[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1507 Referred in House (RFH)]

  2d Session
                                S. 1507


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 14, 2000

    Referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the 
 Committee on Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To authorize the integration and consolidation of alcohol and substance 
abuse programs and services provided by Indian tribal governments, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Native American Alcohol and 
Substance Abuse Program Consolidation Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to enable Indian tribes to consolidate and integrate 
        alcohol and other substance abuse prevention, diagnosis and 
        treatment programs, and mental health and related programs, to 
        provide unified and more effective and efficient services to 
        Native Americans afflicted with alcohol and other substance 
        abuse problems; and
            (2) to recognize that Indian tribes can best determine the 
        goals and methods for establishing and implementing prevention, 
        diagnosis and treatment programs for their communities, 
        consistent with the policy of self-determination.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    (a) In General.--In this Act:
            (1) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' has the 
        same meaning given the term in section 551(1) of title 5, 
        United States Code.
            (2) Indian.--The term ``Indian'' shall have the meaning 
        given such term in section 4(d) of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(d)).
            (3) Indian tribe.--The terms ``Indian tribe'' and ``tribe'' 
        shall have the meaning given the term ``Indian tribe'' in 
        section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
        Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)) and shall include entities 
        as provided for in subsection (b)(2).
            (4) Secretary.--Except where otherwise provided, the term 
        ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
            (5) Substance abuse.--The term ``substance abuse'' includes 
        the illegal use or abuse of a drug, the abuse of an inhalant, 
        or the abuse of tobacco or related products.
    (b) Indian Tribe.--
            (1) In general.--In any case in which an Indian tribe has 
        authorized another Indian tribe, an inter-tribal consortium, or 
        a tribal organization to plan for or carry out programs, 
        services, functions, or activities (or portions thereof) on its 
        behalf under this Act, the authorized Indian tribe, inter-
        tribal consortium, or tribal organization shall have the rights 
        and responsibilities of the authorizing Indian tribe (except as 
        otherwise provided in the authorizing resolution or in this 
        Act).
            (2) Inclusion of other entities.--In a case described in 
        paragraph (1), the term ``Indian tribe'', as defined in 
        subsection (a)(2), shall include the additional authorized 
        Indian tribe, inter-tribal consortium, or tribal organization.

SEC. 4. INTEGRATION OF SERVICES AUTHORIZED.

    The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in cooperation with the 
Secretary of Labor, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Education, 
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, United States Attorney 
General, and Secretary of Transportation, as appropriate, shall, upon 
the receipt of a plan acceptable to the Secretary that is submitted by 
an Indian tribe, authorize the tribe to coordinate, in accordance with 
such plan, its federally funded alcohol and substance abuse and mental 
health programs in a manner that integrates the program services 
involved into a single, coordinated, comprehensive program and reduces 
administrative costs by consolidating administrative functions.

SEC. 5. PROGRAMS AFFECTED.

    The programs that may be integrated in a demonstration project 
under any plan referred to in section 4 shall include--
            (1) any program under which an Indian tribe is eligible for 
        the receipt of funds under a statutory or administrative 
        formula for the purposes of prevention, diagnosis or treatment 
        of alcohol and other substance abuse problems and disorders, or 
        mental health problems and disorders, or any program designed 
        to enhance the ability to treat, diagnose or prevent alcohol 
        and other substance abuse and related problems and disorders, 
        or mental health problems or disorders;
            (2) any program under which an Indian tribe is eligible for 
        receipt of funds though a competitive or other grant program 
        for the purposes of prevention, diagnosis or treatment of 
        alcohol and other substance abuse problems and disorders, or 
        mental health problems and disorders, or treatment, diagnosis 
        and prevention of related problems and disorders, or any 
        program designed to enhance the ability to treat, diagnose or 
        prevent alcohol and other substance abuse and related problems 
        and disorders, or mental health problems or disorders, if--
                    (A) the Indian tribe has provided notice to the 
                appropriate agency regarding the intentions of the 
                tribe to include the grant program in the plan it 
                submits to the Secretary, and the affected agency has 
                consented to the inclusion of the grant in the plan; or
                    (B) the Indian tribe has elected to include the 
                grant program in its plan, and the administrative 
                requirements contained in the plan are essentially the 
                same as the administrative requirements under the grant 
                program; and
            (3) any program under which an Indian tribe is eligible for 
        receipt of funds under any other funding scheme for the 
        purposes of prevention, diagnosis or treatment of alcohol and 
        other substance abuse problems and disorders, or mental health 
        problems and disorders, or treatment, diagnosis and prevention 
        of related problems and disorders, or any program designed to 
        enhance the ability to treat, diagnose or prevent alcohol and 
        other substance abuse and related problems and disorders, or 
        mental health problems or disorders.

SEC. 6. PLAN REQUIREMENTS.

    For a plan to be acceptable under section 4, the plan shall--
            (1) identify the programs to be integrated;
            (2) be consistent with the purposes of this Act authorizing 
        the services to be integrated into the project;
            (3) describe a comprehensive strategy that identifies the 
        full range of existing and potential alcohol and substance 
        abuse and mental health treatment and prevention programs 
        available on and near the tribe's service area;
            (4) describe the manner in which services are to be 
        integrated and delivered and the results expected under the 
        plan;
            (5) identify the projected expenditures under the plan in a 
        single budget;
            (6) identify the agency or agencies in the tribe to be 
        involved in the delivery of the services integrated under the 
        plan;
            (7) identify any statutory provisions, regulations, 
        policies or procedures that the tribe believes need to be 
        waived in order to implement its plan; and
            (8) be approved by the governing body of the tribe.

SEC. 7. PLAN REVIEW.

    (a) Consultation.--Upon receipt of a plan from an Indian tribe 
under section 4, the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of each 
Federal agency providing funds to be used to implement the plan, and 
with the tribe submitting the plan.
    (b) Identification of Waivers.--The parties consulting on the 
implementation of the plan under subsection (a) shall identify any 
waivers of statutory requirements or of Federal agency regulations, 
policies or procedures necessary to enable the tribal government to 
implement its plan.
    (c) Waivers.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Secretary of the affected agency shall have the authority to waive any 
statutory requirement, regulation, policy, or procedure promulgated by 
the affected agency that has been identified by the tribe or the 
Federal agency under subsection (b) unless the Secretary of the 
affected department determines that such a waiver is inconsistent with 
the purposes of this Act or with those provisions of the Act that 
authorizes the program involved which are specifically applicable to 
Indian programs.

SEC. 8. PLAN APPROVAL.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the receipt by the 
Secretary of a tribe's plan under section 4, the Secretary shall inform 
the tribe, in writing, of the Secretary's approval or disapproval of 
the plan, including any request for a waiver that is made as part of 
the plan.
    (b) Disapproval.--If a plan is disapproved under subsection (a), 
the Secretary shall inform the tribal government, in writing, of the 
reasons for the disapproval and shall give the tribe an opportunity to 
amend its plan or to petition the Secretary to reconsider such 
disapproval, including reconsidering the disapproval of any waiver 
requested by the Indian tribe.

SEC. 9. FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITIES.

    (a) Responsibilities of the Indian Health Service.--
            (1) Memorandum of understanding.--Not later than 180 days 
        after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 
        Interior, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and 
        Human Services, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of 
        Housing and Urban Development, the United States Attorney 
        General, and the Secretary of Transportation shall enter into 
        an interdepartmental memorandum of agreement providing for the 
        implementation of the plans authorized under this Act.
            (2) Lead agency.--The lead agency under this Act shall be 
        the Indian Health Service.
            (3) Responsibilities.--The responsibilities of the lead 
        agency under this Act shall include--
                    (A) the development of a single reporting format 
                related to the plan for the individual project which 
                shall be used by a tribe to report on the activities 
                carried out under the plan;
                    (B) the development of a single reporting format 
                related to the projected expenditures for the 
                individual plan which shall be used by a tribe to 
                report on all plan expenditures;
                    (C) the development of a single system of Federal 
                oversight for the plan, which shall be implemented by 
                the lead agency;
                    (D) the provision of technical assistance to a 
                tribe appropriate to the plan, delivered under an 
                arrangement subject to the approval of the tribe 
                participating in the project, except that a tribe shall 
                have the authority to accept or reject the plan for 
                providing the technical assistance and the technical 
                assistance provider; and
                    (E) the convening by an appropriate official of the 
                lead agency (whose appointment is subject to the 
                confirmation of the Senate) and a representative of the 
                Indian tribes that carry out projects under this Act, 
                in consultation with each of the Indian tribes that 
                participate in projects under this Act, of a meeting 
                not less than 2 times during each fiscal year for the 
                purpose of providing an opportunity for all Indian 
                tribes that carry out projects under this Act to 
                discuss issues relating to the implementation of this 
                Act with officials of each agency specified in 
                paragraph (1).
    (b) Report Requirements.--The single reporting format shall be 
developed by the Secretary under subsection (a)(3), consistent with the 
requirements of this Act. Such reporting format, together with records 
maintained on the consolidated program at the tribal level shall 
contain such information as will--
            (1) allow a determination that the tribe has complied with 
        the requirements incorporated in its approved plan; and
            (2) provide assurances to the Secretary that the tribe has 
        complied with all directly applicable statutory requirements 
        and with those directly applicable regulatory requirements 
        which have not been waived.

SEC. 10. NO REDUCTION IN AMOUNTS.

    In no case shall the amount of Federal funds available to a 
participating tribe involved in any project be reduced as a result of 
the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 11. INTERAGENCY FUND TRANSFERS AUTHORIZED.

    The Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Labor, the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Education, the 
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the United States Attorney 
General, or the Secretary of Transportation, as appropriate, is 
authorized to take such action as may be necessary to provide for the 
interagency transfer of funds otherwise available to a tribe in order 
to further the purposes of this Act.

SEC. 12. ADMINISTRATION OF FUNDS AND OVERAGE.

    (a) Administration of Funds.--
            (1) In general.--Program funds shall be administered under 
        this Act in such a manner as to allow for a determination that 
        funds from specific programs (or an amount equal to the amount 
        utilized from each program) are expended on activities 
        authorized under such program.
            (2) Separate records not required.--Nothing in this section 
        shall be construed as requiring a tribe to maintain separate 
        records tracing any services or activities conducted under its 
        approved plan under section 4 to the individual programs under 
        which funds were authorized, nor shall the tribe be required to 
        allocate expenditures among individual programs.
    (b) Overage.--All administrative costs under a plan under this Act 
may be commingled, and participating Indian tribes shall be entitled to 
the full amount of such costs (under each program or department's 
regulations), and no overage shall be counted for Federal audit 
purposes so long as the overage is used for the purposes provided for 
under this Act.

SEC. 13. FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to interfere with the 
ability of the Secretary or the lead agency to fulfill the 
responsibilities for the safeguarding of Federal funds pursuant to 
chapter 75 of title 31, United States Code (the Single Audit Act of 
1984).

SEC. 14. REPORT ON STATUTORY AND OTHER BARRIERS TO INTEGRATION.

    (a) Preliminary Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the 
Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
Resources of the House of Representatives on the implementation of the 
program authorized under this Act.
    (b) Final Report.--Not later than 5 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the 
Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
Resources of the House of Representatives on the results of the 
implementation of the program authorized under this Act. The report 
shall identify statutory barriers to the ability of tribes to integrate 
more effectively their alcohol and substance abuse services in a manner 
consistent with the purposes of this Act.

SEC. 15. ASSIGNMENT OF FEDERAL PERSONNEL TO STATE INDIAN ALCOHOL AND 
              DRUG TREATMENT OR MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS.

    Any State with an alcohol and substance abuse or mental health 
program targeted to Indian tribes shall be eligible to receive, at no 
cost to the State, such Federal personnel assignments as the Secretary, 
in accordance with the applicable provisions of subchapter IV of 
chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code (the Intergovernmental 
Personnel Act of 1970), may deem appropriate to help insure the success 
of such program.

            Passed the Senate June 13, 2000.

            Attest:

                                                    GARY SISCO,

                                                             Secretary.