452 
tribal personnel attending Office of Surface Mining Rec-
lamation and Enforcement sponsored training. 
ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION FUND 
(INCLUDING RESCISSION OF FUNDS) 
For necessary expenses to carry out title IV of the 
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, 
Public Law 95–87, as amended, $52,946,000, to be de-
rived from receipts of the Abandoned Mine Reclamation 
Fund and to remain available until expended: Provided, 
That pursuant to Public Law 97–365, the Department of 
the Interior is authorized to use up to 20 percent from 
the recovery of the delinquent debt owed to the United 
States Government to pay for contracts to collect these 
debts: Provided further, That in fiscal year 2009 and here-
after, the State of Maryland may set aside the greater of 
$1,000,000 or 10 percent of the total of the grants made 
available to the State under title IV of the Act, if the 
amount set aside is deposited in an acid mine drainage 
abatement and treatment fund established under a State 
law, pursuant to which law the amount, together with all 
interest earned on the amount, is expended by the State 
to undertake acid mine drainage abatement and treatment 
projects, except that before any amounts greater than 10 
percent of its title IV grants are deposited in an acid mine 
drainage abatement and treatment fund, the State of
453 
Maryland must first complete all Surface Mining Control 
and Reclamation Act priority one projects: Provided fur-
ther, That of the unobligated balances available under this 
heading, $8,500,000 are permanently rescinded: Provided 
further, That amounts provided under this heading may 
be used for the travel and per diem expenses of State and 
tribal personnel attending Office of Surface Mining Rec-
lamation and Enforcement sponsored training. 
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISION 
With funds available for the Technical Innovation 
and Professional Services program in this Act, the Sec-
retary may transfer title for computer hardware, software 
and other technical equipment to State and tribal regu-
latory and reclamation programs. 
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS 
OPERATION OF INDIAN PROGRAMS 
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS) 
For expenses necessary for the operation of Indian 
programs, as authorized by law, including the Snyder Act 
of November 2, 1921 (25 U.S.C. 13), the Indian Self-De-
termination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 (25 
U.S.C. 450 et seq.), as amended, the Education Amend-
ments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2001–2019), and the Tribally 
Controlled Schools Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.), 
as amended, $2,128,630,000, to remain available until
454 
September 30, 2010 except as otherwise provided herein; 
of which not to exceed $8,500 may be for official reception 
and representation expenses; of which not to exceed 
$74,915,000 shall be for welfare assistance payments: 
Provided, That in cases of designated Federal disasters, 
the Secretary may exceed such cap, from the amounts pro-
vided herein, to provide for disaster relief to Indian com-
munities affected by the disaster; notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, including but not limited to the 
Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975, as amended, not 
to exceed $147,294,000 shall be available for payments 
for contract support costs associated with ongoing con-
tracts, grants, compacts, or annual funding agreements 
entered into with the Bureau prior to or during fiscal year 
2009, as authorized by such Act, except that tribes and 
tribal organizations may use their tribal priority alloca-
tions for unmet contract support costs of ongoing con-
tracts, grants, or compacts, or annual funding agreements 
and for unmet welfare assistance costs; of which not to 
exceed $499,470,000 for school operations costs of Bu-
reau-funded schools and other education programs shall 
become available on July 1, 2009, and shall remain avail-
able until September 30, 2010; and of which not to exceed 
$58,623,000 shall remain available until expended for 
housing improvement, road maintenance, attorney fees,
455 
litigation support, the Indian Self-Determination Fund, 
land records improvement, and the Navajo-Hopi Settle-
ment Program: Provided further, That notwithstanding 
any other provision of law, including but not limited to 
the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975, as amended, 
and 25 U.S.C. 2008, not to exceed $43,373,000 within 
and only from such amounts made available for school op-
erations shall be available for administrative cost grants 
associated with ongoing grants entered into with the Bu-
reau prior to or during fiscal year 2008 for the operation 
of Bureau-funded schools, and up to $500,000 within and 
only from such amounts made available for administrative 
cost grants shall be available for the transitional costs of 
initial administrative cost grants to grantees that assume 
operation on or after July 1, 2008, of Bureau-funded 
schools: Provided further, That any forestry funds allo-
cated to a tribe which remain unobligated as of September 
30, 2010, may be transferred during fiscal year 2011 to 
an Indian forest land assistance account established for 
the benefit of the holder of the funds within the holder’s 
trust fund account: Provided further, That any such unob-
ligated balances not so transferred shall expire on Sep-
tember 30, 2011.
456 
CONSTRUCTION 
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS) 
For construction, repair, improvement, and mainte-
nance of irrigation and power systems, buildings, utilities, 
and other facilities, including architectural and engineer-
ing services by contract; acquisition of lands, and interests 
in lands; and preparation of lands for farming, and for 
construction of the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project pur-
suant to Public Law 87–483, $217,688,000, to remain 
available until expended: Provided, That such amounts as 
may be available for the construction of the Navajo Indian 
Irrigation Project may be transferred to the Bureau of 
Reclamation: Provided further, That not to exceed 6 per-
cent of contract authority available to the Bureau of In-
dian Affairs from the Federal Highway Trust Fund may 
be used to cover the road program management costs of 
the Bureau: Provided further, That any funds provided for 
the Safety of Dams program pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 13 
shall be made available on a nonreimbursable basis: Pro-
vided further, That for fiscal year 2009, in implementing 
new construction or facilities improvement and repair 
project grants in excess of $100,000 that are provided to 
grant schools under Public Law 100–297, as amended, the 
Secretary of the Interior shall use the Administrative and 
Audit Requirements and Cost Principles for Assistance
457 
Programs contained in 43 CFR part 12 as the regulatory 
requirements: Provided further, That such grants shall not 
be subject to section 12.61 of 43 CFR; the Secretary and 
the grantee shall negotiate and determine a schedule of 
payments for the work to be performed: Provided further, 
That in considering grant applications, the Secretary shall 
consider whether such grantee would be deficient in assur-
ing that the construction projects conform to applicable 
building standards and codes and Federal, tribal, or State 
health and safety standards as required by 25 U.S.C. 
2005(b), with respect to organizational and financial man-
agement capabilities: Provided further, That if the Sec-
retary declines a grant application, the Secretary shall fol-
low the requirements contained in 25 U.S.C. 2504(f): Pro-
vided further, That any disputes between the Secretary 
and any grantee concerning a grant shall be subject to 
the disputes provision in 25 U.S.C. 2507(e): Provided fur-
ther, That in order to ensure timely completion of con-
struction projects, the Secretary may assume control of 
a project and all funds related to the project, if, within 
eighteen months of the date of enactment of this Act, any 
grantee receiving funds appropriated in this Act or in any 
prior Act, has not completed the planning and design 
phase of the project and commenced construction: Pro-
vided further, That this appropriation may be reimbursed
458 
from the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indi-
ans appropriation for the appropriate share of construc-
tion costs for space expansion needed in agency offices to 
meet trust reform implementation. 
INDIAN LAND AND WATER CLAIM SETTLEMENTS AND 
MISCELLANEOUS PAYMENTS TO INDIANS 
For payments and necessary administrative expenses 
for implementation of Indian land and water claim settle-
ments pursuant to Public Laws 99–264, 100–580, 101– 
618, 108–447, 109–379, and 109–479, and for implemen-
tation of other land and water rights settlements, 
$21,627,000, to remain available until expended. 
INDIAN GUARANTEED LOAN PROGRAM ACCOUNT 
For the cost of guaranteed loans, $8,186,000, of 
which $1,600,000 is for administrative expenses, as au-
thorized by the Indian Financing Act of 1974, as amend-
ed: Provided, That of the amounts provided herein for ad-
ministrative expenses, $500,000 is for the modernization 
of a management and accounting system: Provided further, 
That such costs, including the cost of modifying such 
loans, shall be as defined in section 502 of the Congres-
sional Budget Act of 1974: Provided further, That these 
funds are available to subsidize total loan principal, any 
part of which is to be guaranteed, not to exceed 
$85,200,517.
459 
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS 
The Bureau of Indian Affairs may carry out the oper-
ation of Indian programs by direct expenditure, contracts, 
cooperative agreements, compacts and grants, either di-
rectly or in cooperation with States and other organiza-
tions. 
Notwithstanding 25 U.S.C. 15, the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs may contract for services in support of the man-
agement, operation, and maintenance of the Power Divi-
sion of the San Carlos Irrigation Project. 
Appropriations for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (ex-
cept the Revolving Fund for Loans Liquidating Account, 
Indian Loan Guaranty and Insurance Fund Liquidating 
Account, Indian Guaranteed Loan Financing Account, In-
dian Direct Loan Financing Account, and the Indian 
Guaranteed Loan Program account) shall be available for 
expenses of exhibits. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no funds 
available to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for central office 
oversight and Executive Direction and Administrative 
Services (except executive direction and administrative 
services funding for Tribal Priority Allocations, regional 
offices, and facilities operations and maintenance) shall be 
available for contracts, grants, compacts, or cooperative 
agreements with the Bureau of Indian Affairs under the
460 
provisions of the Indian Self-Determination Act or the 
Tribal Self-Governance Act of 1994 (Public Law 103– 
413). 
In the event any tribe returns appropriations made 
available by this Act to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, this 
action shall not diminish the Federal Government’s trust 
responsibility to that tribe, or the government-to-govern-
ment relationship between the United States and that 
tribe, or that tribe’s ability to access future appropria-
tions. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no funds 
available to the Bureau, other than the amounts provided 
herein for assistance to public schools under 25 U.S.C. 
452 et seq., shall be available to support the operation of 
any elementary or secondary school in the State of Alaska. 
Appropriations made available in this or any other 
Act for schools funded by the Bureau shall be available 
only to the schools in the Bureau school system as of Sep-
tember 1, 1996. No funds available to the Bureau shall 
be used to support expanded grades for any school or dor-
mitory beyond the grade structure in place or approved 
by the Secretary of the Interior at each school in the Bu-
reau school system as of October 1, 1995. Funds made 
available under this Act may not be used to establish a 
charter school at a Bureau-funded school (as that term
461 
is defined in section 1146 of the Education Amendments 
of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2026)), except that a charter school 
that is in existence on the date of the enactment of this 
Act and that has operated at a Bureau-funded school be-
fore September 1, 1999, may continue to operate during 
that period, but only if the charter school pays to the Bu-
reau a pro rata share of funds to reimburse the Bureau 
for the use of the real and personal property (including 
buses and vans), the funds of the charter school are kept 
separate and apart from Bureau funds, and the Bureau 
does not assume any obligation for charter school pro-
grams of the State in which the school is located if the 
charter school loses such funding. Employees of Bureau- 
funded schools sharing a campus with a charter school and 
performing functions related to the charter schools oper-
ation and employees of a charter school shall not be treat-
ed as Federal employees for purposes of chapter 171 of 
title 28, United States Code. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including 
section 113 of title I of appendix C of Public Law 106– 
113, if in fiscal year 2003 or 2004 a grantee received indi-
rect and administrative costs pursuant to a distribution 
formula based on section 5(f) of Public Law 101–301, the 
Secretary shall continue to distribute indirect and admin-
462 
istrative cost funds to such grantee using the section 5(f) 
distribution formula. 
DEPARTMENTAL OFFICES 
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES 
For necessary expenses for management of the De-
partment of the Interior, $107,264,000; of which not to 
exceed $15,000 may be for official reception and represen-
tation expenses; and of which up to $1,000,000 shall be 
available for workers compensation payments and unem-
ployment compensation payments associated with the or-
derly closure of the United States Bureau of Mines: Pro-
vided, That, for fiscal year 2009 up to $400,000 of the 
payments authorized by the Act of October 20, 1976, as 
amended (31 U.S.C. 6901–6907) may be retained for ad-
ministrative expenses of the Payments in Lieu of Taxes 
Program: Provided further, That no payment shall be 
made pursuant to that Act to otherwise eligible units of 
local government if the computed amount of the payment 
is less than $100.
463 
MANAGEMENT OF FEDERAL LANDS FOR SUBSISTENCE 
USES 
(RESCISSION) 
The unobligated balances under this heading as of 
the date of enactment of this provision are permanently 
rescinded. 
INSULAR AFFAIRS 
ASSISTANCE TO TERRITORIES 
For expenses necessary for assistance to territories 
under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior, 
$78,665,000, of which: (1) $69,815,000 shall remain 
available until expended for technical assistance, including 
maintenance assistance, disaster assistance, insular man-
agement controls, coral reef initiative activities, and brown 
tree snake control and research; grants to the judiciary 
in American Samoa for compensation and expenses, as au-
thorized by law (48 U.S.C. 1661(c)); grants to the Govern-
ment of American Samoa, in addition to current local rev-
enues, for construction and support of governmental func-
tions; grants to the Government of the Virgin Islands as 
authorized by law; grants to the Government of Guam, 
as authorized by law; and grants to the Government of 
the Northern Mariana Islands as authorized by law (Pub-
lic Law 94–241; 90 Stat. 272); and (2) $8,850,000 shall 
be available until September 30, 2010 for salaries and ex-
464 
penses of the Office of Insular Affairs: Provided, That all 
financial transactions of the territorial and local govern-
ments herein provided for, including such transactions of 
all agencies or instrumentalities established or used by 
such governments, may be audited by the Government Ac-
countability Office, at its discretion, in accordance with 
chapter 35 of title 31, United States Code: Provided fur-
ther, That Northern Mariana Islands Covenant grant 
funding shall be provided according to those terms of the 
Agreement of the Special Representatives on Future 
United States Financial Assistance for the Northern Mar-
iana Islands approved by Public Law 104–134: Provided 
further, That of the amounts provided for technical assist-
ance, sufficient funds shall be made available for a grant 
to the Pacific Basin Development Council: Provided fur-
ther, That of the amounts provided for technical assist-
ance, sufficient funding shall be made available for a grant 
to the Close Up Foundation: Provided further, That the 
funds for the program of operations and maintenance im-
provement are appropriated to institutionalize routine op-
erations and maintenance improvement of capital infra-
structure with territorial participation and cost sharing to 
be determined by the Secretary based on the grantee’s 
commitment to timely maintenance of its capital assets: 
Provided further, That any appropriation for disaster as-