I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2507 
To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a demonstration program 
to adapt the lessons of providing foreign aid to underdeveloped economies 
to the provision of Federal economic development assistance to certain 
similarly situated individuals, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 19, 2009 
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska (for himself and Mr. ABERCROMBIE) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a dem-
onstration program to adapt the lessons of providing 
foreign aid to underdeveloped economies to the provision 
of Federal economic development assistance to certain 
similarly situated individuals, 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 ‘‘Native American Chal-
lenge Demonstration Project Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are— 
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ican communities while preserving the cultural val-
ues of those communities; 
(6) to enhance the capacity of Alaska Native 
communities to meet the challenges posed by climate 
change and the effects of climate change on those 
communities; and 
(7) to establish a demonstration project that, if 
successful, may be broadly applied to other Native 
American communities in the United States. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) COMMITMENT
TO
DEVELOPMENT.—The 
term ‘‘commitment to development’’ means a com-
mitment to poverty reduction and economic growth, 
as demonstrated through activities for— 
(A) entrepreneurship and job creation; 
(B) an increase in worker productivity and 
innovation; or 
(C) the promotion of market forces and the 
private sector. 
(2) COMPACT.—The term ‘‘compact’’ means a 
binding agreement with the United States entered 
into pursuant to this Act. 
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(3) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY.—The 
term ‘‘economic development strategy’’ means a 
strategy— 
(A) written by an eligible entity and de-
signed to achieve sustainable economic growth 
and reduce poverty over a defined period; and 
(B) developed in consultation with public 
and private sector entities, as appropriate to 
the geographical area and intended beneficiaries 
of the compact. 
(4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘ eligible en-
tity’’ means— 
(A) in the State of Alaska, not more than 
2 regional Alaska Native nonprofit organiza-
tions, to be determined by the Secretary, in 
consultation with the Secretary of the Interior 
and the Alaska Federation of Natives, with pri-
ority given to organizations serving regions with 
high poverty levels; 
(B) in the State of Hawaii, a consortia of 
local Native Hawaiian community organiza-
tions, to be determined by the Secretary, in 
consultation with the Secretary of the Interior 
and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; and 
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(C) in the 48 contiguous States, not more 
than 3 organizations, to be determined by the 
Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 
the Interior, which may be Indian tribes, con-
sortia of Indian tribes, or nongovernmental en-
tities authorized by 1 or more Indian tribes. 
(5) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 
has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 
(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Commerce. 
SEC. 4. NATIVE AMERICAN MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE DEM-
ONSTRATION PROJECT. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 
and implement in the Department of Commerce a dem-
onstration project, to be known as the ‘‘Native American 
Millennium Challenge Demonstration Project’’ (referred 
to in this section as the ‘‘demonstration project’’). 
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.—In carrying 
out the demonstration project, the Secretary may provide 
assistance to any eligible entity that enters into a compact 
with the United States pursuant to this Act. 
(c) FORM OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance under the 
demonstration project— 
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(1) shall be provided in the form of funding 
agreements established under the applicable com-
pact; 
(2) may not be provided in the form of loans; 
and 
(3) may not be used for gaming activities cov-
ered by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 
U.S.C. 2701 et seq.). 
(d) COORDINATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—To improve the effectiveness 
of Federal economic development assistance by en-
couraging the integration and coordination of that 
assistance in Indian communities, except as specifi-
cally prohibited by any other provision of law (in-
cluding regulations), the provision of assistance 
under this section may be coordinated with Federal 
economic development assistance provided for Indi-
ans by— 
(A) the Department of Agriculture; 
(B) the Department of Commerce; 
(C) the Department of Energy; 
(D) the Department of Health and Human 
Services; 
(E) the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development; 
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(F) the Department of the Interior; 
(G) the Small Business Administration; 
and 
(H) such other Federal agencies and in-
strumentalities as the Secretary determines to 
be appropriate. 
(2) INTEGRATED FUNDING.—On execution of a 
compact with an eligible entity, the Secretary, in co-
operation with the heads of other Federal depart-
ments and agencies and in accordance with para-
graph (1), may authorize the eligible entity to co-
ordinate the federally funded economic development 
assistance programs of the eligible entity in a man-
ner that integrates the program services into a sin-
gle, coordinated program. 
(e) PROGRAMS AFFECTED.—The programs that may 
be integrated under the demonstration project include any 
program— 
(1) under which an Indian tribe is eligible for 
receipt of funds under a statutory or administrative 
formula for economic development purposes; and 
(2) for which there is no specific statutory or 
regulatory prohibition preventing agency or depart-
mental participation. 
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(f) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—On receipt of an executed 
compact, the Secretary shall consult with the eligible enti-
ty that is a party to the compact and the Secretary of 
each Federal agency or department that provides funds 
to be used to implement the compact to identify any waiv-
er of statutory requirements or applicable regulations, 
policies, or procedures necessary to enable the eligible enti-
ty to implement the compact. 
SEC. 5. NATIVE AMERICAN CHALLENGE COMPACTS. 
(a) COMPACTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 
and recommend procedures for consideration of pro-
posals for compacts submitted by eligible entities. 
(2) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may provide 
assistance to an eligible entity only if the eligible en-
tity enters into a compact with the United States, to 
be known as a ‘‘Native American Challenge Com-
pact’’, that establishes a multiyear plan for achieving 
development objectives in furtherance of the pur-
poses of this Act. 
(b) APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary shall develop and 
recommend procedures for considering applications for 
compacts submitted by eligible entities. 
(c) CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF ELIGIBLE ENTI-
TIES.—The Secretary shall develop an application process 
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and criteria for selecting eligible entities to enter into com-
pacts under this Act, taking into consideration— 
(1) the purposes of this Act; 
(2) the economic development strategy of the el-
igible entity; 
(3) the remoteness of the community to be 
served by the eligible entity; 
(4) the general economic status of the commu-
nity to be served by the eligible entity; 
(5) the poverty rate of the community to be 
served by the eligible entity; 
(6) the service capacity of the eligible entity; 
and 
(7) the commitment to development of the com-
munity to be served by the eligible entity. 
(d) ASSISTANCE
FOR
DEVELOPMENT
OF
COM-
PACTS.—To the extent that funds are appropriated in ad-
vance to carry out this section, the Secretary may enter 
into contracts with, or make grants to, any eligible entity 
for the purposes of facilitating the development and imple-
mentation of a compact between the United States and 
the eligible entity. 
(e) DURATION AND EXTENSION.— 
(1) DURATION.—The term of an initial compact 
under this section shall not exceed 5 years. 
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(2) SUBSEQUENT COMPACTS.—An eligible enti-
ty and the United States may enter into 1 or more 
subsequent compacts in accordance with this Act. 
(3) EXTENSIONS.—If a compact is approaching 
expiration or has expired, the eligible entity that is 
a party to the compact and the United States may 
renegotiate or extend the compact for such number 
of terms as the parties may agree, with each term 
not to exceed 10 years. 
(f) ELEMENTS.—In furtherance of the economic de-
velopment strategy of the applicable eligible entity, each 
compact shall contain— 
(1) a description of the specific objectives for 
the sustainable economic development and reduction 
of poverty that the eligible entity and the United 
States expect to achieve during the term of the com-
pact; 
(2) a description of the respective roles and re-
sponsibilities of the eligible entity and the United 
States in the achievement of those objectives; 
(3) a list and description of regular benchmarks 
to measure progress toward achieving those objec-
tives; 
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(4) an identification of the intended bene-
ficiaries, disaggregated by income level, gender, and 
age, to the maximum extent practicable; and 
(5) a multiyear financial plan to guide the im-
plementation of the compact, including the estimated 
level of funding and other contributions by the 
United States and the eligible entity, proposed 
mechanisms to execute the plan, and periodic assess-
ments to determine whether the requirements of 
paragraphs (1) through (4) are being met. 
(g) SUSPENSION
AND TERMINATION
OF ASSIST-
ANCE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may suspend 
or terminate assistance, in whole or in part, for an 
eligible entity that has entered into a compact with 
the United States if the Secretary determines that— 
(A) the eligible entity has failed to meet 
the responsibilities of the eligible entity under 
the compact; or 
(B) the eligible entity has engaged in a 
pattern of actions that is inconsistent with the 
purposes of this Act. 
(2) REINSTATEMENT.—The Secretary may re-
instate assistance for an eligible entity only if the 
Secretary determines that the eligible entity has 
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demonstrated a commitment to correcting each con-
dition for which assistance was suspended or termi-
nated under paragraph (1). 
SEC. 6. PROGRAM ASSESSMENTS AND REPORTS. 
(a) REPORTS
OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Not later 
than March 15, 2010, and annually thereafter, each eligi-
ble entity shall prepare and submit to the Secretary a writ-
ten report describing the assistance provided to the eligible 
entity under this Act during the preceding fiscal year. 
(b) REPORT CONTENTS.—A report required under 
subsection (a) shall include— 
(1) a description of the amount of obligations 
and expenditures for assistance provided during the 
preceding fiscal year; 
(2) a description of the programs and activities 
conducted by the eligible entity in furtherance of the 
economic development strategy of the eligible entity 
and the purposes of this Act; 
(3) an assessment of the effectiveness of the as-
sistance provided and progress made by the eligible 
entity toward achieving the economic development 
strategy of the eligible entity and the purposes of 
this Act; and 
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(4) such other information as the eligible entity 
considers to be relevant, taking into consideration 
the purposes of this Act. 
(c) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than May 
15, 2010, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall sub-
mit the reports required under subsection (a), with such 
other information as the Secretary considers to be rel-
evant, to— 
(1) the Committees on Energy and Commerce 
and Natural Resources of the House of Representa-
tives; and 
(2) the Committees on Indian Affairs, Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation, and Energy and 
Natural Resources of the Senate. 
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this Act $20,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014, to remain 
available until expended. 
(2) UNAPPROPRIATED
AMOUNTS.—Any funds 
authorized but not appropriated for any fiscal year 
under paragraph (1) may be appropriated for a sub-
sequent fiscal year, subject to the condition that the 
cumulative amount authorized to be appropriated for 
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any of fiscal years 2010 through 2014 shall not ex-
ceed $100,000,000. 
(b) ADMINISTRATIVE AND PROGRAM OVERSIGHT EX-
PENSES.—Of the funds made available to carry out this 
Act, not more than 5 percent may be used by the Sec-
retary for— 
(1) the administrative expenses of carrying out 
this Act; and 
(2) oversight of programs under this Act. 
Æ 
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