Title: Tribal Food and Housing Security Act
Policy area: Native Americans

Summary:
Tribal Food and Housing Security Act
This bill provides support to Indian tribes for rural development, including by: (1) allowing the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to extend financial assistance through the Farmers Home Administration for tribal housing and buildings, and (2) establishing a technical assistance program to help tribal entities access USDA rural development programs.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2489 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2489

    To amend the Housing Act of 1949 to extend the authority of the 
Secretary of Agriculture to make loans to certain entities for housing 
 and buildings on adequate farms, to establish a technical assistance 
   program to improve access by Tribal entities to rural development 
                   programs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 1, 2018

 Ms. Heitkamp introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
              referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Housing Act of 1949 to extend the authority of the 
Secretary of Agriculture to make loans to certain entities for housing 
 and buildings on adequate farms, to establish a technical assistance 
   program to improve access by Tribal entities to rural development 
                   programs, 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 ``Tribal Food and Housing Security 
Act''.

SEC. 2. HOUSING ACT AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Definitions.--Section 501 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 
1471) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by redesignating paragraph (5) as 
        paragraph (9) and moving that paragraph to the position after 
        subsection (b)(8); and
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (9), as redesignated and moved by 
                paragraph (1) of this Act, by striking ``Definitions'' 
                and inserting ``Rehabilitate; rehabilitation; repair; 
                repairs''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(10) Community development financial institution.--In 
        this title, 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).
            ``(11) Indian land.--In this title, the term `Indian land' 
        has the meaning given the term is section 3 of the Native 
        American Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act 
        of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4302).
            ``(12) Native community development financial 
        institution.--In this title, the term `Native community 
        development financial institution' means a community 
        development financial institution that directs not less than 50 
        percent of the activities of that community development 
        financial institution toward an Indian land.
            ``(13) Tribally designated housing entity.--In this title, 
        the term `tribally designated housing entity' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 4 of the Native American Housing 
        Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 
        4103).''.
    (b) Loans to Native Community Development Financial Institutions, 
Indian Tribes, and Tribally Designated Housing Entities for Housing and 
Buildings on Adequate Farms.--Section 501(a) of the Housing Act of 1949 
(42 U.S.C. 1471(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4)(B)(ii), by striking the period at the 
        end and inserting ``; and''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) to a Native community development financial 
        institution--
                    ``(A) for use by that Native community development 
                financial institution for any of the purposes described 
                in paragraphs (1) through (4); or
                    ``(B) for the purpose of making a loan to an owner 
                described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of property on 
                Indian trust land for any of the purposes described in 
                paragraphs (1) through (4); and
            ``(6) to an Indian tribe or a tribally designated housing 
        entity for the purpose of developing adequate housing that is 
        modest in size, design, and cost (as determined by the 
        Secretary) on Indian trust land.
            ``(7) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `Indian 
        trust land' has the meaning given the term `substantially 
        underserved trust area' in the Rural Electrification Act of 
        1936 (7 U.S.C. 936f).''.
    (c) Set Asides for Indian Tribes, Housing Entities, and Low-Income 
Members of Indian Tribes.--
            (1) Housing act of 1949.--Title V of the Housing Act of 
        1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.) is amended--
                    (A) in section 502 (42 U.S.C. 1472), by adding at 
                the end the following:
    ``(j) Set Aside.--Of amounts made available to provide loans under 
this section beginning in the first fiscal year after the date of 
enactment of the Tribal Food and Housing Security Act and every fiscal 
year thereafter, the Secretary shall set aside 5 percent to provide 
loans to--
            ``(1) Indian tribes;
            ``(2) tribally designated housing entities; and
            ``(3) members of Indian tribes on Indian land, with 
        priority given to members of Indian tribes on Indian trust 
        land, as defined in section 306F of the Rural Electrification 
        Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 936f).'';
                    (B) in section 504 (42 U.S.C. 1474), by adding at 
                the end the following:
    ``(d) Set Aside.--Of amounts made available to provide loans or 
grants under this section beginning in the first fiscal year after the 
date of enactment of the Tribal Food and Housing Security Act and every 
fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary shall set aside 5 percent to 
provide loans or grants to--
            ``(1) Indian tribes;
            ``(2) tribally designated housing entities; and
            ``(3) members of Indian tribes on Indian land, with 
        priority given to members of Indian tribes on Indian trust 
        land, as defined in section 306F of the Rural Electrification 
        Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 936f).'';
                    (C) in section 515 (42 U.S.C. 1485), by adding at 
                the end the following:
    ``(bb) Set Aside.--Of amounts made available to provide loans under 
this section beginning in the first fiscal year after the date of 
enactment of the Tribal Food and Housing Security Act and every fiscal 
year thereafter, the Secretary shall set aside 5 percent to provide 
loans to--
            ``(1) Indian tribes; and
            ``(2) tribally designated housing entities.'';
                    (D) in section 533 (42 U.S.C. 1490m), by adding at 
                the end the following:
    ``(j) Set Aside.--Of amounts made available to provide grants under 
this section beginning in the first fiscal year after the date of 
enactment of the Tribal Food and Housing Security Act and every fiscal 
year thereafter, the Secretary shall set aside 5 percent to provide 
grants to--
            ``(1) Indian tribes;
            ``(2) tribally designated housing entities; and
            ``(3) members of Indian tribes on Indian land, with 
        priority given to members of Indian tribes on Indian trust 
        land, as defined in section 306F of the Rural Electrification 
        Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 936f).''; and
                    (E) in section 538 (42 U.S.C. 1490p-2), by adding 
                at the end the following:
    ``(w) Set Aside.--Of the gross obligations provided for the 
principal amount of guaranteed loans under this section beginning in 
the first fiscal year after the date of enactment of the Tribal Food 
and Housing Security Act and every fiscal year thereafter, the 
Secretary shall set aside 5 percent to guarantee loans provided to--
            ``(1) Indian tribes; and
            ``(2) tribally designated housing entities.''.
            (2) Rural utilities services.--
                    (A) Definitions.--In this paragraph, the terms 
                ``Indian tribe'' and ``tribally designated housing 
                entity'' have the meanings given those terms in section 
                501(b) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471(b)), 
                as amended by this Act.
                    (B) Set aside.--Of amounts made available beginning 
                in the first fiscal year after the date of enactment of 
                this Act and every fiscal year thereafter for community 
                facility direct and guaranteed loans and grants under 
                section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 
                Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)) and water or waste 
                disposal grants or direct or guaranteed loans under 
                paragraph (1) or (2) of section 306(a) of the 
                Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 
                1926(a)), the Secretary of Agriculture shall set aside 
                5 percent to provide assistance to--
                            (i) Indian tribes; and
                            (ii) tribally designated housing entities.

SEC. 3. FOOD DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM ON INDIAN RESERVATIONS.

    Section 4(b)(4) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 
2013(b)(4)) is amended by striking ``is authorized'' and all that 
follows through ``Secretary finds'' and inserting ``shall pay the full 
amount of administrative costs and distribution costs on Indian 
reservations that the Secretary determines to be''.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``tribally designated 
housing entity'' has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 
Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 
(25 U.S.C. 4103).
    (b) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a 
technical assistance program to improve access by Tribal entities to 
rural development programs funded by the Department of Agriculture 
through available cooperative agreement authorities of the Secretary of 
Agriculture.
    (c) Technical Assistance Program.--The technical assistance program 
established under subsection (b) shall address the unique challenge of 
Tribal governments, Tribal producers, Tribal businesses, Tribal 
business entities, and tribally designated housing entities in 
accessing Department of Agriculture-supported rural infrastructure, 
rural cooperative development, rural business and industry, rural 
housing, and other rural development activities.
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