	Introduction

Increasingly, the federal government uses technology to facilitate and support the federal procurement (or acquisition) process. Primary beneficiaries of this shift to online procurement systems (i.e., websites and databases) are the government's acquisition workforce and prospective and incumbent government contractors. The government's reliance on web-based systems is not surprising for yet another reason: the magnitude of government procurement. Congressional interest in the executive branch's procurement systems (and, more broadly, government procurement) is fueled by a combination of its responsibilities. While congressional oversight of government procurement includes overseeing web-based acquisition systems, these systems also serve as resources for congressional oversight efforts as well as legislative activities. The next section of the report then examines several issues and topics, including data quality, the System for Award Management (SAM), and the posting of contracts online. Major web-based, executive branch procurement systems are the focus of this report. To aid in ensuring that the government does business only with responsible contractors, agency personnel also use SAM to determine whether a contractor is presently suspended or debarred, and query the Federal Awardee Performance Information and Integrity System (FAPIIS). FFATA mandated the development of a user-friendly system comprising a variety of government spending data, including procurement data. Table 1 contains information regarding 11 web-based acquisition systems and a related Department of Labor system. Three websites—Central Contractor Registration (CCR, which includes Federal Agency Registration (FedReg)), Excluded Parties List System (EPLS), and Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA)—migrated to SAM in July 2012. Selected Topics

		Quality of Procurement Data

Over the years, questions have been raised regarding the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of the contract award data available from FPDS and its successor, FPDS-NG. The latest guidance, which was issued by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) in 2011, complements and expands upon FAR 4.604. OFPP's 2011 memorandum provides instructions, sampling methodologies, and templates for agencies to use in calculating and reporting the accuracy and completeness of data submitted to FPDS-NG. Governmentwide, the four-year average (FY2008-FY2011) for completeness was 98.3% and for sample accuracy 94.0%. OFPP also stated in its memorandum that, in conjunction with GSA, it would carry out the following activities as part of its "sustained efforts to improve procurement data quality throughout the year":
"continue the interagency working group on data quality, focusing on emerging issues, challenges, solutions, guidance, and process improvements;" "revitalize the [online] community of practice ... to collect tools and agency best practices for improving data quality and host focused discussions on key issues; and" "collaborate with the Federal Acquisition Institute and the Defense Acquisition University to review and improve related workforce training and development and to develop a better understanding of how procurement data are used throughout the acquisition process." The eight procurement websites are Central Contractor Registration, Electronic Subcontract Reporting System, Excluded Parties List System, Federal Business Opportunities, Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation, Online Representations and Certifications Application, Past Performance Information Retrieval System, and Wage Determinations OnLine.gov. Table 2 shows how SAM will be organized when completed. Access to online systems and procurement information and data, however, does not necessarily equate to comprehension. Posting Contracts Online

Presently, the federal government does not have a database of contracts awarded by federal agencies. (FPDS-NG includes discrete information, in data fields (data elements), about contract awards.) Working through its Integrated Acquisition Environment, GSA established a working group, which consisted of representatives from several federal agencies, to examine the feasibility, challenges, and anticipated benefits of posting federal contracts online. More recently, DOD, GSA, and NASA issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking regarding posting contracts online. 6411 , was enacted. Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act)73 and FPDS-NG

The DATA Act—which is the title of two similar bills, H.R. 2061 and S. 994 , that were introduced during the 113 th Congress—would amend the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA; P.L. Generally, the DATA Act would require, among other things, the following:
The Treasury Secretary, in consultation with the heads of OMB, GSA, and other federal agencies, to establish governmentwide "financial data standards for Federal funds"; The Director of OMB to lead an effort to consolidate financial reporting requirements for recipients of federal awards; and The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the head of OMB, to establish a pilot program for recipients of federal funds that meet certain conditions. Possible implications for FPDS-NG involve the connection between it and USAspending.gov. Concluding Remarks

Web-based systems increasingly have become embedded in the federal government's acquisition process, providing the means for collecting, storing, searching, or disseminating a variety of data and other information to the acquisition workforce and other interested parties.
Increasingly, the federal government uses technology to facilitate and support the federal acquisition process. Primary beneficiaries of this shift to online systems (websites and databases) are the government's acquisition workforce and prospective and incumbent government contractors. The suite of web-based systems supports contracting officers' efforts to ensure the government contracts only with responsible parties, is essential to the dissemination of information regarding contracting opportunities, and facilitates interagency contracting. From the contractor perspective, the government's online systems streamline the processes involved in fulfilling various administrative requirements, provide access to possible contracting opportunities, and are potential resources for market research.
Congressional interest in the government's online procurement systems, and, relatedly, the federal acquisition process, flows from the institution's responsibilities involving government spending and oversight of executive branch operations. Congress monitors how well the federal acquisition process works, which includes several web-based systems, and also uses data and information available from some of the systems as resources for its oversight activities.
The federal government's major, governmentwide web-based acquisition systems include Acquisition Central, Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS), Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps), Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) Portal (this system is known as the "FFATA Portal"), Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation (FPDS-NG), Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), FFATA Sub-Award Reporting System (FSRS), Interagency Contract Directory (ICD), Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS), System for Award Management (SAM), USAspending.gov, and Wage Determinations On-line (WDOL).
Interest in the federal government's online acquisition systems is reflected in a variety of issues and topics. Over the years, questions have been raised regarding the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of the contract award data available from FPDS and its successor, FPDS-NG. Recent efforts to remedy these problems include guidance issued by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) in 2011, which provides instructions for calculating and reporting the accuracy and completeness of data submitted to FPDS-NG. The most recent information available regarding FPDS-NG data shows that, governmentwide, the four-year average (FY2008-FY2011) for completeness was 98.3% and for sample accuracy 94.0%.
Another significant topic involving the government's web-based acquisition systems was the launch of the System for Award Management in 2012. The following three systems became part of SAM in July 2012: Central Contractor Registration (CCR, which includes Federal Agency Registration (FedReg)), Excluded Parties List System (EPLS), and Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA). When completed, SAM will also include five other online procurement systems, plus the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA). A variety of issues and problems, including separate logins, overlapping data, the absence of a single, uniform level of service, and multiple vendors hosting the systems, prompted interest in developing an integrated system.
Although this report does not focus on transparency, several issues discussed here are related to transparency. First, while the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website and FPDS-NG provide information about executive branch agencies' procurements, a database of federal agencies' contracts does not exist. In 2003, GSA established a working group to examine the feasibility, challenges, and anticipated benefits of posting federal contracts online. Ultimately, the working group concluded there were insufficient data to support recommending the establishment of a central system for posting contracts online. In 2010, the Department of Defense (DOD), GSA, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) regarding posting contracts online. Comments submitted in response to the notice identified several challenges, and the matter was concluded when the agencies withdrew the ANPR. Second, transparency does not necessarily equate to comprehension. Generally, variation exists among the users of government procurement systems regarding their knowledge of government procurement and procurement data. Third, during the 113th Congress, two similar bills (H.R. 2061 and S. 994) with the same name (Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, or DATA Act) were introduced, either of which would enhance transparency of spending data, including certain procurement data. If either bill is enacted, it might have implications for FPDS-NG.