Native American Entrepreneurial Opportunity Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7396 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7396

  To establish an Office of Native American Affairs within the Small 
            Business Administration, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 5, 2026

 Ms. Davids of Kansas (for herself, Mr. Ellzey, Ms. Morrison, and Mr. 
    Crane) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Small Business

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish an Office of Native American Affairs within the Small 
            Business Administration, 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 American Entrepreneurial 
Opportunity Act''.

SEC. 2. OFFICE OF NATIVE AMERICAN AFFAIRS.

    The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 49 (15 U.S.C. 631 note) as 
        section 50; and
            (2) by inserting after section 48 (15 U.S.C. 657u) the 
        following:

``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 7 years after the date of the enactment of this section.''.
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