Twenty-two federal programs have been named semifinalists in the 1999 Innovations in American Government Awards, administered by Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Semifinalists are eligible for one of ten $100,000 awards given for original and effective government programs. The Innovations in American Government awards are widely recognized as among the most prestigious public service awards in the country.
This year, 1,600 applicants from federal, state, county and city governments, school districts, tribal governments and government corporations vied for the top honors. Twenty-five finalists will be named from the pool of 98 semifinalists in September and the 10 winning programs will be honored on October 13 in Washington.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development had five programs in the semifinalist list, the most of any federal agency. The Hope VI public housing revitalization program was singled out for encouraging public housing authorities to create mixed-income affordable housing, a radical departure from traditional public housing projects.
The Defense Department and the Department of Health and Human Services also each had several programs reach the semifinalist level. At HHS, the Health Care Financing Administration was recognized for its efforts to resolve disputes between states, drug manufacturers and the federal government over how much money pharmaceutical manufacturers owe states under the Medicaid drug rebate program.
The Environmental Protection agency also had three semifinalists, including the Energy Star program, an effort to place a nationally backed label on energy efficient products to aid consumers in making eco-friendly purchases.
The 1999 federal semifinalists are:
- Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Continuum of Care, Office of Community Planning and Development
- HOPE IV Public Housing Revitalization, Office of Public Housing Investments
- Next Door, Office of the Secretary
- Community Builders Fellowship, Office of the Secretary
- Tenant Income Verification System, Real Estate Assessment Center
Department of Health and Human Services
- Medicaid Prescription Drug Dispute Resolution, Health Care Financing Administration
- Bridging Education, Science & Technology, National Institute of Environmental Health Services
- Sustainable Management Development Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- PulseNet, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Department of Defense
- Move Information, Not Property, Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service
- Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment, Department of the Army
- Environmental Pool Management, Army Corps of Engineers
Environmental Protection Agency
- Envirofacts Warehouse, Envirofacts Warehouse Team
- Energy Star, Office of Air and Radiation
- Environmental Finance Center Network
Department of Agriculture
- Resource Conservation and Development, Natural Resources Conservation Service
- Internet Rulemaking for Organic Food Standards, Agricultural Marketing Service
Department of Justice
- 311 Non-Emergency Number, Office of Community Oriented Policing
- Project Exile, U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia
Federal Labor Relations Authority
- Mainstreaming Collaborative Dispute Resolution Program, Office of the Chair
National Institute for Literacy
- Equipped for the Future
U.S. Postal Service
- USPS/Imagitas Change of Address Program