The Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C. Photo: dog97209
The Department of the Treasury’s administrative record (AR) in ongoing litigation over the $8 billion coronavirus relief fund promised to tribal governments was submitted in federal court on May 22, 2020.
The AR is divided into 14 sections, according to the index submitted in court. Almost every section contains just one document but section 10 consists of numerous letters submitted by tribes and Alaska Native corporations regarding the distribution of the fund that was authorized by Congress under Title V of the CARES Act.
The AR was accompanied by a declaration from Daniel Kowalski, who serves as Counselor to Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin. He said the documents represent “to the best of my knowledge, the non-privileged information considered by Treasury in its determination that Alaska Native Corporations are ‘Tribal governments’ under the CARES Act Title V.”
Documents of note include:
- A record of a call from staff for Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) to Daniel Kowalski on April 2, 2020 — after the first tribal consultation on the $8 billion fund took place that afternoon. The contents of the call are not disclosed.
- An April 21, 2020, letter from Solicitor Daniel Jorjani, the top legal official at the Department of the Interior, recommending inclusion of Alaska Native corporations in the $8 billion fund.
- An April 23, 2020, action memorandum from Brian Callahan, General Counsel at Treasury, siding with Interior’s analysis regarding inclusion of Alaska Native corporations in the $8 billion fund.
The AR was submitted in Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation v. Mnuchin, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe v. Mnuchin, and Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation v. Mnuchin.
Links to the documents in the AR are provided below.
| Index Number |
Date |
Description |
| 001 |
3/31/2020 |
Letter from Tara Sweeney, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, to Tribal leaders re: announcement of time- sensitive consultation information re: the CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund |
| 002 |
4/02/2020 |
Transcript re: first CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund Tribal consultation |
| 003 |
4/02/2020 |
Outlook calendar entry for Daniel Kowalski, Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury, for a call with Sen. Murkowski’s staff |
| 004 |
4/06/2020 |
Letter from Alaska congressional delegation (Sens. Murkowski and Sullivan, and Rep. Young), to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of the Interior, re: “Coronavirus Relief Fund, Tribal Set-Aside of $8 Billion” |
| 005 |
On or about 04/07/2020 |
Summary compilation provided by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs to the Department of the Treasury re: “Coronavirus Relief Fund Summary of Tribal Comments (as of April 7, 2020)” |
| 006 |
4/09/2020 |
Transcript re: second CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund Tribal consultation |
| 007 |
4/13/2020 |
Form of the “Submission Required for Receipt of Coronavirus Relief Fund Payments” by Tribal governments |
| 008 |
4/14/2020 |
Letter from Alaska congressional delegation (Sens. Murkowski and Sullivan, and Rep. Young), to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of the Interior, re: “Coronavirus Relief Fund, Tribal Set-Aside of $8 Billion” |
| 009 |
4/22/2020 |
Final summary compilation provided by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs to the Department of the Treasury re: “Coronavirus Relief Fund Tribal Set-Aside Compilation of Comments” |
| 010 (a)-
(y) |
Various, between 04/14/20201
and 04/23/2020 |
Compilation of the comment letters received by the Department of the Treasury after the close of the Tribal comment period on April 13, 2020 but before Treasury’s eligibility determination on April 23, 2020, in which the eligibility of Alaska Native Corporations (ANC) is referenced
010a | 010b | 010c | 010d | 010e | 010f | 010g
010h |010i |010j | 010k | 010l | 010m
010n |010o | 010p |010q|010r |010s |010t
010u |010v |010w | 010x |010y |
| 011 |
4/21/2020 |
Letter from Daniel Jorjani, Solicitor, Department of the Interior, to Brian Callanan, General Counsel, Department of the Treasury, recommending that ANCs are eligible for CARES Act Title V funding |
| 012 |
5/21/1976 |
Memorandum of Charles Soller, Assistant Solicitor for Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, cited in n.5 of the letter included at Tab 011 |
| 013 |
4/23/2020 |
Action Memorandum for Steven T. Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury, from Brian Callanan, General Counsel, Department of the Treasury, re: “Treatment of Alaska Native Corporations Under Title V of the CARES Act” |
| 014 |
4/23/2020 |
Department of the Treasury website posting re: Treasury’s determination that Alaska Native Corporations are Tribal governments under the CARES Act Title V |
1 Certain letters are dated April 13, 2020 but were not received by the Department of the Treasury until after April 13, 2020, the date on which the Tribal comment period closed. Letters received after April 13, 2020 were not included in the summary compilations of Tribal comment letters as described in Index Nos. 005 and 009.
