HR 7102 — Native American Entrepreneurial Opportunity Act

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, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

 SMALL BUSINESS ACT

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SEC. 49. OFFICE OF NATIVE AMERICAN AFFAIRS.

 (a) Definitions.--In this section:
 (1) Assistant administrator.--The term ``Assistant 
 Administrator'' means the Assistant Administrator for 
 Native American Affairs appointed under subsection (c).
 (2) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the 
 meaning given the term ``Indian tribe'' in section 
 8(a)(13).
 (3) Native hawaiian organization.--The term ``Native 
 Hawaiian Organization'' has the meaning given the term 
 in section 8(a)(15).
 (4) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the Office of 
 Native American Affairs described in this section.
 (b) Establishment.--
 (1) In general.--There is established within the 
 Administration the Office of Native American Affairs, 
 which shall be responsible for establishing a working 
 relationship with Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
 Organizations by targeting programs of the 
 Administration relating to entrepreneurial development, 
 contracting, and capital access to--
 (A) establish or expand small business 
 concerns owned and controlled by individuals 
 who are members of Indian Tribes or Native 
 Hawaiian Organizations; and
 (B) promote economic development in Indian 
 country (as defined in section 1151 of title 
 18, United States Code).
 (2) Connection with other programs.--To the extent 
 reasonable, the Office shall educate Indian Tribes and 
 Native Hawaiian Organizations about programs 
 administered by other Federal agencies related to the 
 interests described in paragraph (1).
 (c) Assistant Administrator.--The Office shall be headed by 
an Assistant Administrator for Native American Affairs, who 
shall--
 (1) be appointed by and report to the Administrator;
 (2) have knowledge of Native American cultures and 
 experience providing culturally tailored small business 
 development assistance to Native Americans;
 (3) provide assistance to Indian Tribes and Native 
 Hawaiian Organizations and small business concerns 
 owned and controlled by individuals who are members of 
 Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian Organizations;
 (4) formulate policies, and promote policies and 
 existing programs, to better address the 
 entrepreneurial, capital access, business development, 
 and contracting needs of persons described in paragraph 
 (3);
 (5) collaborate with Associate Administrators within 
 the Administration and officials of other Federal 
 agencies to develop policies and plans to implement 
 programs of the Administration to holistically address 
 the needs described in paragraph (4);
 (6) provide assistance, including grants, contracts, 
 cooperative agreements, or other financial assistance, 
 to Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian Organizations, or 
 to private nonprofit organizations governed by members 
 of Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian Organizations that 
 have the experience and capability to use the 
 assistance to--
 (A) deploy training, counseling, workshops, 
 educational outreach, and supplier events; and
 (B) access the entrepreneurial, capital, and 
 contracting programs of the Administration;
 (7) assist the Administrator in conducting, or 
 conduct, Tribal consultation to solicit input and 
 facilitate discussion of potential modifications to 
 programs and procedures of the Administration; and
 (8) recommend annual budgets for the Office.
 (d) Report to Congress.--On an annual basis until the 
termination date, the Assistant Administrator shall submit to 
Congress a report on the effectiveness of the Office of Native 
American Affairs that includes the number of clients served in 
Tribal communities, the number of consultations conducted, and 
the number of trainings held in Tribal country.
 (e) Termination.--The authority under this section shall 
terminate seven years after the date of the enactment of this 
section.
 Sec. [49.] 50. All laws and parts of laws inconsistent with 
this Act are hereby repealed to the extent of such 
inconsistency.

 XVIII. MINORITY VIEWS

 The mission of the Office of Native American Affairs is to 
ensure American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians 
seeking to start and grow small businesses have access to SBA's 
entrepreneurial development, lending, and procurement programs. 
The Office currently engages in numerous outreach activities, 
including tribal consultations, development and distribution of 
promotional materials, and participation in national economic 
development conferences. The Office also contracts with third-
party vendors to provide workshops on business development and 
financial literacy, training webinars, incubator training, and 
online entrepreneurial classes.\1\
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 \1\Office of Native American Affairs, U.S. Small Bus. Admin. (Nov. 
14, 2023), https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/sba-locations/headquarters-
offices/office-native-american-affairs.
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 In 2020, there were more than 3.7 million people who 
identified as American Indian and Alaska Native alone,\2\ and 
there are 574 federally recognized Indian tribes in the United 
States.\3\ In exchange for the surrender of their lands, their 
removal, and resettlement, the United States signed 375 
treaties, passed laws, and instituted policies to shape and 
define the special relationship between the federal government 
and tribal governments.\4\ However, the U.S. government also 
forced many Native Americans to give up their culture and, 
historically, has not provided the resources to support Native 
American interconnected infrastructure, self-governance, 
housing, education, health, and economic development needs.\5\ 
As a result, Native Americans continue to experience lower 
educational attainment, higher unemployment rates, and lower 
median incomes than other racial and ethnic groups.\6\
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 \2\Table P1: Race, U.S. Census Bureau (2020), https://
data.census.gov/table?g=010XX00US.
 \3\Facts for Features: American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage 
Month, U.S. Census Bureau (Nov. 15, 2023), https://www.census.gov/
newsroom/facts-for-features/2023/aian-month.html.
 \4\U.S. Comm'n on C.R., Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding 
Shortfall for Native Americans, (Dec. 20, 2018), https://www.usccr.gov/
pubs/2018/12-20-Broken-Promises.pdf.
 \5\Id.
 \6\Dedrick Asante Muhammad, Esha Kamra, Connor Sanchez, Kathy 
Ramirez, & Rogelio Tec, Racial Wealth Snapshot: Native Americans, Nat'l 
Cmty. Reinvestment Coal. (Feb. 14, 2022), https://ncrc.org/racial-
wealth-snapshot-native-americans.
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 Entrepreneurship can provide a pathway out of poverty for 
American Indians and Alaska Natives, which have the highest 
poverty rate among all racial and ethnic groups. Native 
American-owned businesses contribute over $33 billion to the 
U.S. economy every year and employ 200,000 people.\7\ 
Statutorily authorizing the Office of Native American Affairs 
at SBA will increase access to federal programs and services 
that support Native American entrepreneurs across the country 
and help Native Americans launch and grow small businesses, and 
in turn, promote economic development in their tribal 
communities.
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 \7\Table AB1900NESD01: Statistics for Employer and Nonemployer 
Firms by Industry, Sex, Ethnicity, Race, and Veteran Status: U.S. 
Census Bureau (2019), https://data.census.gov/table/
ABSNESD2019.AB1900NESD01?q=ab1900NESD01&g=010XX00US&y=2019.
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 Sincerely,
 Nydia M. Velazquez,
 Ranking Member.