In the United States, as in other federal countries, subsidies from the national government play a very important role. Yet the power of the national government to grant subsidies was the subject of one of the great constitutional debates of the 19th century. The issue was finally resolved by the Supreme Court at the time of the New Deal. This is the interpretation of the spending clause of Article I: "The Congress shall have power to impose and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts, and to provide for the common defense and security of general well-being of the United States... Grants exist in many areas – basic education, local policing, public health, etc. – previously considered to belong to the States. And grants come with conditions that dictate the actions, and often even the organization, of the beneficiaries. American phenomenon: a “subsidy law”; federal courts monitor grantee practices. Federal subsidies are therefore proving to be a powerful centralized instrument of national government, as many feared. backlash against a powerful national government and states increasingly complain about control or tutelage by the national government.