Government Contractors:
An Overview of the Federal Contracting-Out Program
T-GGD-95-131: Published: Mar 29, 1995. Publicly Released: Mar 29, 1995.
Additional Materials:
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GAO discussed federal contracting-out policies and programs. GAO noted that: (1) federal agencies spend about $108 billion annually on service contracts; (2) the Office of Management and Budget's Circular A-76 policy, which governs contracting-out decisions, is time-consuming, difficult to implement, and disruptive, and adversely affects federal employees' morale and productivity; (3) managers and operational workers, rather than trained management analysts, usually conduct the required A-76 cost studies, without adequate workload data and cost accounting systems; (4) displaced federal employees may not be able to obtain other federal employment under the current downsizing environment; (5) an inventory of both in-house and contracted activities, with good cost data, could provide a basis for establishing cost and performance benchmarks to evaluate the effectiveness of contracting-out decisions and could help to streamline the A-76 process; (6) congressionally imposed restrictions on the A-76 process and limited management flexibility hinder agencies from performing work in the most cost-effective manner; and (7) any revisions to the A-76 process should seek to preserve the benefits of fair competition while addressing the impediments to its effective implementation.
Jan 19, 2021
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Federal Rulemaking:
Selected EPA and HHS Regulatory Analyses Met Several Best Practices, but CMS Should Take Steps to Strengthen Its AnalysesGAO-21-151: Published: Dec 17, 2020. Publicly Released: Jan 19, 2021.
Jan 13, 2021
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Department of Energy Contracting:
Improvements Needed to Ensure DOE Assesses Its Full Range of Contracting Fraud RisksGAO-21-44: Published: Jan 13, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 13, 2021.
Dec 16, 2020
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Data Governance:
Agencies Made Progress in Establishing Governance, but Need to Address Key MilestonesGAO-21-152: Published: Dec 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 16, 2020.
Dec 9, 2020
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2020 Census:
The Bureau Concluded Field Work but Uncertainty about Data Quality, Accuracy, and Protection RemainsGAO-21-206R: Published: Dec 9, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 9, 2020.
Dec 3, 2020
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2020 Census:
Census Bureau Needs to Assess Data Quality Concerns Stemming from Recent Design ChangesGAO-21-142: Published: Dec 3, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 3, 2020. -
2020 Census:
Census Bureau Needs to Ensure Transparency over Data QualityGAO-21-262T: Published: Dec 3, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 3, 2020.
Nov 30, 2020
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Federal Buying Power:
OMB Can Further Advance Category Management Initiative by Focusing on Requirements, Data, and TrainingGAO-21-40: Published: Nov 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 30, 2020.
Nov 24, 2020
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Disaster Response:
Agencies Should Assess Contracting Workforce Needs and Purchase Card Fraud RiskGAO-21-42: Published: Nov 24, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 24, 2020.
Nov 23, 2020
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Federal Contracting:
Actions Needed to Improve Department of Labor's Enforcement of Service Worker Wage ProtectionsGAO-21-11: Published: Oct 29, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 23, 2020.
Nov 18, 2020
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Federal Telework:
Key Practices That Can Help Ensure the Success of Telework ProgramsGAO-21-238T: Published: Nov 18, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 18, 2020.
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