S 2232
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2232
To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a demonstration
program to adapt the lessons of providing foreign aid to underdeveloped
economies to the provision of Federal economic development assistance
to certain similarly situated individuals, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 25, 2007
Mr. STEVENS (for himself, Mr. INOUYE, Ms. MURKOWSKI, and Mr. AKAKA)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to
the Committee on Indian Affairs
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a demonstration
program to adapt the lessons of providing foreign aid to underdeveloped
economies to the provision of Federal economic development assistance
to certain similarly situated individuals, 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 `Foreign Aid Lessons for Domestic Economic
Assistance Act of 2007'.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to adapt the lessons of foreign aid to underdeveloped economies,
such as the experience of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, to
the provision of Federal economic development assistance to similarly
situated remote Native American communities;
(2) to provide Federal economic development assistance for Native
American communities through the Native American Challenge Demonstration
Project;
(3) to administer Federal economic development assistance in a manner
that--
(A) promotes economic growth and the elimination of poverty;
(B) strengthens good governance, entrepreneurship, and investment
in Native American communities; and
(C) builds the capacity of Native people to deal with rapid change
and uncertainty due to climate change;
(4) to improve the effectiveness of Federal economic development assistance
by encouraging the integration and coordination of the assistance
in Native American communities;
(5) to promote sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction policies
in Native American communities in a manner that promotes self-determination
and self-sufficiency among remote Native American communities while
preserving the cultural values of those communities; and
(6) to establish a demonstration project that, if successful, may
be broadly applied to other Native American communities in the United
States.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
(1) COMPACT- The term `compact' means a binding agreement with the
United States entered into pursuant to this Act.
(2) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY- The term `economic development
strategy' means a strategy--
(A) written by an eligible entity and designed to achieve sustainable
economic growth and reduce poverty over a defined period; and
(B) developed in consultation with public and private sector entities,
as appropriate to the geographic area and intended beneficiaries
of the compact.
(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY- The term ` eligible entity' means--
(A) in the State of Alaska, a consortium of not more than 2 regional
Alaska Native nonprofit organizations, to be determined by the Secretary,
in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior and the Alaska
Federation of Natives, with priority given to organizations serving
regions with high poverty levels;
(B) in the State of Hawaii, a consortia of local Native Hawaiian
community organizations, to be determined by the Secretary, in consultation
with the Secretary of the Interior and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs;
and
(C) in the 48 contiguous States, not more than 3 organizations,
to be determined by the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary
of the Interior, which may be Indian tribes, consortia of Indian
tribes, or nongovernmental entities authorized by 1 or more Indian
tribes.
(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. 450b).
(5) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Commerce.
SEC. 4. MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.
(a) Establishment- The Secretary shall establish and implement in the
Department of Commerce a demonstration 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 compact;
(2) may not be provided in the form of loans; and
(3) may not be used for gaming activities covered by the Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.).
(1) IN GENERAL- The provision of assistance under the demonstration
project shall be coordinated, to the maximum extent practicable, with
other Federal economic development assistance programs for Native
Americans carried out by the Federal agencies and departments described
in paragraph (2).
(2) AGENCIES AND DEPARTMENTS- The Federal agencies and departments
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;
(F) the Department of the Interior;
(G) the Small Business Administration; and
(H) such other Federal agencies and instrumentalities as the Secretary
determines to be appropriate.
(3) INTEGRATED FUNDING- On execution of a compact with an eligible
entity, the Secretary, in cooperation with other Secretaries as appropriate,
shall authorize the eligible entity to coordinate the federally funded
economic development assistance programs provided for the area served
by the eligible entity in a manner that integrates the program services
into a single, coordinated program.
(e) Programs Affected- The programs that may be integrated under the
demonstration project include any program under which an Indian tribe
is eligible for receipt of funds under a statutory or administrative
formula for economic development purposes.
(f) Waiver Authority- On receipt of an executed compact, the Secretary
shall consult with the eligible entity that is a party to the compact
and the Secretary of each Federal agency or department that provides
funds to be used to implement the compact to identify any waiver of
statutory requirements or applicable regulations, policies, or procedures
necessary to enable the eligible entity to implement the compact.
SEC. 5. CHALLENGE COMPACTS.
(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall develop and recommend procedures
for consideration of proposals for compacts submitted by eligible
entities.
(2) ASSISTANCE- The Secretary may provide assistance to an eligible
entity only if the eligible entity enters into a compact with the
United States, to be known as a `Native American Challenge Compact',
that establishes a multiyear plan for achieving development 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 Entities- The Secretary shall
develop an application process and criteria for selecting eligible entities
to enter into compacts under this Act, taking into consideration--
(1) the purposes of this Act;
(2) the economic development strategy of the eligible entity;
(3) the remoteness of the reservation or community to be served by
the eligible entity;
(4) the general economic status of the eligible entity;
(6) the service capacity of the eligible entity.
(d) Assistance for Development of Compacts- To the extent that funds
are appropriated in advance 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 implementation
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
not exceed 5 years.
(2) SUBSEQUENT COMPACTS- An eligible entity and the United States
may enter into 1 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.
(f) Elements- In furtherance of the economic development 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 compact;
(2) a description of the respective roles and responsibilities 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 objectives;
(4) an identification of the intended beneficiaries, disaggregated
by income level, gender, and age, to the maximum extent practicable;
and
(5) a multiyear financial plan to guide the implementation 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 assessments to determine whether
the requirements of paragraphs (1) through (4) are being met.
(g) Suspension and Termination of Assistance-
(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--
(A) the eligible entity has failed to meet the responsibilities
of the eligible entity under the compact; or
(B) the eligible entity has engaged in a pattern of actions that
is inconsistent with the purposes of this Act.
(2) REINSTATEMENT- The Secretary may reinstate assistance for an eligible
entity only if the Secretary determines that the eligible entity has
demonstrated a commitment to correcting each condition for which assistance
was suspended or terminated under paragraph (1).
SEC. 6. PROGRAM ASSESSMENTS AND REPORTS.
(a) Reports of Eligible Entities- Not later than March 15, 2008, and
annually thereafter, 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--
(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 assistance 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, 2008, and annually
thereafter, the Secretary shall submit the reports required under subsection
(a), with such other information as the Secretary considers to be relevant,
to--
(1) the Committees on Energy and Commerce and Natural Resources of
the House of Representatives; and
(2) the Committees on Indian Affairs, Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
and Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(1) IN GENERAL- There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this Act $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012, 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
subsequent fiscal year, subject to the condition that the cumulative
amount authorized to be appropriated for any of fiscal years 2008
through 2012 shall not exceed $100,000,000.
(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
expenses of carrying out this and oversight of programs under this Act.
END
