Mandate on the Department of Defense's Contract Award Procedures for Directed Spending Items
GAO-09-113R: Published: Nov 19, 2008. Publicly Released: Nov 19, 2008.
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Section 830 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 directed GAO to compare procedures used for awarding noncompetitive defense contracts for new projects pursuant to (1) congressionally directed spending items or congressional earmarks and (2) the special interests of senior executive branch officials.
As communicated with congressional staff in July and August 2008, despite our diligent efforts in exploring various approaches, we have concluded that it is not feasible for us to address the mandate as written. First, we have not found a methodologically sound approach for systematically identifying "new projects of special interest to senior executive branch officials." Second, we were unable to apply the definitions of "congressionally directed spending items" and "congressional earmarks" recently incorporated in Senate and House Rules, respectively, because of data availability and timing issues. Finally, with these underlying constraints, the comparison of procedures called for in the mandate was not possible. The following sections summarize the approaches we explored and the reasons they were not feasible.
Jun 21, 2018
The Nation's Fiscal Health:
Action Is Needed to Address the Federal Government's Fiscal FutureGAO-18-299SP: Published: Jun 21, 2018. Publicly Released: Jun 21, 2018.
Apr 3, 2018
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Defense Budget:
Actions Needed to Improve the Management of Foreign Currency FundsGAO-18-221: Published: Apr 3, 2018. Publicly Released: Apr 3, 2018.
Feb 6, 2018
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Budget Issues:
Continuing Resolutions and Other Budget Uncertainties Present Management ChallengesGAO-18-368T: Published: Feb 6, 2018. Publicly Released: Feb 6, 2018.
Oct 12, 2017
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Public Relations Spending:
Selected Agencies' Activities Supported by Contracts and Public Affairs StaffGAO-17-711: Published: Sep 12, 2017. Publicly Released: Oct 12, 2017.
Oct 2, 2017
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U.S. Territories:
Public Debt OutlookGAO-18-160: Published: Oct 2, 2017. Publicly Released: Oct 2, 2017.
Sep 20, 2017
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Budget Issues:
Budget Uncertainty and Disruptions Affect Timing of Agency SpendingGAO-17-807T: Published: Sep 20, 2017. Publicly Released: Sep 20, 2017.
May 3, 2017
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The Nation's Fiscal Health:
Action is Needed to Address the Federal Government's Fiscal FutureGAO-17-579T: Published: May 3, 2017. Publicly Released: May 3, 2017.
Jan 18, 2017
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Overseas Contingency Operations:
OMB and DOD Should Revise the Criteria for Determining Eligible Costs and Identify the Costs Likely to Endure Long TermGAO-17-68: Published: Jan 18, 2017. Publicly Released: Jan 18, 2017.
Jan 17, 2017
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The Nation's Fiscal Health:
Action is Needed to Address the Federal Government's Fiscal FutureGAO-17-237SP: Published: Jan 17, 2017. Publicly Released: Jan 17, 2017.
Jan 12, 2017
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Grants Management:
Selected Agencies Should Clarify Merit-Based Award Criteria and Provide Guidance for Reviewing Potentially Duplicative AwardsGAO-17-113: Published: Jan 12, 2017. Publicly Released: Jan 12, 2017.
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