Small Business Contracting: Updated Guidance and Reporting Needed for Consolidated Contracts.

摘要

Federal agencies sometimes can achieve savings by consolidating requirements from separate, smaller contracts into fewer, larger contracts. However, consolidation may negatively impact small businesses. Generally, when consolidation makes a contract unsuitable for small businesses, the contract is considered bundled, which is a subset of consolidation. Agencies must justify their actions for both consolidated and bundled requirements. Recent National Defense Authorization Acts and a related committee report mandated that GAO review federal agency use of consolidated contracts. According to federal procurement data, DOD and GSA accounted for the vast majority of all contracts reported as consolidated in fiscal years 2011 and 2012. This report examines the extent to which (1) DOD and GSA have consolidated contracts; (2) DOD and GSA justifications complied with relevant laws and regulations; (3) DOD, GSA, and SBA addressed small business impacts as required; and (4) SBA collected and reported information on bundled contracts. GAO identified relevant laws and regulations; analyzed federal procurement data from fiscal years 2011 and 2012; reviewed consolidated, bundled, and other contracts; and interviewed DOD, GSA, and SBA officials.