We initiated this inspection based on a review conducted by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI’s) Office of the Solicitor (SOL) regarding the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA’s) possible violation of the Antideficiency Act for failure to remit collected fees to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
We found, among other things, that the BIA collected around $12 million in fees between 2013 and 2018 and that most of this was retained. As to the retained amounts, although the SOL previously opined that full remittance to the Treasury was mandatory, we determined that the BIA may have other statutory retention authority not previously considered under 25 U.S.C. § 14b. We determined that the DOI was in the best position to make a final decision on this issue, in part because it involves a matter of statutory interpretation that may require consideration of effects on Indian tribes.
We made two recommendations for the SOL to revisit its previous opinion on the collection, tracking, and remittance of fees, and to provide any additional guidance to all BIA regions as needed. The SOL did not provide a response within the designated timeframe stating how it would address our recommendations, so we consider both unresolved.