Consolidated Federal Funds Report

PURPOSE

To provide data on Federal government expenditures by state, county, and sub-county area. The United States Code, Titles 13 and 31, and a 1981 designation by the Office of Management and Budget, authorize this program and provide for mandatory responses. Other federal agencies provide the majority of the funding for the Census Bureau's work on this program.

COVERAGE

Nearly all Federal agencies responsible for financial transactions that can be attributed to a state or U.S. outlying area are covered. Agencies include departments and independent agencies, and quasi-Federal agencies such as the United States Postal Service (USPS), and Tennessee Valley Authority. Outlying areas include American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Expenditures by national security agencies, international transactions, and interest on the national debt are excluded.

CONTENT

Data are obtained on the amount of virtually all Federal expenditures, including grants, loans, direct payments, insurance, procurement, salaries and wages, and other awards (such as price supports and research awards). Data represent actual expenditures (or outlays) with some exceptions. For example, contract amounts may represent obligations, loans and insurance can include cash and contingent liability values, and grants to individuals may reflect benefit commitments. Expenditures are reported by responsible department or agency, and classified by affected program (such as Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster relief grants, or Social Security Administration Black Lung payments).

FREQUENCY

The CFFR reports have been prepared annually by the Census Bureau since 1983. Some data are available for years since 1966, when similar programs were operated by the Office of Economic Opportunity and the Community Services Administration. Data reported are for Federal fiscal years ending September 30. Data collection begins in October and continues through March of the following year. The printed reports and Internet and CD-ROM data releases are in April each year.

METHODS

These are compilations of administrative data from Federal program, management, or statistical agencies. Agencies routinely submit data after the end of each Federal fiscal year. Most data are submitted in computerized formats using previously negotiated Census Bureau specifications. Selected program agencies, such as large employers and smaller grant-making agencies, provide data in special submissions covering the entire fiscal year.

Two Federal management agencies provide virtually all Federal procurement data. These are the General Services Administration's Federal Procurement Data Center and the U.S. Postal Service. The Office of Personnel Management provides salary and wage data for all large civilian employer agencies. Data from the Census Bureau’s Financial Assistance Awards Data System (FAADS) are totaled for four quarters to provide data for most Federal grants, loans, insurance, and individual payments.

PRODUCTS

The Consolidated Federal Funds Report is available about 6 months after each Federal fiscal year. Tabulations by state and outlying area include subtotals by Federal agency, type of expenditure program, per capita expenditure, and a historical summary. There is also a table, which provides state, outlying area, and county area totals for major expenditure categories. Public use data files are available about 6 months after each fiscal year, on the Internet and on CD-ROM. Data for 1983 through 2002 are available in compact disc format.

USES

The Bureau of Economic Analysis, Office of Management and Budget, U.S. Congress, state governments, and private researchers use the data to measure and assess Federal expenditures in state and sub-state areas. These and other analysts use the data on an expenditure basis for studies that evaluate Federal revenues from state areas versus Federal expenditure to those areas.