S.1279 - THE INDIAN EMPLOYMENT TRAINING AND RELATED SERVICES

DEMONSTRATION ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1997

Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, today I am pleased to introduce legislation which amends the Indian Employment, Training, and Related Services Demonstration Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-477). The current Act has proven successful and represents one of the few programs that works for Indian country. I want to thank Senator Murkowski for his work on his own "477" bill that takes aim at the specific problems experienced by Alaska natives in administering the 477 program. I am pleased to co-sponsor his and that he is co-sponsoring my legislation.

It is my hope that together we can develop amendments that will clarify and strengthen the program for American Indians and Alaska natives and lead to better training programs and higher job placements. The main reason for the success of the 477 program is that it relies on the tribes themselves to make the key decisions involving the design and implementation of employment training and related matters. This program puts tribes, not federal bureaucrats, in the driver's seat.

The Act empowers tribal governments to consolidate formula funds they receive for employment training and education services into one program-which in turn enables tribes to streamline services provided, while cutting administrative time and costs. The Act does contain certain limitations and in practice tribes have faced a few roadblocks.

This bill removes these limitations, expands programs affected by the Act, and broadens permissible job creation activities. The unemployment problem in Indian country is well-documented. Tribes currently suffer from a national unemployment rate of approximately 52%, with some like the Oglala Sioux Tribe suffer from a rate of 95%. In comparison, the national unemployment rate is 6%. The lack of employment opportunities in Indian country has exacerbated an already-poor health situation, and has lead to grinding social problems such as crime, domestic abuse, and alcohol and drug abuse. While gaming has aided a few tribal economies over the past decade, the great majority of tribes continue to struggle with joblessness and poverty. Gaming is not the long term solution to the goal of tribal self-determination and economic self-sufficiency. Diverse job creation is.

The Indian Employment, Training, and Related Services Demonstration Act provides tribes with a valuable tool in combating reservation unemployment. Indian tribes, like many American communities, are struggling to comply with the work requirements of the new welfare reform law. By focusing on job creation as a necessary component to any employment training program, tribes can add a new weapon in their battle against joblessness and poverty.

One of the more consistent obstacles to greater success with the Act is the Bureau of Indian Affairs management of the program. To remedy this problem, the bill transfers lead agency responsibilities from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to the Office of Self-Governance (OSG), both agencies contained within the Department of the Interior. On May 13, 1997, the Committee on Indian Affairs conducted an oversight hearing to discuss the progress made by tribes under the Act. Tribe after tribe testified and revealed that this program is working, and working well. Tribes participating in the program testified that the program has reduced the federal paperwork burden associated with applying for related programs by as much as 96%, reduced administration time and costs of delivering job training services to tribal customers while enhancing the quality of services rendered.

Most importantly, witnesses indicated great increases in job placements for tribal members. One of the reasons for the success of this program is that it is voluntary. It is not another imposition, by the federal government, of what we think will work for them. I would like to highlight the fact that this Demonstration Act has cost the federal government nothing-- the attraction of the program is in streamlining paperwork and other administrative burdens and operating primarily at the local level. The philosophy of the program is similar to that of the Self-Governance model under which tribes, under contract with the United States, manage services and programs formerly provided by the federal government.

The witnesses at the May hearing discussed problems that they have had with the lead agency, the BIA. Of the four tribal participants testifying, all expressed dissatisfaction with the BIA. One testified that "the Bureau of Indian Affairs has been the biggest obstacle to the implementation of P.L. 102-477." 20 tribal applicants representing more than 175 tribes currently participate in this demonstration, yet the BIA states that it has only two full-time employees committed to working on this program, and that number is in dispute. Additionally, all tribal witnesses reported significant delays in receiving programs funds consolidated under their approved plans.

Reasons for the delays ranged from deliberate withholding to poor accounting procedures on the part of the BIA. The May hearing, as well as subsequent meetings held with the Tribal Working Group for the Demonstration Act, have made clear that there is a consensus among participating tribes that the OSG should undertake this program. The bill proposes to transfer authority to the OSG because that office has a proven track record in working with tribes to consolidate programs and services and to achieve more effective delivery to tribal members.

If this Congress is serious about encouraging self-determination and self-sufficiency, we must provide tribes with the tools they need to further these goals. Reservation economic development and job creation go hand-in-hand and we cannot ignore this basic fact.

The current Act has gone far in permitting tribes to do more with less, as the quality of training and education services has risen with increased job placements. These amendments take the next logical step, which is to encourage job creation and make the promise of the program a reality for those that want to work and want to be productive and want to improve their lives and the lives of their families.