H. R. 6938—105
seq.), $1,131,617,000 to remain available until September 30, 2027, 
except as otherwise provided herein: Provided, That federally recog-
nized Indian tribes and tribal organizations of federally recognized 
Indian tribes may use their tribal priority allocations for unmet 
welfare assistance costs: Provided further, That not to exceed 
$833,592,000 for school operations costs of Bureau-funded schools 
and other education programs shall become available on June 1, 
2026, and shall remain available until September 30, 2027: Provided 
further, That notwithstanding any other provision of law, including 
but not limited to the Indian Self–Determination Act of 1975 (25 
U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) and section 1128 of the Education Amendments 
of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2008), not to exceed $95,822,000 within and 
only from such amounts made available for school operations shall 
be available for administrative cost grants associated with grants 
approved prior to June 1, 2026: Provided further, That in order 
to enhance the safety of Bureau field employees, the Bureau may 
use funds to purchase uniforms or other identifying articles of 
clothing for personnel. 
EDUCATION CONSTRUCTION 
For construction, repair, improvement, and maintenance of 
buildings, utilities, and other facilities necessary for the operation 
of 
Indian 
education 
programs, 
including 
architectural 
and 
engineering services by contract; acquisition of lands, and interests 
in lands; $234,725,000, to remain available until expended: Pro-
vided, That in order to ensure timely completion of construction 
projects, the Secretary of the Interior may assume control of a 
project and all funds related to the project, if, not later than 
18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, any Public 
Law 100–297 (25 U.S.C. 2501, et seq.) 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. 
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS 
The Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Edu-
cation may carry out the operation of Indian programs by direct 
expenditure, contracts, cooperative agreements, compacts, and 
grants, either directly or in cooperation with States and other 
organizations. 
Notwithstanding Public Law 87–279 (25 U.S.C. 15), the Bureau 
of Indian Affairs may contract for services in support of the manage-
ment, operation, and maintenance of the Power Division of the 
San Carlos Irrigation Project. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no funds available 
to the Bureau of Indian Affairs or the Bureau of Indian Education 
for central office oversight and Executive Direction and Administra-
tive Services (except Executive Direction and Administrative Serv-
ices funding for Tribal Priority Allocations, regional offices, and 
facilities operations and maintenance) shall be available for con-
tracts, grants, compacts, or cooperative agreements with the Bureau 
of Indian Affairs or the Bureau of Indian Education under the 
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 or the Bureau of
H. R. 6938—106
Indian Education, this action shall not diminish the Federal Govern-
ment’s trust responsibility to that tribe, or the government-to-
government relationship between the United States and that tribe, 
or that tribe’s ability to access future appropriations. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no funds available 
to the Bureau of Indian Education, other than the amounts provided 
herein for assistance to public schools under 25 U.S.C. 5342 et 
seq., shall be available to support the operation of any elementary 
or secondary school in the State of Alaska. 
No funds available to the Bureau of Indian Education shall 
be used to support expanded grades for any school or dormitory 
beyond the grade structure in place or approved by the Secretary 
of the Interior at each school in the Bureau of Indian Education 
school system as of October 1, 1995, except that the Secretary 
of the Interior may waive this prohibition to support expansion 
of up to one additional grade when the Secretary determines such 
waiver is needed to support accomplishment of the mission of the 
Bureau of Indian Education, or more than one grade to expand 
the elementary grade structure for Bureau-funded schools with 
a K–2 grade structure on October 1, 1996. Appropriations made 
available in this or any prior Act for schools funded by the Bureau 
shall be available, in accordance with the Bureau’s funding formula, 
only to the schools in the Bureau school system as of September 
1, 1996, and to any school or school program that was reinstated 
in fiscal year 2012. Funds made available under this Act may 
not be used to establish a charter school at a Bureau-funded school 
(as that term is defined in section 1141 of the Education Amend-
ments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2021)), 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 before September 1, 1999, 
may continue to operate during that period, but only if the charter 
school pays to the Bureau 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 programs 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 
school’s operation and employees of a charter school shall not be 
treated 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 indirect 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 administrative cost funds to such grantee using the 
section 5(f) distribution formula. 
Funds available under this Act may not be used to establish 
satellite locations of schools in the Bureau school system as of 
September 1, 1996, except that the Secretary may waive this 
prohibition in order for an Indian tribe to provide language and 
cultural immersion educational programs for non-public schools 
located within the jurisdictional area of the tribal government which 
exclusively serve tribal members, do not include grades beyond 
those currently served at the existing Bureau-funded school, provide
H. R. 6938—107
an educational environment with educator presence and academic 
facilities comparable to the Bureau-funded school, comply with all 
applicable Tribal, Federal, or State health and safety standards, 
and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and demonstrate the bene-
fits of establishing operations at a satellite location in lieu of incur-
ring extraordinary costs, such as for transportation or other impacts 
to students such as those caused by busing students extended 
distances: Provided, That no funds available under this Act may 
be used to fund operations, maintenance, rehabilitation, construc-
tion, or other facilities-related costs for such assets that are not 
owned by the Bureau: Provided further, That the term ‘‘satellite 
school’’ means a school location physically separated from the 
existing Bureau school by more than 50 miles but that forms 
part of the existing school in all other respects. 
Funds made available for Tribal Priority Allocations within 
Operation of Indian Programs and Operation of Indian Education 
Programs may be used to execute requested adjustments in tribal 
priority allocations initiated by an Indian tribe. 
BUREAU OF TRUST FUNDS ADMINISTRATION 
FEDERAL TRUST PROGRAMS 
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS) 
For the operation of trust programs for Indians by direct 
expenditure, contracts, cooperative agreements, compacts, and 
grants, $100,009,000, to remain available until expended, of which 
not to exceed $17,152,000 from this or any other Act, may be 
available for settlement support: Provided, That funds for trust 
management improvements and litigation support may, as needed, 
be transferred to or merged with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 
‘‘Operation of Indian Programs’’ and Bureau of Indian Education, 
‘‘Operation of Indian Education Programs’’ accounts; the Office of 
the Solicitor, ‘‘Salaries and Expenses’’ account; and the Office of 
the Secretary, ‘‘Departmental Operations’’ account: Provided further, 
That funds made available through contracts or grants obligated 
during fiscal year 2026, as authorized by the Indian Self-Determina-
tion and Education Assistance Act of 1975 (25 U.S.C. 5301 et 
seq.), shall remain available until expended by the contractor or 
grantee: Provided further, That notwithstanding any other provision 
of law, the Secretary shall not be required to provide a quarterly 
statement of performance for any Indian trust account that has 
not had activity for at least 15 months and has a balance of 
$15 or less: Provided further, That the Secretary shall issue an 
annual account statement and maintain a record of any such 
accounts and shall permit the balance in each such account to 
be withdrawn upon the express written request of the account 
holder: Provided further, That not to exceed $100,000 is available 
for the Secretary to make payments to correct administrative errors 
of either disbursements from or deposits to Individual Indian Money 
or Tribal accounts after September 30, 2002: Provided further, 
That erroneous payments that are recovered shall be credited to 
and remain available in this account for this purpose: Provided 
further, That the Secretary shall not be required to reconcile Special 
Deposit Accounts with a balance of less than $500 unless the 
Bureau of Trust Funds Administration receives proof of ownership
H. R. 6938—108
from a Special Deposit Accounts claimant: Provided further, That 
notwithstanding section 102 of the American Indian Trust Fund 
Management Reform Act of 1994 (Public Law 103–412) or any 
other provision of law, the Secretary may aggregate the trust 
accounts of individuals whose whereabouts are unknown for a 
continuous period of at least 5 years and shall not be required 
to generate periodic statements of performance for the individual 
accounts: Provided further, That with respect to the preceding pro-
viso, the Secretary shall continue to maintain sufficient records 
to determine the balance of the individual accounts, including any 
accrued interest and income, and such funds shall remain available 
to the individual account holders. 
DEPARTMENTAL OFFICES 
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 
DEPARTMENTAL OPERATIONS 
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS) 
For necessary expenses for management of the Department 
of the Interior and for grants and cooperative agreements, as 
authorized by law, $131,012,000, to remain available until Sep-
tember 30, 2027; of which not to exceed $15,000 may be for official 
reception and representation expenses; of which up to $1,000,000 
shall be available for workers compensation payments and 
unemployment compensation payments associated with the orderly 
closure of the United States Bureau of Mines; and of which 
$14,295,000 for Indian land, mineral, and resource valuation activi-
ties shall remain available until expended: Provided, That funds 
for Indian land, mineral, and resource valuation activities may, 
as needed, be transferred to and merged with the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs ‘‘Operation of Indian Programs’’ and Bureau of Indian Edu-
cation ‘‘Operation of Indian Education Programs’’ accounts and 
the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration ‘‘Federal Trust Pro-
grams’’ account: Provided further, That funds made available 
through contracts or grants obligated during fiscal year 2026, as 
authorized by the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975 (25 U.S.C. 
5301 et seq.), shall remain available until expended by the con-
tractor or grantee. 
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS 
For fiscal year 2026, up to $550,000 of the payments authorized 
by chapter 69 of title 31, United States Code, may be retained 
for administrative expenses of the Payments in Lieu of Taxes Pro-
gram: Provided, That the amounts provided under this Act specifi-
cally for the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program are the only 
amounts available for payments authorized under chapter 69 of 
title 31, United States Code: Provided further, That in the event 
the sums appropriated for any fiscal year for payments pursuant 
to this chapter are insufficient to make the full payments authorized 
by that chapter to all units of local government, then the payment 
to each local government shall be made proportionally: Provided 
further, That the Secretary may make adjustments to payment 
to individual units of local government to correct for prior overpay-
ments or underpayments: Provided further, That no payment shall