[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 25, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 25CFR900]

[Page 1089-1092]
 
                            TITLE 25--INDIANS
 
  CHAPTER V--BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, AND 
     INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
 
PART 900_CONTRACTS UNDER THE INDIAN SELF-DETERMINATION AND EDUCATION 
ASSISTANCE ACT--Table of Contents
 
                      Subpart A_General Provisions
 
Sec.  900.3  Policy statements.

    (a) Congressional policy. (1) Congress has recognized the obligation 
of the United States to respond to the strong expression of the Indian 
people for self-determination by assuring maximum Indian participation 
in the direction, planning, conduct and administration of educational as 
well as other Federal programs and services to Indian communities so as 
to render such programs and services more responsive to the needs and 
desires of those communities.

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    (2) Congress has declared its commitment to the maintenance of the 
Federal Government's unique and continuing relationship with, and 
responsibility to, individual Indian tribes and to the Indian people as 
a whole through the establishment of a meaningful Indian self-
determination policy which will permit an orderly transition from the 
Federal domination of programs for, and services to, Indians to 
effective and meaningful participation by the Indian people in the 
planning, conduct, and administration of those programs and services. In 
accordance with this policy, the United States is committed to 
supporting and assisting Indian tribes in the development of strong and 
stable tribal governments, capable of administering quality programs and 
developing the economies of their respective communities.
    (3) Congress has declared that a major national goal of the United 
States is to provide the quantity and quality of educational services 
and opportunities which will permit Indian children to compete and excel 
in the life areas of their choice, and to achieve the measure of self-
determination essential to their social and economic well-being.
    (4) Congress has declared that the programs, functions, services, or 
activities that are contracted and funded under this Act shall include 
administrative functions of the Department of the Interior and the 
Department of Health and Human Services (whichever is applicable) that 
support the delivery of services to Indians, including those 
administrative activities supportive of, but not included as part of, 
the service delivery programs described in this paragraph that are 
otherwise contractible. The administrative functions referred to in the 
preceding sentence shall be contractible without regard to the 
organizational level within the Department that carries out such 
functions. Contracting of the administrative functions described herein 
shall not be construed to limit or reduce in any way the funding for any 
program, function, service, or activity serving any other tribe under 
the Act or any other law. The Secretary is not required to reduce 
funding for programs, projects, or activities serving a tribe to make 
funds available to another Indian tribe or tribal organization under 
this Act.
    (5) Congress has further declared that each provision of the Act and 
each provision of contracts entered into thereunder shall be liberally 
construed for the benefit of the tribes or tribal organizations to 
transfer the funding and the related functions, services, activities, 
and programs (or portions thereof), that are otherwise contractible 
under the Act, including all related administrative functions, from the 
Federal government to the contractor.
    (6) Congress has declared that one of the primary goals of the 1994 
amendments to the Act was to minimize the reporting requirements 
applicable to tribal contractors and to eliminate excessive and 
burdensome reporting requirements. Reporting requirements over and above 
the annual audit report are to be negotiated with disagreements subject 
to the declination procedures of section 102 of the Act.
    (7) Congress has declared that there not be any threshold issues 
which would avoid the declination, contract review, approval, and appeal 
process.
    (8) Congress has declared that all self-determination contract 
proposals must be supported by the resolution of an Indian tribe(s).
    (9) Congress has declared that to the extent that programs, 
functions, services, and activities carried out by tribes and tribal 
organizations pursuant to contracts entered into under this Act reduce 
the administrative or other responsibilities of the Secretary with 
respect to the operation of Indian programs and result in savings that 
have not otherwise been included in the amount of contract funds 
determined under section 106(a) of the Act, the Secretary shall make 
such savings available for the provision of additional services to 
program beneficiaries, either directly or through contractors, in a 
manner equitable to both direct and contracted programs.
    (b) Secretarial policy. (1) It is the policy of the Secretary to 
facilitate the efforts of Indian tribes and tribal organizations to 
plan, conduct and administer programs, functions, services and 
activities, or portions thereof, which

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the Departments are authorized to administer for the benefit of Indians 
because of their status as Indians. The Secretary shall make best 
efforts to remove any obstacles which might hinder Indian tribes and 
tribal organizations including obstacles that hinder tribal autonomy and 
flexibility in the administration of such programs.
    (2) It is the policy of the Secretary to encourage Indian tribes and 
tribal organizations to become increasingly knowledgeable about the 
Departments' programs administered for the benefit of Indians by 
providing information on such programs, functions and activities and the 
opportunities Indian tribes have regarding them.
    (3) It is the policy of the Secretary to provide a uniform and 
consistent set of rules for contracts under the Act. The rules contained 
herein are designed to facilitate and encourage Indian tribes to 
participate in the planning, conduct, and administration of those 
Federal programs serving Indian people. The Secretary shall afford 
Indian tribes and tribal organizations the flexibility, information, and 
discretion necessary to design contractible programs to meet the needs 
of their communities consistent with their diverse demographic, 
geographic, economic, cultural, health, social, religious and 
institutional needs.
    (4) The Secretary recognizes that contracting under the Act is an 
exercise by Indian tribes of the government-to-government relationship 
between the United States and the Indian tribes. When an Indian tribe 
contracts, there is a transfer of the responsibility with the associated 
funding. The tribal contractor is accountable for managing the day-to-
day operations of the contracted Federal programs, functions, services, 
and activities. The contracting tribe thereby accepts the responsibility 
and accountability to the beneficiaries under the contract with respect 
to use of the funds and the satisfactory performance of the programs, 
functions, services and activities funded under the contract. The 
Secretary will continue to discharge the trust responsibilities to 
protect and conserve the trust resources of Indian tribes and the trust 
resources of individual Indians.
    (5) The Secretary recognizes that tribal decisions to contract or 
not to contract are equal expressions of self-determination.
    (6) The Secretary shall maintain consultation with tribal 
governments and tribal organizations in the Secretary's budget process 
relating to programs, functions, services and activities subject to the 
Act. In addition, on an annual basis, the Secretary shall consult with, 
and solicit the participation of, Indian tribes and tribal organizations 
in the development of the budget for the Indian Health Service and the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs (including participation of Indian tribes and 
tribal organizations in formulating annual budget requests that the 
Secretary submits to the President for submission to Congress pursuant 
to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code).
    (7) The Secretary is committed to implementing and fully supporting 
the policy of Indian self-determination by recognizing and supporting 
the many positive and successful efforts and directions of tribal 
governments and extending the applicability of this policy to all 
operational components within the Department. By fully extending Indian 
self-determination contracting to all operational components within the 
Department having programs or portions of programs for the benefit of 
Indians under section 102(a)(1) (A) through (D) and for the benefit of 
Indians because of their status as Indians under section 102(a)(1)(E), 
it is the Secretary's intent to support and assist Indian tribes in the 
development of strong and stable tribal governments capable of 
administering quality programs that meet the tribally determined needs 
and directions of their respective communities. It is also the policy of 
the Secretary to have all other operational components within the 
Department work cooperatively with tribal governments on a government-
to-government basis so as to expedite the transition away from Federal 
domination of Indian programs and make the ideals of Indian self-
government and self-determination a reality.
    (8) It is the policy of the Secretary that the contractibility of 
programs under this Act should be encouraged.

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In this regard, Federal laws and regulations should be interpreted in a 
manner that will facilitate the inclusion of those programs or portions 
of those programs that are for the benefit of Indians under section 
102(a)(1) (A) through (D) of the Act, and that are for the benefit of 
Indians because of their status of Indians under section 102(a)(1)(E) of 
the Act.
    (9) It is the Secretary's policy that no later than upon receipt of 
a contract proposal under the Act (or written notice of an Indian tribe 
or tribal organization's intention to contract), the Secretary shall 
commence planning such administrative actions, including but not limited 
to transfers or reductions in force, transfers of property, and 
transfers of contractible functions, as may be necessary to ensure a 
timely transfer of responsibilities and funding to Indian tribes and 
tribal organizations.
    (10) It is the policy of the Secretary to make available to Indian 
tribes and tribal organizations all administrative functions that may 
lawfully be contracted under the Act, employing methodologies consistent 
with the methodology employed with respect to such functions under 
titles III and IV of the Act.
    (11) The Secretary's commitment to Indian self-determination 
requires that these regulations be liberally construed for the benefit 
of Indian tribes and tribal organizations to effectuate the strong 
Federal policy of self-determination and, further, that any ambiguities 
herein be construed in favor of the Indian tribe or tribal organization 
so as to facilitate and enable the transfer of services, programs, 
functions, and activities, or portions thereof, authorized by the Act.