501 - Heightened Scrutiny

As of the mid-2020, the federal government was awarding about $1 trillion in grants annually (see ¶111), much of which goes to states and other recipients that pass through the funds to subrecipients. The rest of the funds are made as direct awards to recipients other than pass-through entities. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the largest grantmaking agency. Funding for HHS programs increased from 4% in 1950 to about 58% currently, totaling more than half of all other federal assistance combined. The largest HHS program is Medicaid, followed by research opportunities, Head Start and others. As grant programs including competitive, formula and entitlement… Read More