GovBenefits.gov is President George W. Bush's plan to provide citizens
with one, easily accessible source for government benefit and assistance
information. The GovBenefits.gov mission focuses on reducing the expense
and difficulty of conducting business with the government and increasing
access to benefit information, particularly for people with disabilities.
In his February 2002 budget proposal, President Bush outlines a management
agenda for making government more focused on people and results. This agenda
includes eGovernment initiatives that use the latest technology and the
Internet to make it easier for citizens and businesses to access government
services and information.
Before GovBenefits.gov, information about government benefit and assistance
programs was spread across 31 million Federal government web pages. Even
citizens who knew the programs they were eligible to receive often were
confused about which agency website, call center, or office could help them.
Thanks to GovBenefits.gov, citizens can now access one website to determine
their potential benefit eligibility and receive information on how to apply.
GovBenefits.gov is a resource for all citizens and includes information on
a variety of benefit and assistance programs for veterans, seniors, students,
teachers, children, people with disabilities, dependents, disaster victims,
farmers, caregivers, job seekers, prospective homeowners, and more. Citizens
are encouraged to visit the website regularly, particularly when life
events — applying for college, seeking food/nutrition services, property
damaged following a storm, retirement, starting a business, etc. — occur that
could change their eligibility status.
Using GovBenefits.gov is simple: Go to
www.GovBenefits.gov and determine how you want to search for benefit
programs. Search by locating Federal or State benefits, browse by category,
or immediately take the questionnaire. You may answer a list of confidential
questions to determine your potential eligibility and receive a customized
report detailing the programs you or the person you are helping may be
eligible to receive and information on how to apply.
Launched in April 2002, GovBenefits.gov is a collaborative effort of 10
Federal agencies, including the U.S. Departments of Labor (managing partner),
Agriculture, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and
Urban Development, State, Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security, and the
Social Security Administration. New benefit information is added to
GovBenefits.gov regularly, as the program continues efforts to expand
information on Federal, State, and Local government benefit programs.
Updated 01/2004
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