Salazar v. Ramah Navajo Chapter
Issues
Is the government liable for all contract-related payments to a tribal organization under a statute requiring the government to pay funds “subject to the availability of appropriations” when Congress appropriated enough funds to cover any individual government contract, but not every assigned contract?
The Indian Self–Determination and Education Assistance Act (“ISDA”) allows Indian tribes to implement programs previously administered by the federal government. The government must reimburse tribes using Congressional appropriations for any reasonable implementation costs, known as contract support costs (“CSCs”). However, Congress appropriated insufficient funds to cover all of the tribes’ CSCs and the government failed to fully reimburse respondents, including the Ramah Navajo Chapter (“Ramah”). The district court determined that the government was not required to pay Ramah’s CSCs due to exhausted appropriations, but the Tenth Circuit held that a tribe can fully recover if Congress appropriated sufficient funds to cover their individual contracts. The government now appeals, arguing thatthe total sum of recoverable CSCs is limited to the appropriation. The Supreme Court’s decision may impact Congress’s ability to limit spending and the government’s perceived reliability as a contract partner.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
Whether the government is required to pay all of the CSCs incurred by a tribal contractor under the ISDA, where Congress has imposed an express statutory cap on the appropriations available to pay such costs and the Secretary of the Interior cannot pay all such costs for all tribal contractors without exceeding the statutory cap.
Under the ISDA, the United States can enter into self-determination contracts with Indian tribes and tribal organizations that allow those groups to implement various services previously administered by the government. 25 U.S.C.
The authors would like to thank former Supreme Court Reporter of Decisions Frank Wagner for his assistance in editing this preview.
Additional Resources
Jurist.com, Supreme Court to Rule on Federal Payment for American Indian Tribes (Nov. 9, 2012).