H.R. 228 amends the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Demonstration Act of 1992 to facilitate the ability of Indian Tribes to integrate the employment, training, and related services from diverse federal sources. Primarily, the bill makes permanent the authority of tribes to integrate the federal resources they receive for employment and training purposes under a single plan and budget. The bill clarifies the plan approval process and timelines, the roles of various federal agencies involved, the transfer of funds mechanism, and the reporting and audit requirements the tribes must fulfill.
The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress, and was published on Dec 19, 2017.
(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the House on February 27, 2017. The summary of that version is repeated here.)
Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Consolidation Act of 2017
(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Demonstration Act of 1992 to rename the Act to the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Act of 1992 and to revise the program that provides for the integration of employment, training, and related services programs for Indian tribes.
(Sec. 6) The bill revises the types of programs that may be integrated. (Sec. 8) The bill revises the process for: (1) federal agencies to grant or deny a tribe's request to waive statutory, regulatory, or administrative requirements to efficiently implement an integration plan; and (2) the Department of the Interior to approve or disapprove an integration plan. A tribe is granted certain hearing and appeal rights if Interior disapproves its plan.
(Sec. 10) Tribal authority to use funds to place participants in training positions with employers is revised.
(Sec. 13) The Bureau of Indian Affairs must receive and distribute funds for use in accordance with an approved integration plan.
(Sec. 14) Funds transferred to a tribe must be treated as non-federal funds for purposes of meeting matching requirements, except funds administered by the Department of Labor or the Department of Health and Human Services. Civil liability limitations apply to approved integration plans.
