INTRODUCTION

 

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

 

The General Services Administration (GSA) establishes policy and provides economical and efficient management of Government property and records, including construction and operation of buildings, procurement and distribution of supplies, utilization and disposal of property; and transportation, traffic, and communications management.  GSA is organized much like a large corporation doing business in a number of different fields.  It consists of operating services and supporting staff offices, with functions carried out at three levels of organization: The Central office, regional offices, and field activities. 

 

Various publications and catalogs published by GSA include: 1) The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance; 2) the Federal Procurement Report which lists statistics on the procurement activities of over 60 Federal agencies; and 3) the Consumer Information Catalog which lists selected Federal publications of interest to consumers.  GSA also administers the Federal Information Centers (FIC) which are focal points for information about the Federal government's services, programs, and regulations.

 

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

 

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance is a government-wide compendium of Federal programs, projects, services, and activities which provide assistance or benefits to the American public.  It contains financial and non-financial assistance programs administered by departments and establishments of the Federal government.  In 1984, Public Law 98-169 authorized the transfer of the Federal Program Information Act responsibilities from the Office of Management and Budget to the General Services Administration (GSA).  These responsibilities include the dissemination of Federal domestic assistance program information through the Federal Assistance Programs Retrieval System (FAPRS) and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, pursuant to the Federal Program Information Act, Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law 98-169.  GSA now maintains the Federal assistance information data base from which program information is obtained.  The Office of Management and Budget serves as an intermediary agent between the Federal agencies and GSA, providing oversight to the necessary collection of Federal domestic assistance program data.

 

Contents Of the Catalog

 

The Catalog contains Federal domestic assistance programs available to: State and local governments (including the District of Columbia and federally-recognized Indian tribal governments); Territories (and possessions) of the United States; domestic public, quasi-public, and private profit and nonprofit organizations and institutions; specialized groups; and individuals.  The Catalog provides the user with access to programs administered by Federal departments and agencies in a single publication. 

 

Programs in the Catalog provide information on the:

                - Federal agency administering a program;

                - Authorization upon which a program is based;

                - Objectives and goals of a program;

                - Types of financial and nonfinancial assistance offered under a program;

                - Uses and restrictions placed upon a program;

                - Eligibility requirements;

                - Application and award process;

                - Amount of obligations for the past, current, and future fiscal years;

                - Regulations, guidelines and literature relevant to a program;

                - Information contacts at the headquarters, regional, and local offices;

                - Programs that are related based upon program objectives and uses;

                - Examples of funded projects;

                - Criteria for selecting proposals; and

                - Individual agency policies and Federal management policy directives                    pertaining to a program. 

 

Programs in the Catalog provide a wide range of benefits and services, which have been grouped into 20 basic functional categories, and 176 subcategories which identify specific areas of interest.  Listed below are the 20 basic categories in which all programs have been grouped by primary purpose. 

                - Agriculture

                - Business and Commerce

                - Community Development - Consumer Protection

                - Cultural Affairs

                - Disaster Prevention and Relief - Education

                - Employment, Labor, and Training

                - Energy

                - Environmental Quality

                - Food and Nutrition

                - Health

                - Housing

                - Income Security and Social Services

                - Information and Statistics

                - Law, Justice, and Legal Services

                - Natural Resources - Regional Development

                - Science and Technology

                - Transportation

 

Programs in the Catalog also include service activities of regulatory agencies.  The Catalog does not include:

                - Solicited contracts administered under procurement laws and regulations for                    the purchase of goods and services for the Federal government;

                - Foreign activities except as such programs have direct economic benefit in                   the domestic economy. (A program that provides both domestic and foreign                   assistance will be included with the description of the program oriented                   toward the domestic aspect.);

                - Personnel recruitment programs of individual Federal departments which                   offer employment opportunities as part of normal recruiting operations, (the                   overall government-wide programs of the Office of Personnel Management                    are included); - Benefits or assistance available only to current employees of                    the Federal government either civilian or military;

                - New programs proposed in the Budget for which appropriations have not                    been enacted; or

                - Programs which are no longer active due to expired authorization or                   appropriation. 

 

Programs selected for inclusion in the Federal assistance data base are defined as any function of a Federal agency that provides assistance or benefits for a State or States, territorial possession, county, city, other political subdivision, grouping, or instrumentality thereof; any domestic profit or nonprofit corporation, institution, or individual, other than an agency of the Federal government.  A "Federal domestic assistance program" may in practice be called a program, an activity, a service, a project, a process, or some other name, regardless of whether it is identified as a separate program by statute or regulation.  It will be identified in terms of its legal authority, administering office, funding, purpose, benefits, and beneficiaries. 

 

"Assistance" or "benefits" refers to the transfer of money, property, services, or anything of value, the principal purpose of which is to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by Federal statute. Assistance includes, but is not limited to grants, loans, loan guarantees, scholarships, mortgage loans, insurance, and other types of financial assistance, including cooperative agreements; property, technical assistance, counseling, statistical, and other expert information; and service activities of regulatory agencies.  It does not include the provision of conventional public information services. 

 

The Catalog is published annually, using the most current data available on the status of programs at the time the Catalog or the Update to the Catalog are compiled.  The Basic edition of the Catalog, which is usually published in June, reflects completed congressional action on program legislation.  The Update, usually published in December, reflects completed congressional action on the President's budget proposals and on substantive legislation as of the date of compilation, and includes information on Federal programs that was not available at the time the latest edition of the Catalog was compiled.

 

GSA distributes a limited number of complimentary copies of the Catalog to National, State and local offices.  At the national level copies are provided to: Members of Congress, congressional staff, Federal agencies, and all Federal Depository Libraries. 

 

At the State level copies of the Catalog are provided to: Governors, State Coordinators of Federal-State Relations, Directors of State Departments of Administration and Budget Offices, Directors of State Departments of Community Affairs, Directors of State Planning Agencies, Directors of State Agricultural Extension Services, State Municipal Leagues, State Association of Counties, Chief State School Officers, and State Employment Security Agencies. 

 

At the local level copies are provided to: Mayors, County Chairmen, Chairmen of Boards of Commissioners and city planners.  GSA regularly distributes the Catalog to the Federal Information Centers, Federal Regional Councils, Federal Executive Boards, and appropriate field and area offices of most Federal agencies.  The Catalog is also provided to other agencies of State and local governments, down to and including those with a population size of 250. 

 

For the general public, the Catalog is available for sale through the Government Printing Office.  Individuals who wish to purchase a copy of the Catalog should contact one of the U.S. Government Bookstores listed below under Sources of Additional Information.

 

CATALOG HIGHLIGHTS

 

 

The 2000 Basic Catalog contains 1,425 assistance programs
 administered by 57 Federal agencies.  As a potential applicant, always
 contact the agency information sources in the program descriptions for
 the latest information concerning assistance programs.
 

 

CRIME

 Funding has been provided for specialized services so that
 Federal firearm licensees can gain information by telephone or
 electronic methods to determine if the purchase of a firearm by a
 prospective buyer would violate Federal or State laws (16.309).  Project
 grants are being offered to States and local jurisdictions to establish
 a State uniform crime reporting program that captures detailed
 statistics and counts of crimes and arrests (16.733).  Project grants
 are provided to States and other government entities to help prevent
 youth crime through education and training initiatives (21.053).
 

 

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

 Grants are available to multi-county
 economic development districts and redevelopment areas to assist in
 planning, establishing, and maintaining resources that create full-time
 permanent jobs (11.302).  Grants are provided to enhance minority
 business owners' access to the marketplace (11.806).  Loans are offered
 to small disadvantaged businesses to help them acquire more contracts
 (59.049).
 

 

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

 Project grants are being provided to assist
 States and other government entities with technical and financial
 assistance in planning for, and having the capability to, deal with
 releases of hazardous materials (83.012).
 

 

ENERGY

 Grants are available to States to conduct special
 energy-related projects pertaining to a number of activities such as
 alternative fuels, solar and renewable technologies. (81.119).
 

 

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

 Project grants are available to
 support nursing education and practice including funding for Master and
 Doctoral degree programs (93.247).  Grants to assist  schools in
 planning, developing, and operating programs for pediatric dentistry
 and to provide financial assistance to residents are being funded
 (93.248).  Grants are available for Public Health Training Centers for
 the purpose of improving the Nation's health system (93.249).  A program
 is funded to promote the development of geriatrician careers and to
 increase the number of junior faculties at accredited schools (93.250).
 Funds are being made available for States to implement a program that
 provides universal newborn hearing screening prior to discharge from the
 hospital (93.251).  Project grants are available to strengthen
 integrated health care systems and coordinate health services for the
 uninsured (93.252).  Cooperative agreements are funded for an injury
 prevention program for American Indians and Alaskan Natives (93.284).
 A program to provide services and rehabilitation for victims of torture
 is available (93.604).  HIV emergency relief project grants are
 available for metropolitan areas to provide effective and cost
 efficient health care and support services (93.914).
 

 

HOUSING AND HOME OWNERSHIP

 Funds are available to manage
 multifamily property disposition in a manner that assures that
 properties will be made available to low-income persons (14.199).
 Funding is provided to sponsor a teacher next door initiative through
 home ownership opportunities for teachers (14.310).  A program to reduce
 the inventory of HUD-acquired properties and strengthen neighborhoods
 and communities is available (14.311).  Project grants are being funded
 to explore new approaches to eliminate drug-related and other crime
 problems in low-income housing areas (14.312).  Project grants are
 available to Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian institutions to assist in
 community development including housing (14.515).  A program providing
 direct payments for specified use is being provided for Section
 8  Housing choice vouchers (14.871).  Formula grants are provided to
 public housing agencies for capital and management activities including
 modernization and development of public housing (14.872).  Project
 grants are available to correct multiple safety and health hazards in
 the home that produce serious diseases and injuries to children
 (14.901).
 

 

HUMANITIES

 Project grants are being made available to fund
 creative humanities projects in underserved areas and to designated
 minority institutions (45.166 and 45.167).
 

 

INTERNATIONAL

 The programs of the former U.S. Information Agency
 (82.001-82.038) have been transferred to the Department of State
 (19.401-19.418).  Project grants are being provided to improve and
 strengthen international relations with the Republic of South Africa
 through teacher training (19.419).  Cooperative grants are available for
 American students to develop and support educational exchanges with
 other countries (19.420).
 

 

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

 Grants are available to State and local
 government agencies to identify, support and assist rural development
 activities that extend and diversify natural resource usage (10.672).
 

 

VETERANS

 A program providing assistance to veterans that qualify
 for preference in obtaining Federal employment is being funded (17.806).