[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 213 (Friday, November 4, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-27388]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: November 4, 1994]


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Part III





Department of the Interior





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Bureau of Indian Affairs



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Distribution of Fiscal Year 1995 Contract Support Funds; Notice
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

 
Distribution of Fiscal Year 1995 Contract Support Funds

October 28, 1994.
AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to provide information to Indian 
tribes and tribal organizations contracting under the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act, as amended, about the 
distribution and use of Contract Support Funds (CSF) Fiscal Year (FY) 
1995.

DATES: The CSF Needs Reports for ongoing/existing contracts are due on 
December 1, 1994, and July 10, 1995. The CSF Needs Reports for new and 
expanded contracts are due on December 1, 1994, and February 2, 1995. 
All new or expanded contracts starting between October 1, 1994, and 
January 1, 1995 will be considered to have a January 1, 1995 start 
date. Current proposals for FY 1995 indirect costs rates must be 
pending before the Inspector General on or before June 30, 1995. The 
final distribution of CSF will be on or about July 31, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Division of Self-Determination 
Services, 1849 C Street, NW, MS-4627-MIB, Washington, DC 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Please contact Daisy West (202) 208-3708.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The information detailed herein has been 
developed to comply with the following language in the Appropriations 
Act for the Department of the Interior and related agencies for FY 
1995, Public Law 103-332:

    ``* * * and of which not to exceed $95,823,000 shall be for 
payments to tribes and tribal organizations for contract support 
costs associated with ongoing contracts or grants or compacts 
authorized by the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975, as amended: 
Provided, That tribes and tribal contractors may use their tribal 
priority allocations for unmet contract support costs of ongoing 
contracts, grants or compact agreements * * *

    ``* * * Provided further, That of the funds provided, $7,500,000 
shall remain available until expended, for the Indian Self-
Determination Fund, which shall be available for the transitional 
cost of initial or expanded tribal contracts, grants or cooperative 
agreements with the Bureau of Indian Affairs under the provisions of 
the Indian Self-Determination Act.''

    In addition, the Conference Report accompanying the FY 1995 
Interior Appropriations Act states:
    ``Modified language proposed by the Senate to place a cap on the 
amount of funding to be made available for fiscal year 1995 and to 
separate the amount of contract support for ongoing self-
determination agreements entered into prior to fiscal year 1995 from 
that provided for new awards first entered into during fiscal year 
1995. The purpose of separating the amount available for ongoing 
agreements from that for new and expanded agreements is to stabilize 
the fund for ongoing awards and still provide contract support 
funding for new and expanded contracts. The Bureau is expected to 
implement procedures for administering the new Indian Self-
Determination Fund, for which $7,500,000 is provided, consistent 
with those of the Indian Health Service. The Bureau should fund new 
contracts at the 100 percent level.
    ``The Bureau is expected to begin developing procedures for 
eventual transfer of contract support into each tribe's tribal 
priority allocation. Once this has been accomplished, the tribes 
will be able to manage their total program costs within their 
overall funding allocation.
    ``The cap is not intended to limit the flexibility of tribes to 
reprogram within tribal priority allocations to obtain full recovery 
of indirect costs if a shortfall in contract support were to occur. 
Accordingly, the managers anticipate that tribes, individually or in 
agreement with other tribes may reprogram within tribal priority 
allocations without regard to the contract support ceiling. 
Reprogramming on a Bureau-wide basis is not authorized for this 
purpose.''
Summary Statement 
    A total of $103,125,653 is available for contract support 
requirements (excluding construction contracts) during FY 1995. Of this 
amount $95,639,978 is available for contract support requirements 
associated with the FY 1995 costs of ongoing self-determination and 
self-governance awards for programs under contract prior to FY 1995. 
The balance of $7,485,675 is provided to establish an Indian Self-
Determination (ISD) Fund to provide contract support for new and 
expanded contracts first entered into in FY 1995. These amounts include 
the general reduction of 0.191 percent, in accordance with the Title 
III General Provisions Sec. 313, Public Law 103-332. Each BIA Area 
Office and the Office of Self-Governance (hereinafter office) has the 
responsibility for tribes located within their respective area to work 
with the tribes in identifying existing and new and expanded contracts 
and reporting this information to the Division of Self-Determination 
Services as specified in this announcement. CSF shall be added to 
awards made under Sec. 102 and Title III of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act, as amended. Awards made 
under the authority of Sec. 103 of this Act shall not receive CSF to 
meet indirect costs, as contract support provisions do not apply to 
Sec. 103 grants. 
Basis for Payment of CSF 
    The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) will utilize tribal indirect 
cost rates to determine the amount of CSF to be paid to eligible 
contracting tribes and tribal organizations. In determining legitimate 
FY 1995 indirect cost requirements each office should fund only those 
contracting or compacting tribal organizations that have approved FY 
1994 or 1995 indirect cost rates or current indirect cost proposals 
being considered by the Bureau or to be negotiated by the Inspector 
General. Current proposals means proposals for FY 1995 scheduled for 
active consideration which are pending before the Inspector General on 
or before June 30, 1995. 
Ongoing/Existing Contracts 
    Each office will be suballotted 75 percent of the total amount 
reported as contract support needs for FY 1994 as soon as funds become 
available. Each office is to award 75 percent of required contract 
support to each award meeting the criteria established below as of the 
beginning date of the annual funding period for such awards. 
Contractors with approved FY 1994 indirect cost rates, but without 
current proposals pending before the Inspector General, are eligible 
for 50 percent of the required contract support for such awards. 
Additional CSF shall not be provided until such time as a current 
proposal is received by the Inspector General.
    Each office will submit the first CSF needs report to the Central 
Office for ongoing Sec. 102 and Title III awards by December 1, 1994. 
CSF will be provided for 75 percent of the reported amount to each 
office from the available $95,639,978, based on these reports. Each 
office will submit the second CSF needs report to the Central Office 
for ongoing Sec. 102 and Title III awards as of June 30, 1995. The 
second report is due on or before July 10, 1995. A final distribution 
of contract support will be made on or about July 31, 1995, on the 
basis of these reports. If the reports indicate that $95,639,978 will 
not be sufficient to cover the entire need, this amount will be 
distributed so that all offices receive the same percentage of their 
reported need for distribution at this same percentage. Also, should 
the amount provided for these existing contracts prove insufficient, a 
tribe or group of tribes may wish to reprogram funds to make up 
deficiencies made necessary to recover full indirect costs. This tribal 
reprogramming authority is limited to funds for programs only within 
the Tribal Priority Allocation (TPA) portion of the budget. A new 
program code (39010) was established under TPA in the Federal Finance 
System (FFS) to accommodate the contract support tribal reprogrammings.
    For programs other than TPA, tribes are not constrained from 
recovering full indirect costs from within the overall program and 
contract support funds awarded for each program. Congressional language 
specifically precludes the Bureau from requesting a reprogramming of 
funds on a Bureauwide basis to meet any CSF shortfalls.
    An ongoing/existing contract is defined as a BIA program operated 
by the tribe or tribal organization on an ongoing basis which has been 
entered into prior to the current fiscal year. An increase or decrease 
in the level of funding from year to year for such contracts would not 
affect the designation of such contracts as being ongoing. Rather, an 
assumption of additional BIA program responsibilities would be required 
to trigger a change in designation as explained below.

New and Expanded Contracts

    Each office will submit CSF need reports to the Central Office for 
new and expanded Sec. 102 and Title III contracts. The reports are due 
in the Central Office on December 1, 1994, and February 2, 1995. 
Contract support funds will be provided at the 100 percent level to new 
and expanded contracts on a first-come-first-served basis until the 
fund is exhausted. The unfunded requests will be given first priority 
in the subsequent fiscal year, from funds appropriated for this 
purpose.

Priority of Funding for New and Expanded Contracts

    Contract support will be awarded from the ISD fund to all new and 
expanded contracts/compacts on a priority basis, based on the start 
date of the award, the application date, and then the approval date, on 
a first-come-first-served basis. An Indian Self-Determination Fund 
``applicant roster'' shall be maintained, which shall list, in order of 
priority, the name of the tribe or tribal organization, the name of the 
program, the start date, the application date, the approval date, the 
amount of program funds, the program cost code(s), the amount of 
contract support funds required, and the date of the approved Indirect 
Cost Rate Agreement, or the date the indirect cost proposal was 
received by the Inspector General.
    Start date means the date or commencement of operation of the new 
or expanded portion of the contract or compact by the tribe or tribal 
organization. However, the Self-Determination Act provides that 
contracts will be on a calendar year unless otherwise provided by the 
tribe, any start date on or prior to January 1 of each year shall be 
considered a January 1 start date.
    Application date shall be the date of the request by the tribe 
which includes: (1) a tribal resolution requesting a contract or 
compact; (2) a summary of the program or portion thereof to be operated 
by the Tribe or Tribal organization; and (3) a summary identifying the 
source and amount of program or services funds to be contracted or 
compacted and contract support requirements. In the event that two 
tribes or tribal organizations have the same start date, application 
date, and approval date, then the next date for determination of 
priority shall be the date the fully complete application was received 
by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. If all of the above are equal, and if 
funds remaining in the ISD fund are not adequate to fill the entire 
amount of each awards contract support requirement, then each will be 
awarded a proportionate share of its requirement and shall remain on 
the Indian Self-Determination Fund Roster in appropriate order of 
priority for future distributions.
    A new contract is defined as the initial transfer of a program, 
during the current fiscal year, previously operated by the BIA to the 
tribe or tribal organization.
    An expanded contract is defined as a contract which has become 
enlarged during the current fiscal year, through the assumption of 
additional programs previously operated by the BIA.

Criteria for Determining CSF Need for Ongoing/Existing Contracts

    CSF for ongoing and existing contracts will be determined using the 
following criteria:
    1. All TPA contracted programs in FY 1994 and continued in FY 1995, 
including contracted programs moved to TPA in FY 1995, such as New 
Tribes, HIP, and Road Maintenance.
    2. Direct program funding increases due to inflation adjustments 
and general budget increases.
    3. TPA programs started or expanded in FY 1995 that are a result of 
a change in priorities from other already contracted programs.
    4. CSF differentials associated with tribally operated schools that 
receive indirect costs through the application of the administrative 
cost grant formula. These differentials are to be calculated in 
accordance with the criteria prescribed in the Choctaw decision dated 
September 18, 1992, issued by the Contracting Officer, Eastern Area 
Office. Tribes that received differential funding under this category 
in FY 1994 are eligible to receive funding from this account in FY 
1995. Tribes that did not receive differential funding under this 
category in FY 1994 are eligible for funding from the ISD fund.
    5. CSF will be distributed to the Office of Self-Governance for a 
portion of the funding needs for new Self-Governance compacts. The FY 
1995 level of funding provided to the Office of Self-Governance will be 
at the same level the tribes were funded by the area office(s) in FY 
1994. The level of FY 1995 CSF provided to the Office of Self-
Governance for any new compacts will be reduced to the extent that CSF 
requirements are being met by the Area Office(s) for continued/residual 
638 contracting activity. All additional CSF requirements will be met 
from the ISD fund in accordance with the criteria established below.
    6. Funds available for Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) programs or 
reprogrammed from ICWA to other programs will be considered ongoing for 
the purpose of payment of contract support costs.
    7. The FY 1995 Appropriation Act does not authorize the use of CSF 
to pay prior year shortfalls.
    8. Programs funded from sources other than those listed above that 
were contracted in FY 1994 and are to be contracted in FY 1995.

Criteria for Determining CSF Need for New and Expanded Contracts

    CSF for new and expanded contracts will be determined using the 
following criteria:
    1. All contracts initially entered into in FY 1995 that transfer 
the operation of a program that was operated by the BIA in the previous 
fiscal year to the tribe, and does not fall under the definitions 
described in numbers 3 and 6 above.
    2. All expansions of existing contracts that call for the tribe to 
assume more or additional programs previously operated by the BIA.
    3. CSF differentials associated with a grant school operated by the 
tribe that did not receive differential funding for the school in FY 
1994.
    4. New and expanded program assumptions under Self-Governance 
compacts.
Hilda A. Manuel,
Acting Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 94-27388 Filed 11-3-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-02-M