[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 114 (Thursday, August 5, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10403-S10404]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CAMPBELL:
  S. 1507. A bill to authorize the integration and consolidation of 
alcohol and substance programs and services provided by Indian tribal 
governments, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Indian 
Affairs.


 native american alcohol and substance abuse program consolidation act

  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce the Native 
American Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program Consolidation Act of 1999, 
to enable Indian tribes to consolidate and integrate alcohol and 
substance abuse prevention, diagnosis, and treatment programs to 
provide unified and more effective services to Native Americans.
  Native communities continue to be plagued by alcohol and substance 
abuse at staggering rates and this abuse is wreaking havoc on Native 
families across the country.
  Unfortunately, alcohol continues to be an important risk factor 
associated with the top three killers of Native youth--accidents, 
suicide, and homicide.
  Based on 1993 data, the rate of mortality due to alcoholism among 
Native youth ages 15 to 24 was 5.2 per 100,000, which is 17 times the 
rate for whites of the same age.
  Native Americans have higher rates of alcohol and drug use than any 
other racial or ethnic group. Despite previous treatment and preventive 
efforts, alcoholism and substance abuse continue to be prevalent among 
Native youth: 82 percent of Native adolescents admitted to having used 
alcohol, compared with 66 percent of non-Native youth.
  In a 1994 school-based study, 39 percent of Native high school 
seniors reported having ``gotten drunk'' and 39 percent of Native kids 
admitted to using marijuana.
  Alcohol and substance abuse also contributes to other social problems 
including sexually transmitted diseases, child and spousal abuse, poor 
school achievement and dropout, drunk-driving related deaths, mental 
health problems, hopelessness and, too commonly, suicide.
  The Federal Government offers several disparate and currently 
uncoordinated substance abuse prevention and treatment programs for 
which Native Americans are eligible. This bill addresses how to best 
coordinate these programs so that the resources are effectively 
targeted at the communities that need them.
  Program funds from the Department of Education include the Office of 
Elementary and Secondary Education's Safe and Drug-Free Schools and 
Communities--National Programs; and the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and 
Communities--State Grants.
  In the Department of Health and Human Services the programs include 
the Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) Social Services 
Block Grant; the Indian Health Service's (IHS) Urban Indian Health 
Services funds; the IHS's Research funds; the IHS's Alcohol and 
Substance Abuse services including outpatient visits, inpatient days, 
regional treatment centers, admissions, aftercare referrals, and 
emergency placements; the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration (SAMHSA) Grants for Residential Treatment Programs for 
Pregnant and Postpartum Women; the SAMHSA Demonstration Grants for 
Residential Treatment for women and their Children; the SAMHSA 
Cooperative Agreements for Substance Abuse Treatment and Recovery 
Systems for Rural, Remote and Culturally Distinct Populations; the 
SAMHSA Mental Health Planning and Demonstration Projects; the SAMHSA 
Demonstration Grants for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Among 
High-Risk Populations; the SAMHSA Demonstration Grants on Model 
Projects for Pregnant and Postpartum Women and their Infants; the 
SAMHSA Comprehensive Residential Drug Prevention and Treatment, 
Projects for Substance-Using Women and their Children; and the SAMHSA 
Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse.
  Programs in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 
include Community Planning and Development, Shelter Plus Care; and 
HUD's Drug Elimination Grant funds.
  Department of the Interior program funds include the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, Services to Indian Children, Elderly and Families funds.
  Programs in the Department of Justice include National Institute of 
Justice, Justice Research, Development, and Evaluation Project Grants.
  The Department of Transportation funds include National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration/Federal Highway Administration funds.
  Funds available through the National Institutes of Health--National 
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism include several different 
grant programs for minorities and the prevention of alcohol abuse.
  The goal of this bill is to authorize tribal governments and inter-
tribal organizations to consolidate these programs through a single 
Federal office, in the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and use a single 
implementation plan to reduce the administrative and bureaucratic 
processes and result in more and better services to Native Americans.
  This legislation tracks the widely-hailed and very successful ``477 
model''

[[Page S10404]]

that Indian tribes have had used to effectively coordinate employment 
training and related services through the Indian Employment Training 
and Related Services Demonstration Act of 1992 (Pub. Law 102-477).
  Under the ``477 model,'' an applicant tribe can file a single 
comprehensive plan to draw and coordinate resources from many federal 
agencies and administer them through one office, the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs in the Department of the Interior.
  To facilitate this inter-agency resource transfer, Secretaries of 
named agencies are required to negotiate and enter into memoranda of 
understanding.
  The bill I am introducing today mirrors the ``477 model'' for 
purposes of alcohol and drug abuse resources.
  I am certain that with this authority, Indian tribes can achieve the 
same high level of success they have had in the employment training 
field.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the legislation 
be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1507

       Be it enacted in 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 1999.''

     SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

       The purposes of this Act are (a) to enable Indian tribes to 
     consolidate and integrate alcohol and other substance abuse 
     prevention, diagnosis and treatment programs to provide 
     unified and more effective and efficient services to Native 
     Americans afflicted with alcohol and other substance abuse 
     problems; and (b) 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.

       For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions 
     shall apply:
       (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 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.
       (3) Indian.--The term ``Indian'' shall have the meaning 
     given such term in section 4(d) of the Indian Self-
     Determination and Education Assistance Act.
       (4) Secretary.--Except where otherwise provided, the term 
     ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Interior.

     SEC. 4. INTEGRATION OF SERVICES AUTHORIZED.

       The Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with the 
     appropriate Secretary of Labor, Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services, Secretary of Education, Secretary of Housing and 
     Urban Development, United States Attorney General, Secretary 
     of Transportation, and Director of the National Institutes of 
     Health shall, upon the receipt of a plan acceptable to the 
     Secretary submitted by an Indian tribe, authorize the tribe 
     to coordinate, in accordance with such plan, its federally 
     funded alcohol and substance abuse 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 any such plan 
     referred to in section 4 shall include any program under 
     which an Indian tribe is eligible for 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 any program 
     designed to enhance the ability to treat, diagnose or prevent 
     alcohol and other substance abuse and related problems and 
     disorders.

     SEC. 6. PLAN REQUIREMENTS.

       For a plan to be acceptable pursuant to section 4, it 
     shall--
       (1) Identify the programs to be integrated;
       (2) be consistent with the purposes of this Act authorizing 
     the services to be integrated into this project;
       (3) describe a comprehensive strategy which identifies the 
     full range of existing and potential diagnosis, treatment and 
     prevention programs available on and near the tribe's service 
     area;
       (4) describe the way in which services are to be integrated 
     and delivered and the results expected under the plan;
       (5) identify the project 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.

       Upon receipt of the plan from a tribal government, 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. The parties consulting on 
     the implementation of the plan submitted 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. 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 to be waived, unless the Secretary of the affected 
     department determines that such a waiver is inconsistent with 
     the purposes of this Act or those provisions of the statute 
     from which the program involved derives its authority which 
     are specifically applicable to Indian programs.

     SEC. 8. PLAN APPROVAL.

       Within 90 days after the receipt of a tribe's plan by the 
     Secretary, 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 submitted by the tribal government. If the plan is 
     disapproved, the tribal government shall be informed, in 
     writing, of the reasons for the disapproval and shall be 
     given 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 Department of the Interior.--
     Within 180 days following 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, the Secretary of 
     Transportation, and the Director of the National Institutes 
     of Health shall enter into an interdepartmental memorandum of 
     agreement providing for the implementation of the plans 
     authorized under this Act. The lead agency under this Act 
     shall be the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the 
     Interior. The responsibilities of the lead agency shall 
     include--
       (1) the use of a single report format related to the plan 
     for the individual project which shall be used by a tribe to 
     report on the activities undertaken by the plan;
       (2) the use of a single report format related to the 
     projected expenditures of the individual plan which shall be 
     used by a tribe to report on all plan expenditures;
       (3) the development of a single system of Federal oversight 
     for the plan, which shall be implemented by the lead agency; 
     and
       (4) 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
       (5) 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 * * *.
                                 ______