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Winter 1976

Spring 1976

Con - Con
Leaguers in the Community
Be an Election Official!
Voters Rights
Collective Bargaining: Differences in Private & Public Sectors
What is GRS?
We Hold Up Half the Sky!

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ WHAT IS GRS? $$$$$$$$$$$$$

GENERAL REVENUE SHARING is a program of distribution of federal funds to state and local governments. The funds have virtually "no strings attached" - they are not allocated for specific programs. Exactly where then are GRS funds spent by state and local governments? This question was raised by LWVUS and several other national groups and their findings are reported in GENERAL REVENUE SHARING AND THE STATES available in the League office.

Basically the findings indicate the following problems with GRS as discussed by Nan Waterman, Chairwoman Human Resources LWVUS, in her testimony before the Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations and Human Resources of the House Committee on Governmental Operations on HR10319.

  1. The allocation formula for the funds "does not direct an adequate share of funds to those states and localities that have the greatest need."

  2. There is no evidence that administration of GRS funds encourages citizen participation in local and state decision-making processes.

  3. There is no accountability to the federal government even though GRS is the largest federal domestic program.

  4. Civil Rights enforcement under GRS has been well documented as inadequate.

  5. Government modernization, a goal of GRS, by and large has not taken place as a result of GRS.

Locally the Social Services Division of the Health and Community Services Council (HCSC) has adopted positions on the administration of GRS funds which would provide a higher level of public information, required public participation in priority setting for expenditure of GRS funds, and a local mechanism for allocating funds for innovative delivery of human services so that programs will not have to be cut when federal funds are not available.

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