Federal Procurement

www.fbo.gov

A huge part of the federal government's operations revolves around contracts with the nation's companies, large and small. In fact, it would be fair to say that many businesses rely on federal contracts for their survival.

Reporters based in Washington can find a wealth of stories relevant to their hometown audience by examining available government contracts and existing contracts held by local firms.

The federal government spends hundreds of billions of dollars a year in service contracts. Here are some resources that can help point to the federal procurement process and how local companies – and local economies -- are benefiting from such contracts.

Federal Business Opportunity

The Federal Business Opportunity site will show what contracts are available with the federal government. This is a good place to get a sense of what contracts for which the federal agencies are soliciting bids. You can search the entire government or search for your favorite agency to get information on specific contracts.

Web: www.fbo.gov

Use this search form for all contract offerings: http://vsearch2.fbo.gov/servlet/SearchServlet

Telephone: 877-472-3779 (Toll Free)

Business Identification Number Cross-reference System

Find out contact information and other more about government contractors by name or Data Universal Numbering System, or DUNS, number at the Business Identification Number Cross-reference System site.

Web: www.bpn.gov/bincs/begin_search.asp
Telephone: 1-888-227-2423

Central Contractor Registration

Research local government contractors at the Central Contractor Registration site. You can access it through the site above or directly at www.ccr.gov.

Telephone: 1-888-227-2423 or 269-961-5757.

Federal Procurement Data System

The Federal Procurement Data System is a relatively new and comprehensive Web search engine for government contracts. Registration is required but there is no fee.

Web: https://www.fpds.gov.
Telephone: 703-390-5300

Government Accountability Office

This Government Accountability Office site lets you check for protests of government contracts. Here's where you can find out who has disputed a contracting decision. The GAO releases its findings on contract protests nearly every day. You can sign up to be on the GAO's list for these and all its reports on all aspects of government operations.

Web: www.gao.gov/decision/docket

Department of Defense

The Department of Defense has search engines listing local military contracts and personnel information.

Web: http://siadapp.dior.whs.mil/index.html. Click on procurement to get a list of contractors and a wealth of other information on trends and procurement. Click on personnel to learn about the distribution of military personnel and related topics.

Web: http://siadapp.dior.whs.mil/discoverer/viewer. This search engine guides you to information on local military contractors. Click on DCADS_PUBLIC, then ST25 to reach the form for the searchable database.

Excluded Parties List System

At the Excluded Parties List System site you can search for companies that have been excluded from government contracting.

Web: http://epls.arnet.gov/

U.S. Department of Labor

This U.S. Department of Labor site provides access to regular reports of expenditures and other financial data filed by unions.

Web: www.union-reports.dol.gov/

Does this agency's information need updating? programs@nationalpress.org