[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3956 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3956
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to authorize the Secretary
of Agriculture to enter into self-determination contracts and self-
governance agreements with Indian entities to administer the food
distribution program on Indian reservations.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 12, 2025
Ms. Davids of Kansas (for herself and Mr. Lucas) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to authorize the Secretary
of Agriculture to enter into self-determination contracts and self-
governance agreements with Indian entities to administer the food
distribution program on Indian reservations.
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 ``Food Distribution Program on Indian
Reservations (FDPIR) Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. FOOD DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM ON INDIAN RESERVATIONS UNDER SELF-
DETERMINATION CONTRACTS AND SELF-GOVERNANCE AGREEMENTS.
Section 4(b) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C.
2013(b)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph (8); and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
``(7) Self determination contracts and self-governance
agreements for indian entities.--
``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
``(i) Indian entity.--The term `Indian
entity' means Indian Tribes and Tribal
Organizations given the terms in section 4 of
the Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
``(ii) Self-determination contract and
self-governance agreement.--The terms `self-
determination contract' and `self-governance
funding agreement' has the meaning given the
term in section 4 and section 401 of the Indian
Self-Determination and Education Assistance
Act.
``(B) Establishment.--At the request of an Indian
entity, the Secretary shall negotiate and enter into
self-determination contracts or self-governance
agreements to purchase agricultural commodities under
the food distribution program under this subsection for
the Indian reservation of that Indian entity and to
administer programs, functions, services, or activities
(or portions thereof) related to the operations of the
food distribution program of that Indian entity.
``(C) Eligibility.--
``(i) Criteria.--The Secretary shall
presume an Indian entity is eligible to
purchase agricultural commodities and assume
the administration of a food distribution
program on the Indian reservation of that
Indian entity under section 4(b)(7) if the
Indian entity meets the eligibility
requirements in title I or IV of the Indian
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
of 1975.
``(ii) Consultation.--The Secretary shall
consult with the Indian Tribes to determine the
process under which a Tribal organization may
participate.
``(D) Purchase of agricultural commodities.--Any
agricultural commodities purchased by a Indian entity
under the subsection shall--
``(i) be domestically produced;
``(ii) shall not result in a material
increase or decrease in the total amount of
food in the food package of that Indian entity
compared to the amount of food the Secretary
authorizes to be provided through the FDPIR
Guide Rate; and
``(iii) be of similar or higher nutritional
value as the type of agricultural commodities
that would be supplanted in the existing food
package for that Indian entity or be an
agricultural commodity with Tribal significance
to that Indian entity.
``(E) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the
effective date of this paragraph and annually
thereafter, the Secretary 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
describing the activities carried out by Indian
entities under self-determination contracts and self-
governance agreements during the preceding year.''.
SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF GOVERNING LAW.
The negotiation, execution, and flexible administration of all
self-determination or self-governance agreements authorized under this
paragraph (7) shall be governed by the requirements of title I with
respect to self-determination agreements, or title IV with respect to
self-governance agreements, of the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act of 1975 and the regulations duly promulgated
thereunder by the Department of the Interior. The application of such
statutory and regulatory provisions shall be adapted to the Department
of Agriculture programs, functions, services, and activities only with
the negotiated consent of the Indian entity affected, on a case by case
basis. All such adaptations shall adhere to the rule of construction in
section 406(i) of such Act (25 U.S.C. 5366(i)) that each provision
shall be liberally construed for the benefit of the Indian entity and
any ambiguity shall be resolved in factor of the Indian entity.
SEC. 4. TERMINATION OF DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.
Demonstration projects under section 4003(b) of the Agriculture
Improvement Act of 2018 (7 U.S.C. 2013 note) shall cease to be
effective beginning on the date following the end of the period of
performance for all Tribes holding contracts under such section.
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