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

United States Code

USC most recently checked for updates: Oct 03, 2023

§ 46. Preference to Indians in employment of clerical, mechanical, and other help

§ 47a. Security required by Secretary; contracts with Indian-owned economic enterprise; public work

U.S. Code
Notes

§ 47.

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

(a)

Definitions

In this section:

(1)

Indian economic enterprise

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)

Mentor firm; protege firm

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

(3)

Secretaries

The term “Secretaries” means—

(A)

the Secretary of the Interior; and

(B)

the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

(b)

Enterprise Development

(1)

In general

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)

Mentor-protege program

(A)

In general

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)

Treatment

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)

Implementation

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)

Report

(1)

In general

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)

Contents

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)

(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)

Goals

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

(June 25, 1910, ch. 431, § 23, 36 Stat. 861; Pub. L. 100–581, title II, § 206, Nov. 1, 1988, 102 Stat. 2940; Pub. L. 103–435, § 14, Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4572; Pub. L. 116–261, § 4, Dec. 30, 2020, 134 Stat. 3311; Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title VIII, § 856(e)(1), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2726.)

cite as: 25 USC 47