Rural Development: New Approach to Empowering Communities Needs Refinement
RCED-97-75
Published: Mar 31, 1997. Publicly Released: Apr 16, 1997.
Skip to Highlights
Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed selected aspects of the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) rural Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community (EZ/EC) Program, focusing on: (1) the federal funding levels of the rural EZ/EC program over the 10-year life of the program; (2) the status of the implementation of the program; (3) the difficulties that the communities have encountered in implementing their plans; and (4) USDA's oversight of the program.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Health and Human Services | To reduce confusion about the program's guidance on the uses of and financial controls over the EZ/EC SSBG funds, the Secretary of Health and Human Services should direct the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation to clarify which construction-related standards the EZs and ECs should follow in using the EZ/EC SSBG funds. |
Closed – Implemented
HHS has taken several actions that it believes will be responsive to this recommendation, including the issuance of two information memoranda to rural EZ/EC lead entities.
|
| Department of Health and Human Services | To reduce confusion about the program's guidance on the uses of and financial controls over the EZ/EC SSBG funds, the Secretary of Health and Human Services should direct the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation to eliminate the conflicts between the Department's verbal and written guidance on the states' fiduciary responsibility for the EZ/EC SSBG funds. |
Closed – Implemented
HHS has provided guidance to state governments and EZ/EC lead entities. It has also taken steps to confirm that its personnel are knowledgeable about the policies.
|
| Department of Agriculture | To improve USDA's oversight of the EZ/EC program, the Secretary of Agriculture should instruct the Director, Office of Community Development, to upgrade the Office's monitoring system so that it can routinely provide the necessary information for assessing the progress of the EZs and ECs in implementing the program. This action could be accomplished by more strictly enforcing the EZs' and ECs' current self-reporting requirements and by developing more systematic reporting requirements for USDA's EZ/EC state coordinators. |
Closed – Implemented
USDA has taken steps to implement this recommendation.
|
Full Report
Office of Public Affairs
Topics
Block grantsCommunicationCommunity development programsFederal aid to localitiesFinancial managementReporting requirementsRural economic developmentStrategic planningTax creditEconomic development