To the heads of executive departments and establishments. 1. Purpose. This Circular establishes policies for the development and periodic issuance of a "Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance." The catalog will provide information on all Federal domestic assistance programs and activities in a single authoritative document. The primary purpose of the catalog is to assist potential users or beneficiaries in identifying the types of Federal assistance available and determining eligibility requirements for particular assistance being sought. It will also provide guidance on how to apply for specific types of assistance. The catalog should also serve as a useful reference for Federal program managers and for others concerned with intergovernmental programs. 2. General policies.-a. A comprehensive catalog which describes all Federal domestic assistance programs and activities will be issued for the executive branch of the Government, by the Office of Economic Opportunity, on the arnual basis in accordance with the requirements of this Circular. b. This catalog, to be identified as the "Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance," will be the only comprehensive, Government-wide document of its type The Office of Economic Opportunity "Catalog of Federal Assistance Programs" (June 1, 1968, edition) will serve as the starting point for the development of the "Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance." The new catalog will supersede similar documents of a more limited scope currently published by various executive departments and agencies. Similar or related documents will not be updated and republished or reprinted without specific approval of the Bureau of the Budget. Also, planning for new publications and documents in this area will not be undertaken without prior consultation with the Bureau of the Budget. 3. Scope of catalog.-The "Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance" will provide a guide to domestic programs and activities of the Federal Government, whether or not they are formally designated as "programs" which provide assistance to State and local governments, public and private or quasi-public organizations and institutions, private business and industry, or individuals. Assistance covered will include, but will not necessarily be limited to: a. Financial assistance (grants, loans and advances, loan guarantees, shared revenues). b. Assistance in the form of direct construction or provision of Federal facilities, goods, or services. c. Donation or provision of surplus real and personal property. d. Technical assistance and counseling. e. Statistical and other informational services. 4. Contents of catalog.-The "Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance" will contain the following information: a. Table of contents. b. Introductory section explaining the nature of the catalog and its contents. c. Program descriptions. Each program description will provide the following information: Program title, nature and purpose of program, intended benefits and beneficiaries, eligible applicants, authorizing legislation, administering agency, and sources of additional information or assistance. d. Summary of major changes in Federal domestic assistance since the previous issue of the catalog. e. Regional office addresses of departments and agencies. f. Alphabetical index. 5. Relation to other publications and information systems. As the single and authoritative Government-wide catalog, the "Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance" will be expected to meet the needs previously filled by a variety of overlapping and duplicative publications issued or contemplated by several executive agencies. However, it is not intended to be a substitute for agency publications which deal with the details of their own programs, such as the Department of Health, Education and Welfare “Grants-in-Aid” book. The catalog will serve as a base for specialized catalogs or handbooks, such as the "Vice President's Handbook for Local Officials". Material contained in the catalog should relate to and be derived from the basic data in individual agency information systems, and should not be prepared independently of an agency's internal information systems. It is recognized that agencies may produce the required information through different program, financial, or other internal management information systems and that some modifications to agency internal information systems may be required to provide data of the nature and format requested. However, agencies should proceed as rapidly as possible to make such modifications and to insure that the information required for the catalog will eventually be an integral part of their internal systems. At the present time, financial data are not planned for inclusion in the catalog. However, inclusion of such data is a definite objective for future editions, and agencies should plan their internal systems development with this objective in mind. 6. Agency responsibilities.-a. The Bureau of the Budget is responsible for establishing policies with respect to the development and issuance of the catalog and similar or related publications; also it is responsible for monitoring the development and annual issuance of the catalog. b. The Office of Economic Opportunity will collect information for, compile, and publish the "Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance." The Office of Economic Opportunity, working with the Bureau of the Budget, will issue written instructions to the departments and agencies spelling out criteria for inclusion of material in the catalog, explaining and delineating the information required for each program included in the catalog, and providing specific reporting instructions. c. Executive departments and agencies will provide information on their programs and activities and will review material assembled for publication. Each department and agency will designate an appropriate individual who will act as the agency's representative to the Bureau of the Budget and the Office of Economic Opportunity on catalog matters. This designation will be made in writing to the Director of the Bureau of the Budget no later than September 20, 1968. 7. Issuance and distribution.-The catalog will be issued annually as a bound volume. The issue date will ordinarily be late in the calendar year so that it may reflect Congressional action on legislative and appropriation matters. The first issue is scheduled for late 1968 or early 1969. A comprehensive scheme for distribution of the catalog will be developed by the Office of Economic Opportunity, after consultation with the Bureau of the Budget, representatives of other executive agencies, and representatives of user groups. Although the catalog will have a bound format, provision will be made to enable agencies to obtain separately particular pages which could be made up into program packages to serve various specialized clienteles. In this context it is important that each page be designed and written so that it will be complete in itself when removed from the catalog. 8. Effective date.-The provisions of this Circular are effective immediately. CHARLES J. ZWICK, Director. Exhibit 5 ((The "Program Information Act", as Congressman Roth would recommend its adoption)). A BILL To create a catalog of Federal assistance programs, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. SHORT TITLE Section 1. This Act may be cited as the "Program Information Act." DEFINITIONS Section 2. For the purposes of this Act (a) The term "Federal assistance program" means any program providing Federal benefits, regardless of whether it is identified as a separate program by law or by any administering agency, which can be differentiated from any other such program on the basis of its legal authority, its administering office, its specific purpose, the specific benefits it provides, or the specific qualifications of its beneficiaries, and which may be requested or applied for by a beneficiary. (b) A Federal assistance program "beneficiary" includes but is not limited to a State, or grouping or subdivision thereof, county, city, other political body, profit or nonprofit corporation or institution, any individual, or any other potential domestic beneficiary, other than an agency of the United States. (c) "Requested or applied for" means that the potential applicant or beneficiary must initiate the administrative process which will eventually result in the provision of benefits. (d) Federal assistance program “benefits” include but are not limited to grants, loans, loan guarantees, scholarships, mortgage loans and insurance or other types of financial assistance; assistance in the form of provision of Federal facilities, goods or services; donation or provision of surplus real and personal property; technical assistance and counseling; statistical and other expert information; and service activities of regulatory agencies. "Benefits" do not include conventional public information services. |
