§ 4306a — Indian Community Development Initiatives

(a) Not later than 1 year after December 30, 2020, the Secretary, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of the Treasury shall coordinate— (1) to develop initiatives that— (A) encourage, promote, and provide education regarding investments in Indian communities through— (i) the loan guarantee program of Bureau of Indian Affairs under section 1481 of this title; (ii) programs carried out using amounts in the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund established under section 4703(a) of title 12; and (iii) other capital development programs; (B) examine and develop alternatives that would qualify as collateral for financing in Indian communities; and (C) provide entrepreneur and other training relating to economic development through tribally controlled colleges and universities and other Indian organizations with experience in providing such training; (2) to consult with Indian Tribes and with the Securities and Exchange Commission to study, and collaborate to establish, regulatory changes necessary to qualify an Indian Tribe as an accredited investor for the purposes of sections 230.500 through 230.508 of title 17, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), consistent with the goals of promoting capital formation and ensuring qualifying Indian Tribes have the ability to withstand investment loss, on a basis comparable to other legal entities that qualify as accredited investors who are not natural persons; (3) to identify regulatory, legal, or other barriers to increasing investment, business, and economic development, including qualifying or approving collateral structures, measurements of economic strength, and contributions of Indian economies in Indian communities through the Authority established under section 4 of the Indian Tribal Regulatory Reform and Business Development Act of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4301 note); (4) to ensure consultation with Indian Tribes regarding increasing investment in Indian communities and the development of the report required in paragraph (5); and (5) not less than once every 2 years, to provide a report to Congress regarding— (A) improvements to Indian communities resulting from such initiatives and recommendations for promoting sustained growth of the Tribal economies; (B) results of the study and collaboration regarding the necessary changes referenced in paragraph (2) and the impact of allowing Indian Tribes to qualify as an accredited investor; and (C) the identified regulatory, legal, and other barriers referenced in paragraph (3). (b) For assistance provided pursuant to section 4707 of title 12 to benefit Native Community Development Financial Institutions, as defined by the Secretary of the Treasury, section 4707(e) of such title shall not apply. (1) The Government Accountability Office shall conduct a study and, not later than 18 months after December 30, 2020, submit to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report on the findings of the study and recommendations. (2) The study shall include an assessment of each of the following: (A) The study shall assess current Federal capitalization and related programs and services that are available to assist Indian communities with business and economic development, including manufacturing, physical infrastructure (such as telecommunications and broadband), community development, and facilities construction for such purposes. For each of the Federal programs and services identified, the study shall assess the current use and demand by Indian Tribes, individuals, businesses, and communities of the programs, the capital needs of Indian Tribes, businesses, and communities related to economic development, the extent to which the programs and services overlap or are duplicative, and the extent that similar programs have been used to assist non-Indian communities compared to the extent used for Indian communities. (B) The study shall assess and quantify the extent of assistance provided to non-Indian borrowers and to Indian (both Tribal and individual) borrowers (including information about such assistance as a percentage of need for Indian borrowers and for non-Indian borrowers, assistance to Indian borrowers and to non-Indian borrowers as a percentage of total applicants, and such assistance to Indian borrowers as individuals as compared to such assistance to Indian Tribes) through the loan programs, the loan guarantee programs, or bond guarantee programs of the— (i) Department of the Interior; (ii) Department of Agriculture; (iii) Department of Housing and Urban Development; (iv) Department of Energy; (v) Small Business Administration; and (vi) Community Development Financial Institutions Fund of the Department of the Treasury. (C) The study shall assess and quantify the extent of the assistance and allocations afforded for non-Indian projects and for Indian projects pursuant to each of the following tax incentive programs: (i) New market tax credit. (ii) Low income housing tax credit. (iii) Investment tax credit. (iv) Renewable energy tax incentives. (v) Accelerated depreciation. (D) The study shall assess various alternative incentives that could be provided to enable and encourage Tribal governments to invest in an Indian community development investment fund or bank.