The goal was implemented by procurement regulations  effective in fiscal year 1996. Only VA met or exceeded its WOSB prime goal each year;  State and NASA met or exceeded their prime goal in 3 of the 4 years. Because DOD achieved less than half of its 5-percent  goal for prime contracts with WOSBs in fiscal year 1999, the  governmentwide goal for prime contracting with WOSBs could not have  been met even if every other federal agency had reached its WOSB prime  contracting goal. These officials most frequently cited two obstacles to  increasing federal contracting with WOSBs:   the numerous and complex federal contracting programs for small   the absence of a specific contracting program targeting WOSBs. Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our objectives were to (1) review the federal procurement system for the 3  preceding fiscal years (1997 through 1999) to identify any trends in federal  contracting with respect to women-owned small businesses (WOSBs), (2)  solicit from federal employees involved in the federal procurement system  any suggestions for increasing the number of federal contracts awarded to  WOSBs, (3) report to the Congress on (a) any suggestions for increasing  the number of federal contracts awarded to WOSBs that we consider  appropriate after considering suggestions we received from the federal  employees solicited per requirement 2 above, including any such means  that incorporate the concepts of teaming and partnering, and (b) any  barriers to the receipt of federal contracts by WOSBs and other small  businesses that are created by legal or regulatory procurement  requirements or practices, and (4) identify concerns of federal contracting  officials about agencies’ ability to meet their WOSB contracting goals. To meet our other three objectives, we selected four agencies that  accounted for over 80 percent of all federal contracting expenditures for  fiscal years 1997 through1999: Department of Defense (DOD), Department  of Energy (DOE), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),  and General Services Administration (GSA).
Why GAO Did This Study

Procurement regulations implemented in 1996 mandated that women-owned small businesses (WOSB) receive five percent of governmentwide contracts. Although the number of contracts awarded to WOSBs has risen more than four times as fast as other federal contracting efforts since 1996, the goal of awarding five percent of federal contracts to WOSBs has not been met. More agencies succeeded in meeting the WOSB subcontracting goal than their prime contracting goal.

What GAO Found

GAO found that three federal agencies--the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of State, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration--met or exceeded both goals in three of the four years it studied. Because the Department of Defense, which accounted for 64 percent of federal procurement in 1999, did not come close to achieving its five-percent goal, the governmentwide goal for prime contracting with WOSBs could not have been met even if all other federal agencies reached their prime contracting goals. Government officials cited many obstacles to increasing federal contracting with WOSBs, including a reduced contracting personnel force and the absense of a targeted WOSB government program. These contracting officers offered suggestions for increasing WOSB participation in federal contracting, including a strengthened outreach program and expanded excess to contract financing.