In the United States of America, Federal assistance, also known as federal aid, federal benefits, or federal funds, is defined as any federal program, project, service, and activity provided by the U.S. federal government that directly assists or benefits the American public in the areas of education, health, public safety, public welfare, and public works, among others. The assistance, which can reach to over $400 billion dollars annually,^[1] is provided and administered by federal government agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through special programs to recipients. Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Counties, Cities, and Towns Other countries Politics Portal      The government of the United States of America, established by the U.S. Constitution, is... The United States Federal Executive Departments are among the oldest primary units of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States—the Departments of State, War, and the Treasury all being established within a few weeks of each other in 1789. ... The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, often abbreviated HUD, is a Cabinet department of the United States government. ... The United States Department of Health and Human Services, often abbreviated HHS, is a Cabinet department of the United States government with the goal of protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. ... In the United States of America, Federal assistance, also known as federal aid, federal benefits, or federal funds, is defined as any federal program, project, service, and activity provided by the US federal government that directly assists or benefits the American public in the areas of education, health, public safety...

Definition

The term assistance (or benefits) is defined by the federal government as:^[2]

Federal assistance programs

In order to provide Federal assistance in an organized manner, the federal government provides assistance through federal agencies. It is the agency’s responsibility to adequately provide assistance, as well as manage, account, and monitor the responsible use of federal funds which were utilized for that assistance. The agencies then supply the assistance to beneficiaries (known as recipients, see below), such as States, hospitals, poverty-stricken families, etc., through hundreds of individual programs. These programs are defined by the federal government as: “any function of a Federal agency that provides assistance or benefits for: (1) a State or States, territorial possession, county, city, other political subdivision, grouping, or instrumentality thereof; (2) any domestic profit or nonprofit corporation or institution; or (3) an individual; other than an agency of the Federal government”.^[2] Therefore, programs (or “functions”) can refer to any number of activities or services provided by agencies, such as building a bridge, providing food or medicine vouchers to the poor, or providing counseling to violence victims. Programs are assigned to offices within a federal agency and may include administrative personnel which work directly or indirectly with the program.

Each program is created with a specific purpose and has unique operations and activities, (i.e., no program is made for the same purpose and to operate the same way as a previously existing program) and it is assigned an official name for which to differentiate them from each other. A program may be called by a different term than its official name by the general public, by an entity, or even by law or regulation; such as by the type of activity or service it engages, by a specific project name (e.g., the Big Dig tunnel project), or any other similar term. This type of name, title or term given to a program is called the “popular name”.^[3] However, the official name of program is standardized within the federal government so that federal agencies can maintain better accountability of their assigned assistance.^[2][3] Metropolitan Highway System Big Dig is the unofficial name of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T), a megaproject which rerouted the Central Artery (Interstate 93), the chief controlled-access highway through the heart of Boston, Massachusetts, into a 3. ...

For example, an individual who receives rent assistance payments through the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program might not know the exact official name of the program, and may simply call it the “rent subsidizing” program, due to its type of activity or service. However, since there are many other rent subsidizing programs provided by the federal government, standard program names must be maintained in order to differentiate them. In this case, programs such as Supportive Housing for the Elderly (Sec. 202), which is a project-based rental assistance program exclusively for the elderly and Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Program-Special Allocations, a rent assistance program usually tied to public housing projects, also engage in the activity of rent subsidizing.^[4] The Housing Choice Voucher Program is a type of Federal assistance provided by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) dedicated to sponsoring subsidized housing for low-income families and individuals. ... A local authority tower block in Cwmbrân, South Wales Public housing or project homes is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. ...

Examples of Federal assistance programs

• Aid to Families with Dependent Children
• Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Services Block Grant
• Child and Adult Care Food Program
• Community Development Block Grant
• Conservation Reserve Program
• Federal Pell Grant
• Food Stamp Program
• Head Start
• Local Law Enforcement Block Grant
• Nutrition Assistance for Puerto Rico
• Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) was the name of a federal assistance program in effect from August 14, 1935 to June 30, 1997, which was administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. ... grants for not for profit organization to assist mentally ill youth who also have drug abuse problems and may be homeless ... The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a type of United States Federal assistance provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to States in order to provide a non-profit food service for an estimated 2. ... The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), one of the longest-running programs of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, funds local community development activities such as affordable housing, anti-poverty programs, and infrastructure development. ... The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a voluntary, Federal assistance program of the United States Department of Agriculture. ... A Federal Pell Grant is a Federal assistance grant awarded to students who have not earned a bachelors or professional degree. ... The Food Stamp Program is a federal assistance program that provides food to low income people living in the United States. ... Head Start is a program of the United States Department of Health and Human Services that focuses on assisting children from low-income families. ... // Local Law Enforcement Block Grants (LLEBG) were federal assistance block grant programs provided by the United States Department of Justice to local governments, which would then use the funds to support public safety or crime prevention efforts. ... Nutrition Assistance for Puerto Rico or NAP is a Federal assistance nutritional program provided by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) solely to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States. ... The Housing Choice Voucher Program is a type of Federal assistance provided by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) dedicated to sponsoring subsidized housing for low-income families and individuals. ... Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, often spoken as TAN-if) is the July 1, 1997, successor to the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program, providing cash assistance to indigent American families with dependent children through the United States Department of Health and Human Services. ...

Federal grants and awards

Main article: Federal grant

Programs administer assistance by “granting” or “awarding” a portion of the assistance to recipients. These are called Federal grants or awards. Recipients must first apply for the award directly to the federal agency which administers the program. The agency must then determine the amount of assistance to be awarded and notifies the recipient of the award. In order for an award to be considered official, a contract or grant agreements is entered between the agency and the recipient where details of the use of the award and the restrictions and limitations of the award are included. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Federal assistance in the United States. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Federal assistance in the United States. ...

Federal awards may specify a time period during which the recipient may use the assistance which is called the Period of Availability of Federal Funds.^[5] Most grants have a term of one year (although some may have a longer lifespan, even indefinitely), and the recipient must use the assistance within that timeframe. This is done because federal assistance is tied to the federal government’s budget process, and any funds not used by a recipient within the specified time limit is reverted to other uses.

As a condition of receiving Federal awards or grants, recipients must agree to comply with the applicable laws and regulations related to the program and its agency, as well as any provisions included in the contracts and grant agreements entered between the recipient and the agency.^[6] Failure to do so may lead to sanctions, including fines and penalties, exclusion or suspension from participating in federal assistance programs and activities, and/or criminal charges. Most federal program regulations for which agencies and recipients must always comply are compiled in the Code of Federal Regulations, with summaries and guidance for these regulations contained in OMB Circular letters. The law of the United States is derived from the common law of England, which was in force at the time of the Revolutionary War. ... The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations (sometimes called administrative law) published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government of the United States. ... In the United States of America, Federal assistance, also known as federal aid, federal benefits, or federal funds, is defined as any federal program, project, service, and activity provided by the US federal government that directly assists or benefits the American public in the areas of education, health, public safety...

Types of federal grants

Given the enormous size of federal assistance provided, the Federal government has designed different types of grants, each with its own unique way of awarding and/or operating:

• Project grants are awarded competitively. Project grants are the most common form of grants and a large number are found in scientific research, technology development, education (such as Federal Pell Grants), social services, the arts and health care types of assistance.

• Formula grants provide funds as dictated by a law. Examples of this type of grant includes Aid to Families with Dependent Children and the Job Training Partnership Act, and the Work Incentive Program. These can be sub-categorized as either Categorical or Block:
  • Categorical grants may be spent only for narrowly defined purposes and recipients often must match a portion of the federal funds.
  • Block grants combine categorical grants into a single program. Examples of this type of grant includes the Community Development Block Grant and the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Services Block Grant. Recipients of block grants have more leeway in using funds than recipients of individual categorical grants.

• Earmark grants are explicitly specified in appropriations of the U.S. Congress. They are not competitively awarded, and have become controversial because of the involvement of political lobbyists used in the process of awarding them to recipients. In fiscal year 1996 appropriations, the Congressional Research Service found 3,023 earmarks totalling $19.5 billion, while in FY2006 it found 12,852 earmarks totalling $64 billion.^[7]

Look up Award in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ... Research is often described as an active, diligent, and systematic process of inquiry aimed at discovering, interpreting, and revising facts. ... By the mid 20th century humans had achieved a mastery of technology sufficient to leave the surface of the Earth for the first time and explore space. ... A social worker is a person employed in the administration of charity, social service, welfare, and poverty agencies, advocacy, or religious outreach programs. ... The Arts is a broad subdivision of culture, comprised of many expressive disciplines. ... Health care or healthcare is the prevention, treatment, and management of illness and the preservation of mental and physical well-being through the services offered by the medical, nursing, and allied health professions. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... It has been suggested that some sections of this article be split into a new article entitled Earmark (USA). ... Appropriation is the act of taking possession of or assigning purpose to properties or ideas and is important in many topics, including: Appropriation (sociology) in relation to the spread of knowledge Appropriation (art) Appropriation (visual art) [1] Appropriation (music) in reference to the re-use and proliferation of different types... Type Bicameralism Houses Senate House of Representatives United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D, since January 4, 2007 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D, since January 4, 2007 Members 535 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political groups (as of November 7, 2006 elections) Democratic Party Republican... It has been suggested that Interest representation: Academic overview be merged into this article or section. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The Congressional Research Service is the public policy research arm of the United States Congress. ... One thousand million (1,000,000,000) is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

Recipients

A recipient of federal awards or funds is defined as any non-federal entity that receives federal assistance and which is part of, and/or located within, the United States and its territories and possessions. Recipients are grouped into six main categories, as established by the GSA:^[8]

• State governments - This category includes any of the 50 States of the United States and the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.), or any agency or instrumentality of these governments, with the exception of institutions of higher education (colleges and universities) and hospitals.

• Local governments - This category includes any county, parish, municipality, city, town, township, village, State-designated Indian tribal government, local public authority, school district, special district, intrastate district, council of governments, sponsor group representative organizations, and other regional or interstate government entity, or any agency or instrumentality of a local government, which are located within the U.S.

• Territories and possessions - This category includes the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, Guam, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and American Samoa.

• Indian Tribal governments - This category includes the governing body or a governmental agency of any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community (including any Native village) within the U.S. and its territories. These must first be certified by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior as eligible to receive assistance under special programs and services provided through the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

• Non-profit organizations and institutions – This category includes semi-public, public and private institutions of higher education and hospitals, Native American Indian Organizations, and any other semi-public and private nonprofit organizations. However, Federally funded research and development centers are excluded from this category.

• Private individuals – This category includes Native Americans, homeowners, students, farmers, artists, scientists, consumers, small businesses, refugees, aliens, veterans, senior citizens, low-income persons, health and education professionals, builders, contractors, developers, handicapped persons, and the physically afflicted. Examples of direct assistance to these individuals include Section 8 vouchers, Pell Grant scholarships, and disaster relief awards, among many others.

Every program is designed with a specific recipient in mind. Certain programs have restrictions on who may receive the assistance because of the nature of its activity or service. Examples include infrastructure programs and grants which are usually restricted to States, local governments, and U.S. territories given that these are usually the only entities that administer public roads, bridges, etc., or health-related research grants which individuals may be eligible so long as they satisfy certain criteria, such as that they have a professional or scientific degree, 3 years of research experience, and be a citizen of the United States.^[9] Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties Libertarian Party State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Counties, Cities, and Towns Other countries Politics Portal      A U.S. state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of... ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... Representation of a university class, 1350s. ... A physician visiting the sick in a hospital. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures State Courts Counties, Cities, and Towns Other countries Politics Portal      Local government in the United States (sometimes referred to as municipal government in American English) is... An insular area is United States territory that is neither a part of one of the fifty states nor a part of the District of Columbia, the nations federal district. ... In the terminology of the United States insular areas, a commonwealth is an organized territory that has established with the Federal Government a more highly developed relationship, usually embodied in a written mutual agreement. ... National motto: ? Official language English? Capital Saipan Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 78 (United States) 1,779 km² Negligible Population  - Total  - Density 132,929 (1980) N/Akm² GDP  - Total  - GDP/head N/A Currency US Dollar Time zone UTC: ? Independence UN trusteeship administered by the US Internet TLD none? Calling code... Native Americans are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska. ... The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior, concerned with such matters as national parks and The Secretary is a member of the Presidents Cabinet. ... A nonprofit organization (abbreviated NPO, or non-profit or not-for-profit) is an organization whose primary objective is to support an issue or matter of private interest or public concern for non-commercial purposes. ... Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) conduct research for the United States Government. ... For an article on American Indians see Native Americans. ...

Pass-through entities and sub-recipients

The federal government allows certain entities mentioned above to act as a Pass-through entity in order to provide the federal assistance to another recipient. The Pass-through entity is still considered a recipient, but the assistance assigned to it may be “passed on” or “passed-through it” to another recipient. The entity which receives the assistance from a pass-through entity is considered a sub-recipient. This is allowed because certain federal programs may not have the organizational structure to provide assistance directly to the final recipient and requires support from other entities.

For example, crime-prevention federal programs may be assigned to a State Attorney General’s Office (AGO) (considered a State government). This State office may decide to assign part of its federal grant through sub-grants to cities and counties within the State (considered local governments) for crime-prevention activities such as neighborhood watch programs or supplying new equipment to police forces. The original recipient, the AGO, has become a Pass-through entity and the cities and counties have become “sub-recipients”, all the while the assistance is still serving the federal program’s purpose to prevent crime. Sub-recipients may in turn pass on the assistance to another sub-recipient to serve the purpose required by the federal program, for example if the cities mentioned above pass on part of their assistance to nonprofit organizations dedicated to patrolling neighborhoods at night. Therefore, a recipient may be considered a pass-through entity and a sub-recipient at the same time.

Certain programs may require the original recipient to pass on the assistance to sub-recipients (i.e., the federal program requires that the assistance be provided to nonprofit neighborhood watch organizations, and the assistance passes recipient through recipient until it reaches them), while others may require that the recipient not pass on the assistance (i.e., State must use the assistance entirely on its own). Some programs award assistance to a pass-through entity who is neither the direct applicant nor the ultimate beneficiary, such as the Pell Grant program where students apply and receive the aid but it is the university’s responsibility to receive and administer the applications and disburse the aid.^[9]

Pass-through entities and sub-recipients are equally responsible for the management of federal aid received. The federal government monitors the federal aid provided to any recipient and requires all pass-through entities to monitor the aid they pass on. Noncompliance of a federal regulation on the part of the sub-recipient may also be attributed to the pass-through entity because it is still responsible for the funds it passed on.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) logo.

The task of organizing and categorizing federal assistance programs into a uniform and standardized system has been assigned to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) since 1984.^[10] The GSA achieves these tasks by maintaining the Federal assistance information database, which incorporates all federal agency programs that provide grants and awards to recipients. The Office of Management and Budget assists the GSA in maintaining the database by serving as an intermediary agent between the Federal agencies and GSA. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In addition to these tasks, the Federal Program Information Act requires the GSA to provide federal assistance information to the general public through the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA), a free register which incorporates both federal agency and federal program information. This register acts both as a directory and as a dictionary, facilitating both recipients and the general public in finding information of a specific program. In computing, a directory, catalog, or folder, is an entity in a file system which contains a group of files and other directories. ... The dictionary is a list of words with their definitions, a list of characters with their glyphs, or a list of words with corresponding words in other languages. ...

Currently, programs in the Catalog are being classified by the GSA into 15 types of assistance, which are then sub-classified into seven financial types of assistance and eight non-financial types of assistance:^[8]

Financial type assistance

• Formula Grants (A) – Includes allocations of money to States or their subdivisions in accordance with distribution formulas prescribed by law or administrative regulation, for activities of a continuing nature not confined to a specific project. Examples of this type of assistance include transportation and infrastructure grants designated by Congress, such as the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).

• Project Grants (B) – Includes funding of specific projects for fixed or known periods. Project grants can include fellowships, scholarships, research grants, training grants, traineeships, experimental and demonstration grants, evaluation grants, planning grants, technical assistance grants, survey grants, and construction grants.

• Direct Payments for Specified Use (C) – Includes financial assistance from the Federal government provided directly to individuals, private firms, and other private institutions to encourage or subsidize a particular activity by conditioning the receipt of the assistance on a particular performance by the recipient. One example of this type of assistance is the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program

• Direct Payments with Unrestricted Use (D) – Includes financial assistance from the Federal government provided directly to beneficiaries who satisfy Federal eligibility requirements with no restrictions being imposed on the recipient as to how the money is spent. Included are payments under retirement, pension, and compensatory programs.

• Direct Loans (E) – Includes financial assistance provided through the lending of Federal monies for a specific period of time, with a reasonable expectation of repayment, of which may or may not require the payment of interest.

• Guaranteed/Insured Loans (F) – Includes programs in which the Federal government makes an arrangement to identify a lender against part or all of any defaults by those responsible for repayment of loans.

• Insurance (G)– Includes financial assistance provided to assure reimbursement for losses sustained under specified conditions. Coverage may be provided directly by the Federal government or through private companies, and may or may not involve the payment of premiums.

Type Bicameralism Houses Senate House of Representatives United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D, since January 4, 2007 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D, since January 4, 2007 Members 535 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political groups (as of November 7, 2006 elections) Democratic Party Republican... The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), one of the longest-running programs of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, funds local community development activities such as affordable housing, anti-poverty programs, and infrastructure development. ... Insurance, in law and economics, is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent loss. ... This article is actively undergoing a major edit. ...

Non-financial type assistance

• Sale, Exchange, or Donation of Property and Goods (H) – Includes programs which provide for the sale, exchange, or donation of Federal real property, personal property, commodities, and other goods including land, buildings, equipment, food and drugs.

• Use of Property, Facilities, and Equipment (I) – Includes programs which provide for the loan of, use of, or access to Federal facilities or property wherein the federally owned facilities or property do not remain in the possession of the recipient of the assistance.

• Provision of Specialized Services (J) – Includes programs that provide Federal personnel directly to perform certain tasks for the benefit of communities or individuals. These services may be performed in conjunction with non-federal personnel, but they involve more than consultation, advice, or counseling. Examples include the legal representation provided by the “Protection of Voting Rights” and the “Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons” programs.

• Advisory Services and Counseling (K) – Includes programs which provide Federal specialists to consult, advise, or counsel communities or individuals to include conferences, workshops, or personal contacts.

• Dissemination of Technical Information (L) – Includes programs that provide for the publication and distribution of information or data of a specialized or technical nature frequently through clearinghouses or libraries.

• Training (M)– Includes programs that provide instructional activities conducted directly by a Federal agency for individuals not employed by the Federal government.

• Investigation of Complaints (N) – Includes federal administrative agency activities that are initiated in response to requests to examine or investigate violations of Federal statutes, policies, or procedures.

• Federal Employment (O) – Includes programs that reflect the Government-wide responsibilities of the Office of Personnel Management in the recruitment and hiring of Federal civilian agency personnel.

CFDA number

In order to assist in locating a federal program, the General Services Administration assigns a two-digit number unique to each federal agency authorized to provide assistance, and a three digit number to each federal assistance program within that agency. With these designations, a federal assistance program is identified by the combination of both numbers which in turn creates a five digit number divided by a dot (55.555).^[3] The two digit numbers assigned to federal agencies are:

• 02 – United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
• 10 – United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• 11 – Department of Commerce (DOC)
• 12 – Department of Defense (DoD)
• 14 – Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
• 15 – Department of the Interior (DOI)
• 16 – United States Department of Justice (DOJ)
• 17 – Department of Labor (DOL)
• 20 – Department of Transportation (DOT)
• 21 – Department of the Treasury (TREAS)
• 45 – National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
• 66 – Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• 81 – Department of Energy (DOE)
• 84 – Department of Education (ED)
• 93 – Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
• 94 – Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)
• 96 – Social Security Administration (SSA)
• 97 – Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

USAID logo The United States Agency for International Development (or USAID) is the U.S. government organization responsible for most non-military foreign aid. ... The United States Department of Agriculture (also called the Agriculture Department, or USDA) is a United States Federal Executive Department (or Cabinet Department). ... The United States Department of Commerce is a Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with promoting economic growth. ... The United States Department of Defense, abbreviated DoD or DOD and sometimes called the Defense Department, is a civilian Cabinet organization of the United States government. ... The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, often abbreviated HUD, is a Cabinet department of the United States government. ... The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is a Cabinet department of the United States government that manages and conserves most federally-owned land. ... DOJ headquarters in Washington, D.C. Justice Department redirects here. ... The United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. ... The Department of Transportation (DOT) is the most common name for a government agency in North America devoted to transportation. ... The United States Department of the Treasury is a Cabinet department, a treasury, of the United States government established by an Act of U.S. Congress in 1789 to manage the revenue of the United States government. ... The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 (Pub. ... EPA redirects here. ... The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government responsible for energy policy and nuclear safety. ... Department of Education may refer to any of several government agencies: United Kingdom Department for Education and Skills (until 1996 named Department of Education) Scottish Education Department United States United States Department of Education United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare Many U.S. states also have their own... The United States Department of Health and Human Services, often abbreviated HHS, is a Cabinet department of the United States government with the goal of protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. ... The Corporation for National and Community Service is an independent agency of the United States Government established in 1993, upon the creation of the AmeriCorps national service program. ... The United States Social Security Administration (or SSA[1]) is an independent agency of the United States government established by a law currently codified at 42 U.S.C. Â§ 901. ... The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a Cabinet department of the federal government of the United States that is concerned with protecting the American homeland and the safety of American citizens. ...

Monitoring activities

Due to the extensive amount of assistance provided by the federal government, the Federal agencies rely on numerous monitoring activities performed by themselves, Pass-through entities, and external sources. The most common monitoring procedure used is the Single Audit, which is an annual examination of a recipient’s operations and records in order to determine whether or not the recipient complied with laws and regulations applicable to the assistance received. Additionally, Federal agencies routinely visit recipients and inspect their records and statements to check for situations of noncompliance with laws and regulations, as well as require periodic financial and performance reports in order to monitor recipient operations. Federal agencies also require Pass-through entities to perform similar procedures to their sub-recipients since they are responsible for the assistance they pass on.^[11][12][13] The Single Audit, also known as the OMB A-133 audit, is a rigorous, organization-wide audit or examination of an entity who expends $500,000 or more[1] of United States Federal assistance (commonly known as Federal funds, Federal grants, or Federal awards) received for its operations. ...

References

With over 350,000 CPA members (in 2005), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is the largest CPA professional organization in the United States of America. ...

Further reading

• 2006 Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance of the United States General Services Administration

• Rhett D. Harrell (May 4, 2006), Local Government and Single Audits 2006, CCH (Wolters Kluwer), ISBN 0-8080-9023-2

OMB Circulars

The following is a list of circular letters issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget which provide significant information and guidance for Federal agencies, recipients, auditors, and the general public over the use and management of federal funds, operations of federal assistance programs, and agencies’ and recipients’ compliance with laws and regulations imposed by the federal government:

• OMB Circular A-21, “Cost Principles for Educational Institutions”
• OMB Circular A 87, “Cost Principles for State, Local, and Indian Tribal Governments”
• OMB Circular A-110, “Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations”
• OMB Circular A-122, “Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations”
• OMB Circular A-128, “Audits of State and Local Governments”
• OMB Circular A-133, “Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations”
• OMB Circular A-133 Compliance Supplement

See also

• Public welfare
• Public housing
• Subsidy
• Code of Federal Regulations
• Single Audit

Social welfare can be taken to mean the welfare or well-being of a society. ... A local authority tower block in Cwmbrân, South Wales Public housing or project homes is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. ... In economics, a subsidy is generally a monetary grant given by a government to lower the price faced by producers or consumers of a good, generally because it is considered to be in the public interest. ... The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations (sometimes called administrative law) published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government of the United States. ... The Single Audit, also known as the OMB A-133 audit, is a rigorous, organization-wide audit or examination of an entity who expends $500,000 or more[1] of United States Federal assistance (commonly known as Federal funds, Federal grants, or Federal awards) received for its operations. ...

External links

• OMB Grants Management website
• Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance website. It includes a list of all non-classified federal programs for which awards are made to recipients.
• Government Finance Officers Association
• President's Council on Integrity & Efficiency (maintained by the Offices of Inspector General)
• Single Audit Clearinghouse. Users may inquire about a specific recipient’s submission of its Single Audit reports.
• General Accounting Office
• Welfare Reform at 10 (Heritage Foundation)
• U.S. Government Grants & Foundation Grants