[House Report 109-626]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
109th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 109-626
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TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION FEASIBILITY STUDY ACT OF 2005
_______
September 6, 2006.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3350]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 3350) to amend the Native American Business Development,
Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 to establish the
Tribal Development Corporation Feasibility Study Group, having
considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment
and recommend that the bill do pass.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 3350 is to amend the Native Business
Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 to
establish the Tribal Development Corporation Feasibility Study
Group.
Background and Need for Legislation
It is well documented that Indian tribal governments and
individual Native entrepreneurs lack access to capital for both
home mortgages and other commercial purposes. While Indian
gaming operations provide Indian tribes financial leverage to
diversify their business development, many tribes are located
too far away from lucrative gaming markets in which to
successfully raise and leverage casino profits. As a result,
attracting capital for Indian tribes to diversify into non-
gaming economic development has been difficult. While existing
federal programs such as the Indian Loan Guaranty Program at
the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Native American Small
Business Loan Program at the Small Business Administration
provide business loan guarantees to Native entrepreneurs, these
programs do little to assist tribes in identifying inhibitors
to economic growth and conversely to attract and retain private
sector investment and business activity.
With existing federal assistance uncoordinated and spread
thinly, there is a severe lack of information and analyses of
economic conditions for non-gaming tribal economies. H.R. 3350
would determine the feasibility of developing an Indian-owned
development corporation whose mission would be to identify
potential non-gaming reservation development, implement
reservation development plans, and attract private-sector
capital to interested tribal governments.
Committee Action
H.R. 3350 was introduced on July 19, 2005, by Resources
Committee Chairman Richard W. Pombo (R-CA). The bill was
referred to the Committee on Resources. On March 29, 2006, the
Full Resources Committee held a on H.R. 3350. On July 19, 2006,
the Full Resources Committee met to consider H.R. 3350. No
amendments were offered, and the bill was ordered favorably
reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.
Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
Constitutional Authority Statement
Article I, section 8, clause 3 of the Constitution of the
United States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.
Federal Advisory Committee Statement
The functions of the proposed advisory committee authorized
in the bill are not currently being nor could they be performed
by one or more agencies, an advisory committee already in
existence or by enlarging the mandate of an existing advisory
committee.
Compliance With House Rule XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to amend the Native Business
Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 to
establish the Tribal Development Corporation Feasibility Study
Group.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
H.R. 3350--Tribal Development Corporation Feasibility Study Act of 2005
H.R. 3350 would amend the Native American Business
Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 to
authorize the creation of the Tribal Development Corporation
Feasibility Study Group. The group would be composed of 12
members from varied Indian interests, the private sector, and
the federal government. Within 270 days following the enactment
of the bill, the group would report to the Congress on creating
an Indian Tribal Development Corporation, and dissolve no later
than 120 days thereafter.
The bill would authorize the appropriation of $500,000 in
2007 for the study and would require that federal funds be
matched by nonfederal funds. Enacting H.R. 3350 would not
affect direct spending or receipts.
H.R. 3350 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
Any spending by Indian tribes to match federal appropriations
would be voluntary.
The CBO contact for this estimate is Daniel Hoople. This
estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italics, existing law in which no change
is proposed is shown in roman):
SECTION 4 OF THE NATIVE AMERICAN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, TRADE PROMOTION,
AND TOURISM ACT OF 2000
SEC. 4. OFFICE OF NATIVE AMERICAN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.
(a) * * *
(b) Duties of the Secretary.--
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(6) Tribal development corporation feasibility
study.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary shall
establish the Tribal Development Corporation
Feasibility Study Group (referred to in this
paragraph as the ``Group'').
(B) Members.--The Group shall be comprised of
12 members, as follows:
(i) Representatives of indian
tribes.--Five members of the Group
shall be representatives of federally
recognized Indian tribes.
(ii) Representatives of the alaska
native community.--Three members of the
Group shall be representatives of the
Alaska Native Community.
(iii) Representative of the native
hawaiian community.--One member of the
Group shall be a representative of the
Native Hawaiian Community.
(iv) Representative of the private
sector.--Two members of the Group shall
be representatives of nongovernmental
economic activities carried out by
private enterprises in the private
sector.
(v) Federal officials.--One member of
the Group shall be a representative of
the Department of the Treasury with
demonstrated experience in
international economic development and
international financial institutions.
(C) Chairperson.--The members of the Group
shall select a Chairperson.
(D) Personnel and services.--
(i) In general.--The Chairperson of
the Group may appoint and terminate
such personnel as are necessary to
enable the Group to perform its duties.
(ii) Procurement of services.--The
Chairperson may procure such services
as are necessary to enable the Group to
perform the duties of the Group.
(E) Study.--
(i) In general.--Not later than 270
days after the date of enactment of
this subparagraph, the Group shall--
(I) conduct a study to
determine the feasibility of
establishing an Indian Tribal
Development Corporation
(referred to in this
subparagraph as the
``Corporation''); and
(II) submit to the Committee
on Indian Affairs and the
Committee on Appropriations of
the Senate and the Committee on
Resources and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of
Representatives a report that
describes the results of the
study and any recommendations
of the Group for further
legislative action.
(ii) Contents.--The report shall
contain--
(I) a discussion and
determination of the financial
feasibility of the Corporation,
including whether the
Corporation can be, over the
long term, financially self-
sustainable;
(II) a discussion and
determination of the probable
economic impact of the
Corporation, including a
demonstration of the
quantitative and qualitative
economic impact on Native
American communities;
(III) a discussion and
determination of the best
alternatives in the structure,
organization, and lending terms
and conditions of the
Corporation, including the most
appropriate structure of
capital contributions to best
serve, and be acceptable to,
Native interests;
(IV) a discussion and
determination of the basic
terms and conditions under
which funding would be provided
to member Indian tribes;
(V) a discussion of
nonfinancial and advisory
activities to be undertaken by
the Corporation, including the
use of diagnostic studies by
the Corporation to--
(aa) identify tribal,
Federal, or State
policies and legal and
regulatory conditions
and infrastructure
deficiencies that
impede investment, both
private and public,
needed to promote non-
gaming economic
development;
(bb) provide specific
recommendations for
remedial actions that
can be undertaken by an
Indian tribe to
overcome such
inhibitors of
investment; and
(cc) identify and
establish the terms for
pre-appraisal studies
of investment
opportunities, both
private and public,
that can be developed
and promoted by an
Indian tribe; and
(VI) a discussion and
determination of--
(aa) the capital
structure of the
Corporation, including
the optimal level of
initial capital
contributions by both
Indian tribes and the
United States
Government; and
(bb) the financial
instruments that will
be required by the
Corporation to ensure
its success.
(F) Termination of study group.--The Group
shall terminate 120 days after the date on
which the Group submits the report under
subparagraph (E).
(G) Authorization of appropriation.--There
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this paragraph $500,000.
(H) Matching requirement.--Federal funds made
available to carry out this paragraph must be
matched dollar-for-dollar with non-Federal
funds.
[(6)] (7) Prohibition.--The Secretary may not provide
under this section assistance for any activity related
to the operation of a gaming activity on Indian lands
pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C.
2710 et seq.).