[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 71 (Thursday, April 11, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16106-16108]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-9029]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Distribution of Fiscal Year 1996 Contract Support Funds

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of method for distribution and use of FY 1996 contract 
support funds (CSF).

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this Announcement is to issue the Bureau of 
Indian Affairs (BIA) administrative instructions for the implementation 
of Public Law (Pub. L.) 93-638 as amended by Public Law 103-413, the 
Indian Self-Determination Act Amendments of 1994 (the Act). These 
administrative instructions are designed to provide BIA personnel with 
assistance in carrying out their responsibilities. These instructions 
are not regulations establishing program requirements. In addition, 
these instructions are not intended to bind agency personnel. Instead, 
these instructions are intended to provide guidance to BIA personnel 
while allowing BIA personnel to apply judgement and prudence in 
individual circumstances.

DATES: The CSF Needs Reports for ongoing/existing and new and expanded 
contracts are due on July 15, 1996. All new and/or expanded contracts 
starting between October 1, 1995, and January 1, 1996, will be 
considered to have a January 1, 1996, start date. Current proposals for 
FY 1996 indirect cost rates must be pending before the Inspector 
General on or before July 1, 1996. The final distribution of CSF will 
be made on or about July 30, 1996.

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 Jim Thomas (202) 208-3708.

Summary Statement

    A total of $95,829,000 is available for contract support 
requirements (excluding construction contracts) during FY 1996. Of this 
amount $90,829,000 is available for contract support requirements 
associated with FY 1996 costs of ongoing self-determination and self-
governance awards for programs under contract prior to FY 1996. The 
balance of $5,000,000 is provided to continue the Indian Self-
Determination (ISD) Fund to provide contract support for new and 
expanded contracts first entered into in FY 1996. 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

[[Page 16107]]
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

    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 1996 indirect cost 
requirements each area director should fund only those contracting or 
compacting tribal organizations that have approved FY 1995 or 1996 
indirect cost rates or current indirect cost proposals to be negotiated 
by the Inspector General. Current proposals mean proposals scheduled 
for active consideration which are submitted to the Inspector General 
prior to July 1, 1996.

Ongoing/Existing Contracts

    Each area office will submit CSF need reports to the Central Office 
for ongoing contracts by July 15, 1996. A final distribution of 
contract support will be made on or about July 31, 1996. CSF will be 
provided to each area from the remaining available $90,829,000 based on 
these reports. If these area reports indicate that $90,829,000 will not 
be sufficient to cover the entire need, this amount will be distributed 
so that all areas receive the same percentage of their reported need. 
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 necessary to recover full indirect costs. This 
tribal reprogramming authority is limited to funds for programs located 
in the Tribal Priority Allocation (TPA) portion of the tribal budget.
    Congressional language does not provide authority for the Bureau to 
reprogram funds from other Bureau programs to meet any CSF shortfalls.
    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 
sets a ceiling on the amount of CSF available in FY 1996.
    Each office will be suballotted 75 percent of the total amount 
reported as contract support needs for FY 1995, as soon as possible. 
Accordingly, each office is to award 75 percent of required contract 
support to each award meeting the criteria established below. 
Contractors with approved FY 1995 indirect cost rates, but without 
current proposals pending before the Inspector General, are eligible 
for 50 percent of the required CSF for such awards.
    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 area office will submit CSF need reports to the Central Office 
for new and expanded contracts periodically throughout the year as new 
contracts are awarded or existing contracts are expanded. Funds will be 
provided to the areas as these reports are received and will be taken 
from the $5,000,000. These funds will be distributed on a first-come-
first-serve basis at 100% of need using the area reports. In the event 
the $5,000,000 is depleted, new or expanded contracts awarded after 
this fund has been exhausted will not be provided any CSF during this 
fiscal year. Requests received after this fund has been exhausted will 
be considered first for funding in the following year, from funds 
appropriated for this purpose. It should be noted that there were a 
number of FY 1995 new and expanded contracts which were not funded 
during FY 1995, and, in line with the process outlined herein will be 
given priority for funding over FY 1996 new and expanded contracts.

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 BIA. 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.
    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 1995 and continued in FY 1996, 
including contracted programs moved to TPA in FY 1996, 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 1996 that are a result of 
a change in priorities from other already contracted programs.
    4. CFS 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.

[[Page 16108]]
Copies of this decision can be obtained by calling the telephone number 
provided in this announcement. Tribes that received differential 
funding under this category in FY 1995 are eligible to receive funding 
from this account in FY 1996. Tribes that did not receive differential 
funding under this category in FY 1995 are eligible for funding from 
the ISD fund.
    5. CSF will be distributed to the Office of Self-Governance for 
ongoing compacts, on the same basis as area offices. 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 purposes of payment of contract support costs.
    7. The use of CSF to pay prior year shortfalls is not authorized.
    8. Programs funded from sources other than those listed above that 
were contracted in FY 1995 and are to be contracted in FY 1996 are 
considered as ongoing.

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 
1995.
    4. New and expanded program assumptions under Self-Governance 
compacts.

    Dated: April 8, 1996.
Ada E. Deer,
Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 96-9029 Filed 4-10-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-02-M