Chapter 3: Categorical Grants and block grants
block grants
attempted to transform Medicaid, Aid to Families with Dependents, food stamps, and other social welfare programs
block grants
diminish the scope and size of the national government and return the power to the states
unfunded mandates
forces state and local governments to divert funds away from their needed projects and essential services to compy with national policies
block grants
general revenue sharing, a comprehensive block of funding that gave state and local officials a share of the national government's revenues (taxes) to be used for any purpose
block grants
their general objective is to minimize national restrictions through devolution while maximizing the discretionary use of them by state and local officials
unfunded mandates
these specified services or activities that must be provided by state and local government to meet national standards
block grants
used to replace or change the funding of categorical grants
unfunded mandates
works against the transfer of power from the national government to the states
categorical grants
intergovernmental grants with specific instructions to state and local officials on how the money could be spent
unfunded mandates
members of Congress can take credit for helping their constituents while distancing themselves form the taxpayer's wrath when they run for reelection