64726 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 211 / Friday, October 31, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Administration for Children and 

Families 

45 CFR Part 1336 

RIN 0970–AC60 

Native American Programs 

AGENCY: Administration for Native 

Americans, Administration for Children 

and Families, Department of Health and 

Human Services. 

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Health and 

Human Services, Administration for 

Children and Families, Administration 

for Native Americans (ANA) is seeking 

comments, data, and information from 

the public related to planned revisions 

and amendments to regulations 

implementing the Native American 

Programs Act of 1974 (the NAPA). ANA 

anticipates making revisions and 

amendments to update and revise 

procedures and policies involved in 

executing the requirements of 42 U.S.C. 

2991b, 2991b–1, 2991b–2, 2991b–3, 

2991d, 2991g, 2991h, 2992, and 2992b– 

1 (Section 803, 803A, 803B, 803C, 805, 

809, 810, 811, and 814 of the NAPA) 

currently found in our regulations. ANA 

is interested in receiving feedback to 

this advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking (ANPRM) about potential 

means of streamlining applicable 

regulations, removing undue burdens, 

and clarifying procedures and policies 

related to accessing programs. We are 

also interested in receiving 

recommendations related to the 

activities of the Commissioner of the 

Administration for Native Americans as 

an advocate on behalf of Native 

Americans. 

DATES: Comments on this ANPRM must 

be received by January 29, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the methods listed below 

(please choose only one listed). All 

submissions must include the agency 

name and following Regulatory 

Identification Number (RIN): RIN 0970– 

AC60. Please do not submit duplicate 

comments. When commenting, please 

identify the current regulation, topic, or 

issue to which your comment pertains. 

1. Electronic submission: You may 

submit electronic comments on this 

ANPRM to http://www.regulations.gov 

by entering RIN 0970–AC60 in the 

search box and clicking on the 

‘Comment Now’ button. After 

submitting your comment electronically 

at http://www.regulations.gov, a 

confirmation page will appear which 

contains a Comment Tracking Number. 

Comments also may be submitted 

electronically via email to 

ANACommissioner@acf.hhs.gov with 

‘‘ANA ANPRM’’ in the subject line. 

2. Mail: You may mail written 

comments to the following address only: 

Administration for Native Americans, 

Administration for Children and 

Families, Department of Health and 

Human Services, Attention: ANA 

ANPRM, 370 L’Enfant Promenade, 

Washington DC 20447. Please allow 

sufficient time for mailed comments to 

be received before the close of the 

comment period. 

3. Hand delivery: If you prefer, you 

may deliver (by hand or courier) your 

written comments before the close of the 

comment period to Camille Loya, 

Administration for Native Americans, 

370 L’Enfant Promenade, Washington, 

DC 20447. Because access to the interior 

of the building is not readily available 

to persons without Federal government 

identification, commenters must first 

call 877–922–9262 in advance to 

schedule an escort to the second floor 

and may not leave their comments at the 

security desk located in the main lobby 

of the building. Commenters will be 

escorted to the Administration for 

Native Americans where a stamp-in 

clock is available for persons wishing to 

retain a proof of filing by stamping and 

retaining an extra copy of the comments 

being filed. 

Inspection of Public Comments: All 

comments received before the close of 

the comment period are available for 

viewing by the public, including any 

personally identifiable or confidential 

business information that is included in 

a comment. The Department will post 

all comments received before the close 

of the comment period on the following 

Web site as soon as possible after they 

have been received: http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the search 

instructions on that Web site to view 

public comments. Comments received 

electronically via http://

www.regulations.gov by the close of the 

comment period will also be available 

for public inspection electronically as 

they are received. Comments submitted 

electronically via email to 

ANACommissioner@acf.hhs.gov, handdelivered comments, and mailed 

comments will be available for public 

inspection within one week of receipt at 

the Administration for Native 

Americans, 370 L’Enfant Promenade, 

Washington, DC 20447. Because access 

to the interior of the building is not 

readily available to persons without 

Federal government identification, 

commenters must first call 877–922– 

9262 in advance to schedule an escort 

to the second floor. No deletions, 

modifications, or redactions will be 

made to the comments received, as they 

are public records. Comments may be 

submitted anonymously. However, 

comments that identify the type of 

organization responding to this ANPRM 

are especially helpful. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Camille Loya, Administration for Native 

Americans at (202) 401–5964. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

ANPRM has two main sections. The first 

section, entitled ‘Background,’ describes 

the relevant authority on which the 

ANPRM is based and establishes the 

rationale for its issuance at this time. 

The second section, entitled ‘Overview 

of Requested Feedback,’ presents 

questions, ideas, and potential language 

ANA is considering as part of future 

proposed regulations under the 

authority of the NAPA. 

I. Background 

The Native American Programs Act of 

1974 (NAPA), Public Law 93–644, was 

first enacted on January 4, 1975. The 

last time substantial amendments to the 

NAPA regulations were made was 1996. 

Section 802 of the NAPA establishes as 

its broad statutory purpose the 

promotion of ‘‘the goal of economic and 

social self-sufficiency for American 

Indians, Native Hawaiians, other Native 

American Pacific Islanders (including 

American Samoan Natives), and Alaska 

Natives.’’ The Administration for Native 

Americans (ANA) executes this purpose 

through the provision of project-based 

financial assistance to Native Americans 

authorized under sections 803 and 803C 

of the NAPA, as well as through 

advocacy on behalf of Native Americans 

within the Department of Health and 

Human Services and with other 

departments and agencies of the Federal 

government ‘‘regarding all Federal 

policies affecting Native Americans,’’ 

under section 803B (c) of the NAPA. 

The regulations that are the subject of 

this Advance Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking (ANPRM) are found in 45 

CFR Part 1336. These regulations 

provide or describe rules necessary to 

fully implement the NAPA’s statutory 

requirements and authorities and 

primarily originate from 1983, with the 

last updates occurring in 1996. Given 

the length of time since the last 

consideration of the NAPA regulations, 

through this ANPRM ANA is 

particularly interested in seeking 

information and recommendations from 

recipients and potential recipients of 

ANA financial assistance as well as 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 211 / Friday, October 31, 2014 / Proposed Rules 64727 

from Native Americans at-large who are 

the intended beneficiaries of the NAPA. 

II. Overview of Requested Feedback 

On July 9 and 10, 2013 the 

Administration for Children and 

Families (ACF) hosted a tribal 

consultation in Washington, DC to 

consult on ACF programs and tribal 

priorities. This consultation helped 

ANA identify issues of concern and 

interest to the Indian tribes and Native 

American serving organizations in 

attendance and provided detailed and 

fact-based information on the challenges 

facing Indian tribes, children, and 

families, particularly related to the 

language and cultural vitality of Native 

American communities. This ANPRM 

presents both general and targeted 

topics of interest to help prompt 

additional feedback related to both the 

financial assistance that ANA provides 

as well as topics related more broadly to 

policy development affecting Native 

Americans. It also welcomes all points 

of view on how to streamline regulatory 

requirements and procedures, provide 

clarity, and maximize flexibility 

balanced with ANA oversight and 

advocacy responsibilities. 

Pursuant to ACF’s Tribal Consultation 

Policy, ANA believes this ANPRM can 

be considered a form of tribal 

consultation under section 8.H.3 of such 

Policy. Accordingly, we intend to 

provide a detailed report on the 

comments, recommendations, and other 

input we receive summarizing the 

specific comments or groups of 

comments, responses, and other input 

received in response to this ANPRM. 

At such time as we are prepared to 

propose specific revisions and updates 

to the NAPA regulations, we will engage 

in notice-and-comment rulemaking and 

publish a Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal 

Register. In accordance with standard 

rulemaking procedures, the public will 

have an opportunity to comment on our 

proposed revisions at that time. Then, 

when the final rule is promulgated, 

ANA will summarize and respond to all 

substantive comments received on the 

NPRM. 

A. General Regulatory Topics of Interest 

We are interested in comments and 

recommendations related to: 

• The scope and content of regulatory 

definitions (45 CFR 1336.10). 

D Are there terms referenced in the 

regulations for which a regulatory 

definition would be helpful? For 

example, a definition for ‘delegate 

agency,’ ‘Funding Opportunity 

Announcement,’ ‘maintenance of effort,’ 

‘Office of Chief Executive,’ or ‘thirdparty T/TA’. 

• Procedures governing the financial 

assistance award process for Native 

American social and economic 

development projects, including 

projects supporting Native languages 

and regulation of environmental quality 

(45 CFR 1336.31–1336.35 and 1336.50– 

1336.52). 

• Alaska is 2.5 times the size of Texas 

and Alaska Natives make up 229 tribes 

living in over 220 rural villages, the 

majority of which are accessible only by 

plane or boat, weather permitting. The 

great distances in Alaska from one 

community to another, and from the 

state to the rest of the United States, 

present unique and varied challenges. 

ANA is interested in how such 

challenges affect applications for 

funding. 

• Eligibility for ANA financial 

assistance (45 CFR 1336.33). 

• Project evaluation standards by 

which ANA will measure the impact of 

funded projects, their effectiveness in 

achieving stated goals, their structure 

and mechanisms for delivery of 

services, and their impact on related 

programs (45 CFR 1336.40). 

• ANA is interested in grantees’ and 

potential grantees’ views about what 

information, factors, or other data are 

most relevant to ANA’s evaluation of 

overall impact and effectiveness of 

ANA-funded projects. 

• ANA is interested in grantees’ and 

potential grantees’ views about potential 

methods for evaluating the impact of 

ANA-funded projects three or more 

years after a grant award period has 

ended. 

• ANA is interested in grantees’ and 

potential grantees’ views on required 

project reporting, including views on 

the frequency and burden associated 

with reporting and any 

recommendations related to how data 

reports could be shared with 

stakeholders. 

• Updates to subpart F governing 

ANA oversight of the Native Hawaiian 

Revolving Loan Fund (45 CFR 1336.60– 

1336.77). 

• ANA is interested in hearing from 

Native Hawaiians who have benefited 

from the Native Hawaiian Revolving 

Loan Fund on how the Fund has 

increased economic opportunities, 

capital formation, and credit worthiness 

for Native Hawaiians. 

• ANA is interested in views on 

allowable loan activities, time limits, 

and loan conditions. 

• Recently, ANA has issued 

clarifications describing prohibited 

conflicts of interest related to ANAfunded projects. ANA is considering 

establishing, in regulation, a 

comprehensive definition of a 

‘prohibited conflict of interest’ in order 

to minimize potential confusion. 

• ANA is interested in feedback on 

the following definition of ‘prohibited 

conflict of interest’: 

Prohibited conflict of interest means a 

clash between the private interests of a 

person and that person’s official duties 

and obligations under a project 

receiving ANA grant that cannot be 

resolved by recusal of the person from 

discussions, decisions, and actions in 

one role that affects the other. 

B. Special Topics of Interest 

In addition to comments and 

recommendations responsive to Section 

II.A., ANA invites views and 

recommendations addressing the 

following topics: 

• Descriptions of the perceived 

barriers to Native American economic 

and social self-sufficiency and any 

recommendations to address such 

barriers. 

• Viewpoints on indicators of 

economic stability in Native American 

communities (such as poverty rate, 

earnings, employment, and educational 

attainment) and recommendations for 

improvements to promote increased 

economic self-sufficiency. 

• Thoughts on the roles of historical 

trauma and/or toxic stress in creating 

risks to the physical and mental health 

of Native American adults and children 

and recommendations for remediating 

such risks. 

• Information on the perceived 

impediments to Native Americans’ 

greater participation in state-wide 

initiatives such as Quality Rating and 

Improvement Systems (QRIS) or statewide data sharing. 

III. Conclusion 

With this ANPRM, ANA is seeking 

input on issues and questions related to 

the subjects raised in the ANPRM that 

are of concern or interest to relevant 

stakeholders. 

Dated: June 17, 2014. 

Mark Greenberg, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Children and 

Families. 

Approved: August 5, 2014. 

Sylvia M. Burwell, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25921 Filed 10–30–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 


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