[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
