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Contract Management: Improving Services Acquisitions

I am pleased to be here today to assist the Subcommittee in its consideration of proposals to improve the government's acquisition of services. Work performed by the General Accounting Office (GAO) continues to show that improvements are needed in a number of areas related to how the government buys services. We fully support the efforts of the Subcommittee in addressing this issue. Federal agencies spend billions of tax dollars each year to buy services, ranging from clerical support and consulting services, to information technology services, to the management and operation of government facilities, such as national laboratories. And the amount spent on services is growing substantially. Last year alone, the federal government acquired more than $87 billion in services-a 24-percent increase in real terms from fiscal year 1990. As we testified before you in May, Mr. Chairman agency procurements of services often are not being conducted as efficiently as they could be. We have found that too frequently agencies are not clearly defining their requirements, fully considering alternative solutions, performing vigorous price analyses, or adequately overseeing contractor performance. Such problems clearly point to a need for more focused management attention.

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