable Secretaries a resolution passed by its gov22 erning body that rescinds the designating resolution. 

23 (e) WAIVER AUTHORITY.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of an executed 

25 compact, the Secretary shall consult with the eligible 


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1 entity that is a party to the compact and coordinate 

2 with the Secretary of each Federal agency that pro3 vides funds to be used to implement the compact to 

4 identify any waiver of statutory requirements or ap5 plicable regulations, policies, or procedures necessary 

6 to enable the eligible entity to implement the com7 pact. 

8 (2) AGENCIES.—The head of the Federal agen9 cy to which the Federal funds were appropriated 

10 may waive (in whole or in part) the application, sole11 ly to such funds that are being used to implement 

12 the compact, of any statutory, regulatory, or admin13 istrative requirement that such agency head— 

14 (A) is otherwise authorized to waive (in ac15 cordance with the terms and conditions of such 

16 other authority); and 

17 (B) is not otherwise authorized to waive, 

18 provided that in such case the agency head 

19 shall— 

20 (i) not waive any requirement related 

21 to nondiscrimination, wage and labor 

22 standards, or allocation of funds to State 

23 and sub-State levels; 

24 (ii) issue a written determination, 

25 prior to granting the waiver, with respect 


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1 to such discretionary funds that the grant2 ing of such waiver for purposes of the com3 pact— 

4 (I) is consistent with both— 

5 (aa) the statutory purposes 

6 of the Federal program for which 

7 such funds were appropriated; 

8 and 

9 (bb) the other provisions of 

10 this section; 

11 (II) is necessary to achieve the 

12 outcomes of the compact, and is no 

13 broader in scope than is necessary to 

14 achieve such outcomes; and 

15 (III) will result in either— 

16 (aa) realizing efficiencies by 

17 simplifying reporting burdens or 

18 reducing administrative barriers 

19 with respect to such funds; or 

20 (bb) increasing the ability of 

21 individuals to obtain access to 

22 services that are provided by 

23 such funds; and 

24 (iii) provide at least 60 days advance 

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1 ural Resources of the House of Represent2 atives and the Committee on Indian Af3 fairs of the Senate. 

4 SEC. 5. CHALLENGE COMPACTS. 

5 (a) COMPACTS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 

7 and recommend procedures for consideration of pro8 posals for compacts submitted by eligible entities. 

9 (2) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may provide 

10 assistance to an eligible entity only if the eligible en11 tity enters into a compact with the United States, to 

12 be known as a Native American Challenge Compact, 

13 that establishes a multiyear plan for achieving devel14 opment objectives in furtherance of the purposes of 

15 this Act. 

16 (b) APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary shall develop and 

17 recommend procedures for considering applications for 

18 compacts submitted by eligible entities. 

19 (c) CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF ELIGIBLE ENTI20 TIES.—The Secretary shall develop an application process 

21 and criteria for selecting eligible entities to enter into com22 pacts under this Act, taking into consideration— 

23 (1) the purposes of this Act; 

24 (2) the economic development strategy of the el25 igible entity; 


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1 (3) the remoteness of the communities to be 

2 served by the eligible entity; 

3 (4) the general economic status of the commu4 nities to be served by the eligible entity; and 

5 (5) poverty rates within the communities to be 

6 served by the eligible entity. 

7 (d) ASSISTANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF COM8 PACTS.—To the extent that funds are appropriated in ad9 vance to carry out this section, the Secretary may enter 

10 into contracts with, or make grants to, any eligible entity 

11 for the purposes of facilitating the development and imple12 mentation of a compact between the United States and 

13 the eligible entity. 

14 (e) DURATION AND EXTENSION.— 

15 (1) DURATION.—The term of an initial compact 

16 under this section shall be for 5 years. 

17 (2) SUBSEQUENT COMPACTS.—An eligible enti18 ty and the United States may enter into 1 or more 

19 subsequent compacts in accordance with this Act. 

20 (3) EXTENSIONS.—If a compact is approaching 

21 expiration or has expired, the eligible entity that is 

22 a party to the compact and the United States may 

23 renegotiate or extend the compact for such number 

24 of terms as the parties may agree, with each term 

25 not to exceed 10 years. 


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1 (f) ELEMENTS.—In furtherance of the economic de2 velopment strategy of the applicable eligible entity, each 

3 compact shall contain— 

4 (1) a description of the specific objectives for 

5 the sustainable economic development and reduction 

6 of poverty that the eligible entity and the United 

7 States expect to achieve during the term of the com8 pact; 

9 (2) a description of the respective roles and re10 sponsibilities of the eligible entity and the United 

11 States in the achievement of those objectives; 

12 (3) a list and description of regular benchmarks 

13 to measure progress toward achieving those objec14 tives; 

15 (4) an identification of the intended bene16 ficiaries, disaggregated by income level, gender, and 

17 age, to the maximum extent practicable; and 

18 (5) a multiyear financial plan to guide the im19 plementation of the compact, including the estimated 

20 level of funding and other contributions by the 

21 United States and the eligible entity, proposed 

22 mechanisms to execute the plan, and periodic assess23 ments to determine whether the requirements of 

24 paragraphs (1) through (4) are being met. 


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1 (g) SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION OF ASSIST2 ANCE.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may suspend 

4 or terminate assistance, in whole or in part, for an 

5 eligible entity that has entered into a compact with 

6 the United States if the Secretary determines that 

7 the eligible entity— 

8 (A) failed to meet the responsibilities of 

9 the eligible entity under the compact; or 

10 (B) engaged in a pattern of actions that is 

11 inconsistent with the purposes of this Act. 

12 (2) REINSTATEMENT.—The Secretary may re13 instate assistance for an eligible entity only if the 

14 Secretary determines that the eligible entity has 

15 demonstrated a commitment to correcting each con16 dition for which assistance was suspended or termi17 nated under paragraph (1). 

18 SEC. 6. PROGRAM ASSESSMENTS AND REPORTS. 

19 (a) REPORTS OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Not later 

20 than March 15 each year, each eligible entity shall prepare 

21 and submit to the Secretary a written report describing 

22 the assistance provided to the eligible entity under this 

23 Act during the preceding fiscal year. 

24 (b) REPORT CONTENTS.—A report required under 

25 subsection (a) shall include— 


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1 (1) a description of the amount of obligations 

2 and expenditures for assistance provided during the 

3 preceding fiscal year; 

4 (2) a description of the programs and activities 

5 conducted by the eligible entity in furtherance of the 

6 economic development strategy of the eligible entity 

7 and the purposes of this Act; 

8 (3) an assessment of the effectiveness of the as9 sistance provided and progress made by the eligible 

10 entity toward achieving the economic development 

11 strategy of the eligible entity and the purposes of 

12 this Act; and 

13 (4) such other information as the eligible entity 

14 considers to be relevant, taking into consideration 

15 the purposes of this Act. 

16 (c) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than May 

17 15 each year, the Secretary shall submit the reports re18 quired under subsection (a), with such other information 

19 as the Secretary considers to be relevant, to— 

20 (1) the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

21 House of Representatives; and 

22 (2) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Sen23 ate. 

24 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

25 (a) AUTHORIZATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

2 appropriated to carry out this Act $8,000,000 for 

3 each of fiscal years 2020 through 2025, to remain 

4 available until expended. 

5 (2) UNAPPROPRIATED AMOUNTS.—Any funds 

6 authorized but not appropriated for any fiscal year 

7 under paragraph (1) may be appropriated for a sub8 sequent fiscal year, subject to the condition that the 

9 cumulative amount authorized to be appropriated for 

10 any of fiscal years 2020 through 2025 shall not ex11 ceed $40,000,000. 

12 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE FUNDS.—Of the funds made 

13 available to carry out this Act, not more than 5 percent 

14 may be used by the Secretary for the administrative ex15 penses of carrying out this Act and oversight of programs 

16 under this Act. 

Æ 


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