[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 21 (Monday, February 2, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5398-5400]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-2463]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Distribution of Fiscal Year 1998 Contract Support Funds

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of method of distribution and use of Fiscal Year (FY) 
1998 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 Pub. L. 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 when distributing 
CSF. These instructions are not regulations establishing program 
requirements.

DATES: The CSF Needs Report of ongoing/existing contracts and annual 
funding agreements are due on July 15, 1998. The CSF Needs Reports for 
new and expanded contracts and annual funding agreements are due 
periodically throughout the year as the need arises. All new and 
expanded contracts and annual funding agreements starting between 
October 1, 1997, and January 1, 1998, will be considered to have a 
January 1, 1998, start date.

ADDRESSES: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Division of Self-Determination 
Services, 1849 C Street, N.W., MS-2526-MIB, Washington, D.C. 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim Thomas, Chief, Division of Self-
Determination Services, Telephone (202) 208-5727.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A total of $110,829,000 is available for 
contract support requirements (excluding construction requirements) 
during FY 1998. Congressional language sets a ceiling on the amount of 
CSF available in FY 1998. Of this amount $105,829,000 is available for 
contract

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support requirements associated with FY 1998 costs of ongoing self-
determination and self-governance awards for programs under contract 
prior to FY 1998. 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 and annual funding agreements first entered 
into in FY 1998. 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 new and 
expanded contracts and annual funding agreements 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 IV 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 BIA may only pay indirect costs attributable to programs 
included in the Bureau's Pub. L. 93-638 contracts.
    BIA will utilize tribal indirect cost rates to determine the amount 
of CSF to be paid to eligible contracting tribes and tribal 
organizations and eligible self-governance tribes and tribal consortia. 
In determining legitimate indirect cost requirements each area and 
self-governance director should fund only those contracting or 
compacting tribal organizations that have an approved indirect cost 
rate or indirect cost proposal currently under consideration by the 
Office of Inspector General. In those instances where a tribe or tribal 
organization has more than one approved rate or a current proposal 
under consideration by the Office of the Inspector General, the 
director should use the most current rate or pending proposal in 
determining the amount to award. For those tribes who are unable to 
negotiate an indirect cost rate because of circumstances beyond their 
control (i.e., which do not have the administrative capability to 
negotiate a rate), area contract officers may negotiate reasonable lump 
sum amounts with these tribes.

Ongoing/Existing Contracts/Annual Funding Agreements--Method of 
Distribution

    Each area office will submit CSF Needs Report to the Central Office 
for ongoing contracts and annual funding agreements by July 15, 1998. A 
final distribution of contract support will be made on or about July 
31, 1998. CSF will be provided to each office from the remaining 
available $105,829,000 based on these reports. If these reports 
indicate that $105,829,000 will not be sufficient to cover the entire 
need, this amount will be distributed pro rata, so that all contractors 
and compactors receive the same percentage of their reported need.
    Should the amount provided for these existing contracts and annual 
funding agreements 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 from their Tribal Priority Allocation (TPA), or annual funding 
agreement. Congressional appropriations language does not provide 
authority for the BIA 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.
    Each office has been suballotted 85 percent of the total amount 
which was provided in FY 1997. From this amount each office should 
award 75 percent of required contract support to each contract/annual 
funding agreement meeting the criteria established below.
    All contractors and self-governance tribes/consortia with either an 
approved indirect cost rate, current indirect cost proposal, or FY 1998 
approved lump sum amount is eligible for 75 percent of the appropriate 
total amount to be paid with the first allotment of CSF in FY 1998. 
After the second allotment of CSF is made (approximately July 31, 1998) 
all contractors and self-governance tribes/consortia should again 
receive their pro rata share of CSF, based on the amount provided at 
that time.
    An ongoing/existing contract or annual funding agreement is defined 
as a BIA program operated by the tribal contractor or compactor 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 or annual funding agreements would not affect the 
designation of such contracts or annual funding agreements as being 
ongoing. An assumption of additional BIA program responsibilities would 
be required to trigger a change in designation.

Method of Distribution for New and Expanded Contracts/Annual 
Funding Agreements

    Each office will submit CSF Need Reports to the Central Office for 
new and expanded contracts and annual funding agreements periodically 
throughout the year as new contracts or annual funding agreements are 
awarded or existing contracts or annual funding agreements are 
expanded. Funds will be provided to the offices 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 percent of need 
using the office reports.
    In the event the $5,000,000 is depleted, new or expanded contracts 
or annual funding agreements 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 1997 new and expanded 
contracts and annual funding agreements which were not funded during FY 
1997, and, in line with the process outlined herein, they will be given 
priority for funding over FY 1998 new and expanded contracts and annual 
funding agreements.

Priority of Funding for New and Expanded Contracts/Annual Funding 
Agreements

    Contract support will be awarded from the ISD fund to all new and 
expanded contracts/annual funding agreements based on the start date of 
the award, and the application date, on a first-come-first-serve 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 amount of program funds, the program cost 
code(s), the amount of contract support funds required, and the date of 
approved indirect cost rate agreement or lump sum agreement.
    ``Start date'' means the date or commencement of operation of the 
new or expanded portion of the contract or annual funding agreement by 
the tribe/consortium or tribal organization. However, because the Self-
Determination Act provides that contracts/annual funding agreements 
will be on a calendar year basis unless otherwise provided by the 
tribe, any start date on or prior to January 1 of

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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 annual 
funding agreement; (2) a summary of the program or portion thereof to 
be operated by the tribe/consortium or tribal organization; and (3) a 
summary identifying the source and amount of program or services funds 
to contracted or included in an annual funding agreement and contract 
support requirements. In the event that two tribes or tribal 
organizations have the same start date and application 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 award's 
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/annual funding agreement is defined as the initial 
transfer of a program, previously operated by the BIA to the tribe/
consortium or tribal organization.
    An expanded contract/annual funding agreement is defined as a 
contract/annual funding agreement 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/
Annual Funding Agreements

    CSF for ongoing and existing contracts/annual funding agreements 
will be determined using the following criteria:
    1. All TPA contracted programs or those programs included in annual 
funding agreements in FY 1997 and continued in FY 1998, including 
contracted or annual funding agreement programs moved to TPA in FY 
1998, 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 1998 that are a result of 
a change in priorities from other already contracted/annual funding 
agreement 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. 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 1997 are eligible to 
receive funding from this account in FY 1998. Tribes that did not 
receive differential funding under this category in FY 1997 are 
eligible for funding from the ISD fund.
    5. CSF will be distributed to the Office of Self-Governance for 
ongoing annual funding agreements, on the same basis as area offices. 
All additional CSF requirements will be met from the ISD fund in 
accordance with the criteria established above.
    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 1997 and are to be contracted in FY 1998 are 
considered as ongoing.

    Dated: January 26, 1998.
Kevin Gover,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 98-2463 Filed 1-30-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-02-M