From September 2019, in the “you can predict the number, or the date, but you should never predict both” department, includes “It could be argued that the recent upward trend in outlays for federal grants to state and local governments is about to end because there is a general consensus that anticipated growth in federal discretionary spending, which includes outlays for federal grants to state and local governments, may be targeted for reductions as part of an effort to address the federal deficit and debt. However, Congress’s historical tendency to use federal grants to state and local governments as a means to create jobs and promote national economic growth suggests that the upward trend in federal grant outlays and federal grant numbers that has been experienced over the past several decades may continue, although at a slower pace.”