This regulation outlines the administrative standards for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in managing discretionary grants and cooperative agreements, emphasizing fair competition, objective evaluation by independent reviewers, and the conditions under which noncompetitive awards may be justified. It also requires recipients of USDA financial assistance to acknowledge USDA support on information dissemination products and specifies exceptions for certain types of audiovisuals. Additionally, the regulation implements intergovernmental review processes to foster collaboration with state and local governments, ensuring their input on proposed federal financial assistance and development projects, and allows for the simplification, consolidation, or substitution of state plans to meet federal requirements.
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 31 U.S.C. 901-903; 2 CFR part 200; 7 CFR 2.28.