Kansas leads nation in refusing federal funds

By

Opinion

August 13, 2019 - 10:59 AM

Kansas’s share of federal dollars has been dropping precipitously in recent years.

According to research conducted by the nonpartisan Pew Charitable Trusts, federal grants in Kansas as a portion of state revenues fell from 33 percent in 2011 to 23 percent in 2017. That steep drop, due largely to rejecting federal dollars, represented a shocking loss, estimated at $382 million in the 2017 state budget.

In the same time frame the four states surrounding Kansas maintained their share of federal dollars at 33 percent. The average share of all 50 states has grown over the last four years to 32 percent.

Kansas now ranks third in the nation in refusing federal dollars as only two states — Hawaii and Virginia — report slightly smaller shares than Kansas.

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