Publisher's Synopsis
The Self-Determination Act of 1975 provided a shift in the way the Federal Government provides services in Indian Country, providing tribes with the authority to take over those services and tailor them to meet their communities. Self-governance began with only seven tribes in 1991, now over half of all federally-recognized tribes have self-governance agreements with the Department of the Interior for Indian Health Services. S. 919 is the culmination of discussions between tribal leaders and the Department of the Interior and other stakeholders that would streamline the self-governance process. Currently tribes must use different negotiation processes for the Department of the Interior and Indian Health Services. S. 919 would make that a similar process. This bill has many other common sense provisions relating to the negotiation process, such as negotiating in good faith, timelines on decision-making, and providing specific reasons that the Secretary of the Interior can decline the self-governance compact or funding agreement.
