The spending categories in the Consolidated Federal Funds Report (CFFR) compiled by the Census Bureau are as follows:

Direct payments data for the federal government are separated into two object categories: direct payments for retirement and disability benefits and all other direct payments. Retirement and disability programs include federal employee retirement and disability benefits, Social Security payments of all types, selected Veterans Administration programs, and selected other federal programs.

Grants data include ‘‘Formula Grants” allocations of money to states or their subdivisions in accordance with a distribution formula prescribed by law or administrative regulation, for activities of a continuing nature not confined to a specific program. Also included are ‘‘Project Grants’’, the funding, for fixed or known periods, of specific projects or the delivery of specific services or products without liability for damages for failure to perform. Project grants include fellowships, scholarships, research grants, training grants, traineeships, experimental and demonstration grants, evaluation grants, planning grants, technical assistance grants, survey grants, construction grants, and unsolicited contractual agreements.’’

Procurement covers federal government procurement contracts; data include contractual actions for construction, purchases of equipment, and other purchases of tangible items by the federal government. Also included are data on contractual actions for services often not generally associated with procurement, such as the purchase of utilities, building leases, and other services entered into via contractual agreement.

Salaries and Wages amounts reported include salaries and wages are from five sources: the Department of Defense, the Postal Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Coast Guard (previously within Department of Transportation and now a part of the Department of Homeland Security), and the Office of Personnel Management. This covers salaries and wages, housing allowances, and in general all other personnel compensation, except retired military pay. Coverage includes all other federal civilian employees (excluding the Central Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency) employed in the United States and the outlying areas. The data include: Basic annual salaries, premium pay (overtime, night differential, cost of living allowances, station allowances, holiday pay, and any retroactive pay.

More detailed definitions can be found at http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/cffr-04.pdf