Under current law, a variety of federal agencies provide financial assistance to Indian tribes for a wide range of purposes. Under the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Demonstration Act and subject to approval by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), tribes can consolidate certain types of federal grants, particularly those that support programs related to employment, training, and education. H.R. 329 would amend that act to expand the types of federal grants that tribes could consolidate.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 329 would have no significant effect on the federal budget because the legislation would not affect the overall amount of assistance provided by federal agencies to tribes. Based on information from BIA, CBO estimates that any increased federal costs to oversee and administer tribal plans under the bill, which would be subject to appropriation, would not exceed $500,000 in any year.
Enacting H.R. 329 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 329 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.
H.R. 329 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
On January 8, 2016, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 1443, the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Consolidation Act of 2015, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on October 21, 2015. H.R. 329 and S. 1443 are similar, and the CBO cost estimates are the same.
