History

• Although the federal government has financially assisted the states in some way since the founding of the country, most of the expansion of federal grants occurred during the 20th century. During the 18th and 19th century states rights were of great concern and many states resisted federal involvement in local affairs. The urgency of the Great Depression during the 1930s softened resistance to federally funded welfare and social services to the states.
  
  

Project

• Projects grants are competitive funding in specific areas of interest by the federal government. These do not carry any requirements for identifiable results or even to perform the task being funded. Projects are most often used for educational and research purposes, but can include public services, construction projects and artistic endeavors.
  
  

Formula Grants

• Formula grants are noncompetitive funding given to states for an ongoing activity, such as job training and low income support. Unlike project grants, these are demanded by legislation and use a specific equation to calculate how much a state receives. An example of this is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which appropriates funds to states for disabled children based on enrollment and need.
  
  

Earmarks

• Direct payments for specified use, often just called earmarks, are grants included in the federal budget that are not demanded by law or as a regular part of the normal budget. Individual members of Congress submit requests for projects to the "Appropriations Committee" for consideration by a subcommittee that specializes in the area germane to the earmark. They are also sometimes amended to specific legislation.
  
  

Criticism

• Most of the criticism of federal grants is aimed at the supposed misuse of earmarks. With the amount of legislation that passes through Congress, it can be difficult to actually determine who requests an earmark. Congressman such as Mike Arcuri, claim that some representatives in Congress take advantage of the idea of specified grants to direct federal funds to their home districts, sometimes for projects considered frivolous such as the "Bridge to Nowhere."