II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 612

To provide for periodic Indian needs assessments, to require Federal Indian

program evaluations, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 15, 1999

Mr. CAMPBELL (for himself and Mr. INOUYE) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

A BILL

To provide for periodic Indian needs assessments, to require

Federal Indian program evaluations, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Indian Needs Assess5 ment and Program Evaluation Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS, PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

8 (1) the United States and the Indian tribes

9 have a unique legal and political government-to-gov10 ernment relationship;
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1 (2) pursuant to the Constitution, treaties, stat2 utes, Executive order, court decisions, and course of

3 conduct, the United States has a trust obligation to

4 provide certain services to Indian tribes and to Indi5 ans;

6 (3) Federal agencies charged with admin7 istering programs and providing services to or for

8 the benefit of Indians have not furnished Congress

9 with adequate information necessary to assess such

10 program on the needs of Indians and Indian tribes;

11 (4) such lack of information has hampered the

12 ability of the Congress to determine the nature,

13 type, and magnitude of such needs as well as its

14 ability to respond to them; and

15 (5) Congress cannot properly fulfill its obliga16 tion to Indian tribes and Indian people unless and

17 until it has an adequate store of information related

18 to the needs of Indians nationwide.

19 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to—

20 (1) ensure that Indian needs for Federal pro21 grams and services are known in a more certain and

22 predictable fashion;

23 (2) require that Federal agencies and depart24 ments carefully review and monitor the effectiveness

25 of the programs and services provided to Indians;
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1 (3) provide for more efficient and effective co2 operation and coordination of, and accountability

3 from, the agencies and departments providing pro4 grams and services, including technical and business

5 development assistance, to Indians; and

6 (4) provide Congress with reliable information

7 regarding both Indian needs and the evaluation of

8 Federal programs and services provided to Indians

9 nationwide.

10 SEC. 3. INDIAN TRIBAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT.

11 (a) INDIAN TRIBAL NEEDS ASSESSMENTS.—In

12 general—

13 (1) Within 180 days after the enactment of this

14 Act, the Secretary, in consultation and coordination

15 with the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce,

16 Defense, Energy, Labor, Justice, Treasury, Trans17 portation, and Veterans Affairs, the Environmental

18 Protection Agency, other relevant agencies, offices,

19 and departments, shall develop a uniform method,

20 criteria, and procedures for determining, analyzing,

21 and compiling the program and service assistance

22 needs of Indian tribes and Indians nationwide. The

23 needs assessment shall address, but not be limited

24 to, the following:
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1 (A) The total population of the tribe(s),

2 and the population of tribal members located in

3 the service area, where applicable.

4 (B) The size of the service area.

5 (C) The location of the service area.

6 (D) The availability of similar programs

7 within the geographical area to tribes or tribal

8 members.

9 (E) Socio-economic conditions that exist

10 within the service area.

11 (2) The Secretary shall consult with tribal gov12 ernments in establishing and conducting the needs

13 assessment mandated by this Act.

14 (3) Within 1 year of the enactment of this Act,

15 and every five (5) years thereafter, each Federal

16 agency or department, in coordination with the Sec17 retary, shall conduct an Indian Needs Assessment

18 (‘‘INA’’) aimed at determining the actual needs of

19 Indian tribes and Indians eligible for programs and

20 services administered by such agency or department.

21 (4) The Indian Needs Assessment developed

22 pursuant to subsection (c)(3) above shall be filed

23 with the Committees on Appropriations and Indian

24 Affairs of the Senate, and the Committees on Appro25 priations and Resources of the House of Representa-
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1 tives on February 1 of each year in which it is to

2 be submitted.

3 (b) FEDERAL AGENCY INDIAN TRIBAL PROGRAM

4 EVALUATION.

5 (1) Within 180 days of enactment of this Act,

6 the Secretary shall develop a uniform method, cri7 teria, and procedures for compiling, maintaining,

8 keeping current and reporting to Congress all infor9 mation concerning—

10 (A) the agency or department annual ex11 penditure for programs and services for which

12 Indians are eligible, with specific information

13 regarding the names of tribes who are currently

14 participating in or receiving each service, the

15 names of tribes who have applied for and not

16 received programs or services, and the names of

17 tribes whose services or programs have been

18 terminated within the last fiscal year;

19 (B) services or programs specifically for

20 the benefit of Indians, with specific information

21 regarding the names of tribes who are currently

22 participating in or receiving each service, the

23 names of tribes who have applied for and not

24 received programs or services, and the names of
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1 tribes whose services or programs have been

2 terminated within the last fiscal year; and

3 (C) the agency or department method of

4 delivery of such services and funding, including

5 a detailed explanation of the outreach efforts of

6 each agency or department to Indian tribes.

7 (2) Within 1 year of the enactment of this Act,

8 and annually thereafter, each Federal agency or de9 partment responsible for providing services or pro10 grams to or for the benefit of Indian tribes or Indi11 ans shall file an Annual Indian Program Evaluation

12 (‘‘AIPE’’) with the Committees on Appropriations

13 and Indian Affairs of the Senate, and the Commit14 tees on Appropriations and Resources of the House

15 of Representatives.

16 (c) ANNUAL LISTING OF TRIBAL ELIGIBLE PRO17 GRAMS.—On or before February 1 of each calendar year,

18 those Federal agencies or departments mentioned in sub19 section (b)(2) above, shall develop and publish in the Fed20 eral Register a list of all programs and services offered

21 by such agency or department for which Indian tribes or

22 their members are or may be eligible, and shall provide

23 a brief explanation of the program or service.
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1 SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, within 1 year

3 of the enactment of this Act, develop and submit to the

4 Committees on Appropriations and Indian Affairs of the

5 Senate, and the Committees on Appropriations and Re6 sources of the House of Representatives a report detailing

7 the coordination of Federal program and service assist8 ance for which Indian tribes and their members are eligi9 ble.

10 (b) STRATEGIC PLAN.—The Secretary shall, within

11 18 months after the enactment of this Act, and after con12 sultation and coordination with the Indian tribes, file a

13 Strategic Plan for the Coordination of Federal Assistance

14 for Indians.

15 (c) CONTENTS OF STRATEGIC PLAN.—The Plan re16 quired under this Act shall contain: (1) Identification of

17 reforms necessary to the laws, regulations, policies, proce18 dures, practices, and systems of the agencies involved; (2)

19 proposals for remedying the reforms identified in the Plan;

20 and (3) other recommendations consistent with the pur21 poses of the Act.

22 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

23 Beginning in fiscal year 2001 and for each fiscal year

24 thereafter, there are authorized to be appropriated such

25 sums as are necessary to carry out this Act.

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