[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3270 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3270
To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of
Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to establish a budgetary Tribal
Government consultation process at the Department of Agriculture, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 9, 2023
Mr. Rounds (for himself, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Daines, and Ms. Smith)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of
Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to establish a budgetary Tribal
Government consultation process at 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 ``Rural Economic-development
Assistance and Consultation to Help Our Tribes Act'' or the ``REACH Our
Tribes Act''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHING A BUDGETARY TRIBAL GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION PROCESS
AT THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
(a) In General.--Section 309 of the Federal Crop Insurance Reform
and Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C.
6921) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Budgetary Tribal Government Consultation Process.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of the Rural Economic-development Assistance and
Consultation to Help Our Tribes Act, the Secretary, in
consultation with the Office of Tribal Relations and the Office
of Budget and Program Analysis of the Department of
Agriculture, shall establish, finalize, and implement a formal
process for consultation with Tribal Governments on at least an
annual basis, on--
``(A) annual budget requests; and
``(B) bills proposing the reauthorization of
certain Department of Agriculture programs over a
period of multiple years with budgetary impacts,
including bills providing for the reauthorization of
Department of Agriculture programs (commonly known as
farm bills).
``(2) Notice.--The consultation process under paragraph (1)
shall require the Secretary to provide notice to Tribal
Governments of a consultation not later than 30 days before the
date on which such consultation is to occur.
``(3) Reporting.--The Secretary, in consultation with
Tribal Governments, shall develop and implement a mechanism for
reporting on any consultation that occurs pursuant to paragraph
(1). Such a report shall include--
``(A) a summary of issues consulted on;
``(B) comments received during that consultation
from Tribal Governments; and
``(C) if applicable, steps taken, or to be taken,
by the Secretary in response to such consultation.
``(4) Scope.--The consultation process under paragraph (1)
shall not be limited only to programs that are specific to
Indian Tribes, but may include programs that may impact Indian
Tribes and Tribal entities.
``(5) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection
shall be construed as limiting the Secretary from--
``(A) conducting other consultations with Tribal
Governments or other entities, as specified under
another provision of Federal law; or
``(B) advancing other practices to conduct such
consultations.''.
(b) Report.--Not later than 12 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to the
Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a
report on--
(1) how the Secretary developed the Tribal Government
consultation process under subsection (c) of section 309 of the
Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture
Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6921), as added by
subsection (a) of this section; and
(2) a detailed description of the consultation process so
developed.
SEC. 3. REQUIRING DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TO REPORT PROGRAM FUNDING
TO TRIBAL ENTITIES.
Section 309 of the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of
Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6921), as amended by
section 2, is further amended by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Program Funding Reporting.--The Secretary and the Office of
Tribal Relations shall, in consultation with Tribal Governments,
establish a plan for analyzing and publicly reporting to Tribal
entities on funding provided through programs administered by the
Secretary for which such entities are eligible to apply. In conducting
such analysis, the Secretary shall identify ways to improve assistance
provided through such programs to Tribal entities, including through
conducting additional outreach to provide technical assistance for such
programs that are underutilized by Tribal entities.''.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS RELATING TO TRIBES.
Section 309 of the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of
Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6921), as amended by
section 2, is further amended by adding at the end the following:
``(e) Definitions.--
``(1) In general.--In this section:
``(A) The term `1994 Institution' has the meaning
given such term in section 532 of the Equity in
Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301
note).
``(B) The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of
Agriculture.
``(C) The term `Tribal entity' means an Indian
Tribe, Tribal organization, Tribal Government, 1994
Institution, Urban Indian organization, tribally-owned
or tribally-controlled business or non-profit
organization, an arm or instrumentality of one or more
Indian Tribes, or a business or nonprofit organization
owned or controlled by one or more members of an Indian
Tribe.
``(D) The term `Tribal Government' means the
governing body of any Indian or Alaska Native Tribe,
band, nation, pueblo, village, community, component
band or component reservation, individually identified
(including parenthetically) in the list published most
recently as of the date of enactment of this subsection
pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Recognized
Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131).
``(E) The term `Tribal organization' has the
meaning given such term in section 4 of the Indian
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25
U.S.C. 5304).
``(F) The term `Urban Indian organization' has the
meaning given such term in section 4 of the Indian
Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603).
``(2) Indian tribe.--For purposes of subsection (c), the
term `Indian Tribe' has the meaning given such term in section
102 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994
(25 U.S.C. 5130).''.
SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Assistant
Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, shall establish an
interagency task force--
(1) to review guidance and application requirements for
economic development programs administered by the Secretary of
Agriculture; and
(2) to develop interagency agreements to reduce
administrative and planning burdens for applicants to such
programs and the Federal agencies administering such programs.
(b) Composition.--The interagency task force established under
subsection (a) shall be composed of the following:
(1) The Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development of the
Department of Agriculture (or their designee).
(2) The Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic
Development (or their designee).
(3) The Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community
Planning and Development of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (or their designee).
(4) Such other individuals or officials as determined
appropriate by the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation
with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development.
(c) Duties.--The task force established under subsection (a)
shall--
(1) in developing the agreements under subsection (a),
identify opportunities for the Secretary of Agriculture, the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the Assistant
Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development--
(A) to align strategic planning requirements,
stakeholder engagement requirements, and other
application requirements; and
(B) to issue joint guidance across programs of each
such agency; and
(2) establish a plan for regularly reviewing and updating
interagency agreements entered into pursuant to subsection (a)
to ensure that such agreements--
(A) advance shared economic development objectives;
(B) reduce applicant administrative and planning
burdens;
(C) reduce technical assistance needs;
(D) reduce duplication in agency efforts;
(E) improve collaboration across Federal, State,
and local agencies; and
(F) encourage and improve stakeholder and community
engagement.
SEC. 6. ESTABLISHING A COMPREHENSIVE REPOSITORY OF FEDERAL TRIBAL
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with
the Office of Native American Business Development, shall establish and
implement a working group to develop, and regularly update, a
comprehensive and public repository of Federal economic development
programs available to Tribal entities (as defined in subsection (e) of
section 309 of the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of
Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6921), as added by
section 4) to--
(1) reduce agency and applicant administrative burden in
identifying Tribal economic development programs;
(2) improve awareness and utilization of Tribal economic
development programs; and
(3) improve the ability of the Office of Native American
Business Development to assist Tribal entities.
(b) Composition.--The working group established under subsection
(a) shall be composed of representatives of--
(1) the Office of Native American Business Development;
(2) the Economic Development Administration;
(3) the Small Business Administration;
(4) the Department of Agriculture;
(5) the Department of Education;
(6) the Department of Health and Human Services;
(7) the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
(8) the Department of the Interior; and
(9) such other Federal offices or agencies, as determined
appropriate by the Secretary of Commerce.
(c) Duties.--The working group established under subsection (a)
shall--
(1) identify economic development programs across Federal
agencies for which Tribal entities are eligible to participate
or receive assistance;
(2) establish a comprehensive publicly accessible
repository of information on such programs;
(3) develop and execute a plan for sharing such repository
with Federal, State, and local agencies and Tribal entities;
and
(4) develop and execute a plan for regularly reviewing and
updating such repository once at least every 2 years.
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