WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, welcomed the full Senate’s passage of S. 2515, the Practical Reforms and Other Goals To Reinforce the Effectiveness of Self-Governance and Self-Determination (PROGRESS) for Indian Tribes Act of 2018.
“This legislation works to correct the bureaucratic processes and procedures that the Department of the Interior Self-Governance program has imposed upon Tribes,” Hoeven said. “By cutting onerous red tape we can facilitate more productive negotiations between the Department and Indian tribes when renewing compacts or annual funding agreements. The provisions included in S. 2515 provide Tribes with the certainty and guidance from Congress they need to set their own goals and fulfill their own destinies. I look forward to the House of Representatives passing this legislation so we can send it to the President’s desk.”
S. 2515 would:
Streamline the Department of the Interior’s process for approving self-governance compacts and annual funding agreements for Indian programs.
Align the process used by the Department of the Interior to be similar to the processes used by the IHS.
Add more flexibility in administering those contracts for tribes that either have not qualified for self-governance or have chosen to administer only a few BIA programs.
The bill was introduced on March 7, 2018 by Chairman Hoeven. It passed the Senate on September 28, 2018. It will now go to the House of Representatives.
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