Volume 91 · 1615
Public Law 95–220
To provide for the efficient and regular distribution of current information on Federal domestic assistance programs.
Approved December 28, 1977
Statutory text
An Act
To provide for the efficient and regular distribution of current information on Federal domestic assistance programs.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That this Act may
Federal Program Information Act.
be cited as the “Federal Program Information Act”.
Sec. 2. definitions
For the purpose of this Act, the term—
“assistance” 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 or other types of financial assistance; provision or donation of Federal facilities, goods, services, property, technical assistance, and counseling, statistical and other expert information, and service activities of regulatory agencies; but does not include provision of conventional public information services:
“Federal agency” means an agency as defined by section 551 (1) of title 5, United States Code;
“Federal domestic assistance program” means any function of a Federal agency which 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; and
“administering office” means the lowest subdivision of any Federal agency that has direct operational responsibility for managing a Federal domestic assistance program.
Sec. 3. duties of the director
The Director of the Office of Management and Budget
Information, availability to public.
(hereinafter referred to as the “Director”) shall identify all existing Federal domestic assistance programs and provide information on each such program to the general public through electronic media as authorized under section 5 of this Act and through a printed catalog as authorized under section 6 of this Act.
Sec. 4. information requirements
The Director shall prepare and maintain a Federal
Federal Assistance Information Data Base.
Assistance Information Data Base (hereinafter referred to in this Act as the “data base”). For each Federal domestic assistance program the data base shall—
identify each such program by title, by authorizing statute, by administering office, and by an identifying number assigned by the Director;
describe the program, the objectives of the program, and the types of activities which have been funded under the program;
describe the eligibility requirements, the formulas governing the distribution of funds, the types of assistance, the uses and restrictions on the use of assistance, and the obligations and duties of recipients under the program;
provide financial information, including the amount of funds appropriated for the current fiscal year or, if unavailable, the amount of funds requested by the President, and the amounts obligated, and the average amounts of awards made in past years;
identify information contacts including the administering office and regional and local offices and their addresses and telephone numbers;
provide a general description of any application requirements and procedures and, to the extent practical, an estimate of the time required to process the application.
Each Federal agency shall furnish to the Director, at such times as the Director may determine, current information on all domestic assistance programs administered by such Federal agency.
The Director shall on a regular basis incorporate into the data base all relevant information received under paragraph (1) of this subsection.
Sec. 5. computerized program information system
The Director shall establish and maintain a computerized information system to provide access to the data base.
The Director, to the greatest extent practicable, shall provide for the widespread availability of information contained in the data base, by computer terminals wherever available.
The Director, notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, when he determines the efficiency of the information system established pursuant to subsection (a) of this section requires it, may enter into contracts with private organizations to obtain computer time-sharing services including, but not limited to, computer telecommunications networks, computer software, and associated services.
The Director shall insure that the information available under this Act is made available to the public at a reasonable price.
The Director may develop information services to further assist State and local government officials identify or obtain sources of Federal assistance.
Sec. 6. catalog of federal domestic assistance programs
The Director shall prepare and publish each year a catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Programs (hereinafter referred to in this Act as the “catalog”).
The Director shall prepare and publish supplements to the catalog as necessary.
The Director may prepare and publish specialized compilations of the information in the catalog by function as necessary.
The catalog shall contain, in such form as the Director determines—
all substantive information on Federal domestic assistance programs that is in the data base at the time that the catalog is prepared;
any other information which the Director considers may be helpful to potential applicants or beneficiaries under such programs; and
a detailed index.
The Director shall make each catalog available to the public at a reasonable price.
There are authorized to be distributed, without cost, catalogs
Distribution.
to Members of Congress, Delegates, Resident Commissioners, agencies, State and general purpose units of local government, federally recognized Indian tribes, Federal deposit libraries, and other local repositories designated by the Director.
Sec. 7. transfer provision
The Director is authorized to transfer to the Office of Management
and Budget all personnel, books, records, and other documents of the Department of Agriculture of any kind or description which he determines to be principally held or engaged in the operation and function of the Federal Assistance Programs Retrieval System (FAPRS).
Sec. 8. authorization of appropriations
There are hereby authorized to be appropriated $900,000
for fiscal year 1978, $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1979, and $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1980.
Sec. 9. federal information systems study
The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall
Report to Congress.
conduct a study of existing Federal information systems that provide fiscal, budgetary, and program-related data, statistics, and information on grant awards and shall report to the Congress, within one year from the date of enactment of this Act, his recommendations for appropriate dissemination of Federal financial information, a summary of all executive branch actions taken within the year to consolidate, reorganize, and improve the existing financial information system, and his recommendations for statutory changes necessary to further develop and improve methods for the dissemination of Federal financial information, using modem communications technology.
Approved December 28, 1977.