Pursuit's Take
Federal agencies spent over $430 billion on contracts for goods and services in 2015—almost 40 percent of all discretionary spending. To strengthen contracting practices and increase oversight of government spending, GAO analyzed contract data and identified overall trends in spending, competition, and contract type.
From 2011 to 2015, GAO found that spending at defense agencies decreased by almost 32 percent, while spending at civilian agencies remained fairly steady. GAO also found that contracts awarded through competition stayed steady at about 64 percent, and the use of fixed price contracts stayed steady at over 63 percent.
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