STATEMENT FOR THE RECORD
JACOB J. LEW
DIRECTOR
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
SUBMITTED TO
THE COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
5 APRIL 2000
Mr. Chairman:
Thank you for your invitation to appear before the Senate Committee
on Indian Affairs to
provide the Administration's views with respect to S. 612 - Indian Needs
Assessment and Program
Evaluation Act of 2000. We appreciate the opportunity to share our views
on the legislation.
Administration Actions to Address Indian Country Needs
The relationship between the U.S. Government and Native
Americans
is a historical one founded on a trust responsibility. The Administration
continues to honor its government-to- government relationship with Tribes
by
supporting critical programs serving Indian reservations, developing
executive
orders specific to Native Americans, and bringing together Tribal leaders
and
resources across the government to address priority Tribal concerns.
In 1994, the President held the first ever historic meeting with
over 300 Tribal leaders at the White House to highlight progress on
improving the government-to-government relationship and to highlight
community development needs in Indian Country. A similar, smaller meeting
was held in 1996. In August 1998, the President held a White House
Conference on Economic Development where agencies were directed to develop
a strategic plan for coordinating existing economic development activities
for Native Americans and Alaska Natives and Tribal leaders were able to
showcase accomplishments. Also in August 1998, the President signed an
executive order directing agencies to coordinate to develop a strategic
plan on improving elementary and secondary education in Indian Country. In
May 1999, the President met with Tribal leaders from the Northern Plains
(ND, SD, MT) to discuss education, health care, and housing needs in Indian
Country. The culmination of these Presidential events lead to a
multi-agency coo
rdinated effort to improve the quality of life in Indian Country, which is
reflected in the FY 2001 Budget request.
Funding for Indian Country in the FY 2001 Budget
Since 1994, the Domestic Policy Council Interagency Working Group
for
Indians and Alaskan Natives, chaired by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt,
has
met quarterly on policy areas related to Native Americans. This group
functions
as a forum for information exchange, needs assessment, and coordination of
policy.
For example, the Working Group did significant work with tribes on Y2K
issues
and has reached out to Indians to encourage participation in the census.
This
White House working group has been active in encouraging agencies to
coordinate
programs that assist Indians. The Economic Development Conference, along
with
other initiatives, came out of the interagency working group.
In addition, the White House Working Group worked closely with the
agencies
and OMB to develop the President's Native American initiative that is a key
part
of the Fiscal Year 2001 Budget. This initiative is one of the top
Administration
priorities. It is a coordinated, multi-agency government-wide initiative
that
focuses Federal resources on critical programs serving Native Americans.
The
President's FY 2001 Budget includes $9.4 billion, an increase of $1.2
billion
or 14 percent over FY 2000, to address critical needs including health
care, education,
economic development, infrastructure, and other basic needs.
This initiative includes significant increases for the Indian Health
Service,
the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and numerous other agencies. Such increases
are
intended to target high priority, high impact areas and to address critical
health,
life and safety needs. The Working Group will coordinate agency efforts to
implement
the initiative. We believe that if enacted, this initiative will make a
significant
difference in the quality of life of Native Americans.
Indian Needs Assessment
The FY 2001 Budget presents a comprehensive way to fund critical
needs and is intended to challenge leaders to achieve consensus on these
specific
areas. S. 612 also attempts to address areas of need in Indian Country.
S. 612
is intended to overcome the Congressional concerns regarding the
availability
of detailed and reliable information about Indian Country needs. While the
Administration
shares these concerns, we do not believe that S. 612 addresses this issue
in an
effective and efficient manner nor does it indicate the importance of
measuring
program results. The Administration has and will continue to work with the
agencies
as they continue to develop and reform performance indicators and provide
detailed
information on program performance pursuant to the Government Performance
and
Results Act (GPRA) of 1994.
For example, the Indian Health Service has developed a GPRA
performance
plan aimed at using a cost-effective public health approach to reduce the
health
disparities in Native Americans. This performance plan plays an important
role
in the development of IHS budgets and operating plans. IHS' GPRA plan
includes
goals to improve the overall health status of Native Americans and Alaska
Natives,
including measures to increase glycemic control efforts as a means to
reduce diabetic
complications, to provide additional home-based well-child visits, and to
improve
water fluoridation compliance to reduce the prevalence of dental decay.
The proposed legislation would require the following reports to
Congress:
- Indian Needs Assessments - after the Secretary of the Interior develops
a uniform method, each Federal agency must identify the actual needs of
Indian tribes and Indians eligible for Federal programs and services.
Reports are due every five years.
- Annual Indian Program Evaluations - each Federal agency must report on
annual expenditures for Federal programs and services for which Indians are
eligible, including information on those tribes that receive services and
those that applied but did not receive services.
- Annual Listing of Tribal Eligible Programs - each agency must publish
in the Federal Register a list of all programs and services available to
Indian tribes or their members.
- Strategic Plan - within 18 months the Secretary of the Interior must
file a plan for improving coordination of Federal assistance for
Indians.
OMB asked Federal departments and agencies to review and comment on
the
proposed bill's requirements. To date, we have received comments from
nearly a
dozen organizations with Indian programs totaling $8.6 billion, or 92
percent,
of the Native American initiative. These organizations provide a
wide-range of
assistance programs and services to tribal governments and tribal members.
Many
expressed similar concerns that the proposed legislation is too broad in
scope,
burdensome and expensive to administer, and duplicates current GPRA
planning and
reporting requirements.
The testimony of Interior's Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs
Kevin
Gover covers the many technical, schedule, and methodological problems that
are
shared by these other departments and agencies.
Conclusion
Funding and successful implementation of programs that assist Native
Americans
remain a priority for the Administration. The Administration stands ready
to work
with the Committee to address this issue and will, pursuant to GPRA,
continue
to work with Federal agencies administering programs serving Native
Americans
to ensure that their programs are efficient and effective.
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