II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2052

To establish a demonstration project to authorize the integration and coordination of Federal funding dedicated to community, business, and the

economic development of Native American communities.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 10, 2000

Mr. CAMPBELL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

A BILL

To establish a demonstration project to authorize the integration and coordination of Federal funding dedicated to

community, business, and the economic development of

Native American communities.

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

3 SECTION 1. TITLE.

4 The Act may be cited as the ‘‘Indian Tribal Develop5 ment Consolidated Funding Act of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings:
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1 (1) A unique legal and political relationship ex2 ists between the United States and Indian tribes

3 that is reflected in article I, clause 3 of the Constitu4 tion of the United States, various treaties, Federal

5 statutes, Supreme Court decisions, executive agree6 ments, and course of dealing.

7 (2) Despite the infusion of substantial Federal

8 dollars into Native American communities over sev9 eral decades, the majority of Native Americans re10 main mired in poverty, unemployment, and despair.

11 (3) The efforts of the United States to foster

12 community, economic, and business development in

13 Native American communities have been hampered

14 by fragmentation of authority, responsibility and

15 performance and by lack of timeliness and coordina16 tion in resources and decision-making.

17 (4) The effectiveness of Federal and tribal ef18 forts to generate employment opportunities and

19 bring value-added activities and economic growth to

20 Native American communities depends on coopera21 tive arrangements among the various Federal agen22 cies and Indian tribes.

23 (b) PURPOSES.—It is the purpose of this Act to—
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1 (1) enable Indian tribes and tribal organiza2 tions to use available Federal assistance more effec3 tively and efficiently;

4 (2) adapt and target such assistance more read5 ily to particular needs through wider use of projects

6 that are supported by more than 1 executive agency,

7 assistance program, or appropriation of the Federal

8 Government;

9 (3) encourage Federal-tribal arrangements

10 under which Indian tribes and tribal organizations

11 may more effectively and efficiently combine Federal

12 and tribal resources to support economic develop13 ment projects;

14 (4) promote the coordination of Native Amer15 ican economic programs to maximize the benefits of

16 these programs to encourage a more consolidated,

17 national policy for economic development; and

18 (5) establish a demonstration project to aid In19 dian tribes in obtaining Federal resources and in

20 more efficiently administering these resources for

21 the furtherance of tribal self-governance and self-de22 termination.

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

24 In this title:
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1 (1) APPLICANT.—The term ‘‘applicant’’ means

2 an Indian tribe or tribal organization applying for

3 assistance for a community, economic, or business

4 development project, including facilities to improve

5 the environment, housing, roads, community facili6 ties, business and industrial facilities, transpor7 tation, roads and highway, and community facilities.

8 (2) ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘assistance’’

9 means the transfer of anything of value for a public

10 purpose or support or stimulation that is—

11 (A) authorized by a law of the United

12 States; and

13 (B) provided by the Federal Government

14 through grant or contractual arrangements, in15 cluding technical assistance programs providing

16 assistance by loan, loan guarantee, or insur17 ance.

18 (3) ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘assist19 ance program’’ means any program of the Federal

20 Government that provides assistance for which In21 dian tribes or tribal organizations are eligible.

22 (4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’

23 has the meaning given such term in section 4(e) of

24 the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist25 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)).
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1 (5) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means an

2 undertaking that includes components that con3 tribute materially to carrying out 1 purpose or close4 ly-related purposes that are proposed or approved

5 for assistance under more than 1 Federal Govern6 ment program.

7 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

8 the Secretary of the Interior.

9 (7) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘tribal

10 organization’’ has the meaning given such term in

11 section 4(l) of the Indian Self-Determination and

12 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(l)).

13 SEC. 4. LEAD AGENCY.

14 The lead agency for purposes of carrying out this Act

15 shall be the Department of the Interior.

16 SEC. 5. SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING TRIBES.

17 (a) PARTICIPANTS.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may select

19 not to exceed 24 Indian tribes in each fiscal year

20 from the applicant pool described in subsection (b)

21 to participate in the projects carried out under this

22 Act.

23 (2) CONSORTIA.—Two or more Indian tribes

24 that are otherwise eligible to participate in a pro25 gram or activity to which this Act applies may form
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1 a consortium to participate as a single Indian tribe

2 under paragraph (1).

3 (b) APPLICANT POOL.—The applicant pool described

4 in this subsection shall consist of each Indian tribe that—

5 (1) successfully completes the planning phase

6 described in subsection (c);

7 (2) has requested participation in a project

8 under this Act through a resolution or other official

9 action of the tribal governing body; and

10 (3) has demonstrated, for the 3 fiscal years im11 mediately preceding the fiscal year for which the re12 quested participation is being made, financial sta13 bility and financial management capability as dem14 onstrated by the Indian tribe having no material

15 audit exceptions in the required annual audit of the

16 self-determination contracts of the tribe.

17 (c) PLANNING PHASE.—Each Indian tribe seeking to

18 participate in a project under this Act shall complete a

19 planning phase that shall include legal and budgetary re20 search and internal tribal government and organizational

21 preparation. The tribe shall be eligible for a grant under

22 this section to plan and negotiate participation in a project

23 under this Act.
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1 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY OF HEADS OF EXECUTIVE AGENCIES.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting through the

3 heads of the appropriate executive agencies, shall promul4 gate regulations necessary to carry out this Act and to

5 ensure that this Act is applied and implemented by all ex6 ecutive agencies.

7 (b) SCOPE OF COVERAGE.—The executive agencies

8 that are included within the scope of this Act shall

9 include—

10 (1) the Department of Agriculture;

11 (2) the Department of Commerce;

12 (3) the Department of Defense;

13 (4) the Department of Education;

14 (5) the Department of Health and Human

15 Services;

16 (6) the Department of Housing and Urban De17 velopment;

18 (7) the Department of the Interior;

19 (8) the Department of Labor; and

20 (9) the Environmental Protection Agency.

21 (c) ACTIVITIES.—Notwithstanding any other provi22 sion of law, the head of each executive agency, acting alone

23 or jointly through an agreement with another executive

24 agency, may—
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1 (1) identify related Federal programs that are

2 likely to be particularly suitable in providing for the

3 joint financing of specific kinds of projects;

4 (2) assist in planning and developing projects to

5 be financed through different Federal programs;

6 (3) with respect to Federal programs or

7 projects that are identified or developed under para8 graphs (1) or (2), develop and prescribe—

9 (A) guidelines;

10 (B) model or illustrative projects;

11 (C) joint or common application forms;

12 and

13 (D) other materials or guidance;

14 (4) review administrative program requirements

15 to identify those requirements that may impede the

16 joint financing of projects and modify such require17 ment when appropriate;

18 (5) establish common technical and administra19 tive regulations for related Federal programs to as20 sist in providing joint financing to support a specific

21 project or class of projects; and

22 (6) establish joint or common application proc23 essing and project supervision procedures, including

24 procedures for designating—
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1 (A) a lead agency responsible for proc2 essing applications; and

3 (B) a managing agency responsible for

4 project supervision.

5 (d) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out this Act, the

6 head of each executive agency shall—

7 (1) take all appropriate actions to carry out this

8 Act when administering a Federal assistance pro9 gram; and

10 (2) consult and cooperate with the heads of

11 other executive agencies to carry out this Act in as12 sisting in the administration of Federal assistance

13 programs of other executive agencies that may be

14 used to jointly finance projects undertaken by Indian

15 tribes or tribal organizations.

16 SEC. 7. PROCEDURES FOR PROCESSING REQUESTS FOR

17 JOINT FINANCING.

18 In processing an application or request for assistance

19 for a project to be financed in accordance with this Act

20 by at least 2 assistance programs, the head of an executive

21 agency shall take all appropriate actions to ensure that—

22 (1) required reviews and approvals are handled

23 expeditiously;

24 (2) complete account is taken of special consid25 erations of timing that are made known to the head
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1 of the agency involved by the applicant that would

2 affect the feasibility of a jointly financed project;

3 (3) an applicant is required to deal with a min4 imum number of representatives of the Federal Gov5 ernment;

6 (4) an applicant is promptly informed of a deci7 sion or special problem that could affect the feasi8 bility of providing joint assistance under the applica9 tion; and

10 (5) an applicant is not required to get informa11 tion or assurances from 1 executive agency for a re12 questing executive agency when the requesting agen13 cy makes the information or assurances directly.

14 SEC. 8. UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—To make participation in a project

16 simpler than would otherwise be possible because of the

17 application of varying or conflicting technical or adminis18 trative regulations or procedures that are not specifically

19 required by the statute that authorizes the Federal pro20 gram under which such project is funded, the head of an

21 executive agency may promulgate uniform regulations con22 cerning inconsistent or conflicting requirements with re23 spect to—

24 (1) the financial administration of the project

25 including accounting, reporting and auditing, and
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1 maintaining a separate bank account, to the extent

2 consistent with this Act;

3 (2) the timing of payments by the Federal Gov4 ernment for the project when 1 payment schedule or

5 a combined payment schedule is to be established for

6 the project;

7 (3) the provision of assistance by grant rather

8 than procurement contract; and

9 (4) the accountability for, or the disposition of,

10 records, property, or structures acquired or con11 structed with assistance from the Federal Govern12 ment under the project.

13 (b) REVIEW.—In making the processing of applica14 tions for assistance under a project simpler under this Act,

15 the head of an executive agency may provide for review

16 of proposals for a project by a single panel, board, or com17 mittee where reviews by separate panels, boards, or com18 mittees are not specifically required by the statute that

19 authorizes the Federal program under which such project

20 is funded.

21 SEC. 9. DELEGATION OF SUPERVISION OF ASSISTANCE.

22 Pursuant to regulations established to implement this

23 Act, the head of an executive agency may delegate or oth24 erwise enter into an arrangement to have another execu25 tive agency carry out or supervise a project or class or
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1 projects jointly financed in accordance with this Act. Such

2 a delegation—

3 (1) shall be made under conditions ensuring

4 that the duties and powers delegated are exercised

5 consistent with Federal law; and

6 (2) may not be made in a manner that relieves

7 the head of an executive agency of responsibility for

8 the proper and efficient management of a project for

9 which the agency provides assistance.

10 SEC. 10. JOINT ASSISTANCE FUNDS AND PROJECT FACILI11 TATION.

12 (a) JOINT ASSISTANCE FUND.—In providing support

13 for a project in accordance with this Act, the head of an

14 executive agency may provide for the establishment by the

15 applicant of a joint assistance fund to ensure that

16 amounts received from more than 1 Federal assistance

17 program or appropriation are more effectively adminis18 tered.

19 (b) AGREEMENT.—A joint assistance fund may only

20 be established under subsection (a) in accordance with an

21 agreement by the executive agencies involved concerning

22 the responsibilities of each such agency. Such an agree23 ment shall—

24 (1) ensure the availability of necessary informa25 tion to the executive agencies and Congress;
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1 (2) provide that the agency administering the

2 fund is responsible and accountable by program and

3 appropriation for the amounts provided for the pur4 poses of each account in the fund; and

5 (3) include procedures for returning an excess

6 amount in the fund to participating executive agen7 cies under the applicable appropriation (an excess

8 amount of an expired appropriation lapses from the

9 fund).

10 SEC. 11. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, ACCOUNTABILITY AND

11 AUDITS.

12 (a) SINGLE AUDIT ACT.—Recipients of funding pro13 vided in accordance with this Act shall be subject to the

14 provisions of chapter 75 of title 31, United States Code.

15 (b) RECORDS.—With respect to each project financed

16 through an account in a joint management fund estab17 lished under section 10, the recipient of amounts from the

18 fund shall maintain records as required by the head of

19 the executive agencies responsible for administering the

20 fund. Such records shall include—

21 (1) the amount and disposition by the recipient

22 of assistance received under each Federal assistance

23 program and appropriation;

24 (2) the total cost of the project for which such

25 assistance was given or used;
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1 (3) that part of the cost of the project provided

2 from other sources; and

3 (4) other records that will make it easier to

4 conduct an audit of the project.

5 (c) AVAILABILITY.—Records of a recipient related to

6 an amount received from a joint management fund under

7 this Act shall be made available to the head of the execu8 tive agency responsible for administering the fund and the

9 Comptroller General for inspection and audit.

10 SEC. 12. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND PERSONNEL TRAIN11 ING.

12 Amounts available for technical assistance and per13 sonnel training under any Federal assistance program

14 shall be available for technical assistance and training

15 under a project approved for joint financing under this

16 Act where a portion of such financing involves such Fed17 eral assistance program and another assistance program.

18 SEC. 13. JOINT FINANCING FOR FEDERAL-TRIBAL AS19 SISTED PROJECTS.

20 Under regulations promulgated under this Act, the

21 head of an executive agency may enter into an agreement

22 with a State to extend the benefits of this Act to a project

23 that involves assistance from at least 1 executive agency

24 and at least 1 tribal agency or instrumentality. The agree-
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1 ment may include arrangements to process requests or ad2 minister assistance on a joint basis.

3 SEC. 14. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

4 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment

5 of this Act, the President shall prepare and submit to Con6 gress a report concerning the actions taken under this Act

7 together with recommendations for the continuation of

8 this Act or proposed amendments thereto. Such report

9 shall include a detailed evaluation of the operation of this

10 Act, including information on the benefits and costs of

11 jointly financed projects that accrue to participating In12 dian tribes and tribal organizations.

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