The Federal Procurement Data System Could Be an Effective Tool for Congressional Surveillance

The effectiveness of the Federal Procurement Data Center was examined. The extent of completion and acccuracy in the Center's procurement data reporting system varies for the different agencies involved. Fifty-six agencies are required to report, 36 have reported in a satisfactory manner. However, 20 agencies have not reported, reported in part, or submitted reports not in accordance with prescribed instructions. The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) plans to issue another letter to the various activities on the need for reporting the required data. Center personnel believe that the 1979 reports should be considered as test reports. However, once fully operational and debugged, the system will still have limitations.