§5633 Under Secretary for Indian Affairs

Summary

Allows the Secretary to create a job called the Under Secretary for Indian Affairs inside the Department. That person reports straight to the Secretary. Normally the President must appoint the Under Secretary with Senate approval, but the person who was serving as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs on June 22, 2016 may take the Under Secretary job without a new appointment if they were originally appointed by the President with Senate approval and the Secretary agrees within 180 days after June 22, 2016. The Under Secretary must help move the Special Trustee for American Indians’ duties into the right parts of the Department. The Under Secretary must also, as much as possible, coordinate Bureau of Indian Affairs work with the Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Land Management, Office of Natural Resources Revenue, National Park Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service. The Under Secretary must meet regularly with Indians and tribes that have trust resources or trust funds. The Under Secretary can hire staff and set their pay to do these jobs, but hires must follow civil service rules and pay rules in title 5, and give hiring preference to Indians under section 5116, unless another law says otherwise.