A new Center for Strategic and International Studies report showed that the Department of Homeland Security‘s spend on contracts fell 3 percent from 2012 to 2013, Federal News Radio reported Wednesday.Jared Serbu writes DHS contracting activity saw a relatively small impact under the sequester partly because the department already absorbed steep cuts to its fiscal 2011 budget.
In comparison, Pentagon contract dollars declined by 16 percent over the same period, according to CSIS report obtained by the station.
Contract spending at the Coast Guard was up 6 percent during 2013 primarily due to a $500 million order for the Munro patrol cutter, Serbu writes.
The report noted that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Transportation Security Administration saw their contract obligations fell 13 percent and 15 percent, respectively.
CSIS researchers also found a 15 percent increase in sole-source contract awards recorded by DHS in the federal procurement data system last year, according to Serbu’s article.
Serbu writes that several database entry issues have limited the Washington think tank’s trend assessment related to DHS grant awards.
