I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 558 
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a demonstration program 
to adapt the successful practices of providing foreign aid to under-
developed 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 15, 2019 
Mr. YOUNG (for himself and Ms. GABBARD) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a dem-
onstration 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. 
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 Mil-
lennium Challenge Demonstration Act’’. 
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the geographic area and intended beneficiaries 
of the compact. 
(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means a consortium of Native organizations 
in a noncontiguous State, with priority given to 
organizations serving regions with the highest 
poverty levels. 
(B) ALASKA.—In the State of Alaska, a 
consortium shall be comprised of not more than 
2 regional Alaska Native nonprofit organiza-
tions, to be determined by the Secretary, in 
consultation with statewide Alaska Native orga-
nizations. 
(C) HAWAII.—In the State of Hawaii, a 
consortium shall be comprised of local Native 
Hawaiian nonprofit organizations that serve the 
interests of Native Hawaiians and in which Na-
tive Hawaiians serve in leadership and sub-
stantive policymaking positions. 
(4) 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. 5304). 
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(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
SEC. 
4. 
MILLENNIUM 
CHALLENGE 
DEMONSTRATION 
PROJECT. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 
and implement in the Department of the Interior 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— 
(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 con-
ducted under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 
U.S.C. 2701 et seq.). 
(d) COORDINATION.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall coordi-
nate the provision of assistance under the dem-
onstration project, to the maximum extent prac-
ticable, with the Federal agencies listed in para-
graph (2) that administer economic development as-
sistance programs for Native Americans and in con-
sultation with the Millennium Challenge Corpora-
tion. The Department of the Interior shall be the 
lead Federal agency responsible for the coordination 
and consultation under this paragraph. 
(2) AGENCIES.—The Federal agencies referred 
to in paragraph (1) are— 
(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; and 
(F) the Small Business Administration. 
(3) INTEGRATED
FUNDING.—Notwithstanding 
any other provision of law, the Secretary’s execution 
of a compact with an eligible entity shall authorize 
the eligible entity to be the designated applicant for, 
or recipient of, funds appropriated pursuant to sec-
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tion 7 and economic development assistance program 
funding that would otherwise be provided to an In-
dian Tribe located in the region or regions served by 
the eligible entity. The eligible entity shall integrate 
funds appropriated pursuant to section 7 and any 
such program funding and the operation of the pro-
grams’ services into a single, coordinated program 
under a demonstration project. 
(4) COMPETITIVE FUNDING.—An eligible entity 
may only be considered a designated applicant for 
funding from a competitive program that would oth-
erwise be provided to an Indian Tribe located in the 
region or regions served by the eligible entity if— 
(A) an Indian Tribe located in the region 
or regions served by the eligible entity des-
ignates the eligible entity in a resolution passed 
by its governing body as authorized to apply for 
the funding in lieu of the Indian Tribe and 
forgoes applying for the funding; 
(B) the Indian Tribe has submitted the 
resolution to the Secretary and any Secretary 
who administers the program; and 
(C) the applicable Secretaries have cer-
tified in writing to the eligible entity that they 
are in receipt of the resolution. 
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(5) OTHER FUNDING.—An eligible entity may 
only be considered a designated recipient of funding 
from a formula based program or noncompetitive 
program that is otherwise provided to a particular 
Indian Tribe located in the region or regions served 
by the eligible entity if— 
(A) the Indian Tribe designates the eligible 
entity in a resolution passed by its governing 
body as authorized to receive the funding in lieu 
of the Indian Tribe and forgoes receipt of the 
funding; 
(B) the Indian Tribe has submitted the 
resolution to the Secretary and any Secretary 
that administers the program; and 
(C) the applicable Secretaries have cer-
tified in writing to the eligible entity that they 
are in receipt of the resolution. 
(6) AUTHORITY TO RESCIND.—An Indian Tribe 
that has submitted a designating resolution under 
this subsection may, at any time, submit to the ap-
plicable Secretaries a resolution passed by its gov-
erning body that rescinds the designating resolution. 
(e) WAIVER AUTHORITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of an executed 
compact, the Secretary shall consult with the eligible 
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entity that is a party to the compact and coordinate 
with the Secretary of each Federal agency that pro-
vides funds to be used to implement the compact to 
identify any waiver of statutory requirements or ap-
plicable regulations, policies, or procedures necessary 
to enable the eligible entity to implement the com-
pact. 
(2) AGENCIES.—The head of the Federal agen-
cy to which the Federal funds were appropriated 
may waive (in whole or in part) the application, sole-
ly to such funds that are being used to implement 
the compact, of any statutory, regulatory, or admin-
istrative requirement that such agency head— 
(A) is otherwise authorized to waive (in ac-
cordance with the terms and conditions of such 
other authority); and 
(B) is not otherwise authorized to waive, 
provided that in such case the agency head 
shall— 
(i) not waive any requirement related 
to nondiscrimination, wage and labor 
standards, or allocation of funds to State 
and sub-State levels; 
(ii) issue a written determination, 
prior to granting the waiver, with respect 
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ural Resources of the House of Represent-
atives and the Committee on Indian Af-
fairs of the Senate. 
SEC. 5. 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 Compact, 
that establishes a multiyear plan for achieving devel-
opment objectives in furtherance of the purposes 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 
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; 
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(3) the remoteness of the communities to be 
served by the eligible entity; 
(4) the general economic status of the commu-
nities to be served by the eligible entity; and 
(5) poverty rates within the communities 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 be for 5 years. 
(2) SUBSEQUENT COMPACTS.—An eligible enti-
ty and the United States may enter into one 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. 
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(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; 
(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. 
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(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 
the eligible entity— 
(A) failed to meet the responsibilities of 
the eligible entity under the compact; or 
(B) 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 
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 each year, each eligible entity shall prepare 
and submit to the Secretary a written 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— 
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(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 
(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 each year, the Secretary shall submit the reports re-
quired under subsection (a), with such other information 
as the Secretary considers to be relevant, to— 
(1) the Committee on Natural Resources of the 
House of Representatives; and 
(2) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Sen-
ate. 
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this Act $8,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2020 through 2025, 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 
any of fiscal years 2020 through 2025 shall not ex-
ceed $40,000,000. 
(b) ADMINISTRATIVE FUNDS.—Of the funds made 
available to carry out this Act, not more than 5 percent 
may be used by the Secretary for the administrative ex-
penses of carrying out this Act and oversight of programs 
under this Act. 
Æ 
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