Federal program

“ Program analysis is the continuous maintenance of the official records of the current status of all Federal-aid and other FHWA program authorizations together with the current status, cost, and physical characteristics of each project authorized for financing. Over and beyond this generalization, it also includes the determination of the apportionments of authorizations (and obligational limitations) which are made available to the individual States; the control and maintenance of the record of transfers of funds between apportionments ”

“ By 1973 the requirements of highway legislation and other legislation having a direct bearing on the highway program were so complex that establishing procedures to be sure the requirements were being carried out was a monstrous task. Many new programs often had separate funding which meant Concern for safety characterizes today’s Federal-aid programs. ”

“ While Congress must be given the final credit, many of the pioneer leaders in the emerging State highway departments, highway industries and associations, and the Office of Public Roads in the Department of Agriculture all played a major part in developing the legislation. Among all major Federal assistance programs, the Federal-aid highway program has been one of the most successful in its effectiveness, efficiency and its cooperative administration by the Federal Government and the States. ”

“ In general.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a severely economically distressed community that receives assistance from the Corporation for any program under the national service laws shall not be subject to any requirements to provide matching funds for any such program, and the Federal share of such assistance for such a community may be 100 percent. ”

“ The program analysis work and the mass of detail stored in the computer are vital to the effective administration of the highway program. A case in point is the need for the operating records for budget purposes. The FHWA budget office not only serves FHWA, but serves indirectly as a budget office for all the States since it must accurately provide the budget estimates for liquidating cash for all Federal-aid highway programs. ”

“ Within the Federal Highway Administration, external audit is concerned with the means and methods used by the States to administer the Federal assistance program. The ultimate objective is to ensure FHWA management that (1) financial operations of the States are properly conducted; (2) that financial reports and claims are presented fairly; and (3) that the States are otherwise complying with applicable law, regulations and administrative requirements. ”

“ The success of any program is its measure of effectiveness in terms of real world results. Just as the object lesson roads of the early days of the Federal Highway Administration broadcast the knowledge available and how to do it with the materials at hand for cost/benefit, so also is the purpose of today’s Demonstration Projects Program. ”

“ With respect to national policies administered by the States, the national government should grant the States the maximum administrative discretion possible. Intrusive, Federal oversight of State administration is neither necessary nor desirable.
(d) When undertaking to formulate and implement policies that have federalism implications, Executive departments and agencies shall:
(1) Encourage States to develop their own policies to achieve program objectives and to work with appropriate officials in other States. ”

“ The Secretary shall carry out, under such terms and conditions as the Secretary considers to be appropriate, pilot projects to identify best practices for employment and training programs under this Act to raise the number of work registrants who obtain unsubsidized employment, increase their earned income, and reduce their reliance on public assistance, including but not limited to the supplemental nutrition assistance program. ”

“ To the extent permitted by law and subject to the limitations in Section 1 (c) , Executive departments and agencies shall participate in a system for debarment and suspension from programs and activities involving Federal financial and nonfinancial assistance and benefits. Debarment or suspension of a participant in a program by one agency shall have government-wide effect. ”

“ A new program or an increased level of program services established pursuant to action of the Federal Government so long as the program or increased level of program services imposes costs on local governments that are no greater than the usual and reasonable costs to local governments resulting from compliance with the minimum program standards required under federal law or regulations. ”

“ Each Federal department and agency which is empowered to extend Federal financial assistance to any program or activity, by way of grant, loan, or contract other than a contract of insurance or guaranty, is authorized and directed to effectuate the provisions of section 601 with respect to such program or activity by issuing rules, regulations, or orders of general applicability which shall be consistent with achievement of the objectives of the statute authorizing the financial assistance in connection with which the action is taken. ”

“ The total program is implemented through individual projects throughout the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the American territories. There are nearly 40 categories of funds or programs for which records must be kept separately. The total number of active projects at any given time is approximately 30,000. For each project the physical characteristics and fiscal data must be maintained on a current basis. ”

“ Federal appropriations should be at least $100 million a year in order to carry out the program. The Federal-State 50-50 matching ratio should be modified to increase the Federal share in States where more than 10 percent of the area was public lands. The application of Federal aid should be restricted to those roads that would expedite completion of a national highway system. Federal appropriations for forest roads should be continued for 10 years at the level of $10 million a year. ”

“ This provision, we believe, would give the States an additional incentive to make effective use of the constructive programs which the bill would establish. Moreover, this limitation on Federal matching will not prevent any deserving family from receiving aid payments. The States would not be free to keep any family off the rolls to keep within this limitation because there is a requirement in the law that requires equal treatment of recipients and uniform administration of a program within a State. ”

“ In developing the proposed plan described in subsection (c) of this section, the Director shall consider, in addition to any other relevant factors: (i) whether some or all of the functions of an agency, a component, or a program are appropriate for the Federal Government or would be better left to State or local governments or to the private sector through free enterprise; (ii) whether some or all of the functions of an agency, a component, or a program are redundant, including with those of another agency, component, or program ”

“ Congress realized that it would take some time for the States to enact suitable legislation assenting to the Federal Act, to raise matching funds and train personnel for an expanded road program. The Congress, in order to provide time, allowed States with unexpended funds at the close of the fiscal year one additional fiscal year to obligate funds and, for those States that did not have a State highway department, the appropriation would be available until the close of the third fiscal year following the fiscal year for which it was apportioned. ”

“ Congress finds that certain States and local communities of the region, including local development districts, may be unable to take maximum advantage of Federal grant programs for which the States and communities are eligible because— (1) the States or communities lack the economic resources to provide the required matching share; or (2) there are insufficient funds available under the applicable Federal law authorizing the Federal grant program to meet pressing needs of the region. ”

“ The Washington Office role became that of consultant and arbitrator on project matters and one of leadership in establishing program policy consistent with the total transportation program objectives of the Administration and of Congress. The result was that the Bureau effectively administered a vastly increased program with very little increase in the number of personnel. ”

“ Not to overemphasize the negative, a majority of the States, especially those with the largest cities, maintained and even strengthened their interest, and in cooperation with the Bureau of Public Roads, universities, and other agencies, advanced the technology of planning to a highly sophisticated level, so much so that the process may well have outrun the ability to utilize it fully in administration. ”

“ A comprehensive program has been adopted and, in order that the States may make adequate provisions to meet their share for the Federal appropriations, they know in advance just what Federal appropriation they can depend upon. ”

“ None of the Federal funds provided under this Act to the agencies funded by this Act, both Federal and District government agencies, that remain available for obligation or expenditure in fiscal year 2019, or provided from any accounts in the Treasury of the United States derived by the collection of fees available to the agencies funded by this Act, shall be available for obligation or expenditures for an agency through a reprogramming of funds which— (1) creates new programs; (2) eliminates a program, project, or responsibility center ”

“ So with the need for this new concept—planning—constantly emphasized by the Bureau, with the procedures formulated, and with funding and manpower at hand, work was begun. The first State to get underway was Pennsylvania in September 1935, closely followed by Ohio in October of that year, and other States joining in quickly thereafter. ”

“ The model is applicable to all urban areas aggregated on a national scale, or on a statewide scale, or down to the larger metropolitan areas. Its purpose, as described by two of the Bureau staff most deeply involved in its development, was:
The determination of long-range government priorities, policies, and programs is a complex process which blends hard politics with occasional naive idealism, trades off narrow interests against the common good . . . It remains the responsibility of transportation planners . ”

“ Although most Federal-aid highway programs obtain their budget authority in the form of contract authority rather than through appropriations acts, in recent years Congress has made several major changes. The one that may have the most impact on the highway program was enactment of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-344) which was an effort to gain budgetary control over “backdoor spending,” spending not subject to year-to-year congressional or executive scrutiny. ”

“ There are now numerous Federal environmental laws and regulations relating to a wide range of Federal or Federal-aid programs, of which the Federal-aid highway program is only one. To the extent that highway projects are affected, they must and do comply. ”

“ From the inception of the Federal-aid program until 1953, the audit activities of the Bureau were confined to the external audit of State claims for reimbursement, normally at the final voucher stage. These audits were made after the engineering staff (and later also, the right-of-way specialist) had reviewed the physical aspects of the work and accepted the completed project as having been built in accordance with the approved plans and specifications. ”

“ The third innovation proposed by the legislators was to treat the Interstate System as a single huge project, comparable to an irrigation or flood control scheme, and provide in one authorization for its inception and completion. Previously, Congress had viewed Federal aid as an open-ended program of assistance to the States that would continue forever at a pace determined from time to time as circumstances might dictate. In hard times highway construction was stepped up to “prime the pump,” and at other times cut back to balance the budget. ”

“ As the need for a national payment program for relocation became increasingly urgent, Congress included in the 1968 Act the first mandatory payment program for people who must relocate because of Federal-aid highway construction. The legislation established provisions to assist individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations in avoiding the human and economic shock that can result from involuntary displacement. ”

“ The Program is another step in the Administration's effort to recruit the highest caliber people to the Federal Government, develop their professional abilities, and retain them in Federal departments and agencies. Cabinet secretaries and agency administrators should view the Program as complementary to existing programs that provide career enhancement opportunities for Federal employees, and departments and agencies are encouraged to identify and make use of those programs, as well as the new Program, to meet department and agency needs.
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“ To finance the long-range Federal-aid program, including the funds specifically authorized to complete the Interstate System and an anticipated, but not legislated, escalating ABC program during the same period; to provide revenue wholly from highway-user tax revenues ”

“ However, the Committee did recommend that construction of the system be prosecuted at a rate of about $500 million per year in the rural sections and $250 million per year in the urban sections—a rate that would provide about 145,100 man-years of direct employment, and 323,400 man-years of indirect employment per year. ”