agency’s position supporting the need to 
issue the regulation; and 
(iii) a statement of the extent to 
which the concerns of tribal officials have 
been met. 
SEC. 7. TRIBAL SELF-GOVERNMENT, TRIBAL TRUST RE-
SOURCES, OR INDIAN TRIBAL TREATY AND 
OTHER RIGHTS. 
On issues relating to tribal self-government, tribal 
trust resources, or Indian tribal treaty and other rights, 
each agency shall explore and, where appropriate, use con-
sensual mechanisms for developing policies, including con-
sideration of negotiated rulemaking. 
SEC. 8. PREEMPTION OF TRIBAL LAW. 
To the extent practicable and permitted by law, no 
agency shall establish or implement any policy that has 
tribal implications and that preempts tribal law unless the 
agency, before the implementation of the policy— 
(1) consulted through the accountable consulta-
tion process with tribal officials in development of 
the proposed policy; and 
(2) in a separately identified portion of the pre-
amble to the policy, provided to the Committee on 
Natural Resources of the House of Representative, 
the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate, and 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
03:46 Mar 14, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5608.IH
H5608
smartinez on PRODPC61 with BILLS
affected Indian tribes a tribal summary impact 
statement containing— 
(A) a description of the extent of the agen-
cy’s prior consultation with tribal officials; 
(B) a summary of the nature of the con-
cerns of the tribal officials and the agency’s po-
sition supporting the need to issue the regula-
tion; and 
(C) a statement of the extent to which the 
concerns of tribal officials have been met. 
SEC. 9. INCREASING FLEXIBILITY FOR INDIAN TRIBAL 
WAIVERS. 
(a) REVIEW; STREAMLINING OF WAIVER PROCESS.— 
Each agency shall review the processes under which In-
dian tribes apply for waivers of statutory and regulatory 
requirements and take appropriate steps to streamline 
those processes. 
(b) FLEXIBLE POLICY APPROACHES.—Each agency 
shall, to the extent practicable and not in violation with 
other Federal laws, consider any application by an Indian 
tribe for a waiver of statutory or regulatory requirements 
in connection with any program administered by the agen-
cy with a general view toward increasing opportunities for 
using flexible policy approaches at the Indian tribal level 
in cases in which the proposed waiver is consistent with 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
03:46 Mar 14, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5608.IH
H5608
smartinez on PRODPC61 with BILLS
the applicable Federal policy objectives and is otherwise 
appropriate. 
(c) DECISION ON APPLICATION FOR WAIVER.—Each 
agency shall, to the extent practicable and not in violation 
with other Federal laws, render a decision upon a complete 
application for a waiver not later than 120 days of receipt 
of such application by the agency, or as otherwise provided 
by Federal law or regulation. If the application for waiver 
is not granted, the agency shall provide the applicant with 
timely written notice of the decision and the reasons there-
for. 
(d) APPLICABILITY OF SECTION.—This section ap-
plies only to statutory or regulatory requirements that are 
discretionary and subject to waiver by the agency. 
Æ 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
03:46 Mar 14, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H5608.IH
H5608
smartinez on PRODPC61 with BILLS