Native American Rural Homeownership Improvement Act of 2021
Bill: S.2092 | Sponsor: Sen. Smith, Tina (D-MN)
Policy area: Native Americans

Summary:
Native American Rural Homeownership Improvement Act of 2021
This bill provides statutory authority for a Department of Agriculture pilot program that provides direct loans to Native community development financial institutions to increase homeownership opportunities for tribal communities in rural areas.

To permanently authorize the Native Community Development Financial 
Institutions lending program of the Department of Agriculture, and for 
                            other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Native American Rural Homeownership 
Improvement Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. NATIVE CDFI RELENDING PROGRAM.

    Section 502 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1472) is amended 
by adding at the end the following:
    ``(j) Set Aside for Native Community Development Financial 
Institutions.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
                    ``(A) the term `Alaska Native' has the meaning 
                given the term `Native' in section 3(b) of the Alaska 
                Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(b));
                    ``(B) the term `appropriate congressional 
                committees' means--
                            ``(i) the Committee on Agriculture of the 
                        Senate;
                            ``(ii) the Committee on Indian Affairs of 
                        the Senate;
                            ``(iii) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
                        and Urban Affairs of the Senate;
                            ``(iv) the Committee on Agriculture of the 
                        House of Representatives;
                            ``(v) the Committee on Natural Resources of 
                        the House of Representatives; and
                            ``(vi) the Committee on Financial Services 
                        of the House of Representatives;
                    ``(C) the term `community development financial 
                institution' has the meaning given the term in section 
                103 of the Community Development Banking and Financial 
                Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4702);
                    ``(D) the term `Indian Tribe' has the meaning given 
                the term `Indian tribe' in section 4 of the Native 
                American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act 
                of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103);
                    ``(E) the term `Native community development 
                financial institution' means an entity--
                            ``(i) that has been certified as a 
                        community development financial institution by 
                        the Secretary of the Treasury;
                            ``(ii) that is not less than 50 percent 
                        owned or controlled by members of Indian 
                        Tribes, Alaska Native communities, or Native 
                        Hawaiian communities; and
                            ``(iii) for which not less than 50 percent 
                        of the activities of the entity serve Indian 
                        Tribes, Alaska Native communities, or Native 
                        Hawaiian communities;
                    ``(F) the term `Native Hawaiian' has the meaning 
                given the term in section 801 of the Native American 
                Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 
                (25 U.S.C. 4221); and
                    ``(G) the term `priority Tribal land' means--
                            ``(i) any land located within the 
                        boundaries of--
                                    ``(I) an Indian reservation, 
                                pueblo, or rancheria; or
                                    ``(II) a former reservation within 
                                Oklahoma;
                            ``(ii) any land not located within the 
                        boundaries of an Indian reservation, pueblo, or 
                        rancheria, the title to which is held--
                                    ``(I) in trust by the United States 
                                for the benefit of an Indian Tribe or 
                                an individual Indian;
                                    ``(II) by an Indian Tribe or an 
                                individual Indian, subject to 
                                restriction against alienation under 
                                laws of the United States; or
                                    ``(III) by a dependent Indian 
                                community;
                            ``(iii) any land located within a region 
                        established pursuant to section 7(a) of the 
                        Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 
                        1606(a));
                            ``(iv) Hawaiian Home Lands, as defined in 
                        section 801 of the Native American Housing 
                        Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 
                        (25 U.S.C. 4221); or
                            ``(v) those areas or communities designated 
                        by the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs of 
                        the Department of the Interior that are near, 
                        adjacent, or contiguous to reservations where 
                        financial assistance and social service 
                        programs are provided to Indians because of 
                        their status as Indians.
            ``(2) Purpose.--The purpose of this subsection is to--
                    ``(A) increase homeownership opportunities for 
                Indian Tribes, Alaska Native Communities, and Native 
                Hawaiian communities in rural areas; and
                    ``(B) provide capital to Native community 
                development financial institutions to increase the 
                number of mortgage transactions carried out by those 
                institutions.
            ``(3) Set aside for native cdfis.--Of amounts appropriated 
        to make direct loans under this section for each fiscal year, 
        the Secretary shall use $50,000,000 to make direct loans to 
        Native community development financial institutions in 
        accordance with this subsection.
            ``(4) Application requirements.--A Native community 
        development financial institution desiring a loan under this 
        subsection shall demonstrate that the institution--
                    ``(A) can provide the non-Federal cost share 
                required under paragraph (6); and
                    ``(B) is able to originate and service loans for 
                single family homes.
            ``(5) Lending requirements.--A Native community development 
        financial institution that receives a loan pursuant to this 
        subsection shall--
                    ``(A) use those amounts to make loans to 
                borrowers--
                            ``(i) who otherwise meet the requirements 
                        for a loan under this section; and
                            ``(ii) who--
                                    ``(I) are members of an Indian 
                                Tribe, an Alaska Native community, or a 
                                Native Hawaiian community; or
                                    ``(II) maintain a household in 
                                which not less 1 member is a member of 
                                an Indian Tribe, an Alaska Native 
                                community, or a Native Hawaiian 
                                community; and
                    ``(B) in making loans under subparagraph (A), give 
                priority to borrowers described in that subparagraph 
                who are residing on priority Tribal land.
            ``(6) Non-federal cost share.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A Native community development 
                financial institution that receives a loan under this 
                section shall be required to match not less than 20 
                percent of the amount received.
                    ``(B) Waiver.--In the case of a loan for which 
                amounts are used to make loans to borrowers described 
                in paragraph (5)(B), the Secretary shall waive the non-
                Federal cost share requirement described in 
                subparagraph (A) with respect to those loan amounts.
            ``(7) Reporting.--
                    ``(A) Annual report by native cdfis.--Each Native 
                community development financial institution that 
                receives a loan pursuant to this subsection shall 
                submit an annual report to the Secretary on the lending 
                activities of the institution using the loan amounts, 
                which shall include--
                            ``(i) a description of the outreach efforts 
                        of the institution in local communities to 
                        identify eligible borrowers;
                            ``(ii) a description of how the institution 
                        leveraged additional capital to reach 
                        prospective borrowers;
                            ``(iii) the number of loan applications 
                        received, approved, and deployed;
                            ``(iv) the average loan amount;
                            ``(v) the number of finalized loans that 
                        were made on Tribal trust lands and not on 
                        Tribal trust lands; and
                            ``(vi) the number of finalized loans that 
                        were made on priority Tribal land and not 
                        priority Tribal land.
                    ``(B) Annual report to congress.--Not later than 1 
                year after the date of enactment of this subsection, 
                and every year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit 
                to the appropriate congressional communities a report 
                that includes--
                            ``(i) a list of loans made to Native 
                        community development financial institutions 
                        pursuant to this subsection, including the name 
                        of the institution and the loan amount;
                            ``(ii) the percentage of loans made under 
                        this section to members of Indian Tribes, 
                        Alaska Native communities, and Native Hawaiian 
                        communities, respectively, including a 
                        breakdown of loans made to households residing 
                        on and not on Tribal trust lands; and
                            ``(iii) the average loan amount made by 
                        Native community development financial 
                        institutions pursuant to this subsection.
                    ``(C) Evaluation of program.--Not later than 3 
                years after the date of enactment of this subsection, 
                the Secretary and the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
                conduct an evaluation of and submit to the appropriate 
                congressional committees a report on the program under 
                this subsection, which shall--
                            ``(i) evaluate the effectiveness of the 
                        program, including an evaluation of the demand 
                        for loans under the program; and
                            ``(ii) include recommendations relating to 
                        the program, including whether--
                                    ``(I) the program should be 
                                expanded to such that all community 
                                development financial institutions may 
                                make loans under the program to the 
                                borrowers described in paragraph (5); 
                                and
                                    ``(II) the set aside amount 
                                paragraph (3) should be modified in 
                                order to match demand under the 
                                program.
            ``(8) Grants for operational support.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall make grants 
                to Native community development financial institutions 
                that receive a loan under this section to provide 
                operational support and other related services to those 
                institutions, subject to--
                            ``(i) to the satisfactory performance, as 
                        determined by the Secretary, of a Native 
                        community development financial institution in 
                        carrying out this section; and
                            ``(ii) the availability of funding.
                    ``(B) Amount.--A Native community development 
                financial institution that receives a loan under this 
                section shall be eligible to receive an annual grant 
                described in subparagraph (A) in an amount equal to not 
                less than 20 percent and not more than 25 percent of 
                the total outstanding balance of loans made by the 
                Native community development financial institution 
                under the program under this section as of the date on 
                which the grant is awarded.
            ``(9) Outreach and technical assistance.--There is 
        authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $1,000,000 for 
        each of fiscal years 2022, 2023, and 2024--
                    ``(A) to provide technical assistance to Native 
                community development financial institutions--
                            ``(i) relating to homeownership and other 
                        housing-related assistance provided by the 
                        Secretary; and
                            ``(ii) to assist those institutions to 
                        perform outreach to eligible homebuyers 
                        relating to the loan program under this 
                        section; or
                    ``(B) to provide funding to a national organization 
                representing Native American housing interests to 
                perform outreach and provide technical assistance as 
                described in clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, of 
                subparagraph (A).''.
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