S. 5240

119 S5240 IS: Rural Economic-development Assistance and Consultation to Help Our Tribes Act
 U.S. Senate
 2026-08-04
 text/xml
 EN
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 II  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  S. 5240  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES   August 4, 2026   Mr. Rounds  (for himself and  Mr. Luján ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the  Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry    A BILL
To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to establish a budgetary Tribal Government consultation process at the Department of Agriculture, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Rural Economic-development Assistance and Consultation to Help Our Tribes Act   or the   REACH Our Tribes Act  .
2.
Establishing a budgetary Tribal Government consultation process at the Department of Agriculture
(a)
In general
Section 309 of the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 ( 7 U.S.C. 6921 ) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(c)
Budgetary Tribal Government consultation process
(1)
In general
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of the  Rural Economic-development Assistance and Consultation to Help Our Tribes Act , the Secretary, in consultation with the Office of Tribal Relations and the Office of Budget and Program Analysis of the Department of Agriculture, shall establish, finalize, and implement a formal process for consultation with Tribal Governments on at least an annual basis, on—
(A)
annual budget requests; and
(B)
bills proposing the reauthorization of certain Department of Agriculture programs over a period of multiple years with budgetary impacts, including bills providing for the reauthorization of Department of Agriculture programs (commonly known as farm bills).
(2)
Notice
The consultation process under paragraph (1) shall require the Secretary to provide notice to Tribal Governments of a consultation not later than 30 days before the date on which such consultation is to occur.
(3)
Reporting
The Secretary, in consultation with Tribal Governments, shall develop and implement a mechanism for reporting on any consultation that occurs pursuant to paragraph (1). Such a report shall include—
(A)
a summary of issues consulted on;
(B)
comments received during that consultation from Tribal Governments; and
(C)
if applicable, steps taken, or to be taken, by the Secretary in response to such consultation.
(4)
Scope
The consultation process under paragraph (1) shall not be limited only to programs that are specific to Indian Tribes, but may include programs that may impact Indian Tribes and Tribal entities.
(5)
Rule of construction
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as limiting the Secretary from—
(A)
conducting other consultations with Tribal Governments or other entities, as specified under another provision of Federal law; or
(B)
advancing other practices to conduct such consultations.
 .
(b)
Report
Not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report on—
(1)
how the Secretary developed the Tribal Government consultation process under subsection (c) of section 309 of the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 ( 7 U.S.C. 6921 ), as added by subsection (a) of this section; and
(2)
a detailed description of the consultation process so developed.
3.
Requiring Department of Agriculture to report program funding to Tribal entities
Section 309 of the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 ( 7 U.S.C. 6921 ), as amended by section 2, is further amended by adding at the end the following:
(d)
Program funding reporting
The Secretary and the Office of Tribal Relations shall, in consultation with Tribal Governments, establish a plan for analyzing and publicly reporting to Tribal entities on funding provided through programs administered by the Secretary for which such entities are eligible to apply. In conducting such analysis, the Secretary shall identify ways to improve assistance provided through such programs to Tribal entities, including through conducting additional outreach to provide technical assistance for such programs that are underutilized by Tribal entities.
 .
4.
Definitions relating to Tribes
Section 309 of the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 ( 7 U.S.C. 6921 ), as amended by section 2, is further amended by adding at the end the following:
(e)
Definitions
(1)
In general
In this section:
(A)
The term  1994 Institution  has the meaning given such term in section 532 of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 ( 7 U.S.C. 301  note).
(B)
The term  Secretary  means the Secretary of Agriculture.
(C)
The term  Tribal entity  means an Indian Tribe, Tribal organization, Tribal Government, 1994 Institution, Urban Indian organization, tribally owned or tribally controlled business or non-profit organization, an arm or instrumentality of one or more Indian Tribes, or a business or nonprofit organization owned or controlled by one or more members of an Indian Tribe.
(D)
The term  Tribal Government  means the governing body of any Indian or Alaska Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community, component band or component reservation, individually identified (including parenthetically) in the list published most recently as of the date of enactment of this subsection pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 ( 25 U.S.C. 5131 ).
(E)
The term  Tribal organization  has the meaning given such term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5304 ).
(F)
The term  Urban Indian organization  has the meaning given such term in section 4 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act ( 25 U.S.C. 1603 ).
(2)
Indian Tribe
For purposes of subsection (c), the term  Indian Tribe  has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 ( 25 U.S.C. 5130 ).
 .
5.
Interagency task force on economic development programs
(a)
In general
The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, shall establish an interagency task force—
(1)
to review guidance and application requirements for economic development programs administered by the Secretary of Agriculture; and
(2)
to develop interagency agreements to reduce administrative and planning burdens for applicants to such programs and the Federal agencies administering such programs.
(b)
Composition
The interagency task force established under subsection (a) shall be composed of the following:
(1)
The Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development of the Department of Agriculture (or their designee).
(2)
The Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development (or their designee).
(3)
The Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (or their designee).
(4)
Such other individuals or officials as determined appropriate by the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development.
(c)
Duties
The task force established under subsection (a) shall—
(1)
in developing the agreements under subsection (a), identify opportunities for the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development—
(A)
to align strategic planning requirements, stakeholder engagement requirements, and other application requirements; and
(B)
to issue joint guidance across programs of each such agency; and
(2)
establish a plan for regularly reviewing and updating interagency agreements entered into pursuant to subsection (a) to ensure that such agreements—
(A)
advance shared economic development objectives;
(B)
reduce applicant administrative and planning burdens;
(C)
reduce technical assistance needs;
(D)
reduce duplication in agency efforts;
(E)
improve collaboration across Federal, State, and local agencies; and
(F)
encourage and improve stakeholder and community engagement.
6.
Establishing a comprehensive repository of Federal Tribal economic development programs
(a)
In general
The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Office of Native American Business Development, shall establish and implement a working group to develop, and regularly update, a comprehensive and public repository of Federal economic development programs available to Tribal entities (as defined in subsection (e) of section 309 of the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 ( 7 U.S.C. 6921 ), as added by section 4) to—
(1)
reduce agency and applicant administrative burden in identifying Tribal economic development programs;
(2)
improve awareness and utilization of Tribal economic development programs; and
(3)
improve the ability of the Office of Native American Business Development to assist Tribal entities.
(b)
Composition
The working group established under subsection (a) shall be composed of representatives of—
(1)
the Office of Native American Business Development;
(2)
the Economic Development Administration;
(3)
the Small Business Administration;
(4)
the Department of Agriculture;
(5)
the Department of Education;
(6)
the Department of Health and Human Services;
(7)
the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
(8)
the Department of the Interior; and
(9)
such other Federal offices or agencies, as determined appropriate by the Secretary of Commerce.
(c)
Duties
The working group established under subsection (a) shall—
(1)
identify economic development programs across Federal agencies for which Tribal entities are eligible to participate or receive assistance;
(2)
establish a comprehensive publicly accessible repository of information on such programs;
(3)
develop and execute a plan for sharing such repository with Federal, State, and local agencies and Tribal entities; and
(4)
develop and execute a plan for regularly reviewing and updating such repository once at least every 2 years.