There shall be in the Department of the Interior a Commissioner of Indian Affairs, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

For the purpose of facilitating and simplifying the administration of the laws governing Indian affairs, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to delegate, from time to time, and to the extent and under such regulations as he deems proper, his powers and duties under said laws to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, insofar as such powers and duties relate to action in individual cases arising under general regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to law. Subject to the supervision and direction of the Secretary, the Commissioner is authorized to delegate, in like manner, any powers and duties so delegated to him by the Secretary, or vested in him by law, to the assistant commissioners, or the officer in charge of any branch, division, office, or agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, insofar as such powers and duties relate to action in individual cases arising under general regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior or the Commissioner of Indian Affairs pursuant to law. Such delegated powers shall be exercised subject to appeal to the Secretary, under regulations to be prescribed by him, or, as from time to time determined by him, to the Deputy Secretary or to an Assistant Secretary of the Department of the Interior, or to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. The Secretary or the Commissioner, as the case may be, may at any time revoke the whole or any part of a delegation made pursuant to this section, but no such revocation shall be given retroactive effect. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to abrogate or curtail any authority to make delegations conferred by any other provision of law, nor shall anything in this section be deemed to convey authority to delegate any power to issue regulations.

The Commissioner of Indian Affairs shall, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, and agreeably to such regulations as the President may prescribe, have the management of all Indian affairs and of all matters arising out of Indian relations.

Assistant or deputy commissioners of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, in the Department of the Interior, shall be appointed by the Secretary of the Interior, subject to the civil-service laws and chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5. Appointments to these positions shall be considered as made under the authority of section 3101 of title 5. Assistant and deputy commissioners so appointed shall be authorized to sign such letters, papers, and documents and to perform such other duties as may be directed by the commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Secretary may designate for the Bureau of Indian Affairs an assistant or deputy commissioner, who shall be authorized to perform the duties of the commissioner in case of the death, resignation, absence, or sickness of the commissioner.

It shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to cause to be compiled and printed for the use of Indian agents and inspectors the provisions of the statutes regulating the performance of their respective duties, and also to furnish said officers from time to time information of new enactments upon the same subject.

The recording of all deeds and papers prior to July 26, 1892, in the office of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs is confirmed, approved, and legalized; and said record theretofore made shall be deemed, taken, and held to be good and valid and shall have all the force and effect and be entitled to the same credit as if it had been made in pursuance of and in conformity to law. But shall have no effect whatever upon the validity or invalidity of the deed or paper so recorded, and shall be no evidence of constructive notice to any persons not actually knowing the contents.

The Commissioner of Indian Affairs shall cause a seal to be made and provided for the said office, with such device as the President of the United States shall approve, and copies of any public documents, records, books, maps, or papers belonging to or on the files of said office, authenticated by the seal and certified by the Commissioner thereof, or by such officer as may, for the time being, be acting as or for such Commissioner, shall be evidence equally with the originals thereof.

The Commissioner of Indian Affairs shall have the custody of said seal, and shall furnish certified copies of any such records, books, maps, or papers belonging to or on the files of said office, to any person applying therefor who shall comply with the requirements of said office, upon the payment by such parties at the rate of 10 cents per hundred words, and $1 for copies of maps or plats, and the additional sum of 25 cents for the Commissioner’s certificate of verification, with the seal of said office; and one of the employees of said office shall be designated by the Commissioner as the receiving clerk, and the amounts so received shall, under the direction of the Commissioner, be paid into the Treasury of the United States; but fees shall not be demanded for such authenticated copies as may be required by the officers of any branch of the Government or by any Indian who shall satisfy the Commissioner by satisfactory legal evidence that he or she is not able, by reason of poverty, to pay such fees, nor for such unverified copies as the Commissioner in his discretion may deem proper to furnish.

All accounts and vouchers for claims and disbursements connected with Indian affairs shall be transmitted to the Commissioner for administrative examination, and by him passed to the Government Accountability Office for settlement.

The President may prescribe such regulations as he may think fit for carrying into effect the various provisions of any act relating to Indian affairs, and for the settlement of the accounts of Indian affairs.

The Commissioner of Indian Affairs, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, may designate an employee of the Indian Office to sign letters of that office requiring the signature of the commissioner or assistant commissioner, and all signatures of such employee while acting under such designation shall have the same force and effect as if made by said commissioner or assistant commissioner.

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to designate an employee or employees of the Department of the Interior to sign, under the direction of the Secretary, in his name and for him, his approval of tribal deeds to allottees, to purchasers of town lots, to purchasers of unallotted lands, to persons, corporations, or organizations for lands reserved to them under the law for their use and benefit, and to any tribal deeds made and executed according to law for any of the Five Civilized Tribes of Indians in Oklahoma.

The Commissioner of Indian Affairs is authorized to send a special Indian Agent, or other representative of his office, to visit any Indian tribe for the purpose of negotiating and entering into a written agreement with such tribe for the commutation of the perpetual annuities due under treaty stipulations, to be subject to the approval of Congress; and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs shall transmit to Congress said agreements with such recommendations as he may deem proper.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs, under the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior, shall direct, supervise, and expend such moneys as Congress may from time to time appropriate, for the benefit, care, and assistance of the Indians throughout the United States for the following purposes:

General support and civilization, including education.

For relief of distress and conservation of health.

For industrial assistance and advancement and general administration of Indian property.

For extension, improvement, operation, and maintenance of existing Indian irrigation systems and for development of water supplies.

For the enlargement, extension, improvement, and repair of the buildings and grounds of existing plants and projects.

For the employment of inspectors, supervisors, superintendents, clerks, field matrons, farmers, physicians, Indian police, Indian judges, and other employees.

For the suppression of traffic in intoxicating liquor and deleterious drugs.

For the purchase of horse-drawn and motor-propelled passenger-carrying vehicles for official use.

And for general and incidental expenses in connection with the administration of Indian affairs.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or any other law, postsecondary schools administered by the Secretary of the Interior for Indians, and which meet the definition of an “institution of higher education” under section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 [20 U.S.C. 1001], shall be eligible to participate in and receive appropriated funds under any program authorized by the Higher Education Act of 1965 [20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.] or any other applicable program for the benefit of institutions of higher education, community colleges, or postsecondary educational institutions.

Such sums as are needed under section 13 of this title are authorized to be appropriated to provide funds for basic educational support through parent committees under the Act of April 16, 1934 [25 U.S.C. 5342 et seq.], to those public schools educating Indian students and whose total sum of Federal, State, and local funds is insufficient to bring the education of the enrolled Indian students to a level equal to the level of education provided non-Indian students in the public schools in which they are enrolled where the absence of such support would result in the closing of schools or the reduction in quality of the education program afforded Indian students attending public schools.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any funds appropriated pursuant to section 13 of this title

On and after October 12, 1984, funds appropriated under this or any other Act for the Bureau of Indian Affairs may be used for the payment in advance or from date or admission of care, tuition, assistance, and other expenses of Indians in boarding homes, institutions, or schools; and the payment of rewards for information or evidence concerning violations of law on Indian reservation lands or treaty fishing rights use areas.

On and after October 12, 1984, any cost of providing lunches to nonboarding students in public schools from funds appropriated under this or any other Act for the Bureau of Indian Affairs shall be paid from the amount of such funds otherwise allocated for the schools involved without regard to the cost of providing lunches for such students.

After September 30, 1985, no part of any appropriation (except trust funds) to the Bureau of Indian Affairs may be used directly or by contract for general or other welfare assistance (except child welfare assistance) payments (1) for other than essential needs (specifically identified in regulations of the Secretary or in regulations of the State public welfare agency pursuant to the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.] adopted by reference in the Secretary’s regulations) which could not be reasonably expected to be met from financial resources or income (including funds held in trust) available to the recipient individual which are not exempted under law from consideration in determining eligibility for or the amount of Federal financial assistance or (2) for individuals who are eligible for general public welfare assistance available from a State except to the extent the Secretary of the Interior determines that such payments are required under sections 6(b)(2), 6(i), and 9(b) of the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980 (94 Stat. 1793, 1794, 1796; 25 U.S.C. 1725(b)(2), 1725(i), 1728(b)).1

On and after October 21, 1998, notwithstanding any other provision of law, Indian tribal governments may, by appropriate changes in eligibility criteria or by other means, change eligibility for general assistance or change the amount of general assistance payments for individuals within the service area of such tribe who are otherwise deemed eligible for general assistance payments so long as such changes are applied in a consistent manner to individuals similarly situated and, that any savings realized by such changes shall be available for use in meeting other priorities of the tribes and, that any net increase in costs to the Federal Government which result solely from tribally increased payment levels for general assistance shall be met exclusively from funds available to the tribe from within its tribal priority allocation.

On and after October 12, 1984, such appropriations [appropriations for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (except the revolving fund for loans and the Indian loan guarantee and insurance fund)] under this or any other act shall be available for: the expenses of exhibits; advance payments for services (including services which may extend beyond the current fiscal year) under contracts executed pursuant to the Act of June 4, 1936 (48 Stat. 596), as amended (25 U.S.C. 452 et seq.),1

Any money accruing from the Department of Veterans Affairs or other governmental agency to incompetent adult Indians, or minor Indians, who are recognized wards of the Federal Government, for whom no legal guardians or other fiduciaries have been appointed may be paid, in the discretion of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or other head of a governmental bureau or agency, having such funds for payment, to such superintendent or other bonded officer of the Indian Service as the Secretary of the Interior shall designate, for the use of such beneficiaries, or to be paid to or used for, the heirs of such deceased beneficiaries, to be handled and accounted for by him with other moneys under his control, in accordance with existing law and the regulations of the Department of the Interior.

On and after October 12, 1984, moneys received by grant to the Bureau of Indian Affairs from other Federal agencies to carry out various programs for elementary and secondary education, handicapped programs, bilingual education, and other specific programs shall be deposited into the appropriation account available for the operation of Bureau schools during the period covered by the grant and shall remain available as otherwise provided by law.

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to retain collections from the public in payment for goods and services provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Such collections shall be credited to the appropriation account against which obligations were incurred in providing such goods and services.

Except for electric utility systems constructed and operated as a part of an irrigation system, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to contract under such terms and conditions as he considers to be in the best interest of the Federal Government for the sale, operation, maintenance, repairs, or relocation of Government-owned utilities and utility systems and appurtenances used in the administration of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Secretary shall not execute a contract pursuant to this section until he has submitted to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a copy of the contract and a statement of his reasons for proposing the contract, and until such materials have lain before the Committees for sixty days (excluding the time during which either House is in recess for more than three days) unless prior thereto the Secretary is notified that neither committee has any objection to the proposed contract.

On and after October 12, 1984, passenger carrying motor vehicles of the Bureau of Indian Affairs may be used for the transportation of Indians.