for Executive Consultation with Tribes Act’’ or the ‘‘RE-
SPECT Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; findings; declaration of goals; definitions. 
TITLE I—SENSE OF CONGRESS 
Sec. 101. Sense of Congress. 
TITLE II—CONSULTATION PROCEDURE 
Sec. 201. Requirement for consultation. 
Sec. 202. Timing. 
Sec. 203. Scoping stage consultation. 
Sec. 204. Decision stage procedures. 
Sec. 205. Documentation and reporting. 
Sec. 206. Implementation. 
Sec. 207. Sensitive tribal information. 
TITLE III—TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY 
Sec. 301. Tribal sovereignty. 
TITLE IV—INDIAN TRIBAL WAIVERS 
Sec. 401. Indian tribal waivers. 
TITLE V—JUDICIAL REVIEW 
Sec. 501. Judicial review. 
(c) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
(1) the United States has a unique, legally af-
firmed government-to-government relationship with 
Indian tribal governments as set forth in the Con-
stitution of the United States, treaties, statutes, Ex-
ecutive orders, and court decisions; 
(2) the United States recognizes the right of In-
dian tribes to self-government and supports tribal 
sovereignty and self-determination; 
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(3) the United States has enacted numerous 
statutes and promulgated numerous regulations that 
establish and define a trust relationship with Indian 
tribes; 
(4) the United States has a responsibility to 
consult with Indian tribes on a government-to-gov-
ernment basis when formulating policies and under-
taking activities that will have impacts on tribal 
lands and interests; 
(5) procedures for such consultation should be 
designed and structured to give Indian tribes oppor-
tunities to provide meaningful, informed input 
throughout the development and decisionmaking 
processes; 
(6) building institutional knowledge and capac-
ity for effective consultation fosters greater effi-
ciency and benefits for future projects; 
(7) the consultation process should be institu-
tionalized according to best practices that are de-
signed and administered by the agency and that ful-
fill the legal requirements mandated by this Act; 
(8) consulting with Indian tribes during the for-
mulation of long-term management plans reduces 
the likelihood of project delays and increases the ef-
ficiency of project implementations; and 
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(9) effective consultation demands ongoing, re-
spectful communication between agencies and Indian 
tribes. 
(d) DECLARATION OF GOALS.—The goals of this Act 
are— 
(1) to establish and support a process of reg-
ular, meaningful consultation and collaboration with 
Indian tribes in the development of Federal policies 
and the initiation of Federal activities that impact 
tribal lands and interests; 
(2) to strengthen the United States govern-
ment-to-government relationships with Indian tribes; 
(3) to establish minimum standard procedures 
to ensure the above goals are achieved; and 
(4) to recognize tribal regulatory authority and 
jurisdiction generally, and specifically through the 
waiver process. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this Act: 
(1) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 
means an Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, na-
tion, pueblo, village, or community that the Sec-
retary of the Interior acknowledges to exist as an In-
dian tribe pursuant to the Federally Recognized In-
dian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a), in-
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cluding all tribes that have been added to the list 
since the Act became law. 
(2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ means any 
authority of the United States that is an ‘‘agency’’ 
under section 3502(1) of title 44, United States 
Code. 
(3) ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘activity’’ means a 
project, program, policy or other action including, 
infrastructure projects, regulations, program com-
ments by Federal entities, and agency-drafted pro-
posed legislation, that is funded in whole or in part 
under the direct or indirect jurisdiction of an agen-
cy, including those carried out by or on behalf of an 
agency; those carried out with Federal financial as-
sistance; or those requiring a Federal permit, li-
cense, or approval. 
(4) SACRED
SITE.—The term ‘‘sacred site’’ 
means any specific, discrete, narrowly delineated lo-
cation on Federal land that is identified by an In-
dian tribe— 
(A) as sacred by virtue of its established 
religious significance to, or ceremonial use by, 
an Indian religion; or 
(B) to be of established cultural signifi-
cance. 
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(5) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—The term 
‘‘memorandum of agreement’’ means a document 
that records the terms and conditions agreed upon 
by an agency and an Indian tribe through the con-
sultation process regarding an activity, including any 
measures to be taken to resolve or mitigate adverse 
impacts on the Indian tribe. 
(6) NEW
DISCOVERY.—The term ‘‘new dis-
covery’’ means any unexpected development that oc-
curs during the course of an activity, such as the 
discovery of a new archeological site, unanticipated 
impacts on organisms or ecosystems, or the realiza-
tion of unintended consequences of a new regulation, 
that may have impacts on tribal lands and interests. 
(7) STANDARD PROCESS.—The term ‘‘standard 
process’’ means a streamlined process for agency-In-
dian tribe interaction agreed to by both parties 
through consultation and certified in a memorandum 
of agreement that applies to certain specified activi-
ties or limited categories of activities. 
TITLE I—SENSE OF CONGRESS 
SEC. 101. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that consultation con-
stitutes more than simply notifying an Indian tribe about 
a planned undertaking. Consultation entails a process of 
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