Summary: GAO reviewed the Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA) actions to correct weaknesses in its Housing Improvement Program (HIP), which provides grants to Indian families living in substandard or inadequate housing to: (1) make repairs; (2) make down payments for home purchases; and (3) finance construction of new homes.
GAO noted that, in response to the Department of the Interior Inspector General's recommendation, BIA issued a model contract to ensure that tribes select the neediest families for assistance. GAO found that the tribes were not complying with the model contract requirements for: (1) the inventory of tribal members desiring to participate in the program; (2) tribal selection criteria; and (3) construction work plans. GAO also found that: (1) BIA is not adequately monitoring tribal compliance with contract provisions; (2) contracting officers' representatives (COR) provide insufficient monitoring of construction and repairs; and (3) BIA and tribal officials incorrectly interpreted the requirement for an inventory of housing needs of all tribal members.
