Defense Contracts: Recent Legislation and DOD Actions Related to Commercial Item Acquisitions

Abstract

DOD purchases commercial items - generally defined as products and services readily available in the commercial marketplace - to meet many of its requirements. Relying on the commercial marketplace, when appropriate, enables DOD to take advantage of market innovations and reduce acquisition costs. Since 2013, Congress has enacted changes in the way DOD is to purchase commercial items. GAO was asked to review the acquisition of commercial items by DOD. This report describes (1) what federal procurement data indicate about trends in DOD's acquisition of commercial items; and (2) recent legislative changes in the National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAAs) from fiscal years 2013 to 2017 related to the procurement of commercial items and DOD's actions in response to this legislation. To obtain a longer term view, GAO analyzed data from FPDS-NG - the governments procurement database - for contracts awarded from fiscal years 2007 through 2016, reviewed applicable legislation and regulations, and interviewed DOD officials.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 2017
Accession Number
AD1166592

Entities

People

  • William T. Woods

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accountability
  • Acquisition
  • Business Administration
  • Congress
  • Contractors
  • Contracts
  • Department Of Defense
  • Fixed Price Contracts
  • Governments
  • House Of Representatives
  • Law
  • Market Research
  • Military Acquisition
  • Military Standards
  • National Security
  • Procurement
  • Standards
  • Training
  • United States Government

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Economics
  • Public Financial Management and Budgeting