[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 73 (Tuesday, June 13, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5054-S5055]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 NATIVE AMERICAN ALCOHOL AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROGRAM CONSOLIDATION ACT 
                                OF 2000

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate now 
proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 585, which is S. 1507.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1507) to authorize the integration and 
     consolidation of alcohol and substance programs and services 
     provided by Indian tribal governments, and for other 
     purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
bill, which had been reported from the Committee on Indian Affairs with 
an amendment to strike all after the enacting clause and inserting in 
lieu thereof the following:

     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;

[[Page S5055]]

       (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.

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee 
substitute be agreed to, the bill be read a third time and passed, the 
amendment to the title be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid 
upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed 
in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee amendment in the nature of a substitute was agreed to.
  The bill (S. 1507), as amended, was read the third time and passed.
  The title was amended so as to read: ``A bill to authorize the 
integration and consolidation of alcohol and substance abuse programs 
and services provided by Indian tribal governments, and for other 
purposes.''.

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