| 1 | 1 | | I |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 1780 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To establish a competitive grant program to support the conservation and |
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| 6 | 6 | | recovery of native plant, fungi, and animal species in the State of |
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| 7 | 7 | | Hawaii, and for other purposes. |
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| 8 | 8 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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| 9 | 9 | | MARCH3, 2025 |
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| 10 | 10 | | Mr. C |
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| 11 | 11 | | ASE(for himself and Ms. TOKUDA) introduced the following bill; which |
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| 12 | 12 | | was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources |
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| 13 | 13 | | A BILL |
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| 14 | 14 | | To establish a competitive grant program to support the |
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| 15 | 15 | | conservation and recovery of native plant, fungi, and |
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| 16 | 16 | | animal species in the State of Hawaii, and for other |
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| 17 | 17 | | purposes. |
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| 18 | 18 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 19 | 19 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 20 | 20 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 21 | 21 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hawaii Native Species 4 |
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| 22 | 22 | | Conservation and Recovery Act of 2025’’. 5 |
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| 23 | 23 | | SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 |
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| 24 | 24 | | In this Act: 7 |
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| 27 | 27 | | •HR 1780 IH |
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| 28 | 28 | | (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-1 |
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| 29 | 29 | | ty’’ means— 2 |
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| 30 | 30 | | (A) the State; 3 |
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| 31 | 31 | | (B) a unit of local government in the 4 |
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| 32 | 32 | | State; 5 |
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| 33 | 33 | | (C) a Native Hawaiian organization; 6 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (D) a nonprofit organization; 7 |
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| 35 | 35 | | (E) a business; and 8 |
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| 36 | 36 | | (F) an institution of higher education. 9 |
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| 37 | 37 | | (2) G |
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| 38 | 38 | | RANT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘grant pro-10 |
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| 39 | 39 | | gram’’ means the Hawaii Native Species Conserva-11 |
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| 40 | 40 | | tion and Recovery Grant Program established under 12 |
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| 41 | 41 | | section 3(a). 13 |
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| 42 | 42 | | (3) N |
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| 43 | 43 | | ATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGANIZATION .—The 14 |
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| 44 | 44 | | term ‘‘Native Hawaiian organization’’ has the mean-15 |
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| 45 | 45 | | ing given the term in section 3 of the NATIVE Act 16 |
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| 46 | 46 | | (25 U.S.C. 4352). 17 |
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| 47 | 47 | | (4) N |
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| 48 | 48 | | ATIVE SPECIES.—The term ‘‘native spe-18 |
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| 49 | 49 | | cies’’ means a plant, fungi, or animal species that is 19 |
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| 50 | 50 | | native to the State. 20 |
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| 51 | 51 | | (5) S |
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| 52 | 52 | | ECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 21 |
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| 53 | 53 | | the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di-22 |
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| 54 | 54 | | rector of the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv-23 |
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| 55 | 55 | | ice. 24 |
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| 58 | 58 | | •HR 1780 IH |
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| 59 | 59 | | (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 1 |
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| 60 | 60 | | of Hawaii. 2 |
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| 61 | 61 | | SEC. 3. HAWAII NATIVE SPECIES CONSERVATION AND RE-3 |
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| 62 | 62 | | COVERY GRANT PROGRAM. 4 |
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| 63 | 63 | | (a) E |
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| 64 | 64 | | STABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 5 |
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| 65 | 65 | | the date on which amounts are appropriated to carry out 6 |
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| 66 | 66 | | this Act, the Secretary shall establish a grant program, 7 |
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| 67 | 67 | | to be known as the ‘‘Hawaii Native Species Conservation 8 |
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| 68 | 68 | | and Recovery Grant Program’’, to annually provide, 9 |
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| 69 | 69 | | through cooperative agreements, grants, micro grants, or 10 |
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| 70 | 70 | | other means, funding to eligible entities to carry out 11 |
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| 71 | 71 | | projects that— 12 |
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| 72 | 72 | | (1) achieve the funding priorities developed 13 |
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| 73 | 73 | | under subsection (c); and 14 |
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| 74 | 74 | | (2) meet the criteria developed under subsection 15 |
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| 75 | 75 | | (e). 16 |
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| 76 | 76 | | (b) P |
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| 77 | 77 | | URPOSE.—The grant program shall identify pri-17 |
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| 78 | 78 | | orities and provide funding and technical assistance to 18 |
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| 79 | 79 | | carry out coordinated, evidence-based conservation and re-19 |
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| 80 | 80 | | covery projects in the State— 20 |
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| 81 | 81 | | (1) to prevent and mitigate the introduction 21 |
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| 82 | 82 | | and spread of invasive species, pests, and diseases 22 |
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| 83 | 83 | | that threaten native species; 23 |
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| 84 | 84 | | (2) to address the ecological consequences of 24 |
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| 85 | 85 | | climate change on native species; 25 |
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| 89 | 89 | | (3) to address loss and degradation of native 1 |
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| 90 | 90 | | species’ habitats; 2 |
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| 91 | 91 | | (4) to manage, maintain, and restore popu-3 |
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| 92 | 92 | | lations of native species; 4 |
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| 93 | 93 | | (5) to increase scientific capacity to support the 5 |
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| 94 | 94 | | planning, monitoring, and research activities nec-6 |
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| 95 | 95 | | essary for the conservation and recovery of native 7 |
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| 96 | 96 | | species; 8 |
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| 97 | 97 | | (6) to improve information collection, ecological 9 |
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| 98 | 98 | | monitoring, and management relating to the activi-10 |
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| 99 | 99 | | ties described in paragraphs (1) through (5); and 11 |
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| 100 | 100 | | (7) to engage the public through outreach, edu-12 |
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| 101 | 101 | | cation, and community involvement to increase ca-13 |
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| 102 | 102 | | pacity and support for the conservation and recovery 14 |
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| 103 | 103 | | of native species in the State. 15 |
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| 104 | 104 | | (c) D |
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| 105 | 105 | | EVELOPMENT OF PRIORITIES.—In carrying out 16 |
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| 106 | 106 | | the grant program, the Secretary shall coordinate with the 17 |
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| 107 | 107 | | following individuals to develop annual, evidence-based 18 |
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| 108 | 108 | | funding priorities for the grant program that support the 19 |
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| 109 | 109 | | purposes described in subsection (b): 20 |
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| 110 | 110 | | (1) The heads of Federal agencies, including— 21 |
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| 111 | 111 | | (A) the Administrator of the National Oce-22 |
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| 112 | 112 | | anic and Atmospheric Administration (or a des-23 |
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| 113 | 113 | | ignee); 24 |
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| 117 | 117 | | (B) the Administrator of the Environ-1 |
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| 118 | 118 | | mental Protection Agency (or a designee); 2 |
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| 119 | 119 | | (C) the Secretary of Agriculture (or a des-3 |
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| 120 | 120 | | ignee); and 4 |
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| 121 | 121 | | (D) the head of any other applicable Fed-5 |
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| 122 | 122 | | eral agency (or a designee), as determined by 6 |
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| 123 | 123 | | the Secretary. 7 |
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| 124 | 124 | | (2) The Chairperson of the Hawaii Board of 8 |
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| 125 | 125 | | Land and Natural Resources (or a designee). 9 |
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| 126 | 126 | | (3) The Chairperson of the Hawaii Board of 10 |
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| 127 | 127 | | Agriculture (or a designee). 11 |
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| 128 | 128 | | (4) Any other relevant stakeholder involved in 12 |
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| 129 | 129 | | the conservation and recovery of native species in 13 |
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| 130 | 130 | | the State that the Secretary determines to be appro-14 |
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| 131 | 131 | | priate. 15 |
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| 132 | 132 | | (d) R |
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| 133 | 133 | | EQUEST FORPROPOSALS.—The Secretary shall 16 |
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| 134 | 134 | | publish in the Federal Register an annual request for pro-17 |
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| 135 | 135 | | posals, in accordance with the funding priorities developed 18 |
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| 136 | 136 | | under subsection (c). 19 |
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| 137 | 137 | | (e) C |
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| 138 | 138 | | RITERIA.—The Secretary, in coordination with 20 |
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| 139 | 139 | | the individuals described in subsection (c), shall annually 21 |
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| 140 | 140 | | develop criteria for ranking project proposals to receive 22 |
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| 141 | 141 | | funding under the grant program. 23 |
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| 142 | 142 | | (f) R |
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| 143 | 143 | | ECUSAL.—If the State or a unit of local govern-24 |
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| 144 | 144 | | ment in the State applies for a grant under the grant pro-25 |
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| 147 | 147 | | •HR 1780 IH |
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| 148 | 148 | | gram, then the individuals described in paragraphs (2), 1 |
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| 149 | 149 | | (3), and (4) of subsection (c) who are representatives of 2 |
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| 150 | 150 | | the State or that unit of local government, as applicable, 3 |
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| 151 | 151 | | shall recuse themselves from all funding decisions relating 4 |
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| 152 | 152 | | to those applications. 5 |
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| 153 | 153 | | (g) C |
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| 154 | 154 | | OSTSHARING.— 6 |
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| 155 | 155 | | (1) F |
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| 156 | 156 | | EDERAL SHARE.— 7 |
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| 157 | 157 | | (A) I |
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| 158 | 158 | | N GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-8 |
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| 159 | 159 | | graph (B), the Federal share of the cost of a 9 |
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| 160 | 160 | | project carried out under the grant program 10 |
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| 161 | 161 | | shall not exceed 75 percent. 11 |
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| 162 | 162 | | (B) E |
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| 163 | 163 | | XCEPTIONS.—The Federal share of 12 |
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| 164 | 164 | | the cost of a project carried out under the grant 13 |
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| 165 | 165 | | program may be 100 percent, as determined by 14 |
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| 166 | 166 | | the Secretary— 15 |
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| 167 | 167 | | (i) for any project, in the discretion of 16 |
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| 168 | 168 | | the Secretary; or 17 |
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| 169 | 169 | | (ii) if the project— 18 |
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| 170 | 170 | | (I) is carried out by a Native Ha-19 |
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| 171 | 171 | | waiian organization; 20 |
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| 172 | 172 | | (II) significantly contributes to 21 |
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| 173 | 173 | | youth workforce readiness in the im-22 |
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| 174 | 174 | | plementation of the project; or 23 |
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| 178 | 178 | | (III) is carried out using a grant 1 |
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| 179 | 179 | | awarded under the grant program in 2 |
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| 180 | 180 | | an amount of not more than $50,000. 3 |
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| 181 | 181 | | (2) I |
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| 182 | 182 | | N-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS .—The non-Fed-4 |
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| 183 | 183 | | eral share of the cost of a project carried out under 5 |
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| 184 | 184 | | the grant program may be provided in the form of 6 |
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| 185 | 185 | | an in-kind contribution of services, materials, or ac-7 |
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| 186 | 186 | | cess to land. 8 |
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| 187 | 187 | | (h) R |
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| 188 | 188 | | EQUIREMENT.—Of the amounts made available 9 |
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| 189 | 189 | | to carry out the grant program for each fiscal year, not 10 |
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| 190 | 190 | | less than 5 percent shall be used to award grants for 11 |
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| 191 | 191 | | projects described in subclauses (I) through (III) of sub-12 |
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| 192 | 192 | | section (g)(1)(B)(ii). 13 |
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| 193 | 193 | | (i) T |
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| 194 | 194 | | ECHNICALASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 14 |
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| 195 | 195 | | provide technical assistance to eligible entities to assist in 15 |
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| 196 | 196 | | the implementation of projects that receive funding under 16 |
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| 197 | 197 | | the grant program. 17 |
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| 198 | 198 | | (j) C |
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| 199 | 199 | | ONSULTATIONWITHNATIVEHAWAIIANORGA-18 |
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| 200 | 200 | | NIZATIONS.—The Secretary, in carrying out the grant pro-19 |
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| 201 | 201 | | gram, shall consult with Native Hawaiian organizations 20 |
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| 202 | 202 | | with respect to any project that receives funding under 21 |
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| 203 | 203 | | the grant program with implications for the Native Hawai-22 |
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| 204 | 204 | | ian Community. 23 |
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| 205 | 205 | | (k) S |
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| 206 | 206 | | UPPLEMENT, NOTSUPPLANT.—Funds made 24 |
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| 207 | 207 | | available to carry out the grant program for each fiscal 25 |
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| 211 | 211 | | year shall supplement and not supplant other funds made 1 |
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| 212 | 212 | | available to carry out the purposes described in para-2 |
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| 213 | 213 | | graphs (1) through (7) of subsection (b) in the State. 3 |
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| 214 | 214 | | SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT. 4 |
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| 215 | 215 | | Annually, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 5 |
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| 216 | 216 | | report on the implementation of this Act, including— 6 |
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| 217 | 217 | | (1) a description of each project that has re-7 |
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| 218 | 218 | | ceived funding under the grant program; and 8 |
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| 219 | 219 | | (2) the status of each project described in para-9 |
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| 220 | 220 | | graph (1) that is in progress on the date of submis-10 |
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| 221 | 221 | | sion of the applicable report. 11 |
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| 222 | 222 | | SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 12 |
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| 223 | 223 | | (a) I |
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| 224 | 224 | | NGENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro-13 |
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| 225 | 225 | | priated to the Secretary to carry out this Act $30,000,000 14 |
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| 226 | 226 | | for the first fiscal year that begins after the date of enact-15 |
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| 227 | 227 | | ment of this Act and for each of the 9 fiscal years there-16 |
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| 228 | 228 | | after. 17 |
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| 229 | 229 | | (b) A |
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| 230 | 230 | | DMINISTRATIVEEXPENSES.—Of the amounts 18 |
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| 231 | 231 | | made available for each fiscal year under subsection (a), 19 |
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| 232 | 232 | | the Secretary shall use not more than 5 percent for admin-20 |
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| 233 | 233 | | istrative expenses relating to carrying out the grant pro-21 |
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| 234 | 234 | | gram. 22 |
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| 235 | 235 | | Æ |
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