Native CHamoru Equity Act

Native CHamoru Equity Act

This bill establishes a CHamoru Registry program. It also allows eligible Native CHamoru organizations to qualify for federal contracting opportunities through their participation in certain small business programs that are administered by the Small Business Administration.

First, the bill establishes a CHamoru Registry program under the Office of the Governor of Guam. The program must keep a database to serve as a genealogy bank to verify Native CHamoru ancestry requirements.

Next, it treats businesses owned by economically disadvantaged Native CHamoru organizations as socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses for purposes of the Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development program, which is commonly known as the 8(a) program. Further, it allows businesses that are owned by Native CHamoru organizations to participate in the Historically Underutilized Business Zone Empowerment Contracting (HUBZone) program.

The 8(a) program and the HUBZone program each limit competition for certain government contracts to participating small businesses.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4102 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4102

 To provide for contracting with Native CHamoru Organizations, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 23, 2021

 Mr. San Nicolas introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 
   Small Business, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for contracting with Native CHamoru Organizations, and for 
                            other purposes.

    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 ``Native CHamoru Equity Act''.

SEC. 2. CHAMORU REGISTRY PROGRAM.

    The Organic Act of Guam (48 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.) is amended by 
inserting after section 3 the following:
    ``Sec. 4. (a) There is established under the Office of the Governor 
the `CHamoru Registry Program', which shall keep a database to serve as 
a genealogy bank to verify Native CHamoru ancestry requirements. The 
Governor of Guam shall include in the database the name of any 
individual who submits to the Governor of Guam a request to be included 
and a copy of the birth certificate of that individual and birth 
certificates of direct ancestors that demonstrate that one or more of 
the individual's direct ancestors resided on Guam before August 1, 
1950.
    ``(b) Not less than once every 3 years, the Office of Public 
Auditor shall audit the database established by subsection (a) to 
ensure the accuracy of the database and that the database is in 
compliance with the requirements of subsection (a).
    ``(c)(1) In this section, the term `Native CHamoru' means an 
individual who can document that one or more of the individual's direct 
ancestors resided on Guam before August 1, 1950.
    ``(2) No residency or blood quantum amount shall be required for an 
individual to qualify as a `Native CHamoru' under paragraph (1).
    ``(d) The Superior Court of Guam shall have original jurisdiction 
over all judicial proceedings with respect to the CHamoru Registry 
Program and the database established by subsection (a).''.

SEC. 3. SMALL BUSINESS CONTRACTING FOR NATIVE CHAMORU ORGANIZATIONS.

    (a) Native CHamoru Organization Defined.--Section 3 of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(gg) Native CHamoru Organization.--
            ``(1) In general.--In this Act, the term `Native CHamoru 
        Organization' means any organization--
                    ``(A) that is a nonprofit corporation that has 
                filed articles of incorporation with the director (or 
                the designee thereof) of the Guam Department of Revenue 
                and Taxation, or any successor agency;
                    ``(B) that is controlled by Native CHamorus; and
                    ``(C) whose business activities will principally 
                benefit Native CHamorus.
            ``(2) Rule of construction.--The Administrator shall, to 
        the extent practicable, determine whether an organization is a 
        Native CHamoru Organization in the same manner as such 
        determination is made under section 8(a)(15) with respect to 
        Native Hawaiian Organizations.''.
    (b) Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Small Business 
Concern.--Section 8(a)(4) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
637(a)(4)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A)--
                    (A) in clause (i)--
                            (i) in subclause (II), by striking ``or'' 
                        at the end; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following new 
                        subclause:
                    ``(IV) an economically disadvantaged Native CHamoru 
                Organization, or''; and
                    (B) in clause (ii)--
                            (i) in subclause (II), by striking ``or'' 
                        at the end;
                            (ii) in subclause (III), by striking the 
                        period at the end and inserting ``, or''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following 
                        new subclause:
                    ``(IV) an economically disadvantaged Native CHamoru 
                Organization.''; and
            (2) in subparagraph (B)--
                    (A) in clause (ii), by striking ``or'' at the end;
                    (B) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``, or''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new clause:
            ``(iv) Native CHamoru Organizations described in 
        subparagraph (A)(i)(IV) or subparagraph (A)(ii)(IV).''.
    (c) HUBZone Small Business Concern.--Section 31(b)(2) (15 U.S.C. 
657a note) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (E)(ii), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (F)(iii), by striking the period at the 
        end and inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(G) a small business concern--
                            ``(i) that is wholly owned by one or more 
                        Native CHamoru Organizations, or by a 
                        corporation that is wholly owned by one or more 
                        Native CHamoru Organizations; or
                            ``(ii) that is owned in part by one or more 
                        Native CHamoru Organizations, or by a 
                        corporation that is wholly owned by one or more 
                        Native CHamoru Organizations, if all other 
                        owners are either United States citizens or 
                        small business concerns.''.
    (d) Findings.--Section 2(f)(1)(C) of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 631(f)(1)(C)) is amended by inserting ``Native CHamoru 
Organizations,'' after ``Native Hawaiian Organizations,''.
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