APPLICATIONS.

SEC. 602. APPLICATIONS. Section 614 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3057e) is amended— (1) in subsection (b), by striking “certification” and inserting “approval”; and (2) in subsection (c)— (A) by inserting “(1)” after “(c)”; and (B) by adding at the end the following: “(2) The Assistant Secretary shall provide waivers and exemptions of the reporting requirements of subsection (a)(3) for applicants that serve Indian populations in geographically isolated 114 STAT. 2288areas, or applicants that serve small Indian populations, where the small scale of the project, the nature of the applicant, or other factors make the reporting requirements unreasonable under the circumstances. The Assistant Secretary shall consult with such applicants in establishing appropriate waivers and exemptions. “(3) The Assistant Secretary shall approve any application that complies with the provisions of subsection (a), except that in determining whether an application complies with the requirements of subsection (a)(8), the Assistant Secretary shall provide maximum flexibility to an applicant that seeks to take into account subsistence needs, local customs, and other characteristics that are appropriate to the unique cultural, regional, and geographic needs of the Indian populations to be served. “(4) In determining whether an application complies with the requirements of subsection (a)(12), the Assistant Secretary shall require only that an applicant provide an appropriate narrative description of the geographic area to be served and an assurance that procedures will be adopted to ensure against duplicate services being provided to the same recipients.”.