True Competitive Souring: Expanding Competition in Federal Procurement to Reduce Government Expenditures
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Date
2019-12
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Abstract
Competitive sourcing of services for the federal government has been practiced for some time. Recently, however, several U.S. municipalities and foreign countries have experimented with a new model of competitive sourcing, which is enhanced by allowing government entities to bid on government contracts. This model, referred to as “true competitive sourcing” in this memo, has shown promising results, and a nonpartisan think tank estimates it could reduce government expenditures by up to $35 billion annually. At the same time, recent research on government contracting indicates the current procurement process is not functioning efficiently. True competitive sourcing is a policy option that could reform federal procurement practices while reducing federal spending. However, the political considerations surrounding this policy indicate it will be difficult to maintain in the long term.
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competitive, procurement, government, contracting