I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2791 
To establish the Department of Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee on 
Tribal and Indian Affairs, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 16, 2019 
Ms. HAALAND (for herself, Mr. GALLAGHER, Mr. COLE, Mr. CISNEROS, Ms. 
NORTON, Mr. COOK, Mr. CASE, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Mr. CROW, and Ms. 
KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To establish the Department of Veterans Affairs Advisory 
Committee on Tribal and Indian Affairs, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Vet-
erans Affairs Tribal Advisory Committee Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ADVISORY 
COMMITTEE ON TRIBAL AND INDIAN AF-
FAIRS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 5 of 
title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 547. Advisory Committee on Tribal and Indian Af-
fairs 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) The Secretary shall es-
tablish an advisory committee to provide advice and guid-
ance to the Secretary on matters relating to Indian tribes, 
tribal organizations, and Native American veterans. 
‘‘(2) The advisory committee established under para-
graph (1) shall be known as the ‘Advisory Committee on 
Tribal and Indian Affairs’ (in this section referred to as 
the ‘Committee’). 
‘‘(3) The Committee shall facilitate, but not supplant, 
government-to-government consultation between the De-
partment and Indian tribes or tribal organizations. 
‘‘(4) The Secretary shall consult with Indian tribes 
or tribal organizations in developing a charter for the 
Committee. 
‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—(1) The Committee shall be 
composed of 15 voting members selected by the Secretary 
from among individuals nominated by Indian tribes or 
tribal organizations for purposes of this section. 
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‘‘(2) In selecting members under paragraph (1), the 
Secretary shall ensure that— 
‘‘(A) each of the 12 service areas of the Indian 
Health Service is represented in the membership of 
the Committee; and 
‘‘(B) not fewer than half of the members are 
veterans, unless the Secretary determines that an in-
sufficient number of qualified veterans were nomi-
nated under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(3) No member of the Committee may be an em-
ployee of the Federal Government. 
‘‘(c) TERMS; VACANCIES.—(1) A member of the 
Committee shall be appointed for a term of two years. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall fill a vacancy in the Com-
mittee in the same manner as the original appointment 
within 180 days. 
‘‘(d) MEETINGS.—(1) The Committee shall meet in- 
person with the Secretary, or the Secretary’s designee, not 
less frequently than twice each year and hold monthly con-
ference calls as necessary. 
‘‘(2)(A) Representatives of relevant Federal agencies 
may attend meetings of the Committee and provide infor-
mation to the Committee. 
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‘‘(B) One representative of the Office of Tribal Gov-
ernment Relations of the Department shall attend at each 
meeting of the Committee. 
‘‘(C) Representatives attending meetings under this 
paragraph shall not be considered voting members of the 
Committee. 
‘‘(e) SUBCOMMITTEES.—(1) The Committee may es-
tablish subcommittees. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary may, in consultation with the 
Committee, appoint a member to a subcommittee estab-
lished under paragraph (1) who is not a member of the 
Committee. 
‘‘(3) Such subcommittees may enhance the function 
of the Committee, but may not supersede the authority 
of the Committee or provide direct advice or work products 
to the Department. 
‘‘(f) DUTIES.—The duties of the Committee are as 
follows: 
‘‘(1) To advise the Secretary on ways the De-
partment can improve the programs and services of 
the Department to better serve Native American vet-
erans. 
‘‘(2) To identify for the Department evolving 
issues of relevance to Indian tribes, tribal organiza-
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tions, and Native American veterans relating to pro-
grams and services of the Department. 
‘‘(3) To propose clarifications, recommenda-
tions, and solutions to address issues raised at trib-
al, regional, and national levels, especially regarding 
the Annual Tribal Consultation Report. 
‘‘(4) To provide a forum for Indian tribes, trib-
al organizations, and the Department to discuss 
issues and proposals for changes to Department reg-
ulations, policies, and procedures. 
‘‘(5) To identify priorities and provide advice on 
appropriate strategies for tribal consultation on 
issues at the tribal, regional, or national levels. 
‘‘(6) To ensure that pertinent issues are 
brought to the attention of Indian tribes and tribal 
organizations in a timely manner, so that tribal 
feedback can be obtained. 
‘‘(7) To encourage the Secretary to work with 
other Federal agencies and Congress so that Native 
American veterans are not denied the full benefit of 
their status as both Native Americans and veterans. 
‘‘(8) To highlight contributions of Native Amer-
ican veterans in the Armed Forces. 
‘‘(9) To update the consultation policy of the 
Department on tribal matters. 
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pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule 
under section 5315 of title 5 for each day (including travel 
time) during which such member is engaged in the per-
formance of duties of the Committee. 
‘‘(i) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT EXEMP-
TION.—Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act 
(5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Committee. 
‘‘(j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘appropriate committees of Con-
gress’ means— 
‘‘(A) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
and the Committee on Indian Affairs of the 
Senate; and 
‘‘(B) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
of the House of Representatives. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘Indian tribe’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 4 of the Indian Self-De-
termination and Education Assistance Act (25 
U.S.C. 5304). 
‘‘(3) The term ‘Native American veteran’ has 
the meaning given such term in section 3765 of this 
title. 
‘‘(4) The term ‘tribal organization’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 3765 of this title 
and includes an Urban Indian organization (as de-
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fined in section 4 of the Indian Health Care Im-
provement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603)).’’. 
(b) DEADLINE
FOR ESTABLISHMENT.—The Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs shall establish the advisory com-
mittee required by section 547 of title 38, United States 
Code, as added by subsection (a), not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(c) DEADLINE FOR INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—Not 
later than 90 days after the date on which the Secretary 
establishes the advisory committee required by such sec-
tion, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall appoint mem-
bers under subsection (b)(1) of such section. 
(d) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 90 days after 
the date on which the Secretary establishes the advisory 
committee required by such section, such advisory com-
mittee shall hold its first meeting. 
(e) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of chapter 5 of such title is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to section 546 the fol-
lowing new item: 
‘‘547. Advisory Committee on Tribal and Indian Affairs.’’. 
Æ 
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