In fiscal year 2011, the federal government provided $607 billion in grants to state and local governments. Those funds accounted for 17 percent of federal outlays, 4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), and a quarter of spending by state and local governments that year. Over the past 30 years, those “intergovernmental” grants—financial transfers from the federal government that support a wide range of state and local programs—have fluctuated as a share of federal outlays (see figure below).