$114B left in agency coffers for fiscal 2010
Government has plenty of money to spend as end of fiscal year looms, FedSources says
The federal fiscal year is just two months away from coming to a close, and the government has $114 billion left to spend.
That’s the figure from a budget analysis by FedSources and its chief knowledge officer, Ray Bjorklund.
In a new report, Bjorklund lays out the government spending patterns by quarter.
The first quarter is for stocking up on things like office supplies, he writes. The purchase of complex items happens from the end of the first quarter or the beginning of the second. The third quarter is the slowest.
Fourth-quarter spending is very commodity-driven, Bjorklund said. He based his conclusions on an analysis of historical government spending patterns.
A key to understanding buying patterns is to understand the procurement life cycle each purchase goes through. It is important to understand how far ahead of a purchase the procurement cycle begins, he added.
“It is important to be in sync with your prospective customer before you stat your selling process,” Bjorklund said.
Some of the agencies and departments still with big chunks of money include:
- Army: $40 billion
- Air Force: $22.9 billion
- Navy: $10 billion
- Social Security: $1.1 billion
- Treasury: $626 million
- International Assistance with $355 million
- State Department: $429 million
- Education Department: $214 million
- Commerce Department: $125 million
Bjorklund also said that just because the money is available doesn’t mean that agencies are obligated to spend it this year.
FedSources (
www.fedsources.com) will release the full report the week of Aug. 2.
About the Author
Nick Wakeman is the editor-in-chief of Washington Technology.