Government funding generally refers to any arrangement whereby a project or enterprise receives part or all of its financial support from a government. In the United States, the primary sources of government funding are the national government, any of the 50 state governments, and any of the thousands of county or municipal governments — either directly or through any of the hundreds of thousands of agencies they fund. Government funding isn’t restricted to these sources, though: in many cases, a government will contract with a company to do work, and that company will subcontract parts of the job to other companies. These companies are also considered to be government-funded, at least for the particular subcontracted job, and must therefore comply with any relevant rules and regulations.
Some government funding takes place on a contract basis, where the contractor agrees to accomplish a goal or provide a service for or on behalf of the government. A few examples are the paving of a roadway, the establishment of a health clinic for government workers, or the provision of room and board services for the homeless. In these cases, the extent to which the government will fund the project depends on the accomplishment of certain goals and quotas. For example, funding for construction is generally paid at certain identifiable phases of the project, while funding for health care or other services is usually based on the number of patients or clients served and the nature of the service.
Another form of government funding is the loan: governments lend money directly and also subsidize loans from other sources. Loans generally must be repaid in full, with interest. Government loans for education, especially from the federal government, are very popular. The accumulation of interest charges, as well as repayment requirements, usually are suspended until after the recipient leaves college. Another popular form of government loan is the small business loan, usually administered by the Small Business Administration.
Grants are a third form of government funding. This form of funding is given for a specific purpose, and there’s no requirement that grants be repaid. In addition, in some cases the specific purposes for which grants are awarded don’t need to be accomplished, although most grants require that reports be made to the awarding agency. A great deal of the funding for medical, pharmaceutical and other scientific research consists of government grants.
Government funding of programs operated by private organizations, even when they’re not-for-profit, is controversial. Some of the controversy has an ideological basis. The government, it’s argued, may not spend funds from the public treasury except for purposes specifically approved by the Constitution.
In other cases, the controversy surrounds the government’s almost unlimited power to impose rules and limitations whenever government funding is involved. For example, any American college or university that accepts any form of federal funding must conform to a wide range of restrictions and regulations with respect to discrimination and other relevant issues. This is the case no matter how small the amount of government funds — for instance, even if only one student has a small federal education loan. To avoid having to comply with federal regulations, therefore, a small number of American colleges and universities don’t accept any federal funding at all, and generally arrange for alternate financial aid for students who otherwise would have to rely on government financial assistance.