Congress expands Native American tourism grants across six federal agencies
H.R. 4276 — 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. · Filed by Ed Case (D-HI) · Introduced Jul 2, 2025 · Hearing held
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What it does
This bill amends the Native American Tourism Act to explicitly authorize the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Office of Native Hawaiian Relations, and other federal agencies (Commerce, Transportation, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Labor) to award grants to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations to promote Native American and Hawaiian tourism. It authorizes $35 million over five fiscal years (2025–2029) for these grants.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is to authorize federal agencies to award grants to tribal and Native Hawaiian organizations for tourism promotion. It is a straightforward appropriations authorization with no hidden riders or narrow carve-outs.
What the text implies
- Grants are discretionary ('may make'), not mandatory — actual funding depends on agency prioritization and appropriations; tribes and organizations have no entitlement.
- Multiple agencies (Commerce, Transportation, Agriculture, HHS, Labor) can award grants under the same authority, potentially creating overlapping or fragmented grant programs without coordination mechanism.
- The bill does not specify grant size, application process, or performance metrics, leaving implementation details to agency rulemaking — outcomes will vary by agency.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill directs federal funding to tribal and Native Hawaiian communities for tourism development, which can generate economic opportunity, jobs, and revenue in historically underserved regions. The grants are discretionary (agencies 'may' make them) and require alignment with the Act's stated purposes, preserving some accountability.
Who stands to gain
- Indian tribes and tribal organizations
- Native Hawaiian organizations
Named in the bill
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Native Hawaiian Relations, Department of Commerce, Department of Transportation, Department of Agriculture, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor, Indian tribes, Tribal organizations, Native Hawaiian organizations
Where it stands
- Jul 2, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 2, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on House Administration and House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and…”
- Nov 19, 2025 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Hearings Held”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,276 characters) on Jul 2, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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