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A small number of states dominate defense spending

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A huge portion of U.S. defense spending is going to contractors and military personnel based in just a handful of states, according to data recently released by the Pentagon.

Defense Department contract obligations and payroll spending in the 50 states and the District of Columbia totaled $550.9 billion in fiscal year 2019.  Of those outlays, 73 percent was spent on contracts for products and services, while the remaining 27 percent paid the salaries of department personnel, according to the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation’s latest report on defense spending by state.

“California, Virginia and Texas topped the list of recipients for overall defense spending,” said a press release accompanying the study.  They received $181.3 billion, about one-third of the total allotted to all 50 states plus D.C.

The top five, which also included Florida and Maryland, received about 43 percent of the total, while the top 10 received approximately 59 percent, according to the data.

Continue reading at:  National Defense Magazine

Podcast: 2020 will be a busy year for federal procurement

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Fiscal year 2020, which coincides with calendar year 2020, started off busy on the federal contracting front.  Dan Snyder, the director of government contracts at Bloomberg Government, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for a look ahead.

Listen to the podcast at:  Federal News Network

The five trends likely to shape federal contracting in 2020

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Government contracting trends that defined fiscal 2019, such as increases in “as a service” and IT consolidation, are likely to continue into FY20.  But several new programs and initiatives are likely to shape the contracting landscape in FY20.

A new report from contract analysts at Bloomberg Government released Jan. 7 broke down these areas likely to mold government contracting trends in 2020:

Best-in-class: IT consolidation

Federal agencies using best-in-class (BIC) contracts, designated by the Office of Management and Budget as a preferred solution, grew to nearly 40 programs in FY19, the BGOV analysis found.  That accounted for $40 billion in spending.

As contracting moves in 2020, BGOV expects that spending on BIC contracts will rise, particularly on IT contracts.

“Federal agencies are facing pressure from the White House Office of Management and Budget to shift IT investments from stand-alone contracts to designated BICs as part of its category management strategy,” the analysts wrote.

Continue reading at:  Federal Times

Federal contract spending grew 9% in 2018

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Federal contract spending in fiscal 2018 increased for the third straight year to $559 billion, a 9% increase over 2017 spending and the highest level since 2010, when agencies spent $562 billion.

The data, compiled by Bloomberg Government, include prime and unclassified contract spending.  Bloomberg released the findings in the eighth annual BGOV200 report, which ranks the top 200 federal contractors.  The report analyzes market trends, contrators’ performance and other dynamics among the 24 largest federal agencies in 27 purchasing categories during the prior fiscal year.

Among the departments with the biggest gains in contract spending in fiscal 2018 were: Defense, Energy, Homeland Security and Transportation.  Some of the top markets were weapons, professional services, aircraft parts and technology.

The top six companies’ rankings didn’t change from fiscal 2017.  They are: Lockheed Martin Corp, Boeing Co., General Dynamics Corp., Raytheon Co., Northrop Grumman Corp. and McKesson Corp.  Previously ranked 20th in 2017, United Technologies Corp. is seventh in 2018.  All but one of the companies in the top 10 are in the defense industry.

Continue reading at:  Government Executive

Federal Government spent nearly $560 billion on contracts in 2018

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Pentagon spending on federal contracts soared in fiscal year 2018, accounting for about $373 billion of $559 billion in overall contracting spend from federal agencies, according to Bloomberg Government’s 8th annual top 200 contractors report.

The spending by the Pentagon is a $40.5 billion increase from the previous fiscal year and over $90 billion rise since FY2015. Total government spending increased 9 percent from the previous fiscal year, from $512 billion in FY2017.

The $559 billion in FY2018 spending is the most since FY2010, when the government spent $562 billion.

Continue reading at:  Federal Times

The government’s historic spending spree continues

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Driven largely by the Defense Department, the federal government’s discretionary spending spiked to a seven-year high in fiscal 2018, with agencies obligating more than $554 billion for products and services, up $100 billion from 2015.

According to official spending data from the Government Accountability Office, the Defense Department accounted for $358 billion in contract obligations while civilian agencies, like the Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security departments, obligated $195 billion.

The government closed the 2018 fiscal year on a massive spending spree—due in part to funding increases after a delayed budget agreement—and early fiscal 2019 spending data indicates the government isn’t slowing down its contract spending.

Spending data tabulated by the Professional Services Council illustrates the spending uptick.

Continue reading at:  Nextgov

GAO infographic shows how the federal government spent money in 2018

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With tax season over, now is a good time to look at how the government uses your tax dollars.

About 40% of the government’s discretionary spending goes to contracts for goods and services covering everything from health care to hand grenades.  In fiscal year 2018, the federal government spent more than $550 billion on these contracts, an increase of more $100 billion from 2015.  This increase is largely driven by spending on national defense.

GAO has recently published an infographic that shows more details on how federal contracting dollars are spent across the federal government—including which agencies obligated the most funds, what they bought, and whether the contracts were competed.

Continue reading at the:  GAO Watch Blog

Agencies spent record $64.7 billion on IT contracts in 2018

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Federal agencies spent a record $64.7 billion on IT contracts in fiscal 2018, according to research released last week by Bloomberg Government.

The nearly $65 billion spent represents a 9.5 percent increase over fiscal 2017 levels, and includes higher levels of spending in cybersecurity ($6.4 billion), cloud computing ($4.1 billion) and almost a doubling of other transaction authority spending, to $4.2 billion from $2.3 billion.

IT spending jumped in both civilian and defense agencies. Across the Defense Department, IT contract spending grew by about 12 percent to $33.8 billion — the highest nominal spending figure ever for the Defense Department, and highest adjusted for inflation IT contract spending since 2012.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2019/01/agencies-spent-record-647b-it-contracts-2018/154510/

String of infrastructure investments underway hints at big 2019

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Infrastructure work may be heating up again with whisperings of President Donald Trump’s administration reinitiating the $1 trillion infrastructure plan promised during his 2016 presidential campaign. The administration claims to be willing to increase the federal share of the infrastructure program significantly from the 20% referenced in previous iterations — a move that may draw Democrats back into negotiations.

Whether federal legislation will come to fruition or not in 2019, investments nonetheless are being made in the space. A December Wall Street Journal analysis of state and local revenue collection and spending found that public agencies are increasing their infrastructure investments and making headway on long-delayed projects. Much of that money is tax revenue stemming from increased consumer spending.

Although it’s hard to predict what 2019 may bring, Construction Dive has rounded up some of the biggest infrastructure initiatives already underway across North America as the year begins.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.constructiondive.com/news/string-of-infrastructure-investments-underway-hints-at-big-2019/545131/

State, local governments using higher revenues to increase infrastructure spending

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According to a Wall Street Journal analysis of state and local revenue collection and spending, public agencies are increasing their infrastructure investments and making a dent in projects that have been on back burners for many years.

A strong economy has resulted in an increase in consumer spending, and all that new tax revenue is helping to drive not only infrastructure spending but municipal borrowing as well. In fact, according to October 2018 data, the latest available from the Commerce Department, total state and local construction spending — based on a seasonal adjusted annual rate — was up 9.7% from October 2017 to more than $288 billion. Commercial construction was up the most year over year at 62%, followed by amusement and recreation (30%), water supply (22%), public safety (18%) and transportation infrastructure (15%). Tax revenue, adjusted for inflation, grew by 6% in the second quarter of 2018 from the second quarter of 2017, according to a Tax Policy Center report.

Year-to-date state and local government borrowing through October 2018 was up 19% from the same period in 2017, driven in part by a desire to take advantage of current interest rates in case they continue to increase. The pipeline of publicly funded construction projects, including those much-needed upgrades and repairs that have been shelved due to a previous lack of money, according to the newspaper, could make up for potential industry slowdowns.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.constructiondive.com/news/state-local-governments-using-higher-revenues-to-increase-infrastructure-s/544741/

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