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Dec. 16, 2002
200 Federal Benefit Programs Now Available on GovBenefits.gov; Enhancements Make Site More Citizen-Centric
WASHINGTON -The U.S. Department of Labor in conjunction with the Office of Management
and Budget today announced the addition of 68 Federal benefit programs to GovBenefits.gov,
a website developed to serve as a one-stop resource for government benefit eligibility
information. This brings the total number of programs featured on the GovBenefits.gov site
to 200, representing approximately $1.3 trillion in annual benefit dollars.
"GovBenefits.gov gives citizens an easy way to determine if they are eligible for
training, loan, or other benefits," said Patrick Pizzella, assistant secretary for
administration and management and chief information officer at the Department of Labor.
"The addition of these new programs is another step forward in our effort to
centralize all Federal benefit information online so that citizens do not have to dissect
the government in order to find the assistance they need."
The new benefit programs include those from the Departments of Agriculture (Commodity
Supplemental Food Program, Direct Housing Natural Disaster Loans & Grants),
Education (Even Start: Migrant Education, Women's Educational Equity Act Program),
Health and Human Services (Contraception & Infertility Research Loans, Assistance to
Torture Victims), Housing and Urban Development (Mortgage Insurance Homes for Low
and Moderate Income Families, Mortgage Insurance for Homes in Urban Renewal Areas),
Justice (Immigration and Naturalization Service), Labor (One-Stop Career
Center Initiative), and Veterans Affairs (Veterans Group Life Insurance, Pensions
to Surviving Spouses and Children of Veterans). For a full list of programs and eligibility information, visit: http://www.govbenefits.gov/.
In addition to these new programs, GovBenefits.gov will now include multi-tiered
questions, which will enhance the user experience by reducing the number of redundant
questions that users have to answer to determine their eligibility for benefits.
"GovBenefits.gov is committed not only to regularly adding new benefit programs to
the site but also to ensuring that citizens can find the information they need quickly and
easily," said Denis Gusty, GovBenefits.gov program manager at the Department of
Labor. "The new multi-tiered questions will reduce the amount of time it takes for
citizens to determine their eligibility for benefits."
GovBenefits.gov is one of 24 key initiatives that comprise the President's
E-Government Strategy, an integral part of the President's Management Agenda to make
it easier for citizens to interact with the government, save taxpayer dollars, and
streamline citizen-to-government transactions. The project is the collaborative effort of
10 Federal agencies including: Departments of Labor (managing partner), Agriculture,
Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, State,
Veterans Affairs, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Social Security
Administration.
------U.S. Labor Department news releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The
information in this release will be made available in alternate format upon request (large
print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office. Please specify which news
release when placing your request. Call 202-693-7773 or TTY 202-693-7755.
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