# USA Spending Federal Data Scraper (`crawlerbros/usa-spending-federal-data`) Actor

Scrape USASpending.gov - the official open data source for US federal government spending. Search awards, find top recipients, and explore agency budgets for $6+ trillion in annual federal spending.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/crawlerbros/usa-spending-federal-data.md
- **Developed by:** [Crawler Bros](https://apify.com/crawlerbros) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Developer tools, Integrations
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md):

```bash
npm install apify-client
```

In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md):

```bash
pip install apify-client
```

In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md):

````bash
# MacOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash
# Windows
irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex
```bash

In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md).

If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).


# README

## USA Spending Federal Data Scraper

Extract US federal government spending data from [USASpending.gov](https://www.usaspending.gov) — the official transparency platform tracking $6+ trillion in annual federal contracts, grants, loans, and financial assistance.

### Features

- **Search Awards** — search federal contracts, grants, and loans by keyword, agency, and date range
- **Top Recipients** — find the biggest recipients of federal spending
- **Agency Spending** — explore all federal agencies ranked by budgetary resources

### Input

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `mode` | select | Operation mode (see below) |
| `searchQuery` | string | Keywords to search awards or recipients |
| `awardTypes` | select | Filter by award type (contracts, grants, loans, etc.) |
| `agency` | string | Awarding agency name filter |
| `startDate` | string | Start date filter (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| `endDate` | string | End date filter (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| `maxItems` | integer | Maximum records to return (1–500, default 50) |

#### Modes

| Mode | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `searchAwards` | Search federal awards by keyword, agency, and date range |
| `topRecipients` | Get top recipients of federal spending |
| `agencySpending` | List federal agencies ranked by budgetary resources |

#### Award Types

| Value | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `contracts` | BPA calls, purchase orders, delivery orders, definitive contracts |
| `grants` | Block grants, formula grants, project grants, cooperative agreements |
| `loans` | Direct loans, guaranteed/insured loans |
| `direct_payments` | Formula funded and unrestricted direct payments |
| `other_financial_assistance` | Insurance, reimbursable agreements |

### Output

Each award record contains:

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `awardId` | string | Unique identifier for the federal award |
| `recipientName` | string | Name of the award recipient |
| `awardAmount` | number | Total obligation in US dollars |
| `awardingAgencyName` | string | Name of the awarding federal agency |
| `awardType` | string | Type of award (contract, grant, etc.) |
| `startDate` | string | Award start date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| `endDate` | string | Award end date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| `description` | string | Description of the work or purpose |
| `scrapedAt` | string | ISO 8601 timestamp |

### Example Output

```json
{
  "awardId": "DESC0014664",
  "recipientName": "ACME CONSTRUCTION LLC",
  "awardAmount": 3061819994.03,
  "awardingAgencyName": "Department of Energy",
  "awardType": "Definitive Contract",
  "startDate": "2023-01-15",
  "endDate": "2025-12-31",
  "description": "Construction and infrastructure modernization services",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-06-03T10:00:00+00:00"
}
````

### Use Cases

- **Government transparency** — track where federal dollars are going
- **Business intelligence** — identify contracting opportunities by agency and keyword
- **Research & journalism** — analyze spending patterns across agencies and time periods
- **Policy analysis** — compare budget allocations across federal departments
- **Vendor research** — discover top recipients of government contracts in specific sectors

### Data Source

All data comes from the [USASpending.gov API](https://api.usaspending.gov/) — the official US government open data platform mandated by the DATA Act. The API is completely free and requires no API key or registration.

### FAQs

**Is an API key required?**
No. The USASpending.gov API is completely free and publicly accessible with no authentication required.

**How current is the data?**
USASpending.gov data is typically updated daily. Award data usually reflects transactions within 30 days of occurrence.

**What is the total amount of federal spending tracked?**
USASpending.gov tracks over $6 trillion in annual federal spending across all executive branch agencies.

**What does `searchAwards` search by default?**
When no `awardTypes` is specified, the actor searches contracts (the most common and reliably populated award type). To search grants, set `awardTypes` to `grants`.

**Can I search for education grants specifically?**
Yes — set `mode=searchAwards`, `searchQuery=education`, `awardTypes=grants` to find education grants.

**What date range should I use?**
Federal fiscal years run October 1 to September 30. For FY2024 data: `startDate=2023-10-01`, `endDate=2024-09-30`.

# Actor input Schema

## `mode` (type: `string`):

What type of spending data to fetch.

## `searchQuery` (type: `string`):

Keywords to search awards or recipients (e.g. 'construction', 'education', 'cybersecurity', 'NASA'). Used in modes: searchAwards, topRecipients.

## `awardTypes` (type: `string`):

Filter by award type. Enter one or more comma-separated values: contracts, grants, loans, direct\_payments. Leave blank for contracts (default). Used in searchAwards mode.

## `agency` (type: `string`):

Filter awards by awarding agency name (e.g. 'Department of Defense', 'Department of Education', 'NASA'). Used in searchAwards mode.

## `startDate` (type: `string`):

Filter awards with start date on or after this date. Format: YYYY-MM-DD (e.g. 2023-01-01).

## `endDate` (type: `string`):

Filter awards with end date on or before this date. Format: YYYY-MM-DD (e.g. 2024-12-31).

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of records to return (1-500). Default 50.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "searchAwards",
  "searchQuery": "education",
  "startDate": "2023-01-01",
  "endDate": "2024-12-31",
  "maxItems": 20
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `spendingData` (type: `string`):

Dataset containing all scraped federal spending records.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "mode": "searchAwards",
    "searchQuery": "education",
    "startDate": "2023-01-01",
    "endDate": "2024-12-31",
    "maxItems": 20
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("crawlerbros/usa-spending-federal-data").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "mode": "searchAwards",
    "searchQuery": "education",
    "startDate": "2023-01-01",
    "endDate": "2024-12-31",
    "maxItems": 20,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("crawlerbros/usa-spending-federal-data").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "mode": "searchAwards",
  "searchQuery": "education",
  "startDate": "2023-01-01",
  "endDate": "2024-12-31",
  "maxItems": 20
}' |
apify call crawlerbros/usa-spending-federal-data --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=crawlerbros/usa-spending-federal-data",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

```json
{
    "openapi": "3.0.1",
    "info": {
        "title": "USA Spending Federal Data Scraper",
        "description": "Scrape USASpending.gov - the official open data source for US federal government spending. Search awards, find top recipients, and explore agency budgets for $6+ trillion in annual federal spending.",
        "version": "1.0",
        "x-build-id": "OQz3vRrgdskcJPa7N"
    },
    "servers": [
        {
            "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
        }
    ],
    "paths": {
        "/acts/crawlerbros~usa-spending-federal-data/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-crawlerbros-usa-spending-federal-data",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/crawlerbros~usa-spending-federal-data/runs": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "runs-sync-crawlerbros-usa-spending-federal-data",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK",
                        "content": {
                            "application/json": {
                                "schema": {
                                    "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/crawlerbros~usa-spending-federal-data/run-sync": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-crawlerbros-usa-spending-federal-data",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    },
    "components": {
        "schemas": {
            "inputSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "mode": {
                        "title": "Mode",
                        "enum": [
                            "searchAwards",
                            "topRecipients",
                            "agencySpending"
                        ],
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "What type of spending data to fetch.",
                        "default": "searchAwards"
                    },
                    "searchQuery": {
                        "title": "Search Query (Keywords)",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Keywords to search awards or recipients (e.g. 'construction', 'education', 'cybersecurity', 'NASA'). Used in modes: searchAwards, topRecipients.",
                        "default": "construction"
                    },
                    "awardTypes": {
                        "title": "Award Types (comma-separated)",
                        "enum": [
                            "contracts",
                            "grants",
                            "loans",
                            "direct_payments",
                            "other_financial_assistance"
                        ],
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Filter by award type. Enter one or more comma-separated values: contracts, grants, loans, direct_payments. Leave blank for contracts (default). Used in searchAwards mode."
                    },
                    "agency": {
                        "title": "Awarding Agency Filter",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Filter awards by awarding agency name (e.g. 'Department of Defense', 'Department of Education', 'NASA'). Used in searchAwards mode."
                    },
                    "startDate": {
                        "title": "Start Date (YYYY-MM-DD)",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Filter awards with start date on or after this date. Format: YYYY-MM-DD (e.g. 2023-01-01)."
                    },
                    "endDate": {
                        "title": "End Date (YYYY-MM-DD)",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Filter awards with end date on or before this date. Format: YYYY-MM-DD (e.g. 2024-12-31)."
                    },
                    "maxItems": {
                        "title": "Max Items",
                        "minimum": 1,
                        "maximum": 500,
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "Maximum number of records to return (1-500). Default 50.",
                        "default": 50
                    }
                }
            },
            "runsResponseSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "data": {
                        "type": "object",
                        "properties": {
                            "id": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "actId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "userId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "startedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "finishedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "status": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "READY"
                            },
                            "meta": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "origin": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "API"
                                    },
                                    "userAgent": {
                                        "type": "string"
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "stats": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "inputBodyLen": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2000
                                    },
                                    "rebootCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "restartCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "resurrectCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "computeUnits": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "options": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "build": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "latest"
                                    },
                                    "timeoutSecs": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 300
                                    },
                                    "memoryMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1024
                                    },
                                    "diskMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2048
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "buildId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultKeyValueStoreId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultDatasetId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultRequestQueueId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "buildNumber": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "1.0.0"
                            },
                            "containerUrl": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "usage": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "usageTotalUsd": {
                                "type": "number",
                                "example": 0.00005
                            },
                            "usageUsd": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "number",
                                        "example": 0.00005
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```