From Study V · Part Three, Exhibit 12
Of $6,975.7 billion of FY2025 outlays that are awardable in kind, $5,219.2 billion is recorded as awards to the states, DC and Puerto Rico
Source. USAspending.gov, Account Data download, File B (object class by program activity by federal account), FY2025, as tabulated in Part Two (Who Pays and Who Gets, Plate XIV); USAspending.gov state profiles. Fiscal year 2025.
Method and data
Method. The ledger’s FY2025 gross outlays by object class (USAspending File B, as Part Two tabulates them, Plate XIV) set against the prime award obligations USAspending records to the states, DC and Puerto Rico in the same year. Interest (object class 43, $1,257.9 billion), federal pay (11–13), tax refunds (44), intragovernmental financial transfers (94) and the unclassified residue (0, 91, 92) are not awards and never appear in state totals. What is awardable in kind is benefits (42, $3,309.1 billion), grants and subsidies (41, $2,321.3 billion), contracts, services and supplies (21–26) and acquisition of assets (31–33): $6,975.7 billion. Of that, $5,219.2 billion is recorded to a US state, DC or Puerto Rico; the gap, $1,756.5 billion (6,975.7 − 5,219.2), is the subject of “What we could not verify”. Kind of payment against award type: benefits $3,309.1 billion against direct payments $3,240.2 billion (including Medicare as recorded); grants and subsidies $2,321.3 billion against grants $1,220.2 billion; contracts and assets $1,345.3 billion against contracts $740.5 billion. The bridge compares outlays by object class in one system with obligations by award type in another.
| Step | US dollars, billions | Object classes |
|---|---|---|
| Ledger: gross outlays, FY2025 | 9,811.5 | all |
| Less interest | −1,257.9 | 43 |
| Less federal personnel | −865.6 | 11–13 |
| Less tax refunds | −379.9 | 44 |
| Less financial transfers | −315.4 | 94 |
| Less unclassified | −17.0 | 0, 91, 92 |
| Awardable in kind | 6,975.7 | 21–26, 31–33, 41, 42 |
| Not recorded to a US state as an award | −1,756.5 | |
| Recorded to the states, DC and Puerto Rico | 5,219.2 |
Download SVG · CSV. Data and chart licensed CC BY 4.0.
Higgins Strategy. “Of $6,975.7 billion of FY2025 outlays that are awardable in kind, $5,219.2 billion is recorded as awards to the states, DC and Puerto Rico” Exhibit 12, Federal Dollars by State, Over Time (Study V · Part Three). October 12, 2026. https://higginsstrategy.com/charts/fb5-14-money-out-by-kind-fy2025/