Contract Dollars Shrank in 2010 Contract spending fell in 2010 for the first time in 13 years, according to the Office of Management and Budget. OMB said federal agencies spent $535 billion to purchase goods and services last year, compared to $550 billion in 2009. Dan Gordon, chief of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, said smarter buying accounts for some of the reduction. He said strategic sourcing, increased competition and improved contract management produced “progress that you can measure in dollars.” “A new sense of fiscal responsibility is taking hold,” OMB director Jack Lew wrote on his blog. “Agencies are thinking more carefully about what they buy and how they buy it. They are ending contracts they cannot afford or no longer need. "They are taking greater advantage of buying strategies that are more appropriate for the world’s largest purchaser – pooling their buying power to negotiate better prices and deeper discounts. And, after years of inattention, they are rebuilding the capacity and capability of the acquisition workforce to achieve and sustain better acquisition outcomes and improved government performance."