§47 — Title 25 Indians | U.S. Code

Summary

Require the Departments of the Interior and Health and Human Services to use Indian labor when it is practical and reasonable, and to buy products from Indian industry when appropriate. Participation in the federal Mentor‑Protege Program or getting help through that program does not stop a person or business from getting these opportunities. The law also says mentor help alone cannot be used to claim that a protege is controlled by its mentor. Indian economic enterprise: the term used in federal procurement rules for eligible Indian businesses. Mentor firm and protege firm: the meanings in title 10, section 4902(c). Secretaries: the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The two Secretaries must do outreach and training, write matching procurement rules, collect regional compliance data, include this work in procurement reviews, and ask tribes and others how to make following the rules easier. Each Secretary must send a report to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the House Committee on Natural Resources no later than one year after December 30, 2020, and at least every two years after that. The reports must list agencies using the rules; summarize purchases and contracts with Indian businesses by region; show year-to-year changes in dollars and counts; explain how contracting officers found qualified Indian businesses; summarize any allowed exceptions and their dollar values; give totals and comparisons with non‑Indian businesses; and note barriers and suggested fixes. Every agency must set a yearly minimum percent goal for buying under these rules.

Title 25, §47

Indians — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In this section:

(1)The term “Indian economic enterprise” has the meaning given the term in section 1480.201 of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations).

(2)The terms “mentor firm” and “protege firm” have the meanings given those terms in section 4902(c) of title 10.

(3)The term “Secretaries” means—

(A)the Secretary of the Interior; and

(B)the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

(b)(1)Unless determined by one of the Secretaries to be impracticable and unreasonable—

(A)Indian labor shall be employed; and

(B)purchases of Indian industry products (including printing and facilities construction, notwithstanding any other provision of law) may be made in open market by the Secretaries.

(2)(A)Participation in the Mentor-Protege Program established under section 831(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 (10 U.S.C. 2302 note; Public Law 101–510) or receipt of assistance under a developmental assistance agreement under that program shall not render any individual or entity involved in the provision of Indian labor or an Indian industry product ineligible to receive assistance under this section.

(B)For purposes of this section, no determination of affiliation or control (whether direct or indirect) may be found between a protege firm and a mentor firm on the basis that the mentor firm has provided, or agreed to provide, to the protege firm, pursuant to a mentor-protege agreement, any form of developmental assistance described in section 831(f) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 (10 U.S.C. 2302 note; Public Law 101–510).

(c)In carrying out this section, the Secretaries shall—

(1)conduct outreach to Indian industrial entities;

(2)provide training;

(3)promulgate regulations in accordance with this section and with the regulations under part 1480 of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), to harmonize the procurement procedures of the Department of the Interior and the Department of Health and Human Services, to the maximum extent practicable;

(4)require regional offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service to aggregate data regarding compliance with this section;

(5)require procurement management reviews by their respective Departments to include a review of the implementation of this section; and

(6)consult with Indian Tribes, Indian industrial entities, and other stakeholders regarding methods to facilitate compliance with—

(A)this section; and

(B)other small business or procurement goals.

(d)(1)Not later than 1 year after December 30, 2020, and not less frequently than once every 2 years thereafter, each of the Secretaries shall submit to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report describing, during the period covered by the report, the implementation of this section by each of the respective Secretaries.

(2)Each report under this subsection shall include, for each fiscal year during the period covered by the report—

(A)the names of each agency under the respective jurisdiction of each of the Secretaries to which this section has been applied, and efforts made by additional agencies within the Secretaries’ respective Departments to use the procurement procedures under this Act;

(B)a summary of the types of purchases made from, and contracts (including any relevant modifications, extensions, or renewals) awarded to, Indian economic enterprises, expressed by agency region;

(C)a description of the percentage increase or decrease in total dollar value and number of purchases and awards made within each agency region, as compared to the totals of the region for the preceding fiscal year;

(D)a description of the methods used by applicable contracting officers and employees to conduct market searches to identify qualified Indian economic enterprises;

(E)a summary of all deviations granted under section 1480.403 of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), including a description of—

(i)the types of alternative procurement methods used, including any Indian owned businesses reported under other procurement goals; and

(ii)the dollar value of any awards made pursuant to those deviations;

(F)a summary of all determinations made to provide awards to Indian economic enterprises, including a description of the dollar value of the awards;

(G)a description or summary of the total number and value of all purchases of, and contracts awarded for, supplies, services, and construction (including the percentage increase or decrease, as compared to the preceding fiscal year) from—

(i)Indian economic enterprises; and

(ii)non-Indian economic enterprises;

(H)any administrative, procedural, legal, or other barriers to achieving the purposes of this section, together with recommendations for legislative or administrative actions to address those barriers; and

(I)for each agency region—

(i)the total amount spent on purchases made from, and contracts awarded to, Indian economic enterprises; and

(ii)a comparison of the amount described in clause (i) to the total amount that the agency region would likely have spent on the same purchases made from a non-Indian economic enterprise or contracts awarded to a non-Indian economic enterprise.

(e)Each agency shall establish an annual minimum percentage goal for procurement in compliance with this section.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This Act, referred to in subsec. (d)(2)(A), is act

June 25, 1910, ch. 431, § 23, 36 Stat. 861, known as the Buy Indian Act, which is classified to this section. Codification Section is based on proviso of first sentence of section 23 of act of

June 25, 1910. Remainder of first sentence of section 23 was classified to section 93 of this title prior to repeal by act Oct. 10, 1940, ch. 851, § 4, 54 Stat. 1112.

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in act Apr. 30, 1908, ch. 153, 35 Stat. 71, making appropriations for the Indian Department.

Amendments

2022—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 117–263 substituted “section 4902(c) of title 10” for “section 831(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 (10 U.S.C. 2302 note; Public Law 101–510)”. 2020—Pub. L. 116–261, § 4, amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section related to employment of Indian labor and purchase of products of Indian industry and participation in Mentor-Protege Program. 1994—Pub. L. 103–435 inserted at end “Participation in the Mentor-Protege Program established under section 831 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 (10 U.S.C. 2301 note) or receipt of assistance pursuant to any developmental assistance agreement authorized under such program shall not render Indian labor or Indian industry ineligible to receive any assistance authorized under this section. For the purposes of this section— “(1) no determination of affiliation or control (either direct or indirect) may be found between a protege firm and its mentor firm on the basis that the mentor firm has agreed to furnish (or has furnished) to its protege firm pursuant to a mentor-protege agreement any form of developmental assistance described in subsection (f) of section 831 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 (10 U.S.C. 2301 note); and “(2) the terms ‘protege firm’ and ‘mentor firm’ have the meaning given such terms in subsection (c) of such section 831.” 1988—Pub. L. 100–581 inserted “(including, but not limited to printing, notwithstanding any other law)” after “products”.

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

For

Transfer of Functions

of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Interior, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Interior, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

§47 Employment of Indian labor and purchase of products of Indian industry; participation in Mentor-Protege Program

Summary

Title 25, §47

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Prior Provisions

Amendments

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

Transfer of Functions

Citations & Metadata