Government Spending — US federal contracts, grants & budgets

Tools / Government Spending

Search Awards

Search federal contracts, grants, and loans by keyword, agency, recipient, state, or date range. Returns award details including amounts, recipients, agencies, and descriptions.

Returns: Federal award records with recipient, amount, agency, dates, and description

Parameters

keywordsarraySearch terms to match against award descriptions (e.g. ["cybersecurity", "AI"])

agencystringFilter by awarding agency name (e.g. "Department of Defense", "Department of Energy")

recipientstringFilter by recipient/contractor name (e.g. "Lockheed Martin", "Deloitte")

award_typestringType of federal award to search

start_datestringStart date in YYYY-MM-DD format

end_datestringEnd date in YYYY-MM-DD format

statestringTwo-letter US state code to filter by place of performance (e.g. "CA", "TX", "VA")

limitnumberNumber of results to return (max 50)

sort_bystringSort results by award amount or start date

Example

Search cybersecurity contracts

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOOLROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
  "tool": "government-spending",
  "skill": "search_awards",
  "input": {
    "keywords": [
      "cybersecurity"
    ],
    "award_type": "contracts"
  }
}' \
  https://api.toolrouter.com/v1/tools/call

List Agencies

List all US federal agencies with their budget authority, obligated amounts, and outlays. Useful for identifying the biggest spenders and comparing agency budgets.

Returns: All federal agencies with budget authority, obligations, and outlay amounts

Parameters

sort_bystringSort agencies by name, budget authority, or obligated spending

Example

All agencies sorted by budget

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOOLROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
  "tool": "government-spending",
  "skill": "list_agencies",
  "input": {}
}' \
  https://api.toolrouter.com/v1/tools/call

Spending by Geography

Break down federal spending by state, county, or congressional district. Shows total amounts, population, and per-capita spending for each region.

Returns: Federal spending by geographic region with amounts, population, and per-capita figures

Parameters

award_typestringType of federal award to include

start_datestringStart date in YYYY-MM-DD format (default: start of current fiscal year)

end_datestringEnd date in YYYY-MM-DD format (default: end of current fiscal year)

geo_levelstringGeographic granularity: state, county, or congressional district

Example

Contract spending by state

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOOLROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
  "tool": "government-spending",
  "skill": "spending_by_geography",
  "input": {
    "award_type": "contracts",
    "geo_level": "state"
  }
}' \
  https://api.toolrouter.com/v1/tools/call

Spending Over Time

Track federal spending trends over time by month, quarter, or fiscal year. Shows how spending changes across periods for any award type.

Returns: Federal spending amounts aggregated by time period with totals

Parameters

award_typestringType of federal award to track

start_datestringStart date in YYYY-MM-DD format (default: start of current fiscal year)

end_datestringEnd date in YYYY-MM-DD format (default: end of current fiscal year)

group_bystringTime granularity for aggregation

Example

Monthly contract spending this fiscal year

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOOLROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
  "tool": "government-spending",
  "skill": "spending_over_time",
  "input": {
    "award_type": "contracts",
    "group_by": "month"
  }
}' \
  https://api.toolrouter.com/v1/tools/call

Quick Start

MCP (Claude Code)

claude mcp add --transport stdio \
  --env TOOLROUTER_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY \
  toolrouter -- npx -y toolrouter-mcp

REST API

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOOLROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"tool":"government-spending","skill":"search_awards","input":{}}' \
  https://api.toolrouter.com/v1/tools/call

Frequently Asked Questions

What kinds of federal spending can I search?

The tool covers US federal contracts, grants, and loans. You can search across all award types or narrow the query to just one category depending on the question you are answering.

How do I find awards for a specific agency, recipient, or state?

Use `search_awards` with agency names, recipient names, keywords, dates, and optional state filters. It is the best starting point when you already know what spending pattern you want to inspect.

Can it show where money is going and how it changes over time?

Yes. `spending_by_geography` breaks spending down by state, county, or district, while `spending_over_time` shows monthly, quarterly, or fiscal-year trends.

What happens if I do not pass a date range?

The tool defaults to the current federal fiscal year. That keeps exploratory queries useful without forcing you to enter dates for every lookup.