Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Bureau of Indian Affairs'(BIA) creation of the trust fund Special Projects Team to determine if BIA: (1) followed Department of the Interior guidelines and appropriations act provisions; and (3) was required to notify the Inter-tribal Monitoring Association (ITMA) and obtain its views on the Team proposal.

GAO found that: (1) BIA managers did not follow established Interior or BIA policies and procedures when they created the Team; (2) BIA managers did not follow appropriations act guidelines to notify the appropriations committees and the Reorganization Task Force about the reorganization; (3) the BIA fiscal year 1994 budget proposal did not refer to the creation of the Team or the reallocation of funds from the Office of Trust Funds Management (OTFM); (4) BIA was not required to notify ITMA in advance about its decision to create a new organization; (5) ITMA officials believe they should have been notified that the Team would be separate from OTFM, since they have responsibility for monitoring BIA reconciliation and trust fund improvement efforts; (6) Interior and BIA management reviewed the procedures followed in creating the Team and concluded that its policies and appropriations act guidelines had not been followed; and (7) Interior and BIA officials initially involved in the Team's creation are no longer in the same positions of authority due to staffing changes resulting from the new administration.