State Administered
Federal Programs

MAKING GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBLE means . . . giving the agencies having responsibility for program outcomes the authority to do whatever is needed to achieve those outcomes . . . delegating responsibility for program outcomes to the agencies responsible for providing program services – not to another level of bureaucracy.

POSITION SUMMARY:

If States are going to be made responsible for administering federal programs, the States must have the full authority to do whatever is needed to achieve the objectives of the program.

We must stop tying the hands of states by defining, in federal legislation, what the states can and cannot to do achieve legislative objectives. The full cost of the “federal” program must be paid by Congressional appropriations.

DISCUSSION:  

Some federal programs – such as Medicaid -- have always been administered by State agencies. In the last two decades, those who favor a “small” federal government have accelerated the transfer of program responsibility to the States. For example, the Personal Responsibility and Work opportunity Act of 1996 transferred most “welfare” program responsibilities to the States, and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 made States responsible for the administration of many federal education programs.

These transfers of responsibility for “federal” programs did not, however, the bureaucracy of the programs. Rather, it replaced one federal bureaucracy with 56 State and Territorial bureaucracies.

Many of these transfers of authority for “federal” programs were justified by the argument that States are more qualified to identify their needs than a federal agency. However, this argument has little merit in the face of the fact that Congress has continued to limit the use of “federal” money to activities that address “federal” concerns – as determined by Congress. The merits of this argument are also lessened by the fact that Congress continues to limit the specific activities States can and cannot undertake to address local needs.

Furthermore, although the transfer of program responsibilities to the States has increased the poser of State agencies, Congress has failed to fully fund the programs for which State agencies are made responsible. As a result, States have been required to divert their own resources to away from responding to local needs as a condition for receiving federal funds.

States accept responsibility for federal programs because it gives State government more power over local authorities.

States are not concerned about the limitation on federal funding because States are only responsible for administering the program – not producing results.

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