2. Support proposals for Federal-State Flexibility Grants. While NPR advocates a broadly based bottom-up grant consolidation option, it will not be suitable or desirable for many jurisdictions where current accounting standards, contradictory rules, etc. are not major problems. Even in these cases, however, improvement in the overall system of grants administration can reduce cost and improve administrative effectiveness. Complementary to the bottom-up approach, NPR also recommends support for consolidation proposals that provide increased flexibility to states and localities that complement federal programs. One such proposal, developed by the National Governors' Association (NGA) and National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), would consolidate ". . . approximately 55 existing programs, with a funding level of approximately $12.9 billion in fiscal 1993, into flexibility grants in six broad areas: education reform, workforce quality, air and land environmental management, water quality, defense conversion, and housing." The proposal is designed to respect the jurisdictional authority of congressional committees (see Appendix B).[Endnote 4] The NGA/NCSL proposal was intended to affect only funds going to state recipients, although local government advocates are concerned that some pass- through monies may be affected. NPR's support for flexibility grants is conditioned upon the fact that there be no increase in grant funds going to overhead costs, or a related diminution in program allocations at the point of service delivery--concerns held by local governments that now receive some of these funds directly from the federal government. Endnote 4. Correspondence dated March 11, 1993 to the President from the NGA/NCSL.
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