To amend the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act to authorize grants to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations, and for other purposes.

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Bill ID: 119/hr/4276
Last Updated: May 21, 2026

Sponsored by

Rep. Case, Ed [D-HI-1]

ID: C001055

Follow the money

The bill

To amend the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act to authorize grants to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations, and for other purposes.

HR. 4276, 119th Congress.

The sponsor

Rep. Case, Ed [D-HI-1]

Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.

The money

$68,659 raised

29 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.

The alignment

70% match to Project 2025

This bill's text tracks the "Environmental Protection Agency" section, p. 473-475 of the Mandate for Leadership.

Bill's Journey to Becoming a Law

Track this bill's progress through the legislative process

Latest Action

Subcommittee Hearings Held

November 18, 2025

Introduced

Committee Review

📍 Current Status

Next: The bill moves to the floor for full chamber debate and voting.

🗳️

Floor Action

✅

Passed House

🏛️

Senate Review

🎉

Passed Congress

🖊️

Presidential Action

⚖️

Became Law

📚 How does a bill become a law?

1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.

2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.

3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.

4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.

5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.

6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.

7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!

Bill Summary

(sigh) Alright, let's dissect this legislative abomination.

**Main Purpose & Objectives:** (rolls eyes) Oh boy, it's a bill about Native American tourism and improving visitor experiences. How noble. The main purpose is to authorize grants to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations. Wow, what a selfless act of Congress... not.

In reality, this bill is just another example of the government throwing money at a problem without actually solving it. It's like prescribing painkillers for a terminal illness – it might make the symptoms feel better temporarily, but it won't cure the underlying disease.

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** (dissecting with a scalpel) The bill amends the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act by adding a new section that authorizes grants to various organizations. Oh, joy! More bureaucratic red tape and opportunities for corruption.

The bill also redesignates an existing section, because, you know, that's exactly what we need – more confusing legislation. And, of course, it includes the obligatory "authorization of appropriations" clause, which is just a fancy way of saying "we're going to throw $35 million at this problem and hope it goes away."

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** (sarcastically) Oh, who wouldn't be affected by this groundbreaking legislation? Indian tribes, tribal organizations, Native Hawaiian organizations... the usual suspects. And let's not forget the real stakeholders – the politicians and bureaucrats who get to line their pockets with grant money.

**Potential Impact & Implications:** (deadpan) Well, this bill is sure to have a profound impact on the lives of Native Americans and Native Hawaiians. I mean, who wouldn't want more government grants and bureaucratic oversight? It's not like they have better things to do, like actually addressing the systemic issues plaguing their communities.

In reality, this bill will likely create more problems than it solves. The grants will be a drop in the bucket compared to the actual needs of these communities, and the added bureaucracy will only serve to further entrench the status quo.

Diagnosis: This bill is suffering from a bad case of " Politician-itis" – a disease characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance, a lack of understanding of the underlying issues, and a tendency to throw money at problems without actually solving them. Prognosis: poor. Treatment: a healthy dose of skepticism and a strong stomach for the inevitable bureaucratic mess that will ensue.

Related Topics

State & Local Government AffairsFederal Budget & AppropriationsPublic Lands & Natural Resources
Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (Dr. Haus personality)

💰 Campaign Finance Network

Rep. Case, Ed [D-HI-1]

Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle

Total Contributions
$68,659
22 donors
PACs
$5,000
Organizations
$11,800
Committees
$0
Individuals
$51,859
1
CHUGACH ALASKA CORPORATION PAC (CAC PAC)
1 transaction
$5,000
1
AGUA CALIENTE BAND OF CAHUILLA INDIANS
1 transaction
$3,300
2
TUNICA-BILOXI TRIBE OF LOUISIANA
1 transaction
$2,500
3
CHICKASAW NATION
2 transactions
$2,000
4
POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS
2 transactions
$2,000
5
CHEROKEE NATION
1 transaction
$1,000
6
SAMISH TYEE
1 transaction
$1,000

No committee contributions found

1
PETERSON, MICHAEL A.
2 transactions
$6,600
2
SILBEY, NEELY MARCUS
2 transactions
$5,900
3
SILBEY, ALEXANDER
2 transactions
$5,800
4
DEMAREE, GRANT
2 transactions
$5,600
5
LOUI, STEVEN
1 transaction
$5,000
6
CARDOZA, MIGUEL A.
2 transactions
$4,700
7
MAYER, NATHAN
1 transaction
$3,300
8
SCHIMPF, BRIAN
1 transaction
$3,300
9
CAMPION, TOM
1 transaction
$2,000
10
FALK, JIM
1 transaction
$2,000
11
YOUNG, STAN K.
1 transaction
$2,000
12
BURSTEIN, BARTON
1 transaction
$1,650
13
RAINWATER, PAUL
1 transaction
$1,509
14
DININO, PAUL
1 transaction
$1,500
15
CASE, STACEY
1 transaction
$1,000

Donor Network - Rep. Case, Ed [D-HI-1]

PACs
Organizations
Individuals
Politicians

Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.

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Showing 61 nodes and 29 connections (66 secondary connections hidden)

Total contributions: $68,659

Top Donors - Rep. Case, Ed [D-HI-1]

Showing top 22 donors by contribution amount

1 PAC6 Orgs15 Individuals

Project 2025 Policy Matches

This bill shows semantic similarity to the following sections of the Project 2025 policy document.AI-enhanced analysis provides detailed alignment ratings.

Environmental Protection Agency

Moderate
Vector: 60%
Pages: 473-475AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"Both HR 4276 and the Project 2025 EPA proposal involve federal grant programs designed to strengthen tribal capacity and self‑determination, though HR 4276 focuses on tourism development while the Project 2025 policy centers on environmental protection and the elevation of the American Indian Office within EPA."

Key themes:tribal grantsfederal support to tribescapacity buildinginteragency coordinationNative American focus

— 440 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise l Repeal Inflation Reduction Act programs providing grants for environmental science activities. AMERICAN INDIAN OFFICE (AIO) AIO is a vital EPA function. It is mandated to carry out a 1992 act of Congress that administers the Indian Environmental General Assistance Program.51 Because of the sovereign-to-sovereign relationship between the U.S. government and fed- erally recognized sovereign Indian nations, this act’s purpose is to assist tribes in developing the capacity to manage their own tribal environmental protection programs and set them up to implement programs for the management of solid and hazardous waste. This office also is the chief office under which the EPA’s 1984 Indian Policy functions. Needed Reforms AIO should be significantly elevated as a stand-alone EPA Assistant Admin- istrator office. This would send a clear message to American Indians and Alaska Native Villages that the agency takes seriously the environmental issues plaguing Indian Country. While designated a “headquarters” office with direct reporting to the Administrator, its location should be in the American West, closer to most tribal nations. This could include Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Dallas, Texas; or Denver, Colorado. The state of Oklahoma is considered the tribal center of Amer- ica and is home to 39 federally recognized tribes, including the “Five Civilized Tribes.” The other two options are also close to numerous tribes and home to EPA regional offices. New Policies All EPA tribal grants and tribal matters should be run from this office as a one- stop-shop for all tribal affairs. Budget and Personnel AIO should be led by a politically appointed, Senate-confirmed Assistant Admin- istrator, ideally one with strong ties to a federally recognized tribe. He or she should have political deputies and staff to assist the political leadership in carrying out agency policies. Career EPA tribal staff are located throughout the nation in all regional offices but are paid mostly under the budget of the current Office of International and Tribal Affairs, which will be significantly restructured as international functions are reabsorbed into the appropriate media offices (for example, Air, Water, and Land and Emergency Management). Because of this, tribal staff should be fully under the authority of the new American Indian Office and its Assistant Admin- istrator, not the regional offices.

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Weak
Vector: 61%
Pages: 548-550AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"HR 4276 focuses on tourism grants for Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations, while the Project 2025 HUD section centers on housing market reforms, regulatory changes, and opposition to DEI/CRT/BIPOC/ESG initiatives. The only tangential connection is the bill's support for BIPOC communities via federal grants, which overlaps minimally with the HUD policy's references to BIPOC but diverges in sector and objectives."

Key themes:tribal/Native Hawaiian communitiesfederal grant programsBIPOC focus

— 515 — Department of Housing and Urban Development 25. Process must prioritize where political leadership can implement administrative reforms through regulatory action and subregulatory guidance reforms. 26. China and other foreign nations should not be able to disrupt our nation’s housing markets, including by artificially driving up prices and reducing affordability and access to housing for Americans who are crowded out of the market by such market participation. 27. These initiatives are maintained under such designations as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); critical race theory (CRT); black, indigenous, Pacific Islander, and other people of color (BIPOC); and environmental, social, and governance (ESG). 28. At a minimum, these efforts duplicate what the federal government already collects and assesses; at worst, they institute arbitrary procedures in real estate appraisal practices that undermine integrity and perversely introduce arbitrary biases into what should be an unbiased system for determining financial value. 29. Revise regulatory and subregulatory guidance, where applicable within statutory authorities, that adds unnecessary delay and costs to the construction and development of new housing and has been estimated to account for about 40 percent of new housing unit costs in multifamily housing. 30. The Biden Administration has issued a proposed rule to replace the Trump Administration’s “Preserving Community and Neighborhood Choice” rule that had repealed earlier rules expanding AFFH enforcement. See U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Fair Housing, “Preserving Community and Neighborhood Choice,” Final Rule, Federal Register, Vol. 85, No. 153 (August 7, 2020), pp. 47899–47912, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-08-07/pdf/2020-16320.pdf (accessed March 5, 2023), and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Secretary, “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing,” Proposed Rule, Federal Register, Vol. 88, No. 27 (February 9, 2023), pp. 8516–8590, https://www. govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2015-07-16/pdf/2015-17032.pdf (accessed March 5, 2023). 31. Certain pilot initiatives may encourage greater take-up of loan products designed for faster equity accumulation, including loans with shorter terms and accelerated amortization schedules. In concept, the FHA’s Home Equity Accelerator Loan (HEAL) and Good Neighbor Next Door (GNND) pilot initiatives might lead to meaningful wealth generation for first-time buyers, but they should be available to all eligible households only when they do not arbitrarily discriminate based on race or other characteristics. 32. Housing supply does remain a problem in the U.S., but constructing more units at the low end of the market will not solve the problem. Investors and developers can deliver at more efficient cost new units that will allow for greater upward mobility of rental and ownership housing stock and better target increased construction of mid-tier rental units. Further, and more fundamental to the housing supply challenge in markets across the U.S., localities can consider revising land use, zoning, and building regulations that constrict new housing development, adding time delays and costs that impede construction. Federal housing policy should get out of the way where possible and minimize the distortive impact that stimulating greater demand through loose lending can have in driving up housing prices for households that are looking for affordable entry into the housing market. 33. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Secretary, “Housing and Community Development Act of 1980: Verification of Eligible Status,” Proposed Rule, Federal Register, Vol. 84, No. 91 (May 10, 2019), pp. 20589–20595, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-05-10/pdf/2019-09566.pdf (accessed March 5, 2023). 34. Reforms should contemplate rent payment flexibilities, allow escrow savings, and set maximum term limits that can reduce implicit penalties for increasing household incomes over eligibility terms for housing assistance and reweight waiting-list prioritization for two-parent households. 35. Some PHAs have been able to implement work requirements and term limit policies in various congressionally authorized demonstration programs, notably the Moving to Work (MTW) demonstration program established in 1996 for 39 PHAs (Congress has since authorized another 100 PHAs) in which participating MTW PHAs were given authority to implement rent reforms, work requirements and other experimental policies in rental assistance programs along with flexibilities in the use of capital and operating appropriations. 36. The FSS program has a general five-year term with a possible two-year extension, which could be applied at the term limit for overall benefits, and certain PHAs have imposed five-year to seven-year term limits. Families in these programs build escrow savings during their term eligibility that helps to facilitate successful transitions to family self-sufficiency and unassisted housing. — 516 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise 37. HUD should implement administrative changes in regulation and guidance and seek statutory authority to end all Housing First directives of Continuum of Care (CoC) grantees and contract homelessness providers in addition to establishing restrictions on local Housing First policies where HUD grant funds are used. 38. The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) was established in the 1990s, and numerous Administrations have devoted enormous resources to the Housing First model, experimenting with various ways to provide federally financed rapid rehousing and permanent housing opportunities. Housing First is a far-left idea premised on the belief that homelessness is primarily circumstantial rather than behavioral. The Housing First answer to homelessness is to give someone a house instead of attempting to understand the underlying causes of homelessness. Federal intervention centered on Housing First has failed to acknowledge that resolving the issue of homelessness is often a matter of resolving mental health and substance abuse challenges. Instead of the permanent supportive housing proffered by Housing First, a conservative Administration should shift to transitional housing with a focus on addressing the underlying issues that cause homelessness in the first place. 39. The Senate Low-Income First-Time Homebuyers (LIFT) Act would address this policy goal. See S. 2797, Low-Income First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2021 (LIFT Homebuyers Act of 2021), 117th Congress, introduced September 22, 2021, https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/s2797/BILLS-117s2797is.pdf (accessed March 5, 2023). 40. FHA did not facilitate the widespread use of 30-year mortgages until the 1950s when, interacting with Federal Reserve policies, federal agencies began broader adoption of the mortgages, which, despite lowering the monthly repayment terms, result in slow equity accumulation and wealth-building opportunities. 41. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 fundamentally revised the scope of federal regulation in the nation’s housing finance system, placing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under the purview of a newly established Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and establishing a Housing Trust Fund (HTF) that is administered in the HUD Office of Community Planning and Development. See H.R. 3221, Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, Public Law No. 110-289, 110th Congress, July 30, 2008, https://www.congress. gov/110/plaws/publ289/PLAW-110publ289.pdf (accessed March 5, 2023). 42. Guiding questions: What reforms should be proposed that could be accomplished within five years? What reforms can be done administratively, and what reforms would need legislative authorization? Are there functions that HUD administers that could be achieved more effectively at another department or agency? What big-picture reforms should be proposed that might take more than five years that would reorganize HUD and its programs to meet the objectives in the vision or mission? What would occur in the absence of these public finance subsidies? How much crowd-out do these subsidies create in the market? Would America be a seriously underhoused nation without these subsidies? Who are the policies intended to benefit? What organizational changes must be made? 43. The Faircloth Amendment (Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998) amended the Housing Act of 1937 to maintain public housing units at 1999 levels, preventing housing authorities from maintaining more public housing than they did then. H.R. 4194, Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999, Public Law No. 105-276, 105th Congress, October 21, 1998, Title V, https://www.congress.gov/105/plaws/publ276/PLAW-105publ276.pdf (accessed March 5, 2023). In recent years, the statutory restriction on new construction of public housing units has been circumvented through some narrow uses of preservation programs such as the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program, initially authorized in 2012 and reauthorized several times since under higher program unit conversion caps. Congress also provided paths for renewal and continuation of a portion of existing public housing; project/site-based housing stock (refinancing with long-term HAP contract commitments); and Section 8 units through the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (MAHRA). H.R. 2158, Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998, Public Law No. 105-65, 105th Congress, October 27, 1997, Title V, https://www.congress.gov/105/plaws/publ65/PLAW-105publ65.pdf (accessed March 5, 2023). 44. As the evolution of HUD rental assistance transitions away from the public housing model toward housing choice vouchers, there should be adequate landlord participation to ensure that the supply of housing units for rent in these programs meets the demand for rent among eligible tenants. This issue has been addressed in various ways, including by a task force instituted at the department during the Trump Administration, but could likely remain a challenge in the administration of the program.

Environmental Protection Agency

Weak
Vector: 60%
Pages: 473-475AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"HR 4276 creates tourism-focused grant programs administered by the BIA and other agencies, whereas the Project 2025 EPA section seeks to centralize EPA tribal grants and environmental programs in an elevated American Indian Office; both involve federal grant support for tribes but differ in agency, purpose, and scope, resulting in only tangential alignment."

Key themes:tribal grantsfederal assistance to tribesinteragency coordinationcapacity building

— 440 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise l Repeal Inflation Reduction Act programs providing grants for environmental science activities. AMERICAN INDIAN OFFICE (AIO) AIO is a vital EPA function. It is mandated to carry out a 1992 act of Congress that administers the Indian Environmental General Assistance Program.51 Because of the sovereign-to-sovereign relationship between the U.S. government and fed- erally recognized sovereign Indian nations, this act’s purpose is to assist tribes in developing the capacity to manage their own tribal environmental protection programs and set them up to implement programs for the management of solid and hazardous waste. This office also is the chief office under which the EPA’s 1984 Indian Policy functions. Needed Reforms AIO should be significantly elevated as a stand-alone EPA Assistant Admin- istrator office. This would send a clear message to American Indians and Alaska Native Villages that the agency takes seriously the environmental issues plaguing Indian Country. While designated a “headquarters” office with direct reporting to the Administrator, its location should be in the American West, closer to most tribal nations. This could include Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Dallas, Texas; or Denver, Colorado. The state of Oklahoma is considered the tribal center of Amer- ica and is home to 39 federally recognized tribes, including the “Five Civilized Tribes.” The other two options are also close to numerous tribes and home to EPA regional offices. New Policies All EPA tribal grants and tribal matters should be run from this office as a one- stop-shop for all tribal affairs. Budget and Personnel AIO should be led by a politically appointed, Senate-confirmed Assistant Admin- istrator, ideally one with strong ties to a federally recognized tribe. He or she should have political deputies and staff to assist the political leadership in carrying out agency policies. Career EPA tribal staff are located throughout the nation in all regional offices but are paid mostly under the budget of the current Office of International and Tribal Affairs, which will be significantly restructured as international functions are reabsorbed into the appropriate media offices (for example, Air, Water, and Land and Emergency Management). Because of this, tribal staff should be fully under the authority of the new American Indian Office and its Assistant Admin- istrator, not the regional offices. — 441 — Environmental Protection Agency OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL (OGC) OGC serves as the chief legal adviser to EPA’s policymaking officials. It also pro- vides legal support to regional actions and enforcement and compliance litigation. OGC lawyers represent the agency in court alongside the Department of Justice, typically defending agency actions. Needed Reforms and New Policies l Review EPA’s Environmental Justice and Title VI authority. Wherever possible, the Biden Administration is broadening EPA’s use and interpretation of Environmental Justice (EJ)52 and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 196453 beyond long-standing understandings of the legal limits of that authority. As a threshold matter, there is an opportunity to redefine EJ as a tool for the agency to prioritize environmental protection efforts and assistance to communities in proximity to pollution or with the greatest need for additional protection. Allocations of agency resources, increased EPA enforcement, and/or agency distribution of grants should be based on neutral constitutional principles. In 2023, the Supreme Court is expected to provide guidance on the constitutionality of race-based discrimination as it considers Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina.54 Accordingly, the next Administration should pause and review all ongoing EJ and Title VI actions to ensure that they are consistent with any forthcoming SCOTUS decision. l Establish a policy of legally speaking with one voice. Some EPA offices (for example, the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance and the Offices of Regional Counsel) assert legal positions and interpretations of the law that conflict with an Administration’s interpretation as articulated by OGC with input from program offices. It is unacceptable for the agency to have inconsistent legal positions, particularly with respect to key interpretative issues. All attorneys with authority to represent EPA—not necessarily all attorneys—should therefore be housed in OGC. These offices include: 1. The Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA). OECA was established during the Clinton Administration. Enforcement attorneys tend to take legal positions to win cases or obtain settlements that may be inconsistent with those of OGC and program offices. OECA attorneys should be moved into OGC. Additionally, non-attorney program staff in OECA could be moved into their relevant program offices (for example, the Clean Air Act Enforcement Advisor could

Showing 3 of 5 policy matches

About These Correlations

Policy matches are calculated using a hybrid approach: initial candidates are found using semantic similarity between bill summaries and Project 2025 policy text, then an AI model (Llama 3.1 70B) provides detailed alignment ratings and analysis. Ratings range from 1 (minimal alignment) to 5 (very strong alignment). This analysis does not imply direct causation or intent.

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