14.8 Billion Federal Dollars Went to 5 Cities. Doubt it? Check out the analysis by OpenTheBooks.com. There have been numerous protests across major U.S. cities. Many mayors and police chiefs did issue stand-down orders to their police officers.
“Autonomous zones” sprung up in Marxist enclaves. The media description was a nostalgic tour through a “summer of love.” Mayors are pushing to defund local police departments. Centrist politicians call these cities “lawless.” They are refusing to protect the life, liberty, and property of their residents.
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In Seattle, the city council voted to defund their police department. In Congress, an effort pushed to defund these cities of their federal aid. President Donald Trump indicates a willingness to review the situation. But, nobody knew exactly how much federal funding was “at stake.”
OpenTheBooks.com identifies $14.8 billion in federal contracts and grants flowing to 5 major cities. These are places where civil unrest looms and policing is restrained. They are: Seattle, Portland, New York, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco.
Portland, Oregon:
Federal awards $252.5 million, Population 653,115. A family of four, on average, received $1,548 in federal subsidies ($387 per person). The City of Portland received $34 million with the police department only getting $37,000. The public schools received $4.9 million and the housing authority another $26.4 million. Other governments receiving aid included the Port of Portland $33.5 million and $143.9 million into higher education: the local community college $53 million, and Portland State University $90.9 million.
Since FY2016, federal funding into Portland-based governments increased from $173.7 million to $252.5 million (FY2019), up 45.4%. Mayor Wheeler, who also doubles as the police commissioner, has always denied giving stand-down orders to the police. However, since 2016, prominent critics have alleged a hands-off police presence in the face of violent protests and riots.
Seattle, Washington:
Federal awards: $365.1 million, population 744,955. A family of four, on average, received $1,960 in federal subsidies $490 per person. The City of Seattle Mayor received $97.5 million. The public schools received $42.5 million. The housing authority received $203 million in federal aid. Other governments receiving aid included City Light, a city-owned utility $3.8 million, and the Port of Seattle $17 million. Seattle colleges received $1.1 million in grant funding.
Since FY2016, federal funding into Seattle-based governments increased from $283.6 million to $365.1 million in FY2019, up 28.7%. In June, Mayor Durkan called the “police-free” Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) within Seattle’s East Precinct a “block party” and police boarded up their precinct and let the protesters have free reign.
San Francisco, California:
Federal awards: $516 million, Population 883,305. A family of four, on average, received $2,337 in federal subsidies $584 per person. San Francisco city hall received $279.2 million dwarfed by the $309 million into the housing authority. The fire department received $1.4 million. The city also received nearly $1 million of surplus military equipment under Program 1033. Since 2013, the city procured 320 items including 136 infrared illuminators, 100-night vision scopes, 49 reflex, and thermal sights, 2-night vision sniper scopes, and a remote ordinance neutralization robot $185,493. Transportation districts received nearly $140 million including the city transportation authority $7.1 million, Golden Gate Bridge district $64 million, and Metropolitan Transportation Commission $68 million.
Other government receiving aid included the Coastal Commission $2.9 million and the Judicial Commission of California $4 million. Since the FY2016, federal funding into San Francisco-based governments increased from $509 million to $584 million in FY2019, up 14.7%. In June, Mayor Breed announced that the police would no longer respond to a host of de-criminalized activities; and in July, the mayor announced a defunding of the police with the dollars re-directed toward the black community. San Francisco was already the national leader in pretty crimes that critics say was the result of a lack of police law enforcement.
Washington, D.C.:
Federal awards: $3.3 billion, population 705,000. A family of four, on average, received the equivalent of $18,723 in federal subsidies $4,680 per person. In Washington, D.C. there are 33 separate city agencies receiving federal funds. The district government $2 billion, the Metropolitan Police Department $3.8 million, the fire department $5.7 million, emergency management $18.5 million, the DC university $76.4 million, housing authority $125.6 million, and public schools $996.4 million. Other DC units of government receiving federal money included human services $54.3 million, employment services $35.9 million, health department $24.3 million, energy and environment $7.3 million, consumer & regulatory affairs $3 million, and the commission on the arts $1.8 million.
Since FY2016, federal funding into Washington, D.C. increased from $2.2 billion to $3.3 billion in FY2019, up 50%. This comparison between the years does not account for a $4.5 billion in funding from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to an entity listed in the federal data as “Dist. of Col.” in FY2019. In June, President Trump criticized Mayor Bowser of “not locking down the city” as protests turned violent. The mayor defended the actions of the unified command of local and federal law enforcement. However, she called for the removal of all “extraordinary federal law enforcement and military” from the city.
New York, New York:
Federal awards: $5.6 billion, population 8.4 million. A family of four, on average, received the equivalent of $2,667 in federal subsidies $667 per person. We found 52 units of government based in New York City receiving federal funds: the city government $2.4 billion, housing authority $2.3 billion, and the social services department $875.3 million. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey received $61 million and the city university received $616 million.
Other city agencies receiving federal funds included homeless services $2.4 million, the medical examiner $1.5 million, and library $322,966. In 2016 and 2017, the city police used Program 1033 to procure two mine-resistant vehicles. These military MRAPs, with a value of $1.5 million, were loaned at no charge by the Department of Defense. Because of inconsistent federal disclosures, a comparison between FY2016 and FY2019 cannot be calculated. In June, the police union accused de Blasio of a stand-down order. CNN reports $1 billion in budget cuts to the police department.
As the analysis shows, cutting the flow of federal funding into cities is a difficult proposition. However, the federal government could begin moving facilities out of unsafe cities. Officials and department secretaries could move federal buildings, agencies, and bureaucracies into safe environments. Doing so would have a substantial negative economic impact on cities. It just may cause mayors and police chiefs to re-prioritize the civil order.
