Federal Government Contracting Driving Growth

Record federal spending, which has increased significantly in the Greater Washington area since 9/11, continues to be the engine driving the current economic upswing. At an Economic Conference today, Stephen Fuller, PhD, Director, Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University, announced that the U.S. Government spent $339 billion nationally in federal procurement in fiscal year 2004. More than 15 percent ($52.6 billion) of this national total stayed in the Greater Washington region. This represents a 19 percent increase over the previous fiscal year.

Which sector is benefiting most from the increase in federal dollars? The area’s technology sector has been the winner for the past few years. According to Dr. Fuller, the government accounts for more than 70 percent of the sales of technology products and services in Greater Washington.

www.greaterwashington.org

Small businesses (under 500 employees) won over $100 billion in federal contracts in 2004

Small businesses (under 500 employees) won $69 billion in federal prime contracts in fiscal 2004, or 23 percent of the total pot of almost $300 billion that was open to small companies, according to a report released Thursday by the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy.
Subcontracting figures were unavailable for 2004, but were estimated at nearly $50 billion based on projections from 2003 subcontracts valued at about $45.5 billion, according to the document.

Click here for the full story:
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=33104&printerfriendlyVers=1&