[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 38 (Friday, February 25, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10100-10102]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-4437]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Distribution of Fiscal Year 2000 Contract Support Funds

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of method of distribution and use of Fiscal Year 2000 
Contract Support Funds.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to issue the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs' (BIA) administrative instructions for the implementation of 
Public Law 93-638, as amended. These administrative instructions are 
designed to provide BIA personnel with assistance in carrying out their 
responsibilities when distributing Contract Support Funds (CSF). These 
instructions are not regulations establishing program requirements.

DATES: The CSF Needs Report for ongoing/existing contracts and annual 
funding agreements are due on July 15, 2000. 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, 1999 and January 1, 2000 will be considered to have a 
January 1, 2000 start date.

[[Page 10101]]


ADDRESSES: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Tribal Services, 
Division of Self-Determination Services, 1849 C Street, NW, MS-2526-
MIB, Washington, DC 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim Thomas, (202) 208-5727.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A total of $125,229,000 is available for 
contract support requirements (excluding construction requirements) 
during Fiscal Year (FY) 2000. Congressional language authorizes the use 
of CSF ($120,229,000) available in FY 2000 to pay costs of ongoing/
existing self-determination and self-governance awards for programs 
under contract/compact prior to FY 2000 and $5,000,000 for the Indian 
Self-Determination Fund (ISD) to be utilized for new and expanded 
contracts/compacts. Each BIA Region office and the Office of Self-
Governance (hereinafter Office) has the responsibility for tribes 
within their respective jurisdiction 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 section 102 and Title IV of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act, as amended. Awards made 
under the authority of section 103 of this Act shall not receive CSF to 
meet indirect costs.

Basis for Payment of CSF

    The BIA may only pay indirect costs attributable to programs 
included in the BIA's Public Law 93-638 awards. 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 regional 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 a 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 Office will submit CSF Needs Report to the Central Office for 
ongoing contracts and annual funding agreements by July 15, 2000. A 
final distribution of contract support will be made on or about July 
31, 2000. CSF will be provided to each office from the remaining 
undistributed balance based on these reports. If these reports indicate 
that appropriations will not be sufficient to cover the entire need, 
the undistributed balance 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) allocation, 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 1999. 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 2000 
approved lump sum amount are eligible to receive 75 percent of their 
CSF need with the first allotment of CSF in FY 2000. After the second 
allotment of CSF is made (approximately July 31, 2000) all contractors 
and self-governance tribes/consortia will receive their pro rata share 
of CSF, should appropriation be inadequate to pay full funding.
    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.

New and Expanded Contracts/Compacts

    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-served 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.

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-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 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 each year shall be 
considered a January 1 start date.
    ``Application date'' shall be the date of the request by the tribe 
which

[[Page 10102]]

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 be 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 1999 and continued in FY 2000, 
including contracted or annual funding agreement programs moved to TPA 
in FY 2000.
    (2) Direct program funding increases due to inflation adjustments 
and general budget increases.
    (3) TPA programs started or expanded in FY 2000 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 Region office. Copies of this decision can be obtained by 
calling the telephone number provided in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section.
    (5) CSF will be distributed to the Office of Self-Governance for 
ongoing annual funding agreements, on the same basis as regional 
offices.
    (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 awarded in FY 1999 and are to be awarded in FY 2000 are considered 
as ongoing.

    Dated: February 17, 2000.
Kevin Gover,
Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 00-4437 Filed 2-24-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-02-P