Increasingly, the federal government uses technology to facilitate and support the federal procurement (or acquisition) process. Primary beneficiaries of this shift to online procurement systems (i.e., websites and databases) are the government's acquisition workforce and prospective and incumbent government contractors. Web-based procurement systems are essential for completing certain processes and fulfilling various requirements including, for example, publicizing contracting opportunities, helping to ensure that the government only does business with responsible contractors, capturing subcontracting information, and collecting and maintaining contract award data. Possible benefits conferred by the suite of acquisition systems include enhanced efficiency, improved access to information, mitigation of the administrative burden shared by federal employees and contractors, and the timely collection of accurate data. The government's reliance on web-based systems is not surprising for yet another reason: the magnitude of government procurement. Beginning with FY2008, the federal government has spent over $500 billion and conducted at least 5.7 million contract actions each fiscal year through FY2012. During the same time period, federal agencies dealt with at least 154,000 contractors each fiscal year. This figure does not include entities that competed for, but were not awarded, any government contract. Congressional interest in the executive branch's procurement systems (and, more broadly, government procurement) is fueled by a combination of its responsibilities. As the keeper of the federal purse and the body responsible for oversight of the executive branch, Congress takes a keen interest in how federal agencies spend the funds appropriated to them and, generally, how well the acquisition process works. While congressional oversight of government procurement includes overseeing web-based acquisition systems, these systems also serve as resources for congressional oversight efforts as well as legislative activities. Additionally, some online procurement systems may be useful when crafting responses to constituents who have commented on, or requested assistance related to, government procurement. Relatedly, Congress has demonstrated an ongoing interest in promoting the transparency of government spending data, including contract award information, for citizens and other interested parties. This report begins with an overview of major online procurement systems that support certain acquisition processes, or contain data about agencies' procurements. This section includes a table that provides basic information about each system and that may serve as a reference guide. The next section of the report then examines several issues and topics, including data quality, the System for Award Management (SAM), and the posting of contracts online. Major web-based, executive branch procurement systems are the focus of this report. This report does not include any agency-specific websites or databases. Additionally, it does not include all of the governmentwide online systems associated with government procurement, such as the Small Business Administration's Subcontracting Opportunities Directory and SUB-Net, or the RFP-EZ pilot program. Generally, only executive branch agencies are subject to the applicable statutes, regulations, policies, or guidelines that govern the use of the procurement systems covered in this report. Although individual legislative branch or judicial branch agencies might be permitted to use these systems, they are not necessarily required to do so. The past two decades have seen the federal government take "increasing advantage of technology to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the acquisition lifecycle, from performing market research to recording contractor performance information." Initially, most online acquisition systems were established for the purpose of facilitating and improving the procurement process. Contracting officers, and other members of the government's acquisition workforce, post solicitations (and other documents, such as sources sought notices) on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website. In turn, FedBizOpps is a resource for would-be government contractors seeking opportunities to sell their goods or services to the government. The System for Award Management streamlines the registration process for prospective and current contractors while providing a single repository of information for agency personnel to use, for example, to confirm business size, review contractors' certifications, and pay contractors. To aid in ensuring that the government does business only with responsible contractors, agency personnel also use SAM to determine whether a contractor is presently suspended or debarred, and query the Federal Awardee Performance Information and Integrity System (FAPIIS). Contracting officers submit performance information to the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) and, in turn, use information stored in the system when evaluating a contractor's past performance. Some web-based acquisition systems may primarily serve other purposes and other users. Congressional staff and agency personnel may find the contract award data available on the Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation (FPDS-NG) website useful when developing, or implementing, policy. A push for transparency led to the passage of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (FFATA, P.L. 109-282 ). FFATA mandated the development of a user-friendly system comprising a variety of government spending data, including procurement data. Another effort aimed at enhancing transparency involves FAPIIS. Subsequent to the establishment of FAPIIS, legislation was enacted which made the contents of this system, except for past performance data, accessible to the public. Table 1 contains information regarding 11 web-based acquisition systems and a related Department of Labor system. The table reflects the current status of the General Services Administration's effort to consolidate eight procurement websites, plus the Catalog for Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA), into one integrated system, SAM. Three websites—Central Contractor Registration (CCR, which includes Federal Agency Registration (FedReg)), Excluded Parties List System (EPLS), and Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA)—migrated to SAM in July 2012. None of the three is listed separately in Table 1 . Each of the five remaining procurement systems slated to migrate to SAM at later dates has its own entry in the table. These websites are the Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS), FedBizOpps, FPDS-NG, PPIRS, and Wage Determinations Online (WDOL). Additional information about SAM is provided below. Over the years, questions have been raised regarding the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of the contract award data available from FPDS and its successor, FPDS-NG. FPDS was established in February 1978, and by fall 1982 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) had published three reports that documented deficiencies in the completion and accuracy of data submitted by federal agencies. A decade later, during preparations for the transition from FPDS to FPDS-NG, GAO reported to the Director of OMB in late 2003 that FPDS data were "inaccurate and incomplete." During the transition, agencies were asked to "review their data and identify and correct any deficiencies" before they transferred the data to FPDS-NG and certify "the accuracy and completeness" of their FY2004 data. Yet, in 2005, GAO shared its concerns with the OMB Director regarding the "[t]imeliness and accuracy of data" and "[e]ase of use and access to data" in FPDS-NG. In its 2007 report, the Acquisition Advisory Panel (AAP) catalogued several problems with FPDS-NG, including inaccurate data, unclear instructions, the system's failure to capture certain data, and validation rules that did not function as intended. An April 2008 review of "complex service acquisitions" by GAO revealed that "the FPDS-NG field identifying major programs was typically blank." Other GAO studies revealed difficulties in identifying interagency contracts in FPDS-NG because of the way they were coded, and reported that "some contracts were incorrectly coded as T&M [time and material] contracts while others were incorrectly coded as having acquired commercial services." Reports of procurement data problems have been met by efforts to ensure the data are accurate and complete, and reported in a timely manner. Most recently, the Administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama have provided guidance to agencies regarding data submitted to FPDS-NG. The latest guidance, which was issued by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) in 2011, complements and expands upon FAR 4.604. Under FAR 4.604(a), an agency's senior procurement executive "is responsible for developing and monitoring a process to ensure timely and accurate reporting of contractual actions to FPDS [FPDS-NG]." Additionally, the chief acquisition officer of the agency "must submit to the General Services Administration (GSA), in accordance with FPDS [FPDS-NG] guidance, within 120 days after the end of each fiscal year, an annual certification of whether, and to what degree, agency CAR [contract action report] data for the preceding fiscal year is complete and accurate." OFPP's 2011 memorandum provides instructions, sampling methodologies, and templates for agencies to use in calculating and reporting the accuracy and completeness of data submitted to FPDS-NG. Agencies are required to compute the accuracy of 25 "key data elements," including date signed, extent competed, type of set aside, and place of manufacture. Governmentwide, the four-year average (FY2008-FY2011) for completeness was 98.3% and for sample accuracy 94.0%. Data were not provided for individual agencies, and these are the most recent data available. OFPP also stated in its memorandum that, in conjunction with GSA, it would carry out the following activities as part of its "sustained efforts to improve procurement data quality throughout the year": "continue the interagency working group on data quality, focusing on emerging issues, challenges, solutions, guidance, and process improvements;" "revitalize the [online] community of practice ... to collect tools and agency best practices for improving data quality and host focused discussions on key issues; and" "collaborate with the Federal Acquisition Institute and the Defense Acquisition University to review and improve related workforce training and development and to develop a better understanding of how procurement data are used throughout the acquisition process."