According to the CRS report, there is a shortage of
reliable and useful information on competitive sourcing.
Currently, the fiscal 2004 omnibus appropriations act
requires federal agencies to put together annual reports
for Congress on their competitive sourcing activities,
including the cost of competitions and savings generated
through them.
The Office of Management and Budget reported this year
that 217 competitions completed in fiscal 2004 could
save $1.4 billion over the next three to five years,
either through cost avoidance or net savings — and that
they cost $74 million in out of pocket expenses to
perform, in addition to $36 million in “central
direction and oversight.”
The National Treasury Employees Union objected to OMB’s
figures, saying they do not provide Congress with an
accurate picture, and argued that OMB’s guidance for
compiling these reports “do not allow for contracting
out costs to be accurately defined by federal agencies.”
The union said the cover letter accompanying the OMB
guidance only instructs agencies to report on successful
competitions, keeping Congress in the dark about failed
outsourcing efforts. Additionally, said NTEU, “none
of the costs associated with government-mandated work
done prior to announcing a competition are in OMB’s
report to Congress, and this work can take up to six
months.”
