Following the money is one of the mainstays in investigative journalism. When following money through the government, federal funding is often the spring that feeds the flow of money through all levels of government. Analyzing the Consolidated Federal Funds Report data (CFFR) can help put state, county and city government funding into perspective and give local reporting added depth.
The Bureau of the Census collects data from other local and state agencies and compiles the data into the CFFR. The data covers the Federal Government's expenditures and obligations at the state, county and subcounty (municipality, township) level.
Each geographic level is identified by name and a Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code. County and Subcounty FIPS codes are only unique on the state level. For example, there are 50 states with the FIPS county code "001," so if you are running a query on a county with the code "001" you will be running a query for all 50 counties in the US with that code if you do not SELECT both fields. The same is true for the FIPS subcounty code field.
Analyzing the Consolidated Federal Funds Report data can help put state, county and city government funding into perspective and give local reporting added depth.
CFFR data also includes:
Congressional district codes that identify where money is spent. Object codes, which are broad classifications of what money is spent on, such as grants, procurement contracts and insurance. There are nine object codes, and they generally correspond with the classifications used in the annual federal budget. Program codes that identify the various programs money is spent on. Agency codes that identify what agency received money. Population of the geographic area that received money.
The data does not tell you who or what company receives money. This kind of information can be found in the Federal Assistance Awards Data System (FAADS) and the Federal Procurement Data System. NICAR carries the procurement data, and FAADS can also be downloaded at www.census.gov/govs/wwwlfaads.html
NICAR has CFFR data available from 1986. The data has changed over the years, but 1986 was the first year that the federal funds report accounted for most grants on the local level.
Jerry Zremski of The Buffalo News analyzed all 13 years of the data to get an historical, geographic understanding of the data. The Buffalo News series showed that showed Buffalo is part of a swath from the Northeast to the Midwest that has been receiving less and less money. At the same time, the federal government has been feeding more money into the Sunbelt.
A small number of the programs in the data are recorded on the state level even though the money for these programs is allocated on a county and local level. You can find these programs listed in a book put out by the General Service Administration.
In other instances, where the money ends up can be deceiving. Frank Kummer of the New Jersey Courier-Post was looking for towns that had received the most federal money, and how it was spent. He found that in some cases, federal money is recorded as going to a town or municipality but doesn't get used there. Kummer found that Paulsboro, N.J., a run-down town, accounted for a big part of federal spending. This was because a government contractor happened to be located in Paulsboro. The money passed through the company but was dispersed throughout the area.
What you should know about CFFR data: Program codes change. For program additions/deletions/changes, go to: www.cfda.gov/public/cat-changes.htm The population field is not accurate, especially on the county and subcounty level. This is because the population figures come from different years. If you want to calculate per capita information, use the population figures at: www.census.gov/population/wwwlestimates/co_99_1.html
For any questions concerning the CFFR data, there is an in-depth record layout at: www.census.gov/govs/www/cffr99.html
Kummer also points out that CFFR data tells us only where the federal government spends money, not where it gets money John Wilkerson can be reached by e-mail at gnilrits2@yahoo.com.