May 17, 1977
Page 14943
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, S. 904, the Federal Program Information Act, is an important step toward providing complete and accurate information about Federal assistance programs to intended beneficiaries. Enactment of this legislation will mean a substantial reduction in time spent by applicants searching for Federal assistance funds. And it will mean that all units of government will be able to compete for Federal dollars on a more equitable basis.
It is not difficult to justify the need for this legislation. Since the early 1960's, Congress has enacted hundreds of Federal assistance programs to meet specific needs. There are now over 1,100 different Federal assistance programs administered by some 52 separate Federal agencies. Each of these programs has its own set of regulations, eligibility requirements, and application requirements and deadlines.
During this period, little was done to assure that information about these programs reached those whom they were designed to benefit. As a result, applicants, mostly State and local governments, have had to use their own resources to seek out Federal assistance programs. This is a difficult, time consuming task. Often, an applicant will overlook a very important program for which his community is qualified. Or, as the General Accounting Office reported in a study last year, "many State and local officials do not learn about a program until it is too late to apply."
This situation has resulted in the reliance of many units of government on full or part time Washington representatives, whose job is to seek out sources of Federal assistance. But what of the community that cannot afford this kind of professional help? These communities often lose out, because they have neither the time, nor the expertise needed to look after their interests.
The Federal Program Information Act seeks to correct these problems in what I believe is a most sensible method. A potential applicant will be able to obtain a computer printout, within minutes, of all the programs his jurisdiction is eligible for, within a given program area. If he were to use only the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Programs, this search could take hours.
And most importantly, the applicant will be able to determine, before spending dozens of hours devising a plan, meeting the program requirements and filing the complex application forms, whether there are funds to be applied for.
Mr. President, the Federal grant system has become cumbersome and complicated. This bill takes an important step toward making that system more usable by its intended recipients.
Mr. President, in closing I want to pay special tribute to the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. KENNEDY) and the Senator from Delaware (Mr. ROTH) for their outstanding contributions to the development of this legislation. It is because of their work that this necessary bill will pass the Senate today.