To provide current information on awards of Federal financial assistance to
non-Federal organizations and individuals. The United States Code, Titles 13
and 31, and a 1982 designation by the Office of Management and Budget, authorize
this program and provide for mandatory responses. Federal assistance award agencies
provide the majority of the funding for the program. The thirty Federal agencies responsible for virtually all financial assistance
awards to non-Federal governments, private and non-profit organizations, and
individuals are covered. Awards include grants (such as waste water treatment
grants); direct payments (such as Social Security payments); loans (such as small business and student loans);
and insurance commitments (such as for crops and home mortgages). Exclusions
include international transactions, Federal wages and salaries, and goods or services purchased for Federal government use. Data are obtained about award recipients, assisted projects and financing.
Data for recipients include name and geographic location, data for projects
include assistance program name, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA)
number, and purpose; and data for financing include amounts of Federal and non-Federal
funding. Most data are presented by type of recipient (such as governments,
private organizations, and individuals), and summarized by recipient location
(such as state or county area). Reported data are for Federal obligations during the preceding fiscal quarter.
Data collection begins after each quarter and continues for about three months.
Data has been collected quarterly since 1982. A compilation of administrative data from participating Federal assistance
award agencies, supplemented with information from Census Bureau records. Agencies
routinely submit assistance award data after the close of each quarter. Data
are submitted in a standard format, usually electronically, and contain information
for all financial assistance awards. The Census Bureau supplements agency data
by adding CFDA program descriptions and titles, agency titles, places of performance,
and state names. Federal Assistance Award Data System (FAADS) databases are produced
in CD-ROM and diskette format about four months after each reference quarter.
Reports contain data and text information, by state and county, for 250,000
- 350,000 financial assistance award transactions each quarter. Data files are
forwarded to the National Archives and Records Administration and are available
for public purchase. Each quarterly file since FY 1996 has been posted to the
Census Bureau's Internet site. Copies of quarterly FAADS reports are sent to designated agencies in each state,
and to offices of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. State agencies
use the reports as their primary analytical tool for tracking changes in patterns
and levels of Federal assistance. Congress also uses them as their primary analytic
tool to monitor which Federal programs assist each state and congressional district.
Federal assistance award agencies use the data to assess multi-program patterns
and effects. The Bureau of Economic Analysis, Federal Reserve Board, economic
modelers and market analysts use the data to help trace the flow and effects
of Federal money in the national economy. Businesses and public interest groups
use the data to analyze expenditure patterns in specific Federal programs. Provides timely and uniform national information on Federal financial assistance
transactions, and serves as the official notice of awards to each state. Annual Survey of State
and Local Government Finances Annual Public Employment Survey Consolidated Federal Funds Report EXPLORE INFORMATION CONTINUE OVERVIEW
FEDERAL ASSISTANCE AWARDS DATA SYSTEM
PURPOSE
COVERAGE
CONTENT
FREQUENCY
METHODS
PRODUCTS
USES
SPECIAL FEATURES
RELATED PROGRAMS