Defense contracting declined by 31% over five years

Federal agencies procured $438 billion in fiscal 2015, which was nearly 25% less than in fiscal 2011, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.

Most of the drop was at the Defense Dept., where procurement fell by 31%, while civilian obligations fell only 7%, during the period.

About 80% of the civilian spending was on services during the five-year period.

Governmentwide, obligations under competitive contracts made up about 66% of all such obligations each year.

DOD’s competition rate fell from 58% to 55% during the five years. In fiscal 2015, the Army’s competition rate was 59%, Navy 44%, and Air Force 39%.

More information: GAO Report: http://www.goo.gl/Qj3jBN

180 days to identify cuts

President Trump signed an executive order on March 13 requesting that federal agency directors identify “unnecessary or redundant” programs or subagencies within 180 days. Those programs would be targeted for elimination or reorganization.

The goal is to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and accountability of the agencies, and to recommend whether a function would be more appropriate for state or local governments or the private sector.

More information: Executive Order: http://goo.gl/NF4gOz

GSA Schedules refresh

The General Services Administration is planning to update all GSA Multiple-Award Schedules in April to reflect new policy changes and updates.

The updates include small business subcontracting improvements and changes to Non-Federal Entity access to Schedules, including under the Disaster Purchasing Program.

GSA will host a public webinar on March 22 to provide vendors with more information.

More information: To register:https://meet.gsa.gov/e4et0bzib7a/event/event_info.html

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