Federal Grant Agencies and Congressional Election Campaigns

This article examines the relationship between federal grant agencies and congressional election campaigns. The data were from two grant programs: the U.S. Economic Development Administration's public works program (1967-1979) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's water and sewer program (1968-1971). Multivariate analyses of the number of grants per congressional district and the processing time of projects announced during election periods indicated that agency grant announcements during election campaigns were subject to considerable political manipulation, but that these projects for the most part would have been announced anyway. Thus agencies depoliticize grant processing by allowing the politicization of the timing of the decision.