June 2008 -- README.TXT ****************************************************** * CONSOLIDATED FEDERAL FUNDS REPORT (CFFR) DATA 2005 * ****************************************************** The Consolidated Federal Funds Report (CFFR) includes records of Federal Government expenditures or obligations to states, counties and local agencies, including: social security payments, grants, procurement contracts, salaries and wages, direct loans, insurance, etc. The 2006 CFFR data is based on government fiscal year 2006, which ran from Oct. 1, 2005 to Sept. 30, 2006. Data from previous years (1983-2005) is also included in the "Archives" folder, under "Tables." This readme file also pertains to those years, with one exception: From 1992 and back, there is no file identifying specific agencies. With the CFFR data, reporters can track how much the federal government spends in a community, on what programs, and whether or not there has been a shift in spending over time. The data is useful for comparing government spending between states and between counties of similar size within a given state. We have included some story examples at the end of this Readme file. Descriptions of programs offered in "prog2005.dbf" are sometimes limited. Longer, more detailed descriptions of federal programs can be searched at www.cfda.gov by program number, or browsed by type of program, agency, etc. *DATA: There are format changes in the 2006 data. The data2006.dbf table contains most information from the previous DATA.dbf and GEO.dbf tables but without the fields of TYPECD, SPLIT, PASSFLAG and RESERVE. For the 2006 data, the three tables in the data set are: *DATA2006.DBF: This table gives the FIPS geographic codes, state abbreviated name, county name, place name, population, congressional district code, program identification code, object/assistance type code, agency code, and amount in whole dollars. For each unique FIPS code, all programs are listed and for each program, all records with different object categories are listed. *AGEN2006.DBF: This table contains four-digit (FIPS-95) codes identifying specific agencies. *PROG2006.DBF: This table contains program identification codes and their respective program titles. For previous years, the four tables (1993-2005) in the data set are: *DATA2005.DBF: This table includes the geographic codes for states, counties and places, congressional district code, program identification code, object/assistance type code, agency code, and amount in whole dollars. (PLEASE NOTE that NICAR has added a field to change text field of amount to numeric, so reporters can run calculations. Remember that including zeros while calculating averages, medians, etc., could throw off your numbers.) *PROG2005.DBF: This table contains program id codes and program titles. *AGEN2005.DBF: This table has 4-digit codes for specific agencies. *GEO2005.DBF: This table has location information and population; however, population is only recorded to the county level. Place-related records show no population. *Other files on this CD or included with this download are: *Record layout.doc: the record layout for the four tables. It also includes the most recent information about the CFFR program and its codes. *cffrlay.xls: NICAR-created record layouts *cffr-05.pdf: The U.S. Census Bureau's Fiscal 2005 report on CFFR. *cffr004.pff: The U.S. Census Bureau's Fiscasl 2004 report on CFFR. *fas05.pdf: The U.S. Census Bureau's report of federal government aid to state and local governments. *legal.txt: Important legal information *Also on this CD or included with this download is information for the 110th Congress. Congressional district information can be found within the "Congress.xls" table. Phone numbers of senators and representatives can also be found in .pdf files within the CONGRESS folder. * We have included a General Accounting Office report on the CFFR data that can be found in gaoreport98.pdf. JOINS: *To find out the name of the agency and the program, use either the PROGCD or AGENCYCD fields. *When searching for a unique record you must include STATECD, COUNTYCD, PLACECD, PROGCD, and AGENCYCD. The county names, county codes, program codes, object codes and agency codes are not unique to each record. The Defense Department uses the same program code for payments to Air Force, Army and Navy personnel but differentiates them with agency code. *When summing the total of one program you should use a combination of program, object and agency codes. *When joining the Geo and DAta tables you should join them by FIPSSTAT, FIPSCNTY and FIPSPLCE. *DATA INFO: It is important to note that CFFR covers payments to government units and other recipients located in the geographic areas over which these governments have jurisdiction. For example, the federal payments to the New York City area could represent monies allocated to the city government, a private company located in the city or a private citizen residing in the city. The CFFR does not provide information on the recipients individually or by type. If you want to learn more about recipients, request the latest Federal Contracts Data or FAADS from NICAR. This is a database of Individual Contract Action Reports (ICARS) created by the government. The government structure of New York City deserves special mention. Classified for census purposes as a municipality, the city is actually comprised of five county areas (Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens and Richmond). None of these are presented separately in the CFFR. New York City is presented as a single county-equivalent area. Information submitted by the government agencies isn't kept in a standard format, so the Census Bureau reformats and recodes a great deal of it. Some of these changes are evident in the data. For most records, the place column contains the name of a town or city, but some contain the phrase "balance of county." This designation is given to places that receive federal funds but aren't an official government unit (unicorporated towns, etc.). Sometimes an area will be designated as "undistributed." The Census Bureau reports that U.S. undistributed usually means that the record deals with a defense project where the location is classified. State undistributed codes usually designates money that goes to the state but may not all be going into the state budget. Records with county undistributed in the place column usually deal with payments to individuals. Although the CFFR database includes a population field, no information has been recorded. For up-to-date population figures for counties and cities go to http://www.census.gov/popest/counties/ and http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/. *CODES: *The object code (OBJ) defines the type of expenditure. The codes are: Object Code Category DR Direct Payments for Individuals (Retirement and Disability only) DO Direct Payments for Individuals (Other than Retirement and Disability) DX Direct Payments Other than for Individuals GG Grants (Block, Grants, Formula Grants, Project Grants, and Cooperative Agreements) PC Procurement Contracts SW Salaries and Wages DL Direct Loans GL Guaranteed/Insured Loans II Insurance There are some program AND agency names that have multiple codes assigned to them. The federal government states that, at least in regard to program names, programs change and new codes are reassigned. The old codes, however, are kept in the database. OTHER DATA DETAILS ... * Some of the dollar amounts in the main table are negative, reflecting money de-obligated by the federal agencies. * Some of the dollar amounts represent money that the federal government has earmarked for a particular area and not money actually given to the local government. For example, FEMA has earmarked money for some locations in the event of an emergency. * There are 60 names in the State field, because Puerto Rico, Guam, etc. are included. * Some aspects of the congressional district or districts field should be noted. For counties and places that exist in more than one district, all congressional districts are reported. For those places with more than one congressional district, dollar amounts are not reported separately for each district. To derive totals of all funds to any particular congressional district, amounts for all government units in that districts have to aggregated. For states with an at-large representative, the code "00" is reported. * In the older data the fields "passflag" and "agencycd" are left blank. More information about CFFR is available on the Census Web site at http://www.census.gov/govs/www/cffr.html **************************************** * STORIES FROM THE IRE RESOURCE CENTER * **************************************** To order copies of one or more of the following stories call the IRE RESOURCE CENTER at 573-882-3364 and give them the FILE NUMBER. FILE NUMBER: 21323 The Register (Des Moines, Iowa) outlined how Department of Homeland Security grants are so inefficient that small cities don’t know how to spend the funds while larger cities are still underfunded. FILE NUMBER: 21708 Allentown Morning Call showed how homeland security spending to high-tech operations in Pennsylvania increased 100-fold in four years. FILE NUMBER: 20865 The Washington Post's Jo Becker,Sarah Cohen and Spencer Hsu traced the path of the region's first wave of homeland security aid from its distribution through its final use, a trail that has been largely unexamined by federal regulators. The reporters found that much of the $324 million directed to the Washington region after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks remained unspent or was funding projects with questionable connections to homeland security. The analysis included a review of contracts, grant proposals, and purchasing databases. Results showed millions were spent on items such as leather jackets for police officers. Published Nov. 2003. FILE NUMBER: 22134 Hurricane Katrina is only the latest episode in a history of bungling and fraud associated with FEMA. The Sun-Sentinal spent nearly a year studying FEMA's work in Miami-Dade and discovered fraud and waste in the aftermath of Hurricane Frances. They found at least $330 million of FEMA money poured into communities that suffered no disasters as well as FEMA inspectors with criminal records, FEMA funds used for twice as many funerals as official deaths, and many other instances of either fraud or waste. Published September 2005. FILE NUMBER: 16414 A data analysis found that the Buffalo area received less federal grant and aid money than the national average, as much as 30 percent less. This three-part, special report seeks to examine why. Published Jan. 2000 FILE NUMBER: 12242 In Feb. 1995, The Fresno Bee looked at how federal money is spent in the San Joaquin Valley. "Congress is trying to reduce government spending and regulations, but can the Valley live without the federal government and the billions of dollars it pumps into local economies?" FILE NUMBER: 12743 The Birmingham News broke down how the federal government in Alabama spent $21.2 billion the previous year and what budget cuts would do, including results of reader call-ins on their experience with fraud and abuse and inviting readers to try a special computer program to try their hand at balancing the budget. (Feb. 19, March 5, 19, April 23, May 7, 21, June 25, July 9, 30, Sept. 17, 1995) FILE NUMBER: 15925 The Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph examined the "large government presence in Bent County, population 5,048... Federal spending in Bent County in 1993 came to $59.9 million, or $11,858 per person -- the highest per-capita amount in the state." The three-part series investigates the effects a proposed decrease in federal spending would have on Bent County and other areas in Colorado. Published May 21, 1995. FILE NUMBER: 12387 The Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph investigated the federal government's proposed spending cuts, and finds that many of the cuts will be to programs that many voters are least willings to give up. Published May 23, 1995. Definitely check out John Wilkerson's article in the June 2000 issue of Uplink. He gives a detailed guide to using this database. If you have further questions about the processing of this data, please call NICAR at (573) 884-7711. Questions specifically about the data or methodology in gathering it should be directed to Governments Division, Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C. 20233. Phone (301) 457-1565. Email: cffr@census.gov.