Durbin Feeling Native American Languages Act of 2020
This bill directs the President to review whether federal agencies are in compliance with requirements to promote the use of Native American languages and make recommendations to improve interagency coordination to support the use of these languages. It also requires the Administration for Native Americans to survey the use of Native American languages in the United States.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4886 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4886
To amend the Native American Languages Act to ensure the survival and
continuing vitality of Native American languages, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 10, 2020
Mr. Udall (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Native American Languages Act to ensure the survival and
continuing vitality of Native American languages, 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 ``Durbin Feeling Native American
Languages Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. ENSURING THE SURVIVAL AND CONTINUING VITALITY OF NATIVE
AMERICAN LANGUAGES.
(a) In General.--Section 106 of the Native American Languages Act
(25 U.S.C. 2905) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Evaluation; Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this subsection, the President shall--
``(1) require the heads of the various Federal departments,
agencies, and instrumentalities to carry out an evaluation
described in subsection (a)(1); and
``(2) submit to Congress a report that describes--
``(A) the results of the evaluations; and
``(B) the recommendations of the Secretary of the
Interior, the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
and the Secretary of Education, after consultation with
Indian tribes, traditional leaders, and representatives
of Native American language communities, for amendments
to Federal laws that are needed--
``(i) to bring the Federal laws into
compliance with this Act;
``(ii) to improve interagency coordination
for purposes of supporting revitalization,
maintenance, and use of Native American
languages; and
``(iii) to reduce duplication,
inefficiencies, and barriers Native American
language communities face in accessing Federal
programs to support efforts to revitalize,
maintain, or increase the use of Native
American languages.''.
(b) Survey on Native American Languages.--The Native American
Languages Act (25 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``SEC. 108. SURVEY ON NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGES.
``(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this section, and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary
of Health and Human Services, acting through the Commissioner of the
Administration for Native Americans (referred to in this section as the
`Secretary'), shall undertake a survey of the use of Native American
languages in the United States.
``(b) Updates.--Prior to conducting each subsequent survey after
the initial survey under subsection (a), the Secretary shall update the
survey in accordance with this section.
``(c) Consultation Required.--The Secretary shall design the
initial survey under subsection (a) and each updated survey under
subsection (b)--
``(1) in consultation with Indian tribes; and
``(2) after considering feedback received from Native
American language speakers and experts.
``(d) Contents.--Each survey under subsection (a) shall solicit--
``(1) information on which Native American languages are
currently spoken;
``(2) estimates of the number of speakers of each Native
American language;
``(3) any language usage statistics or information that the
Secretary, in consultation with Indian tribes and Native
American language speakers and experts, determines to be
relevant and appropriate;
``(4) information on Native American language maintenance
and revitalization projects and practices that are currently
being carried out;
``(5) information on any unmet Native American language
resource needs of Indian tribes and Native American language
communities; and
``(6) any other information that the Secretary, in
consultation with Indian tribes and Native American language
speakers and experts, determines to be necessary.
``(e) Outreach and Engagement.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall carry out outreach
and engagement activities to provide Indian tribes, Native
language communities, and the public information about--
``(A) opportunities to provide input on the
development and design of each survey under subsection
(a), including information on the consultations
required under subsection (c);
``(B) the goals and purpose of the surveys
conducted under subsection (a); and
``(C) the benefits and importance of participation
in surveys under subsection (a).
``(2) Grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements
authorized.--The Secretary may carry out the outreach and
engagement activities required under paragraph (1)--
``(A) directly; or
``(B) through grants to, or contracts or
cooperative agreements with--
``(i) Indian tribes;
``(ii) tribal organizations; and
``(iii) nonprofit organizations that work
with Indian tribes, Native American language
programs, and Native American language
communities.
``(f) Limitation.--Nothing in this section requires an Indian
tribe, Native American language community, or Native American language
speaker--
``(1) to participate in a survey under subsection (a); or
``(2) to provide specific or culturally sensitive
information in completing such a survey.
``(g) Availability of Survey Materials and Findings.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 270 days after the date
of enactment of this section, and prior to conducting each
survey under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on
Natural Resources of the House of Representatives, and make
publicly available, a description of--
``(A) the feedback received under subsection (c) on
the design of the survey;
``(B) the form and content of the survey;
``(C) the plan for deploying the survey to ensure a
robust response; and
``(D) how the Secretary will ensure any survey
enumeration efforts are culturally informed and
appropriate.
``(2) Results.--Not later than 90 days after the date on
which each survey under subsection (a) is completed, the
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Indian Affairs of
the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House
of Representatives, and make publicly available, the results of
the survey.
``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $1,500,000 for each fiscal
year--
``(1) preceding a fiscal year during which a survey under
subsection (a) is conducted; and
``(2) during which a survey under that subsection is
conducted.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
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