An Examination of Year-End Spending with Regard to Department of Defense Contract Awards.
Abstract
Investigations conducted by Congress and the General Accounting Office have indicated that a number of Federal agencies, including the Department of Defense (DOD), engage in a year-end spending practice which potentially wastes billions of tax dollars annually. This practice is commonly known as year-end spending surge. The objective of this research was to analyze DOD contract award data to determine the magnitude of any year-end spending surge and to identify the types of procurement activities and the types of commodities involved in the surge. Data pertaining to DOD and Air Force (USAF) contract awards to U.S. business were analyzed for fiscal years 1977 through 1980. The authors concluded that the DOD and the USAF experienced a year-end spending surge. Further, each type of procurement activity examined had a unique award pattern, and not all activities experienced year-end surge. For the USAF, the magnitude of surge of base procurement was the major influence on the magnitude of the USAF surge. The study also includes information concerning the possible influence of appropriations and supplemental appropriations on the DOD year-end surge. Additionally, an examination of DOD award patterns from fiscal years 1952 through 1976 is presented in an appendix. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1981
- Accession Number
- ADA107033
Entities
People
- James M. Farrell
- Paul K. Spendley
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology