Iowa received $9.3 billion in federal funds in fiscal 2019

DES MOINES - The state of Iowa spent about $9.3 billion in federal funds in fiscal 2019 that included money for Medicaid, water quality, highway construction, college loans and children's food and health security, according an audit issued Tuesday by State Auditor Rob Sand.

Federal money for the year ending last June 30 represented an overall increase of about 3.9 percent compared to fiscal 2018.

Changes in non-loan programs - including an increase of about $322 million in funding for Medicaid - accounted for most of the roughly $350 million year-over-year increase, according to Sand's report.

Overall, federal expenditures in Iowa included about $3.5 billion for Medicaid, $1.3 billion in capitalization grants for clean-water state revolving funds, $543 million for highway planning and construction, $490 million for capitalization grants for drinking water state revolving funds and $471 million for unemployment insurance.

Although the state administered about 600 federal programs last fiscal year, the five top programs accounted for 67 percent of the federal expenditures, Sand noted.

Other major categories included about $753 million for U.S. Agriculture Department programs, including $455.9 million for supplemental nutrition assistance and $163 million for school breakfast and lunch programs.

Almost $856 million went to U.S. Department of Education programs, including $544.5 million in student financial aid, $386.1 million for research and development and $130.4 million for a cluster of special education programs.

The auditor's 80-page report covered expenditure of federal funds by all state agencies, institutions and universities in Iowa and included a review of internal controls and compliance with federal laws and regulations.

In his findings, Sand reported seven internal control deficiencies at various state agencies.

The deficiencies cited include lack of policies and procedures to ensure various reports are reviewed, approved and submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor before the due date; to ensure all required information is included in awards to sub-recipients; to ensure all facilities are surveyed within the required interval; and to ensure policies pertaining to proper allocation of employee time are properly communicated.

The auditor said he provided the state agencies with recommendations to address each of the findings, noting that four of the seven findings were repeated from the previous year.

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