Federal Spending Report — 2026-03-26

Federal Spending Brief: March 26, 2026

The federal government issued $142,000 in grants across seven awards on March 26, 2026, distributed between two agencies and two contractors. The single-day allocation was concentrated heavily in the Midwest, with Michigan capturing more than 61 percent of total spending.

The University of Michigan's Regents claimed the largest award, securing a $75,000 grant from the Department of Health and Human Services—more than half of the day's total obligated funds. The remaining six awards, each ranging from $10,000 to $13,000, went to redacted recipients across the country, suggesting a mix of smaller institutions or entities subject to privacy protections.

The Department of Agriculture dominated the day's activity by volume, issuing six grants totaling $68,000, compared to the HHS's single $75,000 award. Agriculture's grants were distributed across Pennsylvania ($13,000), Michigan ($13,000), Wisconsin ($11,000), South Carolina ($11,000), and Florida ($10,000), reflecting a geographically diverse funding strategy.

Michigan emerged as the primary beneficiary of the day's spending, receiving $87,000 across two awards—the HHS grant to University of Michigan and one of the redacted Agriculture grants. The remaining four states each received single awards in the $10,000 to $13,000 range, suggesting either pilot programs or routine grant distributions across different regions.

All seven awards issued on this date were grants, indicating project-based or research-focused spending rather than contract procurement. The small number of unique contractors—just two entities—combined with significant redactions suggests the awards may have included educational institutions, nonprofits, or other entities subject to personally identifiable information protections under federal guidelines.