Assessment of Whether the Federal Grant Process Is Being Politicized During Election Years

GAO studied the possible politicization of the Federal grant award process in election years as assertions have been made that Federal grants are awarded to achieve political purposes. GAO directed its study toward discretionary programs where the establishment of distributional criteria is usually delegated to the executive branch. The objective of the study was to test whether indications of politicization were apparent, based on an analysis of gross patterns of assistance awards in a 10-year period which covered most of the campaign activities of three national elections. Work was limited to six key States which collectively accounted for 190 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win a national election. The database developed involved about 4,000 assistance awards including public works grants, technical assistance, planning grants, and economic assistance. GAO analyzed the total dollar amount awarded in each of the six States by year, the percent of dollars awarded in the six States by year to the total amount awarded nationwide, the number of grants awarded in the six States by year, and the percent of dollars awarded in the six States by month in the three election years.