H.R. 228 — what changed

Section 3 of the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3402), as amended by section 2 of this Act, is amended—

“(2) Indian tribe

changed “(A) In general—The terms Indian tribe and tribe have the meaning given the term Indian tribe in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).5304).

changed “(B) Inclusion—The term Indian tribe includes tribal organizations (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)).”5304)).”

“(4) Program—The term program means a program described in section 5(a).”

Section 5 of the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3404), as amended by section 2 of this Act, is amended to read as follows:

“5. Programs affected

“(a) Programs affected

“(1) In general—The programs that may be integrated pursuant to a plan approved under section 8 shall be only programs—

“(A) implemented for the purpose of—

“(i) job training;

“(ii) welfare to work and tribal work experience;

“(iii) creating or enhancing employment opportunities;

“(iv) skill development;

“(v) assisting Indian youth and adults to succeed in the workforce;

“(vi) encouraging self-sufficiency;

“(vii) familiarizing individual participants with the world of work;

“(viii) facilitating the creation of job opportunities;

“(ix) economic development; or

“(x) any services related to the activities described in clauses (i) through (x); and

“(B) under which an Indian tribe or members of an Indian tribe—

“(i) are eligible to receive funds—

“(I) under a statutory or administrative formula making funds available to an Indian tribe; or

changed “(II) due to based solely or in part on their status as Indians under Federal law; or

changed “(ii) have secured funds as a result of a competitive process, a noncompetitive process, process or a specific designation.

“(2) Treatment of block grant funds—For purposes of this section, programs funded by block grant funds provided to an Indian tribe, regardless of whether the block grant is for the benefit of the Indian tribe because of the status of the Indian tribe or the status of the beneficiaries the grant serves, shall be eligible to be integrated into the plan.

“(b) Program authorization—The Secretary shall, in cooperation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, after the Secretary approves a plan submitted by an Indian tribe or tribal organization under section 8, authorize the Indian tribe or tribal organization, as applicable, to coordinate, in accordance with the plan, federally funded employment, training, and related services programs and funding in a manner that integrates the programs and funding into a consolidated and comprehensive program.”

Section 7 of the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3406), as amended by section 2 of this Act, is amended to read as follows:

changed “7. “7 Plan review

“(a) In general—Upon receipt of a plan from an Indian tribe, the Secretary shall consult with—

“(1) the head of each Federal agency overseeing a program identified in the plan; and

“(2) the Indian tribe that submitted the plan.

“(b) Identification of waivers—The parties identified in subsection (a) shall identify any waivers of applicable statutory, regulatory, or administrative requirements, or of Federal agency policies or procedures necessary to enable the Indian tribe to efficiently implement the plan.

“(c) Tribal waiver request—In consultation with the Secretary, a participating Indian tribe may request that the head of each affected agency waive any statutory, regulatory, or administrative requirement, policy, or procedure identified subsection (b).

“(d) Waiver authority

“(1) In general—Except as provided in paragraph (2), notwithstanding any other provision of law, the head of each affected Federal agency shall waive any applicable statutory, regulatory, or administrative requirement, regulation, policy, or procedure promulgated by the agency that has been identified by the parties under subparagraph (b).

“(2) Exception—The head of an affected Federal agency shall not grant a waiver under paragraph (1) if the head of the affected agency determines that a waiver will be inconsistent with—

“(A) the purposes of this Act; or

“(B) the provision of law from which the program included in the plan derives its authority that is specifically applicable to Indians.

“(e) Decision on waiver request

“(1) In general—Not later than 90 days after the head of an affected agency receives a waiver request, the head of the affected agency shall decide whether to grant or deny the request.

“(2) Denial of request—If the head of the affected agency denies a waiver request, not later than 30 days after the date on which the denial is made, the head of the affected agency shall provide the requesting Indian tribe and the Secretary with written notice of the denial and the reasons for the denial.

“(3) Failure to Act on request—If the head of an affected agency does not make a decision under paragraph (1) by the deadline identified in that paragraph, the request shall be considered to be granted.

“(f) Secretarial review—If the head of an affected agency denies a waiver request under subsection (e)(2), not later than 30 days after the date on which the request is denied, the Secretary shall review the denial and determine whether granting the waiver—

“(1) will be inconsistent with the provisions of this Act; or

“(2) will prevent the affected agency from fulfilling the obligations of the affected agency under this Act.

“(g) Interagency dispute resolution

“(1) In general—Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary determines that granting the waiver will not be inconsistent with the provisions of this Act and will not prevent the affected agency from fulfilling the obligations of the affected agency under this Act, the Secretary shall establish and initiate an interagency dispute resolution process involving—

“(A) the Secretary;

“(B) the participating Indian tribe; and

“(C) the head of the affected agency.

“(2) Duration—A dispute subject to paragraph (1) shall be resolved not later than 30 days after the date on which the process is initiated.

“(h) Final authority—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.

“(i) Final decision—Not later than 10 days after the date on which the dispute is resolved under this section, the Secretary shall provide the requesting Indian 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 described in section 8(d).”

Section 12 of the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3411), as amended by section 2 of this Act, is amended to read as follows:

“12. No reduction in amounts

“(a) In general—In no case shall the amount of Federal funds available to an Indian tribe that has in place an approved plan under this Act be reduced as a result of—

“(1) the enactment of this Act; or

“(2) the approval or implementation of a plan of an Indian tribe under this Act.

“(b) Interaction with other laws—The inclusion of a program in a tribal plan under this Act shall not—

changed “(1) modify, limit, or otherwise affect the eligibility of the program for contracting under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 5301 et seq.); or

changed “(2) eliminate the applicability of any provision of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 5301 et seq.), as the provision relates to a specific program eligible for contracting under that Act.”

Section 13 of the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3412), as amended by section 2 of this Act, is amended to read as follows:

“13. Transfer of funds

“(a) In general—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not later than 30 days after the date of apportionment to the applicable Federal department or agency, the head of a Federal agency overseeing a program identified in a plan approved under this Act shall transfer to the Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs for distribution to an Indian tribe any funds identified in the approved plan of the Indian tribe.

changed “(b) Transfer of funds—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, at the request of the Indian tribe, all program funds transferred to an Indian tribe in accordance with the approved plan of the Indian tribe shall be transferred to the Indian tribe pursuant to an existing contract, compact, or funding agreement awarded pursuant to title I or IV of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 5301 et seq.).”