Beef Procured for Commissaries; Small Businesses Received Significant Share ofOrders for Commisssary Resale

摘要

The way the Department of Defense (DOD) buys beef for its U.S. commissaries hasbeen reviewed. Concern has been expressed that under DOD's current system small businesses in the meat industry may not be receiving a fair share of contract awards. A small business is defined as an independently owned and operated concern that is not dominant in the field of operation in which it is bidding on government contracts and which meets criteria and size standards set by the Small Business Administration. The specific objectives of this review were to obtain information on (1) the value of beef procured under the two primary methods DOD uses to buy beef for its commissaries and the percentage of contracts going to small businesses, (2) the practicability of comparing the price and quality of beef purchased under each method, (3) the views of military service officials responsible fo r overall management of the commissaries regarding the acquisition method they use, and (4) recent developments that may affect future procurement methods.