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Pratap Chatterjee

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Better Auditing for Better Contracting Report
Defense Contract Audit Agency recruiters Gregory Brooks and Jarolyn Snyder, second from right, talk with job fair participants during a 2009 job fair at Roosevelt University in Chicago.
<br /> (AP/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Better Auditing for Better Contracting

Pratap Chatterjee outlines the different reasons audits by the Defense Contract Audit Agency sometimes fail, what’s been done to correct these failures in the past, and what should be done in the future.

Pratap Chatterjee

Insourcing Report
Insourcing not only saves money by eliminating the need to pay for the additional layer of corporate bureaucracy that comes with the hiring of a contractor, but it can also improve services to the taxpayer if done wisely. (AP/Bill Waugh)

Insourcing

Pratap Chatterjee explains how insourcing can not only save money but can also improve services to the taxpayer if done wisely.

Pratap Chatterjee

How Sunlight Can Improve Federal Contracting Report
With open access to information, genuine competition will increase because the emphasis will be on quality of production and value to taxpayers, which is ultimately key in an era of budget shortfalls. (AP/Aijaz Rahi)

How Sunlight Can Improve Federal Contracting

A single, streamlined database that tracks fraud, waste, and abuse in federal government contracts will help save taxpayers money and reward good companies, writes Pratap Chatterjee.

Pratap Chatterjee

Don’t Close Open-Government Sites Article
The Electronic Government Fund, which pays for multiple websites that make government data available to the public, will have its budget slashed from $34 million to just $8 million because of GOP-led cuts. U.S. Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra, above, said many open-government projects “will experience a sharp decline given the limited amount of funding.” (Flickr/<a href=personaldemocracy)" data-srcset="https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2011/06/kundra_onpage.jpg?w=610 610w, https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2011/06/kundra_onpage.jpg?w=610 610w, https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2011/06/kundra_onpage.jpg?w=610 610w, https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2011/06/kundra_onpage.jpg?w=500 500w, https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2011/06/kundra_onpage.jpg?w=250 250w" data-sizes="auto" />

Don’t Close Open-Government Sites

Pratap Chatterjee reports on how slashed funding for important transparency initiatives risks harming government efficiency.

Pratap Chatterjee

Information Technology Article
The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, saved an estimated $20  million over a five-year period just by moving its email servers to the  cloud. (AP/Mohammad abu Ghosh)

Information Technology

This is the latest in a weekly series of talking points from CAP’s Doing What Works team showing how we can make smart budget cuts that boost government efficiency—not gut essential services.

Pratap Chatterjee

Tech Triumphs in the Federal Government Article

Tech Triumphs in the Federal Government

Pratap Chatterjee reports on a private workshop featuring senior government officials and industry representatives sharing examples of best practices in how the government buys and manages information technology.

Pratap Chatterjee

Pentagon Opposes ‘Insourcing’ Ban Article
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) offered an amendment last week to the Defense Appropriations Act that would ban the use of any Pentagon funds “to convert from private sector to public sector performance any functions or positions that are not inherently governmental in nature.” (AP/Charles Dharapak)

Pentagon Opposes ‘Insourcing’ Ban

Pratap Chatterjee explains why the Pentagon is right that employing government workers to do government work rather than expensive outside contractors makes sense.

Pratap Chatterjee

Federal Contract Spending down by $15 Billion Article
The TechStat reform project, led by Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra, pictured above, has helped cut contracting costs through the cancellation of several major information technology systems. (Flickr/<a href=The Aspen Institute)" data-srcset="https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2011/02/qh_contracting_spending_onpage.jpg?w=610 610w, https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2011/02/qh_contracting_spending_onpage.jpg?w=610 610w, https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2011/02/qh_contracting_spending_onpage.jpg?w=610 610w, https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2011/02/qh_contracting_spending_onpage.jpg?w=500 500w, https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2011/02/qh_contracting_spending_onpage.jpg?w=250 250w" data-sizes="auto" />

Federal Contract Spending down by $15 Billion

“Buying less and buying smarter” has helped the White House cut costs on contract spending, writes Pratap Chatterjee.

Pratap Chatterjee