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    "label": "President's Letter to Congress Submitting the Federal Assistance for Community Services Act",
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    "title": "President's Letter to Congress Submitting the Federal Assistance for Community Services Act",
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            "day": 23,
            "logicalDate": "1976-02-23",
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    "ocrText": "Digitized from Box 22 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\nEMBARGOED FOR RELEASE\nFebruary 23, 1976\nUNTIL 12:00 NOON (EST)\nMONDAY, February 23, 1976\nOffice of the White House Press Secretary\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nTO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:\nToday I am submitting to the Congress the Federal\nAssistance for Community Services Act.\nThis proposal is in keeping with my philosophy of\nreducing unnecessary and burdensome Federal restrictions\nwhile increasing State and local flexibility and respon-\nsibility in the administration of social programs.\nThis reform proposal will improve and strengthen the\nprogram of social services established under Title XX of the\nSocial Security Act. It will provide a $2.5 billion block\ngrant annually to the States on a population basis. It\nwill eliminate the requirement for State matching funds,\nas well as most Federal requirements and prohibitions on\nthe use of Federal funds.\nThese changes are an important step toward an improved\nFederal-State relationship in the social services field.\nEnactment of Title XX in January, 1975, was a beginning.\nThat law eliminated many of the problems of the past by\ngiving States broad authority to allocate resources within\na general framework. Rather than making States responsible\nto the Federal government, accountability for social services\nwas made a matter between each State and its citizens through\nan open planning process -- a process which has shown great\npromise.\nTitle XX, however, did not go far enough. It added\nnew restrictions which interfere with effective delivery\nof services. Officials at State and local levels of govern-\nment indicate that they are willing and able to assume\ngreater responsibility to gain greater flexibility in meeting\nlocal needs.\nThe proposed Federal Assistance for Community Services\nAct will:\n-- Eliminate the requirement that States must match\none State dollar for three Federal dollars.\n-- Eliminate numerous restrictive conditions on how\nFederal funds may be used: burdensome Federal\nrequirements for child day care; limitations on\nsocial services funding for health and institutional\ncare; and procedures for the imposition of fees and\nthe determination of eligibility.\n-- Concentrate Federal dollars on people most in need,\nthose under the poverty threshold and those receiving\npublic assistance.\nmore\n2\n-- Assure that no State will receive less money as a\nresult of this legislation than it received in fiscal\nyear 1976.\n-- Decrease Federal monitoring and oversight of State\nplan requirements and expenditures of funds with the\nStates assuming greater responsibility in this area.\n-- Improve the public planning process by which citizens\nand local governments participate in identifying needs\nand establishing priorities.\nI ask the Congress to enact this legislation promptly so\nthat States may begin to use Federal and local money more\neffectively.\nGERALD R. FORD\nTHE WHITE HOUSE,\nFebruary 23, 1976.\n####"
}