Title: Native American Seeds Protection Act of 2019
Policy area: Native Americans

Summary:
Native American Seeds Protection Act of 2019
This bill requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study on the protection of Native American seeds and traditional foods.
Under the bill, sensitive tribal information gathered by the study shall be exempt from public disclosure requirements and shall be kept confidential by the GAO.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2241 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2241

 To provide for a study on the protection of Native American seeds and 
               traditional foods, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 23, 2019

  Mr. Heinrich (for himself and Ms. McSally) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for a study on the protection of Native American seeds and 
               traditional foods, 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 Seeds Protection Act 
of 2019''.

SEC. 2. STUDY ON THE PROTECTION OF NATIVE AMERICAN SEEDS AND 
              TRADITIONAL FOODS.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study on--
            (1) the extent to which seeds and foods that mimic Native 
        American seeds or traditional foods are available in the 
        commercial marketplace and are fraudulently identified as 
        authentic Native American seeds or traditional foods, as of the 
        date of enactment of this Act;
            (2) the availability and long-term viability of Native 
        American seeds, including an analysis of the storage, 
        cultivation, harvesting, and commercialization of such seeds;
            (3) the extent to which Federal law, Federal programs, or 
        Federal oversight protect Native American seeds and traditional 
        foods from infringement, or unlawful or unauthorized 
        commercialization; and
            (4) the means by which authentic Native American seeds and 
        traditional foods might be protected to ensure preservation and 
        availability for future generations.

SEC. 3. CONFIDENTIALITY; FOIA; OWNERSHIP.

    (a) Confidentiality.--The Comptroller General of the United States 
shall ensure the confidentiality of sensitive information of Indian 
Tribes that is gained through the study conducted under section 2, 
including traditional cultural knowledge and information about 
locations that are considered to be sacred by an Indian Tribe.
    (b) FOIA Not Applicable.--The information described in subsection 
(a) shall be exempt from public disclosure under section 552 of title 
5, United States Code (commonly known as the ``Freedom of Information 
Act'').
    (c) Indian Ownership.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed as 
interfering with, limiting, or otherwise affecting the exclusive 
ownership and control of Native American seeds by an Indian Tribe 
unless the Indian Tribe consents to the ownership or control of such 
seeds by another entity.

SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF INDIAN TRIBE.

    In this Act, the term ``Indian Tribe'' has the meaning given the 
term ``Indian tribe'' (without regard to capitalization) in section 4 
of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 
U.S.C. 5304).
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