Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Consolidation Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-1574
Sponsor: Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK]
Introduced: 2013-10-16 in the Senate
Policy area: Native Americans
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Economic development
Employment and training programs
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Indian social and development programs
Minority employment
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2013-10-16
text: 
Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Consolidation Act of 2013 - Amends the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Demonstration Act of 1992 to give the Secretary of the Interior the exclusive authority to approve or disapprove a plan submitted by an Indian tribe or tribal organization to integrate federal employment, training, and related services into a consolidated and comprehensive program.
 
 Deems a plan to be approved if the Secretary does not approve or disapprove the plan within 90 days of receiving it. 
 
Gives tribes and tribal organizations certain hearing and appeal rights if their plan is denied.
 
Prohibits a tribe or tribal organization from being required to submit any additional budget, report, audit, supplemental audit, or other documentation after its plan is approved.
 
Gives an affected federal agency 90 days to decide on a request by a tribe or tribal organization for a waiver of statutory, regulatory, or administrative requirements that prevent them from efficiently implementing their plan.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish and initiate an interagency dispute resolution process if an affected federal agency denies such a request and the Secretary determines that the waiver would not be inconsistent with such Act's provisions or prevent the affected agency from fulfilling its obligations under such Act. Gives the affected agency the final authority to resolve the dispute if the dispute resolution process fails to do so.
 
Eliminates certain conditions on tribes or tribal organizations using funds under such Act for job creation and economic development activities. Requires, instead, that those expenditures be consistent with their plan. 
 
Requires employers that place plan participants in training positions to prioritize the provision of permanent employment to those participants if they successfully complete the training period. (Currently, they are to guarantee employment to those participants for at least one year.)
 
Gives the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) 20 days after the receipt of funds from the appropriate federal department or agency to transfer them to participating tribes or tribal organizations.
 
Expands the number of federal departments required to enter into an interdepartmental memorandum of agreement providing for the implementation of such Act.
 
Requires transferred amounts to be spent on activities authorized under a plan, rather than requiring them to be spent on allowable activities under the program from which the funds were transferred.

action_date: 2014-08-26
text: 
 Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Consolidation Act of 2014 - (Sec. 2) Amends the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Demonstration Act of 1992 to make revisions to the program that provides for the integration of employment, training, and related services programs from federal funds.
 
Renames the Act as the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Act of 1992. 
 
(Sec. 3) Revises the purpose of the Act. 
 
(Sec. 5) Revises provisions concerning the authority of Indian tribes to integrate employment, training, and related services programs and federal funds received by the Tribe. 
 
(Sec. 6) Lists the types of programs that may be integrated pursuant to an approved integration plan. 
 
Makes block grants eligible to be integrated into the plan. 
 
Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to: (1) assess the programs of specified departments of the federal government, and (2) develop an inventory of all programs of those departments that may be integrated. 
 
Allows an Indian tribe to include in the plan: (1) any program identified by the Comptroller General in the inventory, and (2) any program not identified in the inventory at the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior. 
 
(Sec. 8) Sets forth requirements regarding the granting or denial of a waiver request. Considers a waiver request to be granted if the head of an affected agency does not make a decision on the request within 90 days. 
 
Directs the Secretary to establish and initiate an interagency dispute resolution process if an affected federal agency denies such a request and the Secretary determines that the waiver would not be inconsistent with this Act's provisions or prevent the affected agency from fulfilling its obligations under this Act. Requires if, the dispute resolution process fails to resolve the dispute between a participating Indian tribe and an affected agency, the head of the affected agency shall have the final authority to resolve the dispute. Requires the Secretary, after the dispute is resolved, to provide the requesting tribe with: (1) the final decision on the waiver request; and (2) notice of the right to file an appeal in accordance with the applicable provisions specified in this Act. 
 
(Sec. 9) Gives the Secretary exclusive authority to approve or disapprove a plan submitted by an Indian tribe.
 
Sets forth requirements for the approval or denial of a plan, including giving the Secretary 90 days to approve or deny a plan.
 
Allows the Secretary to extend or otherwise alter the 90-day period for not more than 90 additional days if the Secretary obtains the express written consent of the Indian tribe. 
 
 Provides for certain hearing and appeal rights for an Indian tribe if the Secretary denies its plan. 
 
(Sec. 10) Revises provisions allowing tribes to use funds available for a plan to place participants in training positions with employers. Expands the program to include non-private employers. Extends the training allowance period from 12 months to 24 months. Removes the requirement that the employer agree to provide permanent employment to participants. 
 
(Sec. 11) Revises the responsibilities of the Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in carrying out this Act to include: 

 
the distribution of the funds to the respective Indian tribes by no later than 45 days after the receipt of the funds from the appropriate federal department or agency, 
 
the performance of the activities relating to agency waivers, and 
 
the establishment of an interagency dispute resolution process. 
 
 
Expands the number of federal departments required to enter into an interdepartmental memorandum of agreement providing for the implementation of this Act.
 
Prohibits the BIA from developing a reporting format that requires a participating tribe to report on the expenditure of funds transferred to the tribe under the Act. 
 
(Sec. 12) Provides that the inclusion of a program in a tribal plan under this Act shall not: (1) modify, limit, or otherwise affect the eligibility of the program for contracting under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act; or (2) eliminate the applicability of any provision of such Act, as the provision relates to a specific program eligible for contracting under that Act. 
 
(Sec. 13) Sets forth provisions governing the transfer of funds to Indian tribes under the Act. 
 
(Sec. 14) Establishes rules governing the administration of funds received by Indian tribes under the Act.
 
Treats any funds transferred to an Indian tribe under the Act as non-federal funds for purposes of meeting matching requirements under any other federal law. 
 
Applies civil liability limitations to plans approved under the Act. 
 
Declares that an Indian tribe shall be entitled to retain interest earned on any funds transferred to the tribe under an approved plan and such interest shall not diminish the amount of funds the tribe is authorized to receive under the plan in the year the interest is earned or in any subsequent fiscal year.
 
(Sec. 15) Revises reporting requirements under the Act. 
 
(Sec. 17) Declares that nothing in this Act or any amendment made by this Act: (1) affects any plan approved under the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Act of 1992 (as so redesignated) before this Act's enactment date, (2) requires any Indian tribe or tribal organization to resubmit an approved plan, or (3) modifies the effective period of any such plan. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-08-26
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 535.
action_date: 2014-08-26
text: Committee on Indian Affairs. Reported by Senator Tester under authority of the order of the Senate of 08/05/2014 with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
action_date: 2014-08-26
text: Committee on Indian Affairs. Reported by Senator Tester under authority of the order of the Senate of 08/05/2014 with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
action_date: 2014-06-11
text: Committee on Indian Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2014-04-02
text: Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 113-324.
action_date: 2013-10-16
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
action_date: 2013-10-16
text: Introduced in Senate