Report to Congressional Requesters

United States General Accounting Office

GAO

December 2001 ECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT

Federal Assistance

Programs for

American Indians

and Alaska Natives

GAO-02-193
Why GAO Did This Study

In view of the high poverty and

unemployment rates experienced

by American Indians and Alaska

Natives (Indians), the Omnibus

Indian Advancement Act required

GAO to study federal programs

that tribes and tribal members

can use for economic

development activities. GAO

sought to identify relevant

federal economic development

programs and the extent of their

use as well as summarize

agencies’ assessments of the

effectiveness of their programs.

December 2001

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Federal Assistance Programs for American

Indians and Alaska Natives

This is a test for developing highlights for a GAO report. The full report, including GAO's objectives, scope, methodology, and analysis is available

at www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-02-193. For additional information about the report, contact Thomas J. McCool (202-512-8678). To provide comments

on this test highlights, contact Keith Fultz (202-512-3200) or e-mail HighlightsTest@gao.gov.

Highlights of GAO-02-193, a report to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, House Committee on

Resources, Senator Thomas A. Daschle, and Congressman John R. Thune.

United States General Accounting Office

What GAO Found

About 100 federal programs are available to potentially assist Indians

with economic development activities, including 16 programs that

require applicants or beneficiaries to be Indians. In general, these

programs provide grants, loans, loan guarantees, or technical assistance

to support activities that include economic development planning,

capacity-building, and financing for business enterprises. Over half of

these programs were reported as used during 1997, 1998, or 1999 by at

least 1 tribal entity, and 20 programs were used by 15 or more tribal

entities, which include tribal governments and other tribal organizations.

The remaining programs may not have been reported used for a variety

of reasons, such as programs being geared toward individual users,

rather than tribal entities, and tribal entities not yet reporting the

information.

The agencies that operate the majority of the programs that GAO

identified generally report that their programs have assisted economic

development in various ways, such as creating and retaining jobs;

however, little is known about assistance as it relates to Indians. The

recent requirement that a single office be established to coordinate

federal programs relating to Indian economic development has the

potential to improve Indians’ access to federal programs and to provide

federal decisionmakers with performance information that is more

directly related to Indians.

The agencies that operate the majority of these programs reviewed the

report and generally agreed with its findings.

These pictures show a variety of Indian economic development activities, such as grain production,

hunting and fishing, casino gaming, forestry, and houseboat rentals.

G A O

Accountability Integrity Reliability

Highlights
Page i GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

Letter 1

Background 2

About 100 Federal Programs Are Available to Tribes and Tribal

Members for Economic Development 5

Tribal Entities’ Use of Programs Has Varied 7

Although Agencies Reported Progress in General, Recent

Initiatives Might Help Efforts to Assist Indians 10

External Studies Indicated That Economic Development Efforts

Depend on Many Factors 15

Conclusions 16

Agency Comments 16

Appendix I Scope and Methodology 18

Appendix II Federal Programs Available to Tribes and Tribal

Members to Fund Economic Development Activities 21

Tables

Table 1: Number of Federal Programs, by Agency, That Can Be

Used to Fund Economic Development Activities of Tribes

and Tribal Members 6

Table 2: The Economic Development Programs Most Frequently

Reported as Used by Tribal Entities, 1997 through 1999 8

Table 3: Federal Programs That Are Available Only to Indians 21

Table 4: Federal Programs That Are Available to Indians and

Others 23

Contents
Page ii GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

Abbreviations

BIA Bureau of Indian Affairs

CFDA Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

DOC Department of Commerce

DOI Department of the Interior

EDA Economic Development Administration

HHS Department of Health and Human Services

HUD Department of Housing and Urban Development

SBA Small Business Administration

USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture
Page 1 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

December 21, 2001

The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye

Chairman

The Honorable Ben Nighthorse Campbell

Vice Chairman

Committee on Indian Affairs

United States Senate

The Honorable James V. Hansen

Chairman

The Honorable Nick J. Rahall II

Ranking Minority Member

Committee on Resources

House of Representatives

The Honorable Thomas A. Daschle

United States Senate

The Honorable John R. Thune

House of Representatives

Despite the relatively recent success of casino gaming and other business

ventures for some Native American and Alaska Native communities,

economic distress is common among Indians,1 as shown by the continuing

widespread unemployment and poverty in these communities. The

differing needs of Indians are reflected in the diversity of their tribes,

which vary in history, geography, population, natural resources,

accessibility, and numerous other aspects.

This report responds to section 421 of the Omnibus Indian Advancement

Act,2

 which requires us to study federal programs designed to assist

Indians with economic development activities. As agreed with your staffs,

this report (1) identifies federal programs that are available to assist tribes

and tribal members with economic development, job creation,

entrepreneurship, and business development; (2) provides information on

 1

In this report, the term “Indian” refers to Native American and Alaska Native communities

and their members.

2

Pub. L. No. 106-568 (2000).

United States General Accounting Office

Washington, DC 20548
Page 2 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

the extent that these programs are used; and (3) summarizes agencies’

assessments of the effectiveness of their programs. In conducting our

work, we reviewed external studies that described factors other than

program effectiveness that are essential to improving Indian economies.

Consequently, we also provide a summary of those studies.

To address these objectives, we used the Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance (CFDA) to identify federal programs that Indians could use for

economic development activities.3

 We also analyzed information from the

Federal Audit Clearinghouse’s single audit database,4

 which contains audit

report information from nonfederal governments and nonprofit

organizations that receive federal funds, including tribal governments and

organizations. In addition, we reviewed agencies’ plans and reports that

were prepared in accordance with the Government Performance and

Results Act of 1993 to obtain information on their programs’ effectiveness.

We also met with tribal officials, Indian organizations, and federal program

officials to discuss economic development activities.

We conducted our review from April through November 2001 in

accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.

Appendix I contains a detailed description of our scope and methodology.

According to the 2000 Census, American Indians and Alaska Natives

number about 2.5 million nationwide. An estimated 40 percent of Indians

live on reservations; the other 60 percent live either close to the

reservations or farther away. Tribes—sometimes referred to as nations,

bands, pueblos, communities, rancherias, or villages—are various sizes.

Their populations, also known as the number of enrolled members of a

tribe, vary from less than 25 to more than 100,000 members per tribe. As of

 3

CFDA is a governmentwide compendium of federal programs and activities that is

coordinated by the Office of Management and Budget and compiled by the General

Services Administration.

4

The Federal Audit Clearinghouse, within the Bureau of the Census, operates this database

on behalf of the Office of Management and Budget to disseminate information to the

public, among other things. The single audit database contains information from audit

reports filed by states, local governments, and nonprofit organizations that expend

$300,000 or more in federal awards for every fiscal year they meet the dollar threshold.

Approximately 32,000 entities submitted reports for calendar year 1998.

Background
Page 3 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

May 2001, there were 5615 federally recognized Indian tribes, including

over 200 Alaska Native villages and about 300 reservations in at least 30

states.

Tribes represent different histories, ethnicities, cultures, and languages,

and tribal land holdings vary dramatically in size and in their accessibility,

geography, and natural resources. In addition, tribes face some of the

nation’s highest poverty and unemployment rates. According to the

Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), among

Indians living on or near reservations in 1999, the unemployment rate

averaged 43 percent, and, among the employed, the poverty rate averaged

33 percent.6

 The situation is much worse on some reservations. For

example, the Pine Ridge reservation located in South Dakota has an 85-

percent unemployment rate and a 63-percent poverty rate. The National

Congress of American Indians reports that, even with the introduction of

casino gaming, which is offered by more than 190 tribes, the vast majority

of tribes are mired in severe economic depression.7

Tribes are unique in that they are sovereign governments. The U.S.

government has recognized the sovereign status of tribes since the

formation of the United States. The U.S. Constitution, treaties, and other

federal government actions have established tribal sovereignty. Tribes

generally cannot be taxed by states, are not subject to federal income tax,

and have governmental immunity. The federal government has various

financial obligations to tribes on the basis of treaties and overall trust

responsibility. The federal government holds title to tribal lands that are in

a trust status to ensure that the lands cannot be taken away and remain

subject to the authority of the tribal governments.

During the past 30 years, tribes have begun asserting their self-governance

and self-determination. To help them manage tribal business, tribes have

formed organizations that may include tribal governments or subsidiaries

 5

This number includes three tribes that were notified of the reaffirmation of their federal

recognition on December 29, 2000, but the current Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs is

reconsidering this reaffirmation.

6

For 1999, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the national average annual

unemployment rate was 4.2 percent, and the Bureau of the Census estimated that 10

percent of the people aged 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

7

An Introduction to Indian Nations in the United States, National Congress of American

Indians, (not dated).
Page 4 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

of tribal governments, such as schools, housing, or health corporations. In

addition, tribes may form a consortium through which they combine their

funding to provide services to their members. Finally, Alaska Natives are

members of village corporations and regional corporations that have been

established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971.

As we have previously reported, many agencies offer a variety of programs

that can be used to assist communities with economic development

activities.8

 These programs generally provide assistance in the form of

grants, loans, loan guarantees, or direct payments to applicants such as

state, local, and tribal governments; private organizations; and individuals.

Financial and nonfinancial information on these programs is made

publicly available through CFDA—a governmentwide compendium of

federal programs and activities that is coordinated by the Office of

Management and Budget and compiled by the General Services

Administration. The 2001 CFDA contains 1,458 assistance programs

administered by 63 federal agencies. By federal law,9

 states, local

governments, and nonprofit organizations that annually expend $300,000

or more in federal awards are required to have audits conducted in

accordance with the Office of Management and Budget’s Circular A-133,

Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations

(June 24, 1997). The circular further requires that the results of these

audits be submitted to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse, which is

responsible for maintaining this information in the governmentwide single

audit database.

While the focus of this report is on programs identified in CFDA, the

federal government also provides regulatory advantages and tax incentives

that support economic development for tribes and tribal members. In the

past, regulatory advantages have included provisions that facilitate casino

gaming compacts between tribes and states, allow the designation of trust

lands, and specify that tribes can participate in programs such as federal

empowerment zones. Regulatory advantages have also provided priority

for federal funding and government contracting to disadvantaged

businesses, which may include Indian businesses. Tax incentives include

accelerated depreciation for businesses on tribal lands and employment

tax credits to businesses that employ tribal members.

 8

See Economic Development: Multiple Federal Programs Fund Similar Economic

Development Activities (GAO/RCED/GGD-00-220, Sept. 29, 2000).

9

31 U.S.C. Chapter 75.
Page 5 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

In addition to federal support for economic development, Indians may

receive funds or services from state and local government programs,

philanthropic organizations, nonprofit organizations, and private sector

businesses.

We identified 100 federal programs that were available to assist tribes or

tribal members with economic development activities10 from 1997 through

1999, of which 98 remain available for use.11 These programs are operated

by different agencies and are used for various activities. The programs also

vary significantly in how directly they provide assistance. For example,

some programs are targeted to Indian applicants or beneficiaries, such as

the Aid to Tribal Governments program. For several Department of

Agriculture (USDA) programs, a portion of the funding is earmarked for

projects that benefit Indians. Some programs—such as the Grants for

Public Works and Economic Development program—explicitly include

Indians among the eligible applicants and beneficiaries. Also, for programs

such as the Small Business Loans program, Indians may be eligible to use

the program even though the program does not specifically designate

Indians as applicants. Finally, some programs provide funds to applicants,

such as states, that may subsequently use the funds in a way that benefits

Indians; for instance, the Community Development Block

Grants/Entitlement Grants program is such a program. Appendix II

contains information on each program.

As shown in table 1, these programs are operated by 18 federal agencies,

most of which have more than 1 of these economic development

programs. Over two-thirds of the programs are operated by five agencies—

USDA; the Department of Commerce (DOC), which includes the

Economic Development Administration (EDA); the Small Business

Administration (SBA); the Department of Housing and Urban

Development (HUD); and DOI, which includes BIA.

 10We identified these programs primarily by using CFDA. We did not include programs that

can assist with economic development activities, but that were not available to Indians. For

example, two agencies operate programs that provide economic development assistance

that is limited to the U.S. Territories of Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the

Northern Mariana Islands; and the freely associated States of the Federated States of

Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

11Two programs—Economic Development/State and Local Economic Planning (CFDA

number 11.305) and Tribal Self-Governance Grants (CFDA number 15.023)—are no longer

available for use, but are included in our analyses.

About 100 Federal

Programs Are

Available to Tribes

and Tribal Members

for Economic

Development
Page 6 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

Table 1: Number of Federal Programs, by Agency, That Can Be Used to Fund

Economic Development Activities of Tribes and Tribal Members

Agency

Number of programs that can

fund economic development

Department of Agriculture 18

Department of Commerce 18

Small Business Administration 13

Department of Housing and Urban

Development

11

Department of the Interior 11

Department of Defense 7

Department of Transportation 5

Appalachian Regional Commission 3

Department of Health and Human

Services

3

Department of Energy 2

General Services Administration 2

Denali Commission 1

Department of Education 1

Department of the Treasury 1

Environmental Protection Agency 1

National Credit Union Administration 1

National Foundation on the Arts and

the Humanities

1

Overseas Private Investment

Corporation

1

Source: GAO’s analysis of CFDA program information.

In general, the economic development activities that these programs

support include economic development planning assistance; capacitybuilding assistance, such as for establishing codes for operating

businesses on tribal lands; financing for business enterprises; and

technical assistance through a variety of means, such as project grants,

block grants, loans, loan guarantees, and technical assistance. In addition,

the programs support activities in areas such as agriculture, mining,

forestry, fish and wildlife, manufacturing, or general business. These

programs vary in the types of activities that they can fund, with some

programs focusing primarily on economic development activities and

other programs including economic development along with other types of

activities. For example, DOC’s Native American Program and BIA’s Indian

Economic Development program focus on economic and business

development, while HUD’s Indian Community Development Block Grant

Program and the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Native

American Programs address issues such as health, housing, and social
Page 7 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

services, along with economic development. The requirements of some

programs are designed to serve specific needs that differ on the basis of

such factors as geography, economic distress, industry type, and military

presence. For example, the Appalachian Regional Commission’s programs

must benefit a specific geographic region.

Some of the programs are targeted to Indians; others are available to a

wider range of applicants and beneficiaries or may include Indians who

meet the programs’ eligibility restrictions, which can include geography,

economic distress, industry type, military presence, or minority status.

Specifically, 16 of the programs are targeted to Indians and can be used for

economic development assistance, including 11 DOI programs, such as the

Aid to Tribal Governments program, and the programs that support

agriculture; fish, wildlife, and parks; minerals and mining; and forestry on

Indian lands. Also included among the targeted programs are HUD’s Indian

Community Development Block Grant Program and HHS’ Native American

Programs.

Information from both the single audit database and our visits to specific

tribes indicates that the extent of use of the programs we identified has

varied among tribal entities and across programs. Tribal entities that are

included in the database consist of tribal governments and nonprofit

organizations, such as housing authorities and schools.12 Of the 746 tribal

entities whose reports were included in the single audit database, 433

reported using at least 1 of the economic development programs during

the 3-year period of 1997 through 1999. Furthermore, 198 entities reported

using 3 or more programs. Many of the entities that did not report using

any of the programs were entities that focus on areas other than economic

development, such as education, social services, and health care.

The extent of the use of the programs also varied across tribes. Fifty-four

of the 100 programs were reported as used once or more by at least 1

tribal entity during 1997, 1998, or 1999. While the remaining programs

were not reported as used by tribal entities, they may have been used

during different years or by individuals and for-profit entities, neither of

 12Information from the database is presented by entity because we could not always

identify the tribal affiliation.

Tribal Entities’ Use of

Programs Has Varied
Page 8 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

which is included in the database.13 During this 3-year period, 20 programs

were reported as used by 15 or more tribal entities, and 12 of these

programs are targeted to Indians. As shown in table 2, these 20 programs

are funded through 5 federal agencies—HHS, HUD, DOI, DOC, and USDA.

Table 2: The Economic Development Programs Most Frequently Reported as Used by Tribal Entities, 1997 through 1999

Dollars in millions

Program name (CFDA number) Agency

Number of tribal

entities that used

the program Total amounta

Native American Programsb (93.612) HHS 256 $65

Indian Community Development Block Grant Programb (14.862) HUD 181 128

Aid to Tribal Governmentsb (15.020) DOI 122 52

Tribal Self-Governanceb (15.022) DOI 77 419

Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Programs on Indian Landsb (15.039) DOI 75 44

Forestry on Indian Landsb (15.035) DOI 51 18

Agriculture on Indian Landsb (15.034) DOI 46 9

Economic Development/Support for Planning Organizations (11.302) DOC 41 4

Community Development Block Grants/Entitlement Grants (14.218) HUD 34 10

Indian Economic Developmentb (15.032) DOI 32 5

Tribal Self-Governance Grantsb (15.023) DOI 28 29

Grants for Public Works and Economic Development (11.300) DOC 27 10

Irrigation Operations and Maintenance on Indian Landsb (15.049) DOI 24 6

National Forest/Dependent Rural Communities (10.670) USDA 24 1

Minerals and Mining on Indian Landsb (15.038) DOI 20 4

Indian Loans/Economic Developmentb (15.124) DOI 19 28

Rural Business Enterprise Grants (10.769) USDA 19 3

Community Development Block Grants/Special Purpose

Grants/Technical Assistance Program (14.227)

HUD

16

8

Economic Adjustment Assistance (11.307) DOC 16 9

Economic Development/State and Local Economic Development

Planning (11.305)

DOC 15 1

a

These totals may double count expenditures that were reported by both a recipient and a

subrecipient.

 bThese programs are targeted for use by Indians.

Source: GAO’s analysis of the single audit database.

 13Other reasons that the programs may not have been reported are that some programs are

limited to a specific area or industry that covers a small number of tribal entities, such as

Appalachia or farming, respectively, and some reports may not yet have been filed.

Appendix I of this report provides a more complete explanation of the limitations of the

database.
Page 9 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

These 20 programs generally provide assistance in the form of grants or

direct payments for specified uses. For example, eight of the DOI

programs provide direct payments for specific uses, such as supporting

general tribal government operations, protecting and restoring rangeland

and forests, conserving fish and wildlife resources, and operating

irrigation projects. HHS’ program provides direct loans and project grants

for implementing social and economic development strategies that

promote self-sufficiency. Eleven programs provide block grants and

project grants that can be used for activities such as developing small and

emerging businesses, constructing public works facilities to support jobs,

establishing strategies to reduce unemployment and increase incomes,

expanding economic opportunities, and supporting tribal self-governance.

Some of the programs provide other support in addition to direct

payments or grants. For example, BIA’s Forestry on Indian Lands program

provides advisory services and counseling, in addition to direct payments,

and USDA’s National Forest/Dependent Rural Communities program

provides training and the use of property, facilities, and equipment, in

addition to project grants. Another program, BIA’s Indian Loans/Economic

Development program provides guaranteed loans.

For the 3-year period that we reviewed, at least $196 million in grants was

reported for these programs,14 more than half of which (65 percent) was

provided through HUD’s Indian Community Development Block Grant

Program. About $556 million was reported for direct payments,15 the

majority of which (75 percent) was provided through BIA’s Tribal SelfGovernance program. Because some of these programs can be used for a

variety of activities, we could not identify the portion of these funds that

was used for economic development activities.

During our visits to Indian reservations and villages, we obtained

anecdotal information about the use of federal programs for economic

development activities. Tribal officials cited numerous examples of using

federal funding for business enterprises, including the following examples

of current businesses:

 14This amount excludes $65 million from HHS’ Native American Programs, which could

have been used for project grants or loans, and $8 million from HUD’s Community

Development Block Grants/Special Purpose Grants/Technical Assistance Program, which

could have been used for project grants or direct payments.

15This amount excludes $8 million from HUD’s Community Development Block

Grants/Special Purpose Grants/Technical Assistance Program, which could have been used

for project grants or direct payments.
Page 10 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

• At the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, members of the Oglala

Sioux tribe have formed a tribally chartered corporation, called the Lakota

Fund. This fund offers microenterprise loans to individuals, such as

artisans, and small business loans to business start-ups or existing

businesses. Two sources of federal funding used by the Lakota Fund

include SBA’s microlending program and USDA’s Empowerment Zones

Program.

• The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians has used federal funding for a

number of business enterprises. For example, an SBA loan guarantee

program was used to help develop First American Printing and Direct

Mail, which is a commercial printing enterprise.

• The Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma used funding from HUD’s Indian

Community Development Block Grant Program for the construction of a

golf course, in addition to other federal funds that were used to develop

the course. The golf course is the tribe’s major ongoing economic

development project.

Tribal officials also described planned activities for which (1) they were

seeking federal funding, including an apparel factory, a wood veneer

manufacturing facility, industrial sites, and a motel and conference center

complex, and (2) funding had not yet been decided, including restaurants,

tourism facilities, and wind power generation.

We reviewed agencywide performance information from the five agencies

with the most programs that could provide economic development

assistance to tribes—USDA, DOC, HUD, DOI, and SBA. In addition, we

reviewed performance information related to HHS’ Native American

Programs. All of these agencies had goals and objectives related to

economic development and measures related to job creation and

retention16 as well as other measures that varied among the agencies. In

general, the agencies reported that these programs were successful;

however, as might be expected, other than DOI, the reports did not

specifically focus on the impact and effectiveness of federal assistance to

tribes. Nonetheless, several initiatives are under way that might improve

future availability of information on the effectiveness of these economic

development programs.

 16Agencies used different methods to obtain job creation statistics, which included dividing

the designated funding by a “cost per job” that had been computed on the basis of its most

recent estimate of cost per job created; using the expected job information from approved

loan applications; and using grantee periodic self-reporting.

Although Agencies

Reported Progress in

General, Recent

Initiatives Might Help

Efforts to Assist

Indians
Page 11 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

The information available from agencies’ performance plans and reports

varied across the agencies, with BIA having the most information

describing impact on Indians. Specifically, the BIA portion of DOI’s 2002

performance plan and 2000 performance report addresses economic

development for tribal entities in the following three areas of its plan:

• community development, which includes an overall goal of strengthening

tribal communities through the development of self-sustaining economies

and improved infrastructure and a more specific goal of reducing the

unemployment rate among Indians from 43 percent in 1999 to 38 percent

by 2005;

• resource management, which includes an overall goal of assisting Indians

in protecting and preserving their natural resources and more specific

goals of reforestation of tribal lands so that forest owners can benefit from

the full productive capacity of their forests, restoration of trust lands for

agronomic uses, and management of fish and wildlife programs; and

• tribal government, which includes an overall goal of providing tribes with

the resources they need to foster strong and stable governments and

exercise their authority as sovereign nations and more specific goals of

promoting self-determination by conducting training and technical

assistance sessions and ensuring that tribal codes and court procedures

are developed and training sessions are held.

BIA included performance measures for community development that

covered the success rate of employment and training participants in

reaching their objectives, the number of businesses funded, and the

number of jobs created or sustained. BIA reported that it exceeded its

fiscal year 2000 goal for the first measure because tribes reported that 84

percent of the participants were placed in jobs, self-employed, or

completed planned education or training objectives. In addition, BIA

reported that, although these achievements did not meet its fiscal year

2000 goals for those measures, it provided funding for 41 businesses,

created 409 jobs, and sustained 434 jobs.

While the information on BIA’s performance did not include comparable

information for resource management and tribal government, it included

performance measures for the restoration of unproductive trust lands for

agronomic uses thus avoiding an economic loss of millions of dollars

annually to Indian people. In addition, the plan also included several

performance measures regarding fish and wildlife, including the number of

tribes assisted with establishing and maintaining treaty rights; the number

of intertribal comanagement programs receiving assistance; the number of

fishing access site maintenance projects funded; the number of fish

Performance Information

Related to Indians Varied

Among Agencies
Page 12 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

hatchery projects funded; and the number of tribes developing integrated

resource management plans.

For some of BIA’s programs, CFDA contained some information on

progress in these areas, as summarized below:

• The Forestry on Indian Lands program contributed to the reforestation of

about 14,000 acres in fiscal year 2000, and timber sales managed through

the program created about 9,000 person years of employment and

revenues of approximately $100 million.

• The Agriculture on Indian Lands program indicates that tribes and tribal

organizations received Noxious Weed Eradication awards that resulted in

treating approximately 80,000 acres of trust land.

• The Minerals and Mining on Indian Lands program facilitates over $200

million in annual income to tribes and allottees.

The performance plans and reports for HUD, USDA, SBA, and DOC

contained goals and objectives related to economic development. In

addition, with the exception of SBA, these agencies had measures related

to job creation and retention. In general, these agencies’ measures did not

focus on the impact and effectiveness of assistance provided to tribes. For

example, HUD provides job creation results for the Community

Development Block Grant program, but does not provide information on

tribes or tribal members assisted through the program. USDA officials

stated that, for some mission areas, Indians represent a small number of

clients, and that the agency does not assess the impact of programs on

them. According to the Native American Coordinator, in the rural

development mission area, USDA’s state offices prepare strategic plans

covering the delivery of assistance for each federally recognized Indian

tribe; however, these are handled at the state level and may not be

specifically mentioned in USDA’s performance plans and reports.

In some cases, these agencies measured the use of programs by tribal

entities in terms of the amount of assistance provided to tribal entities or

the number of tribal entities assisted. For example, SBA, under its goal of

helping small businesses succeed, states that it plans to increase the

number of clients that are provided access to business development

assistance to 1.4 million, including 5,000 through Tribal Business

Information Centers.17 Similarly, DOC’s 2000 performance report states

 17Tribal Business Information Centers provide information and technology to support small

businesses.
Page 13 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

that fiscal year 2000 initiatives for Native Americans led to an appreciable

increase over fiscal year 1999 in the number of Indian communities

assisted. DOC officials said that the Economic Development/Support for

Planning Organizations program provides annual planning grants to 61

tribes. In addition, although HHS has only three economic developmentrelated programs, its Native American Programs, which provides a broad

range of services, is specifically addressed in HHS’ performance plan

under the strategic goal of increasing the health and prosperity of

communities and tribes. One of the plan’s performance goals is to increase

the provision of training and technical assistance to tribes. This goal

includes the use of contractors to assist tribes and native communities in

conceptualizing strategies for social and economic development.

During our visits to reservations and discussions with tribal

representatives, we identified anecdotal information on tribes’

experiences in using federal economic development programs. Some of

these experiences resulted in currently operating business enterprises,

such as the microenterprise loan program, printing business, and golf

course that we described previously in this report. Tribal officials also

described experiences that involved the use of federal assistance and

resulted in businesses that had failed, such as a saddle-making shop, a

wood treatment facility, a meat-processing business, and an electronics

manufacturing business. The reasons given for business failures included

the lack of managerial expertise, the lack of capital, political interference,

and competition.

Tribes with whom we met shared a number of concerns related to

receiving federal assistance, as summarized below:

• Access to capital is difficult for tribes, sometimes because they have

insufficient collateral. Consequently, they have difficulty making funds

available to meet the matching fund requirements of many federal

programs.

• Some tribes indicated that businesses need resources at times when the

federal funding is not available; thus it seems that the federal programs are

not flexible enough to meet time-critical business opportunities.

• Tribes do not have the people or expertise needed to handle the

administrative and paperwork requirements of federal programs.

Consequently, tribes may avoid using a program because the program’s

requirements seem onerous, or tribes may spend a large amount of the

federal funds on those requirements, leaving less for needy projects.

• Tribes cannot rely on federal funds to be available long enough to keep

projects running. More than one tribe mentioned that they were able to
Page 14 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

obtain funds to initiate a project but were not able to obtain funds to

continue the project to a point where it would be self-sustaining.

• Many tribes said they had never been successful in obtaining funds from

specific agencies and thus were discouraged from trying in the future.

The federal government has made a number of efforts to encourage

agencies to coordinate their efforts to provide economic development

assistance to Indians. For example, the Native American Business

Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 requires DOC to

establish an Office of Native American Business Development.18 This office

is charged with coordinating federal programs relating to Indian economic

development, including those programs of any federal agency charged

with Indian economic development responsibilities. DOC has placed the

responsibility for the office within EDA, but the office has not yet been

established due to a lack of funding. In addition, before this legislation,

DOC prepared a draft plan entitled Five-Year Strategic Plan to Promote

and Support Economic Self-Sufficiency for American Indians and

Alaska Natives, FY 2001 - FY 2006, which recognized the need to

coordinate within DOC on providing assistance to Indians. This plan

included goals related to access to capital, assistance with exporting, and

technology infrastructure. According to DOC, this plan has not yet been

implemented or integrated into the agency’s overall plan. DOC reported

that it is working on plans to collaborate with other federal agencies on

ways to evaluate and measure crosscutting activities related to improving

economic development assistance for distressed communities.

A 2000 Executive Order reiterates the goals of a previous executive

communication and requires agencies to establish regular and meaningful

consultation and collaboration with Indian tribal governments on federal

regulatory matters, unfunded mandates, and the availability of waivers.

The order requires federal agencies to designate a responsible agency

official to implement the order. Each of the agencies with the most

economic development programs available to Indians—USDA, DOC, HUD,

SBA, and DOI—have either designated a tribal consultation official or are

in the process of making such a designation.

Another initiative stems from a 1998 executive memorandum that directed

DOI, DOC, and SBA to develop a strategic plan for coordinating economic

 18Pub. L. No. 106-464 (2000).

Recent Federal Initiatives

Might Help Coordinate

Efforts to Assist Indians
Page 15 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

development initiatives for Native American and Alaska Native

communities. These agencies developed a plan to improve coordination

among federal agencies by (1) increasing access to federal economic

development programs and assistance, (2) increasing opportunities in

tribal communities, and (3) identifying and addressing gaps in the delivery

of federal economic development assistance. The ultimate goal of the plan

was to increase the effectiveness of, and access to, economic development

programs among Indians. Among the outcomes of the plan was

establishing within HUD an information referral service—called Native

EDGe—to identify federal economic development programs and initiatives

that are available to Indians; this service is available via a toll-free

telephone number and the Internet. The director of this program told us

that, since the service began in April 2000, the Internet site has been

visited by over 36,000 individuals, resulting in the provision of ongoing

assistance for approximately 625 economic development projects. In

addition, over 2,000 requests for information have been received through

the toll-free number and about 7,000 requests for publications have been

received via the Internet or by telephone.

During the last 10 years, studies have stated that multiple factors affect the

ability of Indians to support economic development. As noted in a 1992

study on Indian economic development, achieving sustained, selfdetermined economic development among Indians requires tribes to build

on their sovereignty by creating institutions that can plan and develop

economic policies and projects that are appropriate for the culture and

history of the tribe.19 A 1998 report cites similar factors that are important

to economic development among Alaska Natives.20 Specifically, the report

emphasizes the importance of sovereignty, self-determination, and

developing institutions to support employment and business expansion as

well as sustained access to capital. Finally, a report from the Harvard

Project on American Indian Economic Development identified three keys

to Indian economic development: tribal sovereignty, which means that

tribes make their own decisions regarding approaches and resources;

culture, which means that tribal decisions are consistent with tribal

 19What Can Tribes Do? Strategies and Institutions in American Indian Economic

Development, Stephen Cornell and Joseph P. Kalt, American Indian Studies Center,

University of California, 1992.

20Expanding Job Opportunities for Alaska Natives (Interim Report), Institute of Social

and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage, Nov. 1998.

External Studies

Indicated That

Economic

Development Efforts

Depend on Many

Factors
Page 16 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

culture; and institutions, which means that decisions regarding businesses

are separated from decisions regarding tribal governance.21 The

implications of these studies are that the effectiveness of federal programs

is intricately linked with the ability of tribes to incorporate the programs

into their economic development plans.

Many federal programs are available to Indians to assist with economic

development activities, and some tribes are using these programs.

Although agencies generally reported that their programs have assisted

economic development in ways such as creating and retaining jobs, little

information is known about the effectiveness of these programs as they

relate to Indians. However, the continuation of and support for existing

mechanisms—such as preparing performance plans and reports,

designating agency points of contact, and establishing a single office to

coordinate federal programs relating to Indian economic development—

has the potential to improve Indians’ access to federal programs and to

provide federal decisionmakers with performance information that is

more directly related to Indians.

We provided copies of a draft of this report for review and comment to

USDA, DOC, DOI, HUD, and SBA. These agencies generally agreed with

the information in the draft report and provided technical clarifications,

which we incorporated where appropriate.

As part of its comments, USDA emphasized that historical grant cycles

have tended to perpetuate tribal dependency on federal programs rather

than promote self-sufficiency because they focus on discrete projects, and

that federal assistance programs could be better coordinated and amended

to encourage long-term planning. USDA added that the effectiveness of

federal programs could be improved through the funding and subsequent

implementation of the Office of Native American Business Development.

DOI offered several observations in its comments on the draft report.

First, DOI noted that BIA has taken steps to establish a partnership with

some tribes in order to develop a strategy to coordinate and integrate all

 21Patterns of Indian Enterprise Success: A Statistical Analysis of Tribal and Individual

Indian Enterprise Performance, The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic

Development, Miriam R. Jorgensen and Jonathan Taylor, Feb. 2000.

Conclusions

Agency Comments
Page 17 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

available resources, including federal resources. DOI added that these

tribes have generally been supportive of and satisfied with BIA’s efforts.

Second, DOI noted that some initiatives have not succeeded due to lack of

funding, such as an initiative involving the coordination of economic

development activities that are managed by DOI, DOC, and SBA. Finally,

DOI provided information on its efforts to coordinate employment,

training, and related services among federal agencies, which DOI states

placed over 15,000 Indians in jobs in fiscal year 2001. We did not include

this effort in our study because we did not include employment and

training programs in our review.

We are sending copies of this report to the Secretaries of Agriculture,

Interior, Commerce, and Housing and Urban Development; the

Administrator of SBA; and the appropriate congressional committees. We

will also make copies available to others on request.

If you have any questions about this report, please contact Nancy

Simmons or me at (202) 512-8678. Key contributors to this assignment

were Kathleen Clarke, Jeff Malcolm, Dan Meyer, Andy Pauline, and

Desiree Whipple.

Thomas J. McCool

Managing Director, Financial Markets and

 Community Investment
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

Page 18 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

In developing this report, we used various approaches to address federal

efforts to provide economic development among tribes and tribal

members. The major components of our approaches included identifying

economic development-related programs that are available to Indians;

identifying tribal entities and analyzing the single audit database to

determine program use; reviewing agencies’ performance plans and

reports, and visiting reservations and villages and talking with tribal

officials and officials from other tribal organizations. The focus of our

review was on federal assistance; however, other sources also provide

assistance to tribes, including states and philanthropic organizations.

Tribal revenues from federal settlements over land and resource matters

and other tribal businesses, particularly casino gaming, have been cited by

tribes as significant resources for economic development funding for some

tribes.

We identified economic development programs primarily by searching the

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) as well as using other

information. Key search terms that were used included variations of those

in the legislative mandate: economic development, job creation,

entrepreneurship, and business development. In addition to determining

which programs were related to economic development, we also identified

whether the programs were targeted to tribes; whether tribes were listed

as an eligible applicant; and, if not explicitly listed as eligible applicants,

whether tribes or tribal members could meet the eligibility criteria. We

generally did not include programs that mainly funded infrastructure, such

as roads and streets; programs that funded revolving loan funds; or

programs that responded to natural disasters. We also reviewed various

federal and Indian Web sites as well as agency documents that provided

information on available programs. We did not include programs that

primarily provided economic infrastructure, although such infrastructure

may be necessary for economic development.

To determine which programs the tribes used, we analyzed information

from a database that is operated by the Bureau of the Census’ Federal

Audit Clearinghouse on behalf of the Office of Management and Budget.

This database contains audit information from reports that are submitted

by any state, local government, or nonprofit organization that expends

$300,000 or more in federal awards within a year. The information we used

from the database included the reporting entity’s name and employer

identification number, the CFDA number, the program name, and the

amount expended. We identified tribal entities by searching for key words

in entity names, such as tribe, band, and Indian; identifying entities that

used programs that were targeted to Indians; and matching employer

Appendix I: Scope and Methodology
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

Page 19 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

identification numbers obtained from an Internal Revenue Service listing

of tribal entities. Using this list of tribal entities, we determined which

programs were reported as used during 1997 through 1999. We report

information by tribal entities because tribes may file reports for multiple

entities, such as for a housing authority, school board, health

organizations, and others. Entities may also represent multiple tribes

through consortiums that provide services to multiple tribes.

Consequently, information may have been counted more than once if both

a consortium (initial recipient) and another tribal entity (subrecipient)

reported the same expenditure.

We did not independently assess the reliability of the single audit

database. However, the Department of Commerce’s Office of Inspector

General performed a review of the database to assist other users in

assessing the accuracy of the fiscal year 1998 audit report information in

the database.1

 Their review included comparing the information in the

database with information provided on the original data collection forms.

The Office of Inspector General reported that they tested 22,563 data

elements and found 370 errors. The majority of those errors were

attributed to incorrect or incomplete information on the original forms.

For the 3 years of report information that we used from the Indian entities,

we found that we could not use about 10 percent of the CFDA numbers

because they were not reported in the standard CFDA numbering format.

Consequently, the information we report may undercount the use of the

100 programs as well as the amount of funds expended. We believe this

undercounting is low because (1) in many cases where this occurred, the

entity reported other programs using the standard CFDA numbering

format, so that we were able to include other information for that entity

and (2) we discussed information from the database with the relevant

Indian tribes as part of our visits, and the tribal officials did not identify

any errors in these data.

To determine agencies’ assessments of the effectiveness of their economic

development programs, we reviewed the most recent annual performance

plans and performance reports, which are prepared in compliance with the

Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, for the five agencies

 1

Bureau of the Census: Agreed-Upon Procedures and Results Assessment of Federal Audit

Clearinghouse Database Fiscal Year 1998 Audit Reports (Final Audit Report No. ATL12556-0-0001/July 2000).
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

Page 20 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

that had the greatest number of programs available to tribes for economic

development. These agencies were the Departments of Agriculture,

Commerce, Interior, and Housing and Urban Development and the Small

Business Administration. We also reviewed other information, such as the

CFDA information on program accomplishments, as well as information

available on agencies’ Web sites and information provided to us by the

agencies.

To better understand the economic situation among tribes and their

experiences with federal programs, we also visited reservations and spoke

with tribal representatives and officials of tribal organizations and

associations. In addition, we attended Indian business conferences. We

selected tribes to visit on the basis of factors such as land size, population,

degree of economic distress, proximity to urban and rural areas, and

proximity to other tribes. We also included tribes that were recommended

to us by agency and congressional staffs. We spoke with representatives

from the following tribes:

• Colville Confederated Tribes

• Kalispel Tribe of Indians

• Lower Brule Sioux Tribe

• Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin

• Miami Tribe of Oklahoma

• Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians

• Native Village of Minto

• Native Village of Tyonek

• Nenana Native Association

• Oglala Sioux Tribe

• Oneida Nation of Wisconsin

• Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma

• Pueblo of Zuni

• Ramah Navajo Chapter

• Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians

In conjunction with our tribal visits, we contacted other tribal

organizations, associations, and entities that were involved in economic

development activities. These included Alaska Village Initiatives; Doyon

Limited, Inc.; National Indian Business Association; Nenana Village

Corporation; Tanana Chiefs Conference, Inc.; Tyonek Village Corporation;

and United Sioux Tribes of South Dakota Development Corporation.
Appendix II: Federal Programs Available to

Tribes and Tribal Members to Fund Economic

Development Activities

Page 21 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

The programs that we have identified may be targeted so that they are

available only to tribes and tribal members or may be available to tribes

and tribal members on the basis of other program eligibility criteria. Table

3 shows the programs that are targeted to tribes and tribal members, and

table 4 shows programs that are available to Indians as well as others. For

some of the programs in table 4, a portion of the program is targeted to

Indians.

In each table, the programs are listed by federal department or agency.

These programs offer various types of assistance and have different

objectives. The economic development objectives are those that relate to

job creation, entrepreneurship, and business development. For a more

comprehensive listing of information on each program, see CFDA or

search the on-line CFDA at www.cfda.gov.

Table 3: Federal Programs That Are Available Only to Indians

Program name

CFDA

number Type of assistance Economic development objectives

Department of Agriculture

Indian Tribes and Tribal

Corporation Loans

10.421 Direct loans To enable federally recognized Indian tribes and tribal

corporations to acquire land within tribal reservations

and Alaskan communities

Department of Commerce

Native American Program 11.801 Project grants To provide electronic and one-on-one business

development service to Native Americans interested in

entering, expanding, or improving their efforts in the

marketplace

Department of Health and

Human Services

Native American Programs 93.612 Project grants; direct

loans

To provide assistance for the implementation of social

and economic development strategies that promote selfsufficiency as well as projects that are expected to result

in improved social and economic conditions

Department of Housing and

Urban Development

Indian Community

Development Block Grant

Program

14.862 Project grants To provide assistance to Indian tribes and Alaska Native

villages in the development of viable Indian communities

(including economic development projects)

Department of the Interior

Aid to Tribal Governments 15.020 Direct payments for

specified use

To provide funds to Indian tribal governments to support

general tribal government operations and to develop

appropriate tribal policies, legislation, and regulations

Tribal Self-Governance 15.022 Direct payments for

specified use

To further the goals of Indian self-determination by

providing funds to Indian tribes to administer a wide

range of programs with maximum administrative and

programmatic flexibility

Tribal Self-Governance

Grantsa

15.023 Project grants To support tribal self-governance planning, negotiation,

and related activities

Appendix II: Federal Programs Available to

Tribes and Tribal Members to Fund

Economic Development Activities
Appendix II: Federal Programs Available to

Tribes and Tribal Members to Fund Economic

Development Activities

Page 22 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

Program name

CFDA

number Type of assistance Economic development objectives

Indian Economic Development 15.032 Direct payments for

specified use

To assist federally recognized Indian tribal governments

to develop resources to improve their economies

through administration of credit programs and other

economic development assistance activities

Agriculture on Indian Lands 15.034 Direct payments for

specified use; provision

of specialized services;

advisory services and

counseling

To protect and restore the agronomic and rangeland

resources on trust lands and facilitate the development

of renewable agricultural resources

Forestry on Indian Lands 15.035 Direct payments for

specified use; provision

of specialized services;

advisory services and

counseling

To maintain, protect, enhance, and develop Indian forest

resources through the execution of forest management

activities

Minerals and Mining on Indian

Lands

15.038 Direct payments for

specified use; provision

of specialized services;

dissemination of technical

information

To assist and support the inventory and prudent

development of energy and mineral resources on Indian

lands

Fish, Wildlife, and Parks

Programs on Indian Lands

15.039 Direct payments for

specified use

To promote the conservation, development, and use of

fish, wildlife, and recreational resources for sustenance,

cultural enrichment, economic support, and maximum

benefit of Indians

Irrigation Operations and

Maintenance on Indian Lands

15.049 Direct payments for

specified use; use of

property, facilities, and

equipment; provision of

specialized services

To operate and maintain the irrigation water delivery

systems on Indian irrigation projects

Indian Loans/Economic

Development

15.124 Guaranteed or insured

loans

To assist Indians in obtaining financing from private

sources to promote business development initiatives on

or near federally recognized Indian reservations

Indian Arts and Crafts

Development

15.850 Use of property, facilities,

and equipment; advisory

services and counseling

To encourage and promote the development of

American Indian and Alaska Native arts and crafts

Department of

Transportation

Tribal Colleges

Entrepreneurial Training and

Technical Assistance

20.908 Project grants To support tribal colleges and universities to encourage,

promote, and assist minority entrepreneurs through

projects that provide training on how to compete for

projects funded through the Department of

Transportation

a

Budget authority for this program expired in 2000.

Source: CFDA.
Appendix II: Federal Programs Available to

Tribes and Tribal Members to Fund Economic

Development Activities

Page 23 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

Table 4: Federal Programs That Are Available to Indians and Others

Program name

CFDA

number Type of assistance Economic development objectives

Department of Agriculture

Farm Storage Facility Loans 10.056 Direct loans To encourage the construction of farm storage capacity

Forestry Incentives Program 10.064 Direct payments To provide cost sharing for tree planting, timber stand

improvement, and site preparation for natural

regeneration

Farm Operating Loans 10.406 Direct loans; guaranteed

and insured loans

To enable operators of family farms to operate

efficiently and maintain financially viable farming and

ranching operations

Farm Ownership Loans 10.407 Direct loans; guaranteed

and insured loans

To assist in becoming owner-operators of farms; make

efficient use of land, labor, and other resources; and

carry on successful farming operations

Small Farmer Outreach

Training and Technical

Assistance Program

10.443 Project grants To encourage and assist socially disadvantaged

farmers and ranchers to own and operate farms

National Forest/Dependent

Rural Communities

10.670 Project grants; use of

property, facilities, and

equipment; training

To assist rural communities that are in or near national

forests and dependent on forest resources in

developing strategic action plans to diversify and

improve their economic base

Rural Development, Forestry,

and Communities

10.672 Project grants To help rural areas analyze and assess forest resource

opportunities and maximize economic potential through

market development and expansion, and diversify

communities’ economic base

Community Facilities Loans

and Grants

10.766 Project grants; direct

loans

To construct, enlarge, extend, or otherwise improve

community facilities—for example, industrial park sites

Intermediary Relending

Program

10.767 Direct loans To finance business facilities and community

development

Business and Industry Loans 10.768 Direct loans; guaranteed

and insured loans

To obtain quality loans for improving, developing, or

financing business and industry

Rural Business Enterprise

Grants

10.769 Project grants To facilitate the development of small and emerging

private business, industry, and related employment

Rural Cooperative

Development Grants

10.771 Project grants To establish and operate centers for rural cooperative

development to improve economic conditions in rural

areas by promoting the development of new

cooperatives and/or improvement of existing

cooperatives

Empowerment Zones Program 10.772 Project grants To stimulate the creation of new jobs and to promote

revitalization of economically distressed areas

Rural Business Opportunity

Grants

10.773 Project grants To promote sustainable economic development in rural

communities with exceptional needs

National Sheep Industry

Improvement Center

10.774 Project grants; direct

payments for specified

use; direct loans;

guaranteed and insured

loans

To assist the U.S. sheep and goat industries by

strengthening and enhancing the production and

marketing of sheep and goats and their products in the

United States

Rural Economic Development

Loans and Grants

10.854 Project grants; direct

loans

To promote rural economic development and job

creation projects, including funding for project feasibility

studies, start-up costs, and incubator projects

Resource Conservation and 10.901 Advisory services and To encourage and improve the capability of entities in
Appendix II: Federal Programs Available to

Tribes and Tribal Members to Fund Economic

Development Activities

Page 24 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

Program name

CFDA

number Type of assistance Economic development objectives

Development counseling rural areas to plan, develop, and carry out programs for

resource conservation and development

Department of Commerce

Commercial Service 11.108 Advisory services and

counseling

To assist and encourage firms to export or expand their

export marketing efforts

Foreign Trade Zones in the

United States

11.111 Provision of specialized

services

To help firms reduce customs costs and help improve a

domestic operation’s international competitiveness

International Trade

Administration Special Projects

11.113 Project grants To promote job creation through projects designed to

provide small to medium-sized businesses with export

assistance to specified overseas markets

Grants for Public Works and

Economic Development

11.300 Project grants To assist in the construction of public works and

development facilities needed to initiate and support the

creation or retention of permanent jobs in the private

sector in areas experiencing substantial economic

distress

Economic

Development/Support for

Planning Organizations

11.302 Project grants To help strengthen economic development planning

capability and formulate and establish comprehensive

economic development, process, and strategies

designed to reduce unemployment and increase

incomes

Economic

Development/Technical

Assistance

11.303 Project grants To promote economic development in distressed areas

by supporting innovative economic development

projects and financing feasibility studies and other

projects leading to local economic development

Economic Development/State

and Local Economic

Development Planninga

11.305 Project grants To help governments strengthen economic

development planning to reduce unemployment and

increase incomes

Economic Adjustment

Assistance

11.307 Project grants To assist state and local interests to design and

implement strategies to adjust or bring about change to

an economy, focusing on areas that have experienced

or are under threat of serious structural damage to the

underlying economic base

Research and Evaluation

Program

11.312 Project grants To assist in the formulation and implementation of

national, state, and local programs that will raise income

levels and otherwise produce solutions to excessive

unemployment and underemployment

Trade Adjustment Assistance 11.313 Project grants To provide trade adjustment assistance to firms and

industries adversely affected by increased imports

Fisheries Development and

Utilization Research and

Development Grants and

Cooperative Agreements

Program

11.427 Project grants To increase greatly the nation’s wealth and quality of life

through sustainable fisheries that support fishing

industry jobs, safe and wholesome seafood, and

recreational opportunities

Technology Opportunities 11.552 Project grants To promote the widespread use and availability of

advanced telecommunications and information

technologies in the public and nonprofit sectors to foster

economic development

Manufacturing Extension

Partnership

11.611 Dissemination of

technical information

To establish, maintain, and support manufacturing

extension centers and services to improve the

competitiveness of firms accelerating the use of

appropriate manufacturing technology
Appendix II: Federal Programs Available to

Tribes and Tribal Members to Fund Economic

Development Activities

Page 25 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

Program name

CFDA

number Type of assistance Economic development objectives

Experimental Program to

Stimulate Competitive

Technology

11.614 Project grants To support technology-based economic growth in

eligible jurisdictions by promoting partnerships between

governments, universities, community colleges,

nonprofit organizations, and the private sector

Minority Business Development

Centers

11.800 Project grants To provide electronic and one-on-one business

development services to minority firms and individuals

interested in entering, expanding, or improving their

efforts in the marketplace

Minority Business Development 11.802 Project grants To provide for indirect business assistance for programs

that encourage minority business development

Minority Business Opportunity

Committee Development

11.806 Project grants To provide minority business owners with enhanced

access to the marketplace by identifying marketing and

sales opportunities, financing resources, potential joint

venture partners, timely market leads, and other current

business information

Department of Defense

Procurement Technical

Assistance for Business Firms

12.002 Project grants To provide marketing and technical assistance to (1)

business firms in selling their goods and services to

federal agencies and (2) state and local governments to

generate employment and to improve the general

economy of a locality

Planning Assistance to States 12.110 Provision of specialized

services

To cooperate with any state in the preparation of

comprehensive plans for the development, use, and

conservation of water and related land resources of

drainage basins located within the boundaries of such

state

Community Economic

Adjustment

12.600 Provision of specialized

services; advisory

services and counseling

To help communities, regions, and states alleviate

serious economic impacts that result from defense

program changes—for example, base openings,

expansions and closings, contract changes, and

personnel reductions and increases

Community Economic

Adjustment Planning

Assistance

12.607 Project grants To assist local governments or states, on behalf of local

governments, to undertake community economic

adjustment planning activities to respond to military

base closures and realignments

Community Economic

Adjustment Planning

Assistance for Reductions in

Defense Industry Employment

12.611 Project grants To assist local governments to undertake economic

adjustment planning activities to respond to major

reductions in defense industry employment resulting

from the cancellation, termination, or failure to proceed

with a major Department of Defense acquisition

Community Base Reuse Plans 12.612 Project grants To assist local governments to conduct community base

reuse plans at closing or realigning military installations

Growth Management Planning

Assistance

12.613 Project grants To assist local governments to undertake community

economic adjustment planning activities to respond to

military base openings or expansions

Department of Education

Projects with Industry 84.234 Project grants To create and expand job and career opportunities for

individuals with disabilities in the competitive labor

market by partnering with private industry to provide job

training and placement
Appendix II: Federal Programs Available to

Tribes and Tribal Members to Fund Economic

Development Activities

Page 26 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

Program name

CFDA

number Type of assistance Economic development objectives

Department of Energy

Management and Technical

Assistance for Minority

Business Enterprises

81.082 Advisory services and

counseling

To support increased participation of minority- and

women-owned small businesses and operated business

enterprises and to transfer applicable technology from

national federal laboratories to minority business

enterprises

National Industrial

Competitiveness Through

Energy, Environment, and

Economics

81.105 Project grants To generate new processes and/or equipment that can

significantly reduce the use of energy and energyintensive feedstocks and reduce the generation of

wastes in industry

Department of Health and

Human Services

Community Services Block

Grant/Discretionary Awards

93.570 Project grants To support program activities to alleviate causes of

poverty in distressed communities by promoting full-time

permanent jobs for poverty-level project area residents

as well as other activities

Job Opportunities for LowIncome Individuals93.593 Project grants To create new employment and business opportunities

through self-employment, microenterprise, new

business ventures, and expansion of existing

businesses for welfare recipients and other low-income

individuals

Department of Housing and

Urban Development

Community Development Block

Grants/Entitlement Grants

14.218 Formula grants To develop viable urban communities by (1) providing

decent housing and a suitable living environment and

(2) expanding economic opportunities, principally for

persons of low and moderate income

Community Development Block

Grants/Small Cities Program

14.219 Project grants To develop viable urban communities by (1) providing

decent housing and a suitable living environment and

(2) expanding economic opportunities, principally for

persons of low and moderate income

Community Development Block

Grants/Special Purpose

Grants/Technical Assistance

Program

14.227 Project grants; direct

payments for specified

use

To help plan, develop, and administer local Community

Development Block Grant programs

Community Development Block

Grants/State’s Program

14.228 Formula grants To develop viable urban communities by (1) providing

decent housing and a suitable living environment and

(2) expanding economic opportunities, principally for

persons of low and moderate income

Empowerment Zones Program 14.244 Project grants To stimulate the creation of new jobs and to promote

revitalization of economically distressed areas

Community Development Block

Grants/Economic Development

Initiative

14.246 Project grants To help public entities that are eligible under the Section

108 Loan Guarantee Program carry out economic

development projects

Community Development Block

Grants/Section 108 Loan

Guarantee Program

14.248 Guaranteed and insured

loans

To provide communities with a source of financing for

economic development, housing rehabilitation, public

facilities, and large-scale physical development projects

Rural Housing and Economic

Development

14.250 Project grants To expand the supply of affordable housing and access

to economic opportunities in rural areas

Community Outreach

Partnership Center Program

14.511 Project grants To fund partnerships between institutions of higher

education and communities to solve urban problems
Appendix II: Federal Programs Available to

Tribes and Tribal Members to Fund Economic

Development Activities

Page 27 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

Program name

CFDA

number Type of assistance Economic development objectives

through research, outreach, and exchange of

information

Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian

Institutions Assisting

Communities

14.515 Project grants To help Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian institutions

of higher education address community development

needs in their localities, including neighborhood

revitalization, housing, and economic development

Department of

Transportation

Development and Promotion of

Ports and Intermodal

Transportation

20.801 Advisory services and

counseling; dissemination

of technical information

To promote and plan for the development and use of

domestic waterways, ports, and port facilities

Bonding Assistance Program 20.904 Insurance To enhance and further the opportunity for Small and

Disadvantaged Business Enterprises to obtain bid,

performance, and payment bonds for transportationrelated contracts

Disadvantaged Business

Enterprises Short Term

Lending Program

20.905 Direct loans To enhance and further the opportunity of

Disadvantaged Business Enterprises to obtain accounts

receivable financing for the performance of

transportation-related contracts

Hispanic Serving Institutions

Entrepreneurial Training and

Technical Assistance

20.906 Project grants To enhance Disadvantaged Business Enterprises and

small business opportunity to successfully compete on

Department of Transportation contracts and funded

projects

Department of the Treasury

Community Development

Financial Institutions Program

21.020 Project grants To promote economic revitalization and community

development through investment in and assistance to

community development financial institutions

Appalachian Regional

Commission

Appalachian Area

Development

23.002 Project grants To support the Appalachian Regional Commission’s

mission to create opportunities for self-sustaining

economic development and improved quality of life in

the region

Appalachian Local

Development District

Assistance

23.009 Project grants To provide planning and development resources in

multicounty areas; to help develop the technical

competence essential to sound development assistance

Appalachian State Research,

Technical Assistance, and

Demonstration Projects

23.011 Project grants To research or demonstrate the feasibility of plans and

programs for concerted economic and social

development

Denali Commission

Denali Commission Program 90.100 Project grants To provide critical utilities and infrastructure, particularly

in distressed areas, to reduce unemployment and raise

standards of living

Environmental Protection

Agency

Brownfields Pilots Cooperative

Agreements

66.811 Project grants To respond to environmental conditions inhibiting

redevelopment of brownfield sites and provide financial

assistance for revolving loan funds for brownfield

cleanups
Appendix II: Federal Programs Available to

Tribes and Tribal Members to Fund Economic

Development Activities

Page 28 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

Program name

CFDA

number Type of assistance Economic development objectives

General Services

Administration

Business Services 39.001 Advisory services and

counseling

To promote the interest and participation of business

concerns—especially small businesses, small

disadvantaged businesses, and women-owned small

businesses—in government procurement

Donation of Federal Surplus

Personal Property

39.003 Sale, exchange, or

donation of property and

goods

To donate federal personal property no longer required

for federal use to public agencies and qualifying

nonprofit entities

National Credit Union

Administration

Community Development

Revolving Loan Program for

Credit Unions

44.002 Direct loans To support low-income credit unions in their efforts to

stimulate economic development activities that result in

increased income, ownership, and employment

opportunities for low-income residents

National Foundation on the

Arts and the Humanities

Promotion of the Arts/Grants to

Organizations and Individuals

45.024 Project grants To support the visual, literary, media, design, and

performing arts; significant arts programs intended for

national distribution on television or radio; and published

creative writers and literary translators of exceptional

talent through individual fellowships

Overseas Private Investment

Corporation

Foreign Investment Insurance 70.003 Insurance To insure investments of eligible U.S. investors in

developing countries and emerging markets against the

political risks of inconvertibility, expropriation, and

political violence

Small Business

Administration

Business Development

Assistance to Small Business

59.005 Advisory services and

counseling; dissemination

of technical information;

training

To help the prospective, as well as the present, small

business person improve skills to manage and operate

a business

8(a) Business Development 59.006 Provision of specialized

services

To foster business ownership by individuals who are

both socially and economically disadvantaged and to

promote the competitive viability of such firms by

providing business development assistance

Management and Technical

Assistance

59.007 Project grants To provide business development assistance for

socially and economically disadvantaged businesses

Procurement Assistance to

Small Businesses

59.009 Provision of specialized

services

To assist small business in obtaining a “fair” share of

contracts and subcontracts for federal government

supplies and services and a “fair” share of property sold

by the government

Small Business Investment

Companies

59.011 Direct loans; guaranteed

and insured loans;

advisory services and

counseling

To establish privately owned and managed investment

companies; provide equity capital and long-term loan

funds to small businesses; and provide advisory

services to small businesses

Small Business Loans 59.012 Guaranteed and insured

loans

To provide guaranteed loans to small businesses that

are unable to obtain financing in the private credit

marketplace but can demonstrate an ability to repay
Appendix II: Federal Programs Available to

Tribes and Tribal Members to Fund Economic

Development Activities

Page 29 GAO-02-193 Indian Economic Development

Program name

CFDA

number Type of assistance Economic development objectives

loans granted

Service Corps of Retired

Executives Association

59.026 Advisory services and

counseling; training

To provide counseling and training to potential and

existing small business owners

Small Business Development

Center

59.037 Project grants; provision

of specialized services;

advisory services and

counseling; dissemination

of technical information

To provide management counseling, training, and

technical assistance to the small business community

Certified Development

Company Loans (504 Loans)

59.041 Guaranteed and insured

loans

To assist small business concerns by providing longterm, fixed-rate financing for fixed assets through the

sale of debentures to private investors

Women’s Business Ownership

Assistance

59.043 Project grants To fund private, nonprofit organizations to assist,

through training and counseling, small business

concerns owned and controlled by women

Veterans Entrepreneurial

Training and Counseling

59.044 Project grants To provide long-term training, counseling, and

mentoring to benefit small business concerns and

potential small business concerns owned and controlled

by eligible veterans

Microloan Demonstration

Program

59.046 Formula grants; direct

loans

To assist women, low-income and minority

entrepreneurs, business owners, and other individuals

possessing the capability to operate successful

business concerns and to assist small business

concerns in those areas suffering from a lack of credit

due to economic downturns

Office of Small Disadvantaged

Business Certification and

Eligibility

59.049 Direct loans; guaranteed

or insured loans

To certify and assist small disadvantaged businesses so

that they can participate in federal procurements

a

This program was incorporated into the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development/Support

for Planning Organizations (CFDA number 11.302) in 2000.

Source: CFDA.

(250019)
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