Dear USET/USET SPF Family,
USET SPF has created a template comment document for use by our member Tribal Nations in responding to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources (ASFR) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would revise certain provisions of the regulations that govern HHS grants administration found at 45 C.F.R. Part 75. HHS is accepting written Tribal consultation comments through January 18, 2024, as it held its Tribal consultation after the public notice-and-comment period. USET SPF encourages our Tribal Nations to submit comments using the template document.
This rule touches on the sovereign authority of Tribal Nations to enact our own laws rather than presumptively be subject to laws of general applicability. It also touches on Tribal Nations’ and Native peoples’ political status under the law, facilitating the federal government to provide services and funding in furtherance of its trust and treaty obligations without violating antidiscrimination laws.
Specifically, HHS is soliciting input on provisions in the HHS grant regulations that would require grant recipients to comply with applicable federal statutory nondiscrimination provisions, require HHS compliance with applicable Supreme Court decisions in administering grants, and provide a religious exemption from certain provisions. More information about USET SPF's position can be seen in the alert below and within the template comment document.
More information on the consultation can be found in the Dear Tribal Leader Letter. Written comments will be accepted through January 18, 2024. We strongly encourage our member Tribal Nations to submit comments using the template by the deadline of January 18, 2024.
For more information, please contact Liz Malerba, USET SPF Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs, at lmalerba@usetinc.org or Katie Klass, USET/USET SPF General Counsel, at kklass@usetinc.org.
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