I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 409 

To provide for Indian trust asset management reform, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 23, 2013 

Mr. SIMPSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for Indian trust asset management reform, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Indian Trust Asset Reform Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—RECOGNITION OF TRUST RESPONSIBILITY 

Sec. 101. Congressional statement of findings. 

Sec. 102. Congressional reaffirmation of policy. 

TITLE II—INDIAN TRUST ASSET MANAGEMENT DEMONSTRATION 

PROJECT ACT 


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Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Definitions. 

Sec. 203. Establishment of demonstration project; selection of participating Indian tribes. 

Sec. 204. Indian trust asset management plan. 

Sec. 205. Effect of title. 

TITLE III—RESTRUCTURING BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS AND 

OFFICE OF SPECIAL TRUSTEE 

Sec. 301. Purpose. 

Sec. 302. Definitions. 

Sec. 303. Under Secretary for Indian Affairs. 

Sec. 304. Transfer of functions of Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. 

Sec. 305. Office of Special Trustee for American Indians. 

Sec. 306. Cost savings recommendations. 

Sec. 307. Hiring preference. 

1 TITLE I—RECOGNITION OF 

2 TRUST RESPONSIBILITY 

3 SEC. 101. CONGRESSIONAL STATEMENT OF FINDINGS. 

4 The Congress, after careful review of the Federal 

5 Government’s historical and special legal relationship 

6 with, and resulting responsibilities to, American Indian 

7 people, finds that— 

8 (1) the relationship of Indian tribes to the 

9 United States is founded in part on the settled doc10 trine of the law of nations that when a stronger sov11 ereign assumes authority over a weaker sovereign, 

12 the stronger one assumes a duty of protection for 

13 the weaker one, which does not surrender its right 

14 to self-government; 

15 (2) the United States fiduciary responsibilities 

16 to Indians also constitutes a foundational basis for, 

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1 garding Indians because it constitutes an inherent 

2 presupposition of our constitutional structure, which 

3 provides an inherent limit on the exercise and appli4 cation of the Indian Commerce Clause and the Trea5 ty Clause of the Constitution; 

6 (3) the United States fiduciary responsibilities 

7 to Indians also are founded in part on specific com8 mitments made through written treaties and agree9 ments securing peace, in exchange for which Indians 

10 have surrendered claims to vast tracts of land, which 

11 provided legal consideration for permanent, ongoing 

12 performance of Federal trust duties; and 

13 (4) the foregoing historic Federal-tribal rela14 tions and understandings have benefitted the people 

15 of the United States as a whole for centuries and es16 tablished enduring and enforceable Federal obliga17 tions to which the national honor has been com18 mitted. 

19 SEC. 102. CONGRESSIONAL REAFFIRMATION OF POLICY. 

20 Pursuant to its constitutionally vested authority over 

21 Indian affairs, the Congress hereby reaffirms the following 

22 regarding the proper discharge of the United States fidu23 ciary responsibilities to Indians— 

24 (1) enforceable fiduciary duties necessarily arise 

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1 vision over tribal trust assets even though nothing is 

2 said expressly in the governing statutes or regula3 tions, unless Congress has expressly specified other4 wise; 

5 (2) in general, the most exacting common-law 

6 fiduciary standards which govern private trustees 

7 also govern the United States when it manages In8 dian trust assets, and enforceable Federal trust du9 ties for Indian trust asset management are not lim10 ited to the express terms of statutes and regulations; 

11 (3) the fact that the United States simulta12 neously performs another task for another interest 

13 that Congress has obligated it by statute to do does 

14 not compromise or limit the United States enforce15 able fiduciary obligations to Indians; and 

16 (4) the United States fiduciary responsibilities 

17 to Indian tribes include and are not limited by a 

18 duty to promote tribal self-determination regarding 

19 governmental authority and economic development. 

20 TITLE II—INDIAN TRUST ASSET 

21 MANAGEMENT DEMONSTRA22 TION PROJECT ACT 

23 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

24 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Indian Trust Asset 

25 Management Demonstration Project Act of 2013’’. 


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1 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this title: 

3 (1) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Project’’ means the 

4 Indian trust asset management demonstration 

5 project established under section 103(a). 

6 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

7 means an Indian tribe that— 

8 (A) is federally recognized; and 

9 (B) submits an application under section 

10 203(c). 

11 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of the Interior. 

13 SEC. 203. ESTABLISHMENT OF DEMONSTRATION PROJECT; 

14 SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING INDIAN 

15 TRIBES. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish and 

17 carry out an Indian trust asset management demonstra18 tion project, in accordance with this title. 

19 (b) SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING INDIAN

20 TRIBES.— 

21 (1) INDIAN TRIBES.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any Indian tribe shall 

23 be eligible to participate in the Project if— 

24 (i) the Indian tribe submits to the 

25 Secretary an application under subsection 

26 (c); and 


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1 (ii) the Secretary approves the appli2 cation of the Indian tribe. 

3 (2) NOTICE.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

5 provide a written notice to each Indian tribe ap6 proved to participate in the Project. 

7 (B) CONTENTS.—A notice under subpara8 graph (A) shall include— 

9 (i) a statement that the application of 

10 the Indian tribe has been approved by the 

11 Secretary; and 

12 (ii) a requirement that the Indian 

13 tribe shall submit to the Secretary a pro14 posed Indian trust asset management plan 

15 in accordance with section 104. 

16 (c) APPLICATION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to participate 

18 in the Project, an Indian tribe shall submit to the 

19 Secretary a written application in accordance with 

20 paragraph (2). 

21 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall take 

22 into consideration an application under this sub23 section only if the application— 

24 (A) includes a copy of a resolution or other 

25 appropriate action by the governing body of the 


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1 Indian tribe, as determined by the Secretary, in 

2 support of or authorizing the application; 

3 (B) is received by the Secretary after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act; and 

5 (C) states that the Indian tribe is request6 ing to participate in the Project. 

7 (d) DURATION.—The Project shall remain in effect 

8 for a period of 8 years after the date of enactment of this 

9 Act. 

10 SEC. 204. INDIAN TRUST ASSET MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

11 (a) PROPOSED PLAN.— 

12 (1) SUBMISSION.—After the date on which an 

13 Indian tribe receives a notice from the Secretary 

14 under section 203(b)(2), the Indian tribe shall sub15 mit to the Secretary a proposed Indian trust asset 

16 management plan in accordance with paragraph (2). 

17 (2) CONTENTS.—A proposed Indian trust asset 

18 management plan shall include provisions that— 

19 (A) identify the trust assets that will be 

20 subject to the plan, including financial and non21 financial trust assets; 

22 (B) establish trust asset management ob23 jectives and priorities for Indian trust assets 

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1 erwise subject to the jurisdiction, of the Indian 

2 tribe; 

3 (C) allocate trust asset management fund4 ing that is available for the Indian trust assets 

5 subject to the plan in order to meet the trust 

6 asset management objectives and priorities; 

7 (D) if the Indian tribe has contracted or 

8 compacted functions or activities under the In9 dian Self-Determination and Education Assist10 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.) relating to the 

11 management of trust assets— 

12 (i) identify the functions or activities 

13 that are being performed by the Indian 

14 tribe under the contracts or compacts; and 

15 (ii) describe the proposed manage16 ment systems, practices, and procedures 

17 that the Indian tribe will follow; 

18 (E) establish procedures for nonbinding 

19 mediation or resolution of any dispute between 

20 the Indian tribe and the United States relating 

21 to the trust asset management plan; 

22 (F) include a process for the Indian tribe 

23 and the Federal agencies affected by the trust 

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1 uations to ensure that trust assets are being 

2 managed in accordance with the plan; and 

3 (G) identify any Federal regulations that 

4 will be superseded by the plan. 

5 (3) AUTHORITY OF INDIAN TRIBES TO DE6 VELOP SYSTEMS, PRACTICES, AND PROCEDURES.— 

7 For purposes of preparing and carrying out a man8 agement plan under this section, an Indian tribe 

9 that has compacted or contracted activities or func10 tions under the Indian Self-Determination and Edu11 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.), for 

12 purposes of carrying out the activities or functions, 

13 may develop and carry out trust asset management 

14 systems, practices, and procedures that differ from 

15 any such systems, practices, and procedures used by 

16 the Secretary in managing the trust assets if the 

17 systems, practices, and procedures of the Indian 

18 tribe meet the requirements of the laws, standards, 

19 and responsibilities described in subsection (c). 

20 (4) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND INFORMA21 TION.—The Secretary shall provide to an Indian 

22 tribe any technical assistance and information, in23 cluding budgetary information, that the Indian tribe 

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1 posed plan on receipt of a written request from the 

2 Indian tribe. 

3 (b) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF PROPOSED

4 PLANS.— 

5 (1) APPROVAL.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 

7 days after the date on which an Indian tribe 

8 submits a proposed Indian trust asset manage9 ment plan under subsection (a), the Secretary 

10 shall approve or disapprove the proposed plan. 

11 (B) REQUIREMENTS FOR DISAPPROVAL.— 

12 The Secretary shall approve a proposed plan 

13 unless the Secretary determines that— 

14 (i) the proposed plan fails to address 

15 a requirement under subsection (a)(2); 

16 (ii) the proposed plan includes one or 

17 more provisions that are inconsistent with 

18 subsection (c); or 

19 (iii) the cost of implementing the pro20 posed plan exceeds the amount of funding 

21 available for the management of trust as22 sets that would be subject to the proposed 

23 plan. 

24 (2) ACTION ON DISAPPROVAL.— 


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1 (A) NOTICE.—If the Secretary disapproves 

2 a proposed plan under paragraph (1)(B), the 

3 Secretary shall provide to the Indian tribe a 

4 written notice of the disapproval, including any 

5 reason why the proposed plan was disapproved. 

6 (B) ACTION BY TRIBES.—If a proposed 

7 plan is disapproved under paragraph (1)(B), 

8 the Indian tribe may resubmit an amended pro9 posed plan not later than 90 days after the date 

10 on which the Indian tribe receives the notice 

11 under subparagraph (A). 

12 (3) FAILURE TO APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE.—If 

13 the Secretary fails to approve or disapprove a pro14 posed plan in accordance with paragraph (1), the 

15 plan shall be considered to be approved. 

16 (4) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—An Indian tribe may 

17 seek judicial review of the determination of the Sec18 retary in accordance with subchapter II of chapter 

19 5, and chapter 7, of title 5, United States Code 

20 (commonly known as the ‘‘Administrative Procedure 

21 Act’’) if— 

22 (A) the Secretary disapproves the proposed 

23 plan of the Indian tribe under paragraph (1) or 

24 (3); and 


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1 (B) the Indian tribe has exhausted any 

2 other administrative remedy available to the In3 dian tribe. 

4 (c) APPLICABLE LAWS; STANDARDS; TRUST RE5 SPONSIBILITY.— 

6 (1) APPLICABLE LAWS.—An Indian trust asset 

7 management plan, and any activity carried out 

8 under the plan, shall not be approved unless the pro9 posed plan is consistent with— 

10 (A) all Federal treaties, statutes, Executive 

11 orders, and court decisions that are applicable 

12 to the trust assets, or the management of the 

13 trust assets, identified in the plan; and 

14 (B) all tribal laws that are applicable to 

15 the trust assets, or the management of trust as16 sets, identified in the plan, except to the extent 

17 that the laws are inconsistent with the treaties, 

18 statutes, Executive orders, and court decisions 

19 referred to in subparagraph (A). 

20 (2) STANDARDS.—Subject to the laws referred 

21 to in paragraph (1)(A), an Indian trust asset man22 agement plan shall not be approved unless the Sec23 retary determines that the plan will— 

24 (A) protect trust assets from loss, waste, 

25 and unlawful alienation; 


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1 (B) promote the interests of the beneficial 

2 owner of the trust asset; 

3 (C) conform, to the maximum extent prac4 ticable, to the preferred use of the trust asset 

5 by the beneficial owner, unless the use is incon6 sistent with a treaty, statute, regulation, Execu7 tive order, or court decision referred to in para8 graph (1)(A); 

9 (D) protect any applicable treaty-based 

10 fishing, hunting and gathering, and similar 

11 rights relating to the use, access, or enjoyment 

12 of a trust asset; and 

13 (E) require that any activity carried out 

14 under the plan be carried out in good faith and 

15 with loyalty to the beneficial owner of the trust 

16 asset. 

17 (3) TRUST RESPONSIBILITY.—An Indian trust 

18 asset management plan shall not be approved unless 

19 the Secretary determines that the plan is consistent 

20 with the trust responsibility of the United States to 

21 the Indian tribe and individual Indians. 

22 (d) TERMINATION OF PLAN.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—An Indian tribe may termi24 nate an Indian trust asset management plan on any 

25 date after the date on which a proposed Indian trust 


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1 asset management plan is approved by providing to 

2 the Secretary— 

3 (A) a notice of the intent of the Indian 

4 tribe to terminate the plan; and 

5 (B) a resolution of the governing body of 

6 the Indian tribe authorizing the termination of 

7 the plan. 

8 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—A termination of an In9 dian trust asset management plan under paragraph 

10 (1) takes effect on October 1 of the first fiscal year 

11 following the date on which a notice is provided to 

12 the Secretary under paragraph (1)(A). 

13 SEC. 205. EFFECT OF TITLE. 

14 (a) LIABILITY.—Nothing in this title, or a trust asset 

15 management plan approved under section 204, shall inde16 pendently diminish, increase, create, or otherwise affect 

17 the liability of the United States or an Indian tribe partici18 pating in the Project for any loss resulting from the man19 agement of an Indian trust asset under an Indian trust 

20 asset management plan. 

21 (b) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Except for any regu22 lation superseded by a trust asset management plan ap23 proved under section 204, nothing in this title amends or 

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1 cable to Indian trust assets or the management or admin2 istration of Indian trust assets. 

3 (c) TRUST RESPONSIBILITY.—Nothing in this title 

4 diminishes or otherwise affects the trust responsibility of 

5 the United States to Indian tribes and individual Indians. 

6 TITLE III—RESTRUCTURING BU7 REAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS 

8 AND OFFICE OF SPECIAL 

9 TRUSTEE 

10 SEC. 301. PURPOSE. 

11 The purpose of this title is to ensure a more effective 

12 and accountable administration of duties of the Secretary 

13 of the Interior with respect to providing services and pro14 grams to Indians and Indian tribes, including the manage15 ment of Indian trust resources. 

16 SEC. 302. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this title: 

18 (1) BUREAU.—The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the 

19 Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

20 (2) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of21 fice of Trust Reform Implementation and Oversight 

22 referred to in section 303(c). 

23 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

24 the Secretary of the Interior. 


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1 (4) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under 

2 Secretary’’ means the individual appointed to the po3 sition of Under Secretary for Indian Affairs, estab4 lished by section 303(a). 

5 SEC. 303. UNDER SECRETARY FOR INDIAN AFFAIRS. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF POSITION.—There is estab7 lished in the Department of the Interior the position of 

8 Under Secretary for Indian Affairs, who shall report di9 rectly to the Secretary. 

10 (b) APPOINTMENT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para12 graph (2), the Under Secretary shall be appointed 

13 by the President, by and with the advice and consent 

14 of the Senate. 

15 (2) EXCEPTION.—The officer serving as the As16 sistant Secretary for Indian Affairs on the date of 

17 enactment of this Act may assume the position of 

18 Under Secretary without appointment under para19 graph (1) if— 

20 (A) the officer was appointed as Assistant 

21 Secretary for Indian Affairs by the President by 

22 and with the advice and consent of the Senate; 

23 and 


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1 (B) not later than 180 days after the date 

2 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary ap3 proves the assumption. 

4 (c) DUTIES.—In addition to the duties transferred to 

5 the Under Secretary under sections 304 and 305, the 

6 Under Secretary, acting through an Office of Trust Re7 form Implementation and Oversight, shall— 

8 (1) carry out any activity relating to trust fund 

9 accounts and trust resource management of the Bu10 reau (except any activity carried out under the Of11 fice of the Special Trustee for American Indians be12 fore the date on which the Office of the Special 

13 Trustee is abolished), in accordance with the Amer14 ican Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 

15 1994 (25 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.); 

16 (2) develop and maintain an inventory of Indian 

17 trust assets and resources; 

18 (3) coordinate with the Special Trustee for 

19 American Indians to ensure an orderly transition of 

20 the functions of the Special Trustee under section 

21 305; 

22 (4) supervise any activity carried out by the De23 partment of the Interior, including but not limited 

24 to— 


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1 (A) to the extent that the activities relate 

2 to Indian affairs, activities carried out by— 

3 (i) the Commissioner of Reclamation; 

4 (ii) the Director of the Bureau of 

5 Land Management; 

6 (iii) the Director of the Office of Nat7 ural Resources Revenue; 

8 (iv) the Director of the National Park 

9 Service; and 

10 (v) the Director of the U.S. Fish and 

11 Wildlife Service; and 

12 (B) intergovernmental relations between 

13 the Bureau and Indian tribal governments; 

14 (5) to the maximum extent practicable, coordi15 nate activities and policies of the Bureau with activi16 ties and policies of— 

17 (A) the Bureau of Reclamation; 

18 (B) the Bureau of Land Management; 

19 (C) the Office of Natural Resources Rev20 enue; 

21 (D) the National Park Service; and 

22 (E) the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 

23 (6) provide for regular consultation with Indi24 ans and Indian tribes that own interests in trust re25 sources and trust fund accounts; 


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1 (7) manage and administer Indian trust re2 sources in accordance with any applicable Federal 

3 law; 

4 (8) take steps to protect the security of data re5 lating to individual Indian and Indian tribal trust 

6 accounts; and 

7 (9) take any other measure the Under Sec8 retary determines to be necessary with respect to In9 dian affairs. 

10 SEC. 304. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS OF ASSISTANT SEC11 RETARY FOR INDIAN AFFAIRS. 

12 (a) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.—There is transferred 

13 to the Under Secretary any function of the Assistant Sec14 retary for Indian Affairs that has not been carried out 

15 by the Assistant Secretary as of the date of enactment 

16 of this Act. 

17 (b) DETERMINATIONS OF CERTAIN FUNCTIONS BY

18 THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET.—If nec19 essary, the Office of Management and Budget shall make 

20 any determination relating to the functions transferred 

21 under subsection (a). 

22 (c) PERSONNEL PROVISIONS.— 

23 (1) APPOINTMENTS.—The Under Secretary 

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1 mines to be necessary to carry out any function 

2 transferred under this section. 

3 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—Except as otherwise pro4 vided by law— 

5 (A) an officer or employee described in 

6 paragraph (1) shall be appointed in accordance 

7 with the civil service laws; and 

8 (B) the compensation of the officer or em9 ployee shall be fixed in accordance with title 5, 

10 United States Code. 

11 (d) DELEGATION AND ASSIGNMENT.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise ex13 pressly prohibited by law or otherwise provided by 

14 this section, the Under Secretary may— 

15 (A) delegate any of the functions trans16 ferred to the Under Secretary by this section 

17 and any function transferred or granted to the 

18 Under Secretary after the date of enactment of 

19 this Act to such officers and employees of the 

20 Office as the Under Secretary may designate; 

21 and 

22 (B) authorize successive redelegations of 

23 such functions as the Under Secretary deter24 mines to be necessary or appropriate. 


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1 (2) DELEGATION.—No delegation of functions 

2 by the Under Secretary under this section shall re3 lieve the Under Secretary of responsibility for the 

4 administration of the functions. 

5 (e) REORGANIZATION.—The Under Secretary may al6 locate or reallocate any function transferred under this 

7 section among the officers of the Office, and establish, 

8 consolidate, alter, or discontinue such organizational enti9 ties in the Office, as the Under Secretary determines to 

10 be necessary or appropriate. 

11 (f) RULES.—The Under Secretary may prescribe, in 

12 accordance with the provisions of chapters 5 and 6 of title 

13 5, United States Code, such rules and regulations as the 

14 Under Secretary determines to be necessary or appro15 priate to administer and manage the functions of the Of16 fice. 

17 (g) TRANSFER AND ALLOCATIONS OF APPROPRIA18 TIONS AND PERSONNEL.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro20 vided in this section, the personnel employed in con21 nection with, and the assets, liabilities, contracts, 

22 property, records, and unexpended balances of ap23 propriations, authorizations, allocations, and other 

24 funds employed, used, held, arising from, available 

25 to, or to be made available in connection with, the 


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1 functions transferred by this section, subject to sec2 tion 1531 of title 31, United States Code, shall be 

3 transferred to the Office. 

4 (2) UNEXPENDED FUNDS.—Unexpended funds 

5 transferred pursuant to this subsection shall be used 

6 only for the purposes for which the funds were origi7 nally authorized and appropriated. 

8 (h) INCIDENTAL TRANSFERS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

10 Management and Budget, at any time the Director 

11 may provide, may make such determinations as are 

12 necessary with regard to the functions transferred 

13 by this section, and make such additional incidental 

14 dispositions of personnel, assets, liabilities, grants, 

15 contracts, property, records, and unexpended bal16 ances of appropriations, authorizations, allocations, 

17 and other funds held, used, arising from, available 

18 to, or to be made available in connection with such 

19 functions, as are necessary, to carry out this section. 

20 (2) TERMINATION OF AFFAIRS.—The Director 

21 of the Office of Management and Budget shall pro22 vide for the termination of the affairs of all entities 

23 terminated by this section and for any further meas24 ures and dispositions as are necessary to effectuate 

25 the purposes of this section. 


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1 (i) EFFECT ON PERSONNEL.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro3 vided by this section, the transfer pursuant to this 

4 section of full-time personnel (except special Govern5 ment employees) and part-time personnel holding 

6 permanent positions shall not cause any such em7 ployee to be separated or reduced in grade or com8 pensation for a period of at least 1 year after the 

9 date of transfer of the employee under this section. 

10 (2) EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE POSITIONS.—Except 

11 as otherwise provided in this section, any person 

12 who, on the day preceding the date of enactment of 

13 this Act, held a position compensated in accordance 

14 with the Executive Schedule prescribed in chapter 

15 53 of title 5, United States Code, and who, without 

16 a break in service, is appointed to a position in the 

17 Office having duties comparable to the duties per18 formed immediately preceding such appointment 

19 shall continue to be compensated in the new position 

20 at not less than the rate provided for the previous 

21 position, for the duration of the service of the person 

22 in the new position. 

23 (3) TERMINATION OF CERTAIN POSITIONS.— 

24 Positions whose incumbents are appointed by the 

25 President, by and with the advice and consent of the 


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1 Senate, the functions of which are transferred by 

2 this title, shall terminate on the date of enactment 

3 of this Act. 

4 (j) SEPARABILITY.—If a provision of this section or 

5 the application of this section to any person or cir6 cumstance is held invalid, neither the remainder of this 

7 section nor the application of the provision to other per8 sons or circumstances shall be affected. 

9 (k) TRANSITION.—The Under Secretary may use— 

10 (1) the services of the officers, employees, and 

11 other personnel of the Assistant Secretary for Indian 

12 Affairs relating to functions transferred to the Office 

13 by this section; and 

14 (2) funds appropriated to the functions for such 

15 period of time as may reasonably be needed to facili16 tate the orderly implementation of this section. 

17 (l) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a Federal law, 

18 Executive order, rule, regulation, delegation of authority, 

19 or document relating to the Assistant Secretary for Indian 

20 Affairs, with respect to functions transferred under this 

21 section, shall be deemed to be a reference to the Under 

22 Secretary. 

23 (m) RECOMMENDED LEGISLATION.—Not later than 

24 180 days after the effective date of this title, the Under 

25 Secretary, in consultation with the appropriate committees 


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1 of Congress and the Director of the Office of Management 

2 and Budget, shall submit to Congress any recommenda3 tions relating to additional technical and conforming 

4 amendments to Federal law to reflect the changes made 

5 by this section. 

6 (n) EFFECT OF SECTION.— 

7 (1) CONTINUING EFFECT OF LEGAL DOCU8 MENTS.—Any legal document relating to a function 

9 transferred by this section that is in effect on the 

10 date of enactment of this Act shall continue in effect 

11 in accordance with the terms of the document until 

12 the document is modified or terminated by— 

13 (A) the President; 

14 (B) the Under Secretary; 

15 (C) a court of competent jurisdiction; or 

16 (D) operation of Federal or State law. 

17 (2) PROCEEDINGS NOT AFFECTED.—This sec18 tion shall not affect any proceeding (including a no19 tice of proposed rulemaking, an administrative pro20 ceeding, and an application for a license, permit, 

21 certificate, or financial assistance) relating to a 

22 function transferred under this section that is pend23 ing before the Assistant Secretary on the date of en24 actment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 305. OFFICE OF SPECIAL TRUSTEE FOR AMERICAN IN2 DIANS. 

3 (a) TERMINATION.—Notwithstanding sections 302 

4 and 303 of the American Indian Trust Fund Management 

5 Reform Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 4042; 4043), the Office 

6 of Special Trustee for American Indians shall terminate 

7 on the effective date of this section. 

8 (b) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.—There is transferred 

9 to the Under Secretary any function of the Special Trustee 

10 for American Indians that has not been carried out by 

11 the Special Trustee as of the effective date of this section. 

12 (c) DETERMINATIONS OF CERTAIN FUNCTIONS BY

13 THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET.—If nec14 essary, the Office of Management and Budget shall make 

15 any determination relating to the functions transferred 

16 under subsection (b). 

17 (d) PERSONNEL PROVISIONS.— 

18 (1) APPOINTMENTS.—The Under Secretary 

19 may appoint and fix the compensation of such offi20 cers and employees as the Under Secretary deter21 mines to be necessary to carry out any function 

22 transferred under this section. 

23 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—Except as otherwise pro24 vided by law— 


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1 (A) any officer or employee described in 

2 paragraph (1) shall be appointed in accordance 

3 with the civil service laws; and 

4 (B) the compensation of such an officer or 

5 employee shall be fixed in accordance with title 

6 5, United States Code. 

7 (e) DELEGATION AND ASSIGNMENT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise ex9 pressly prohibited by law or otherwise provided by 

10 this section, the Under Secretary may— 

11 (A) delegate any of the functions trans12 ferred to the Under Secretary under this sec13 tion and any function transferred or granted to 

14 the Under Secretary after the effective date of 

15 this section to such officers and employees of 

16 the Office as the Under Secretary may des17 ignate; and 

18 (B) authorize successive redelegations of 

19 the functions as are necessary or appropriate. 

20 (2) DELEGATION.—No delegation of functions 

21 by the Under Secretary under this section shall re22 lieve the Under Secretary of responsibility for the 

23 administration of the functions. 

24 (f) REORGANIZATION.—The Under Secretary may al25 locate or reallocate any function transferred under subVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:56 Feb 05, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H409.IH H409

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1 section (b) among the officers of the Office, and establish, 

2 consolidate, alter, or discontinue such organizational enti3 ties in the Office as the Under Secretary determines to 

4 be necessary or appropriate. 

5 (g) RULES.—The Under Secretary may prescribe, in 

6 accordance with the provisions of chapters 5 and 6 of title 

7 5, United States Code, such rules and regulations as the 

8 Under Secretary determines to be necessary or appro9 priate to administer and manage the functions of the Of10 fice. 

11 (h) TRANSFER AND ALLOCATIONS OF APPROPRIA12 TIONS AND PERSONNEL.—Except as otherwise provided 

13 in this section, the personnel employed in connection with, 

14 and the assets, liabilities, contracts, property, records, and 

15 unexpended balances of appropriations, authorizations, al16 locations, and other funds employed, used, held, arising 

17 from, available to, or to be made available in connection 

18 with the functions transferred by this section, subject to 

19 section 1531 of title 31, United States Code, shall be 

20 transferred to the Office. 

21 (i) INCIDENTAL TRANSFERS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

23 Management and Budget, at any time the Director 

24 may provide, may make such determinations as are 

25 necessary with regard to the functions transferred 


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1 by this section, and make such additional incidental 

2 dispositions of personnel, assets, liabilities, grants, 

3 contracts, property, records, and unexpended bal4 ances of appropriations, authorizations, allocations, 

5 and other funds held, used, arising from, available 

6 to, or to be made available in connection with such 

7 functions, as are necessary, to carry out this section. 

8 (2) TERMINATION OF AFFAIRS.—The Director 

9 of the Office of Management and Budget shall pro10 vide for the termination of the affairs of all entities 

11 terminated by this section and for any further meas12 ures and dispositions as are necessary to effectuate 

13 the purposes of this section. 

14 (j) EFFECT ON PERSONNEL.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro16 vided by this section, the transfer pursuant to this 

17 section of full-time personnel (except special Govern18 ment employees) and part-time personnel holding 

19 permanent positions shall not cause any such em20 ployee to be separated or reduced in grade or com21 pensation for a period of at least 1 year after the 

22 date of transfer of the employee under this section. 

23 (2) EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE POSITIONS.—Except 

24 as otherwise provided in this section, any person 

25 who, on the day preceding the effective date of this 


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1 section, held a position compensated in accordance 

2 with the Executive Schedule prescribed in chapter 

3 53 of title 5, United States Code, and who, without 

4 a break in service, is appointed to a position in the 

5 Office having duties comparable to the duties per6 formed immediately preceding such appointment, 

7 shall continue to be compensated in the new position 

8 at not less than the rate provided for the previous 

9 position, for the duration of the service of the person 

10 in the new position. 

11 (3) TERMINATION OF CERTAIN POSITIONS.— 

12 Positions the incumbents of which are appointed by 

13 the President, by and with the advice and consent 

14 of the Senate, and the functions of which are trans15 ferred by this title, shall terminate on the effective 

16 date of this section. 

17 (k) SEPARABILITY.—If a provision of this section or 

18 the application of this section to any person or cir19 cumstance is held invalid, neither the remainder of this 

20 section nor the application of the provision to other per21 sons or circumstances shall be affected. 

22 (l) TRANSITION.—The Under Secretary may use— 

23 (1) the services of the officers, employees, and 

24 other personnel of the Special Trustee relating to 


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1 functions transferred to the Office by this section; 

2 and 

3 (2) funds appropriated to those functions for 

4 such period of time as may reasonably be needed to 

5 facilitate the orderly implementation of this section. 

6 (m) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a Federal law, 

7 Executive order, rule, regulation, delegation of authority, 

8 or document relating to the Special Trustee, with respect 

9 to functions transferred under this section, shall be 

10 deemed to be a reference to the Under Secretary. 

11 (n) RECOMMENDED LEGISLATION.—Not later than 

12 180 days after the effective date of this title, the Under 

13 Secretary, in consultation with the appropriate committees 

14 of Congress and the Director of the Office of Management 

15 and Budget, shall submit to Congress any recommenda16 tions relating to additional technical and conforming 

17 amendments to Federal law to reflect the changes made 

18 by this section. 

19 (o) EFFECT OF SECTION.— 

20 (1) CONTINUING EFFECT OF LEGAL DOCU21 MENTS.—Any legal document relating to a function 

22 transferred by this section that is in effect on the ef23 fective date of this section shall continue in effect in 

24 accordance with the terms of the document until the 

25 document is modified or terminated by— 


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1 (A) the President; 

2 (B) the Under Secretary; 

3 (C) a court of competent jurisdiction; or 

4 (D) operation of Federal or State law. 

5 (2) PROCEEDINGS NOT AFFECTED.—This sec6 tion shall not affect any proceeding (including a no7 tice of proposed rulemaking, an administrative pro8 ceeding, and an application for a license, permit, 

9 certificate, or financial assistance) relating to a 

10 function transferred under this section that is pend11 ing before the Special Trustee on the effective date 

12 of this section. 

13 (p) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 

14 on April 1, 2014, or 180 days following enactment of this 

15 Act into law, whichever is earlier. 

16 SEC. 306. COST SAVINGS RECOMMENDATIONS. 

17 (a) COST SAVINGS IDENTIFICATION.—Within 60 

18 days of the effective date in section 305(p), the Under Sec19 retary shall initiate procedures to— 

20 (1) identify the programs, functions, services, 

21 and activities (or any portions of programs, func22 tions, services, or activities) that will not have to op23 erate or carry out as a result of any transfer of 

24 functions and personnel under section 305; 


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1 (2) identify the amounts that the Secretary 

2 would have otherwise expended to operate or carry 

3 out each program, function, service, and activity (or 

4 any portion of a program, function, service, or activ5 ity) identified pursuant to paragraph (1); and 

6 (3) provide to the Secretary and the tribal rep7 resentatives of the Tribal/Interior Budget Council, 

8 within 120 days of the effective date in section 

9 305(p), a list of the programs, functions, services, 

10 and activities (or any portions of programs, func11 tions, services, or activities) identified pursuant 

12 paragraph (1) and the amounts associated with each 

13 program, function, service, and activity (or any por14 tion of a program, function, service, or activity) 

15 identified pursuant to paragraph (2). 

16 (b) TRIBAL RECOMMENDATIONS.—Within 120 days 

17 of receipt of the information in subsection (a)(3), the trib18 al representatives of the Tribal/Interior Budget Council 

19 may provide recommendations to the Secretary and the 

20 Office of Management and Budget on how any amounts 

21 or cost savings should be reallocated and/or incorporated 

22 into future budget requests. 

23 SEC. 307. HIRING PREFERENCE. 

24 In appointing or otherwise hiring any employee to the 

25 Office, the Under Secretary shall give preference to IndiVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:56 Feb 05, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H409.IH H409

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1 ans in accordance with section 12 of the Act of June 8, 

2 1934 (25 U.S.C. 472). 

Æ 


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