The Selective Universalization of Domestic Policy, 1965-1990

联邦国内项目的增长和变化以一种 在过去的四分之一世纪里， 日益复杂的联邦国内支出计划迷宫。 在这项研究中，研究人员研究了这些 1965年至1990年期间的方案， 关于国内消费的开始和发展的问题 程序. 新创建的典型特征是什么 节目？ 为什么有些程序反复重新授权，而另一些程序 计划在通过后不久就被终止了吗？ 国内怎么办 程序会随着时间的推移而改变吗？ 做结构特点， 计划影响他们的寿命或如何分配资金， 收件人群体？ 与传统的研究相比， 主题，这个项目超越了检查支出水平，并要求 这些项目是如何组织的，谁能得到好处。 本项目采用的方法是基于对 普遍主义立法规范。 这一标准表明， 国会更倾向于支持国内支出计划， “每个人都有“在其最初的概念化中， 普遍主义的规范表明，所有的程序，无论是新的还是旧的， 提供福利，尽管水平不同，每一个国会议员， 区的 实际上，这一条件并不成立。 研究人员 表明国内支出计划开始在财政上是适度的 项目赠款，向相对较少的国会议员提供福利， 区。 为了在连续的立法重新授权中生存下来，这些 狭义用途赠款必须通过摆脱其高申请率来发展 成本，降低资格标准，并将资金分配给 越来越多的国会选区。 那些未能 符合这一变化模式的预计规模将下降， 成为被解雇的候选人 因此，只有一些程序是 希望能普及。 在这一选择组，普遍主义 只会随着时间而发生 为了进行这项调查，研究人员 建立新的数据库。 联邦国内 援助记录了自1965年以来国内支出的变化， 提供了丰富的信息来源， 研究国内方案的演变。 的主要部分 这项调查将涉及从这些目录中提取数据 并编制了一个关于国内节目人数的数据库 在过去的四分之一世纪。 完成后，该数据库将 包含每个计划的年度信息，包括拨款 级别、节目类型（例如，公式赠款，项目赠款， 直接贷款、非财政援助等），职能政策 该计划所服务的地区，组织的类别， 有资格申请和领取福利的个人， 要求和其他信息。

Growth and change in federal domestic programs has proceeded at a rapid pace over the last quarter century, producing a large and increasingly complicated maze of federal domestic spending programs. In this research, the investigators examine the evolution of these programs from 1965-1990 with the purpose of addressing basic questions about the inception and development of domestic spending programs. What are the typical characteristics of newly created programs? Why are some programs repeatedly reauthorized while other programs are terminated shortly after adoption? How do domestic programs change over time? Do the structural characteristics of programs affect their longevity or how monies are distributed to groups of recipients? Compared to conventional research on these topics, this project goes beyond examining spending levels, and asks how these programs are organized and who receives benefits. The approach taken in this project is based on a rethinking of the legislative norm of universalism. This norm suggests that members of Congress prefer to support domestic spending programs that provide "something for everyone." In its original conceptualization, the norm of universalism suggested that all programs, both new and old, provide benefits, albeit of varying levels, to every congressional district. In reality, this condition does not hold. The researchers suggest that domestic spending programs begin as fiscally modest project grants, bestowing benefits to relatively few congressional districts. To survive successive legislative reauthorizations, these narrow purpose grants must evolve by shedding their high application costs, lowering eligibility standards, and distributing monies to an increasing number of congressional districts. Programs which fail to conform to this pattern of change are expected to decline in size and to become candidates for termination. Hence only some programs are expected to be universalized. Among this select group, universalism will tend to occur only through time. In order to undertake this investigation the researchers are developing a new data base. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance chronicles the changes in domestic spending since 1965 and provides a rich source of information on which to base a systematic investigation of the evolution of domestic programs. A major part of this investigation will involve extracting data from these catalogs and compiling a data base on the population of domestic programs over the past quarter century. When complete, this data base will contain annual information for each program including appropriation levels, the type of program (e.g., formula grant, project grant, direct loans, non-financial assistance, etc.), the functional policy area served by the program, the categories of organizations and individuals eligible to apply and receive benefits, matching requirements, and other information.