Report shows Nevada’s heavy reliance on federal funds — and susceptibility to cuts
The following excerpt is from an article originally published in the The Nevada Independent, Report shows Nevada’s heavy reliance on federal funds — and susceptibility to cuts.
Federal funding cuts and pauses under President Donald Trump’s administration have dominated recent news cycles and led to the terminations of more than four dozen state health workers, funding uncertainty for local tribes and 1.3 million pounds in canceled food bank deliveries.
But just how much does Nevada rely on dollars from Washington?
A new report released Monday by the nonpartisan Nevada research organization Guinn Center for Policy Priorities found that from 2023 to 2025, federal funding made up about 27.7 percent of the state budget — $14.8 billion out of $53.4 billion, a little lower than the average 31 percent share of states’ revenues that came from federal dollars in the two decades leading up to 2020. The finding underscores how decisions made outside of Nevada can dramatically alter the availability of services in Nevada.
That figure represents programs administered by the state and does not include services provided entirely by the federal government — such as Social Security, Medicare or the maintenance of public lands — or federal funds that go directly to counties, municipalities and other local entities.
The authors said the report aims to inform the public and lawmakers about Nevada's breakdown of funding sources, but did not weigh in on how possible cuts at the federal level could affect the state.
The report did note that federal funding cuts “present a key challenge,” though the effects of eliminating federal funds “may vary” by program.
Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) told The Nevada Independent that state lawmakers are worried about the effects federal cuts will have in Nevada.
“These cuts are being instituted to fund tax cuts for wealthy people,” Yeager said. “This is not a pandemic out of our control, this is not a worldwide economic event. These are intentional decisions being made at the federal level that are hurting Nevada. It’s why I’m not sleeping well at night.”
Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas) said that if President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans follow through on plans to make significant cuts to Medicaid, education funding, or other programs, it’ll likely force the governor to call the Legislature into a special session later this year and present a plan to cut the state budget.
“That's the hard reality, which is why we've been so adamant that Nevada Republicans should join us in speaking out against what the administration and Congress are doing,” she said.