FAS

How DoD Spends Its Contracting Dollars, and More from CRS

05.06.15 | 1 min read | Text by Steven Aftergood

The Department of Defense spends more money on contractors than all other federal agencies combined, a new report from the Congressional Research Service explains.

“This report examines (1) how much money DOD obligates on contracts, (2) what DOD is buying, and (3) where that money is being spent.” See Defense Acquisitions: How and Where DOD Spends Its Contracting Dollars, April 30, 2015.

Relatedly, a provision in the pending FY2016 defense authorization bill would require the Government Accountability Office to “carry out a comprehensive review of the processes and procedures for the integration of intelligence into the Department of Defense acquisition process.” (HR 1735, section 1630).

Other noteworthy new reports from CRS that Congress has withheld from regular public disclosure include the following.

Corporate Tax Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS): An Examination of the Data, April 30, 2015

Tax Expenditures: Overview and Analysis, April 30, 2015

An Introduction to Health Insurance: What Should a Consumer Know?, April 30, 2015

International Investment Agreements (IIAs): Frequently Asked Questions, April 30, 2015

International Air Service Controversies: Frequently Asked Questions, May 4, 2015

Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S. Relations, April 29, 2015

What’s the Difference? — Comparing U.S. and Chinese Trade Data, May 4, 2015

Major U.S. Arms Sales and Grants to Pakistan Since 2001, May 4, 2015

publications
See all publications
Government Capacity
Blog
Everything You Need to Know (and Ask!) About OPM’s New Schedule Policy/Career Role: Oversight Resource for OPM’s Schedule Policy/Career Rule

This rule gives agencies significantly more authority over certain career policy roles. Whether that authority improves accountability or creates new risks depends almost entirely on how agencies interrupt and apply it. 

02.13.26 | 8 min read
read more
Government Capacity
Policy Memo
Report
Rebuilding Environmental Governance: Understanding the Foundations

Our environmental system was built for 1970s-era pollution control, but today it needs stable, integrated, multi-level governance that can make tradeoffs, share and use evidence, and deliver infrastructure while demonstrating that improved trust and participation are essential to future progress.

02.12.26 | 26 min read
read more
Government Capacity
Policy Memo
Report
Costs Come First in a Reset Climate Agenda

Durable and legitimate climate action requires a government capable of clearly weighting, explaining, and managing cost tradeoffs to the widest away of audiences, which in turn requires strong technocratic competency.

02.12.26 | 41 min read
read more
Environment
Press release
FAS Launches New “Center for Regulatory Ingenuity” to Modernize American Governance, Drive Durable Climate Progress

FAS is launching the Center for Regulatory Ingenuity (CRI) to build a new, transpartisan vision of government that works – that has the capacity to achieve ambitious goals while adeptly responding to people’s basic needs.

02.12.26 | 4 min read
read more