Senate passes bills on Indian economic development and self-governance

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven (R-ND), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, today announced that the United States Senate has approved two pieces of legislation he introduced to promote tribal economic development and self-governance.

“We’ve worked to promote economic development and self-governance for tribal communities,” said Hoeven. “These bills are all about improving the quality of life in tribal communities, and we encourage our counterparts in the House to pass these important pieces of legislation and send them to the President.”

The PROGRESS for Indian Tribes Act (S.209)

The PROGRESS for Indian Tribes Act streamlines the Department of the Interior’s process for approving self-governance compacts and annual funding agreements for Indian programs.

The Indian Community Economic Enhancement Act of 2019 (S.212)

The Indian Community Economic Enhancement Act of 2019 helps spur economic development in tribal communities by:

• Increasing access to capital and opportunities for Indian Tribes and businesses.
• Creating a permanent waiver of the cost sharing requirement for Native American CDFIs who receive grants through the Native American CDFI Assistance Program at the Treasury Department. These awards can then be used in combination with other funds of the CDFI to grow the CDFI’s loan portfolio.
• Creating mechanisms and tools to attract capital investment in Indian communities.
• Supporting Native American Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) by removing overly burdensome agency impediments.
• Streamlining Federal economic development programming by requiring multi-agency coordination between the Departments of Commerce, Interior, and Treasury.

These bills will now move to the House of Representatives for consideration.

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