Economic Development Programs
Gao ID: RCED-95-251R July 28, 1995GAO provided information on federal economic development programs and the assistance that they provide, focusing on the levels of assistance for each program in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA), and the associated broad budget accounts as reported by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). GAO noted that: (1) CFDA lists a total of 342 economic development-related programs; (2) 13 of the 14 executive departments and many agencies and administrations have economic development programs that provide grants and other forms of nonloan assistance, as well as loans and loan guarantees; (3) there is no commonly accepted definition for economic development; and (4) the CFDA budget database does not always provide detailed information about the program level because individual programs may not have their own budget accounts.