Patricia Buscher CB02-54 Public Information Office (301) 457-3030/457-3670 (fax) (301) 457-1037 (TDD) e-mail: pio@census.gov Quotes and radio sound bites Federal Domestic Spending Up 9 Percent in 2001, Census Bureau Reports The federal government provided $1.8 trillion to the 50 states in 2001, according to two reports released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. This spending, representing a 9 percent increase over 2000, comprised domestic benefits, subsidies, grants, goods and services, and salaries and wages. California benefitted more than any state, receiving $189 billion; followed by New York at $116 billion; Texas, $113 billion; Florida, $100 billion; and Pennsylvania, $79 billion. Combined, these five states received 34 percent of all federal expenditures. The five accounted for 36 percent of the U.S. population according to Census 2000. Altogether, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid accounted for $854 billion, or 48 percent of the U.S. government's domestic spending in 2001. "The largest increases in fiscal year 2001 federal spending were in the categories of other direct payments, procurement awards and grants," said Gerard Keffer, chief of the Census Bureau's federal programs branch. Other direct payments included Medicare at $237 billion, up 10.0 percent, and housing assistance, excess earned income tax credits, unemployment compensation and food stamps. These payments totaled $405 billion, an 11.1 percent increase. Federal procurement awards in 2001 were $246 billion, a 10.3 percent increase over 2000, with Department of Defense contracts totaling $149 billion, or 61 percent of all such awards. Grant awards climbed to $339 billion, a nearly 10 percent increase over 2000, with Medicaid accounting for $134 billion, up 10.5 percent. Direct payments to individuals for retirement and disability reached $600 billion in 2001, up 8.0 percent over 2000, with Social Security alone totaling $483 billion, an 8.8 percent increase. Federal government salaries and wages were $188 billion, up 1.9 percent, with the Department of Defense (37 percent) and Postal Service (27 percent) making up nearly two-thirds of the total. At the county or county-equivalent level, New York City, N.Y. ($48.98 billion), led the list of recipients, followed by Los Angeles County, Calif. ($48.96 billion); Cook County, Ill. ($27.88 billion); San Diego County, Calif. ($19.83 billion); and Harris County, Texas ($15.62 billion). Among states, per capita federal spending was highest in Alaska ($10,214), followed by Virginia ($10,067), North Dakota ($9,262), New Mexico ($9,118) and Maryland ($9,094). The remainder of the top 10, in order, were: Hawaii ($8,025), South Dakota ($7,693), Montana ($7,335), Wyoming ($7,257) and Alabama ($7,128). Factors affecting the amount of per capita spending include state populations, the number of federally funded programs in a state and the number of federal employees residing in a state. Population figures used to calculate per capita amounts for the states, counties and county-equivalent areas represent resident population as of April 1, 2000. DOD Spending The Department of Defense spent a total of $255 billion, up 7.2 percent over 2000. This amount included procurement contracts, payroll, military pensions and grants. The top five states in Defense Department spending in 2001 were California ($31.3 billion), Virginia ($30.0 billion), Texas ($18.1 billion), Florida ($13.7 billion) and Georgia ($11.0 billion). The top five counties or county-equivalent areas that received federal defense funds were Los Angeles County, Calif. ($8.3 billion); San Diego County, Calif. ($7.7 billion); Newport News City, Va. ($6.4 billion); Fairfax County, Va. ($5.6 billion); and Cobb County, Ga. ($4.9 billion). In addition to providing an overall picture of domestic spending by the federal government as a whole, the reports provide breakouts of spending by federal agencies. The Census Bureau report, Consolidated Federal Funds Report for Fiscal Year 2001 (State and County Areas), covers most domestic spending by the federal government. The largest item not covered was interest on the federal debt. The report is the only consolidated source of state and local data on the majority of direct federal expenditures, as well as on federal loan and insurance programs. A companion report, Federal Aid to States for Fiscal Year 2001 [PDF], contains federal agency and program-level data on grants to state and local governments. The data in these reports are not subject to sampling variability. The data are subject to nonsampling errors, which include errors of response and processing.
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