The fourth-quarter federal buying rush is nearly here - are you prepared?

      Starting July 1, with just three months left in the federal fiscal year, federal agencies will be scrambling to spend about 60% of their procurement dollars for the year.

      Federal agencies reported $187 billion in contract spending as of June 9, according to USASpending.gov. That is roughly about 40% of what is anticipated for the fiscal year, even though the fiscal year is nearly 70% over.

      That means agencies will have just over three months to spend the remainder by Sept. 30.

      The Defense Department reported $96 billion spent as of June 9; the actual total of obligations is likely higher because there is a three-month lag in reporting.