Kansas v. United States
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
214 F.3d 1196 (2000)
Congress amended the federal welfare law (PRWORA) to require states to meet certain federal child-support-enforcement (IV-D) standards before receiving TANF block grants used to fund aid to needy families. Kansas (plaintiff) sued the United States (defendant), arguing the IV-D requirements were too costly and labor-intensive to implement and improperly intruded on the state's ability to set its own laws. The district court dismissed Kansas's complaint for failure to state a claim, and Kansas appealed.
Whether a federal law conditioning a state's receipt of federal funds is constitutional under the Spending Clause when the conditions further the general welfare, are unambiguous, relate to a federal interest, and bear a rational relationship to the purpose of the spending.