States with high numbers of federal workers or contractors, large military presences or generous Medicaid programs for the needy could be the most vulnerable to any ill effects of Standard & Poor's recent downgrade of U.S. government debt.

Last week's action by S&P is expected to speed up congressional action to make deep spending cuts, including reductions to federal funding to states. It could affect those states the most.

National Conference of State Legislatures federal affairs counsel Michael Bird says the more a state is tied to federal funds or federal facilities, the more concerned the rating agencies will be.

Even so, it's unclear how the S&P action will impact the states.

Some states might be able to offset the reliance on federal funds with strong budget reserves.