The Bloomberg Government has released an analysis on government contract spending on Thursday. As per their release, in Fiscal 2020, the federal government spent $682 billion on contracts.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic hitting the country drastically, the total sum of money signifies extravagant outgoings of the federal government on government contracts. Besides, it also marks a 14% increase or $83 billion compared to spending of $599 billion in Fiscal 2019. Let’s get an in-depth idea of the entire spending efficiently.
Complete Analysis of Government Contract Spending As Per the Release
A surge of 50% was also noted on the federal government’s contracting expenditure concerning medical supplies. Besides, the expenses related to aircraft, subs, ships, and combat vehicles also increased 41%.
On the other hand, there was a decline of 13% in the spending related to miscellaneous and sustainment supplies. That’s because the government shuttered both the equipment and offices associated with physical infrastructure.
it is assumed that the technology is the key growth area in the money outgoings. As per the analysis, the technology field witness the single most considerable growth on record. To mention the numbers, there is a surge of $6.8 billion in a year.
Being an area with a consistent growth rate and reliability, IT has surged from $57.3 in Fiscal 2016 to $76.2 billion in Fiscal 2020. It has been clearly stated within the analysis release.
It further stated that the market for IT development was growing before the pandemic. In Fiscal 2020, the field got the support of whopping amounts by introducing work from home norms.
Top Government Contractors
The Bloomberg Government’s list of top contractors is pretty much the same. Bethesda, Md.-based contractor Lockheed Martin topped the list in the early years with $76 billion in Fiscal 2020 government contracts.
The other names in the list include Raytheon, General Dynamics, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman. Each of them has $14 billion or more in their respective contracts.
As compared to last Fiscal year, the government capitalized on multiple spending mechanisms. Further, there is also an increase in outgoings concerning the pandemic. In Fiscal 2020, Covid-19 spending stood up to $45 billion.
The amount covered relevant areas like vaccine research, development, and medical requirements. There was also an increase of reliability on other transaction authority purchases with $18 billion. It was primarily focused on the ones outside traditional Federal Acquisition Regulations.
To mention some of the analysis statements, it was seen that federal agencies are dependent on OTAs for specific fields. It includes research, development, and prototype growth. The method was quite helpful for the agency’s research and development of vaccines and medical equipment.
It also states that the government will continue offering funds on contracts till Fiscal 2021. In conclusion, it is clearly said that this year will see a high government contract spending too. In February, President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus was signed into law. The addition of the Fiscal 2021 spending bill makes it $1.4 trillion in optional spending.
