Posted by
Civis on Monday, March 19, 2007 6:40:00 AM
Elastic Part III
Federal Grants in Aid
As described by http://www.grants.gov, a Federal Grant is:
“an award of financial assistance from a Federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of the United States. A grant is not used to acquire property or services for the Federal government’s direct benefit. Twenty-six Federal agencies annually offer over 1,000 grant programs in various categories.”
Furthermore according to grants.gov:
“Grants are not Benefits or Entitlements.”
Grants are not entitlements because when a grant is secured, the grantee is obligated to do the federal government’s bidding. The successful applicants must spend their “winnings” in a manner that has been defined by the federal government. If you take the federal government’s money, they have the right to define the manner in which their money will be spent and the form of oversight that will be in place. This is another process that has allowed the federal government to expand its role in local matters, without directly being involved.
According to a report that was created for Congress, ”Federal Grants to State and Local Governments: A Brief History”, federal grants, before the second half of the 19th century, were largely grants for land, canals, and forts. It facilitated the westward migration of settlers. The federal government played almost no role in providing social service grants. Below is an excerpt from the report identifying Franklin Pierce's reasoning for this lack of social spending:
"President Franklin Pierce (1853-1857) vetoed an 1854 act, supported by reformer Dorothea Dix, to allocate funds to states to help the indigent insane. Pierce contended that if:"
“Congress is to make provision for [paupers], the fountains of charity will be dried up at home, and the several States, instead of bestowing their own means on the social wants of their people ... [will] become humble suppliants for the bounty of the Federal Government, reversing their true relation to this Union.”
Pierce’s comments could be considered prophetic. Local governments, universities, etc... have dedicated staffs working for federal handouts that they “have to have” in order to carry out their programs. It sounds like they have mastered the role of the “humble suppliant” (petitioner: one praying humbly for something) to me. I wonder what programs could be successfully carried out at the local level if these grant and lobby staffs put their energy into achieving a goal other than obtaining federal money.
We have the administration of FDR to thank for creating the expectation that the federal government is responsible for our welfare. As stated in the report:
"President Franklin Roosevelt’s Administration, prompted by the conditions of the Great Depression, accelerated the development of the grants-in-aid system as part of his New Deal program of social relief, financial reform, and economic recovery. Drawing on a broad constructionist interpretation of the Constitution that gave him flexibility in designing economic recovery programs, Roosevelt and Congress expanded federal involvement in areas where it previously had taken little action, including public housing and employment security."
Resource:
"Federal Grants to State and Local Governments: A Brief History"
Ben Canada
Analyst in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/politics/states/fedgrants.pdf