EMBARGOED UNTIL: 12:01 A.M., EDT, APRIL 14, 2000 (FRIDAY) Public Information Office CB00-63 301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax) 301-457-1037 (TDD) e-mail: pio@census.gov Gerard Keffer 301-457-1522 Federal Domestic Spending Up 4 Percent in 1999; California and New York Received Most Funds, Census Bureau Reports The federal government distributed more than $1.5 trillion in domestic benefits, subsidies, grants, goods and services, and salaries and wages in fiscal year 1999 -- a 4 percent increase over 1998, according to two reports released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. California received the most federal funds of any state ($166 billion), followed by New York ($102 billion), Texas ($98 billion), Florida ($87 billion) and Pennsylvania ($69 billion). Altogether, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid accounted for $735 billion in 1999, 48 percent of all federal domestic spending. "The areas of the biggest increases were grant awards and direct payments to individuals for retirement and disability," said Gerard Keffer, chief of the Census Bureau's Federal Programs Branch. Federal direct payments to individuals for retirement and disability in 1999 reached $523 billion, a 3.2 percent increase over 1998, with Social Security alone totaling $415 billion, a 3.1 percent increase. Other direct payments in 1999 totaled $328 billion, a 0.7 percent decrease, including Medicare at $209 billion, a 0.4 percent decrease. Spending on grant awards in 1999 totaled $294 billion, a 9.3 percent increase over 1998, with Medicaid payments totaling $111 billion, an 11.7 percent increase. Procurement contracts in 1999 were $216 billion and federal government salaries and wages, $177 billion. At the county or county-equivalent level, New York City, N.Y., led the list ($44.2 billion), followed by Los Angeles County, Calif. ($43.5 billion), Cook County, Ill. ($24.3 billion), San Diego County, Calif. ($17.9 billion), and Harris County, Texas ($14.0 billion). New York City and Los Angeles County received the most federal funds of any local area, topping 41 states; however, on a per capita basis, they ranked 769 and 1,653, respectively, among the 3,137 counties or county-equivalent areas. Per capita federal spending topped $8,000 in three states -- Alaska ($8,521), Virginia ($8,416) and Maryland ($8,119). New Mexico ($7,805) was fourth, followed by Hawaii ($7,228), North Dakota ($7,157) and Montana ($7,052). Defense Department domestic spending, which includes payroll, defense contracts and grants, and military pensions, totaled $237 billion in 1999, a 4.9 percent increase over 1998. The top five states in Defense Department spending in 1999 were California ($29 billion), Virginia ($23 billion), Texas ($17 billion), Florida ($14 billion) and Maryland ($9 billion). For counties or county-equivalent areas, the top five beneficiaries were Los Angeles County, Calif. ($8.0 billion), San Diego County, Calif. ($7.3 billion), Fairfax County, Va. ($5.1 billion), St. Louis City, Mo. ($4.0 billion), and Norfolk City, Va. ($3.9 billion). The Census Bureau report, Consolidated Federal Funds Report for Fiscal Year 1999 (State and County Areas), CFFR/99, covers most domestic spending by the federal government. The largest exception is interest on the federal debt. This report is the only consolidated source of state and local data on the majority of direct federal expenditures, as well as data on federal loan and insurance programs. Another report, Federal Aid to States for Fiscal Year 1999, FAS/99, contains federal agency and program-level data on grants to state and local governments. The data in this report are not subject to sampling variability. As in all surveys, the data are subject to nonsampling error, which includes errors of response and processing.-X-
