The federal gov't does a damn poor job of getting involved with just about everything. Where you find the fed gov't spending money locally you will find nothing but waste and foolishness. Why, you may ask... Well the answer should be obvious.
If the goal is to put a fire out in Texas, who is better suited to handle that? A lawyer in Washington, or the guy with the hose in Texas?
If the goal is to raise reading scores in Arizona ---- Again, it should be obvious already. The teacher in Arizona is MUCH more likely to solve the problems of education in Arizona than some Washington beaurocrat who has never even visited the school system in person. The guys in Washinton are just looking to "deliver" in order to "receive" votes.
If you want to make Washington dollars work for Americans the first thing you need to do is decrease the size of the fed gov't. Let local gov't identify needs and solutions based on their SPECIFIC requirements.
Considering the fires in Texas burned for 9 months; it may be time to give the guy in Washington a crack at it.