Federal contracts: how to read USAspending data
USAspending.gov is the Treasury's public record of federal spending, including every contract the government awards. An award's headline value is what has been committed so far, not cash already paid, and many large awards are ceilings that are never fully spent.
In brief
- Obligation = money the government has committed. Outlay = money actually paid.
- Current value = committed so far. Potential value = the most it could reach with every option used.
- Contracts are reported within 3 business days; Defense records are released 90 days later.
- A contract award is not evidence of lobbying success or political favour.
- This site shows the largest recent awards and awards to tracked companies, not every contract.
What is USAspending?
USAspending.gov is the official website that shows where federal money goes. It is run by the Treasury and exists because two laws, in 2006 and 2014, required the government to publish its awards in one searchable place (background). It covers contracts, grants, loans and other payments. This site uses the contract records.
What do the dollar figures mean?
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Obligation | A binding promise to pay: the contract is signed or the order placed. |
| Outlay | Money that has actually left the Treasury. |
| Current award value | The total committed so far, including options already taken up. |
| Potential award value | The most the award could reach if every option were taken up. |
The gap between these can be huge. A ten-year agreement with a $5 billion ceiling may have $40 million committed in its first year. News reports usually quote the ceiling. This site shows the award value as USAspending reports it and labels it "award value".
What kinds of award are there?
A contract buys goods or services. An indefinite delivery vehicle is an umbrella agreement under which separate orders are placed later, which is how much of government buying is done; the umbrella's value and its orders can both appear, so adding them double counts. A prime award goes directly from the government to a company; a sub-award is what that company passes on to a subcontractor and must not be added to the prime's total.
Each contract carries a NAICS code for the industry and a product or service code for what was bought.
How current is the data?
Civilian agencies must report a contract action within 3 business days of the award (federal acquisition rules), and it reaches USAspending shortly after. Department of Defense records are released after a 90-day delay, so the newest three months of defence contracting are always missing.
Records are also revised. An award's value changes as options are exercised or work is cancelled, so the same contract can show different figures on different days.
What does this site show?
Two sets of awards that started in the last 180 days: the largest awards from each month, and awards to companies whose shares this site tracks. That is 5,854 awards on the contracts page today. It is not every federal contract; there are millions of those a year.
Companies are matched to awards by exact name. A contract won by a subsidiary under a different name will not appear on its parent's page, and a company page with no contracts does not mean the company has none.
Does a contract mean a company has political influence?
The record cannot tell you. Contracts are awarded by agency contracting officers under detailed procurement rules, and large contractors lobby and donate as a matter of routine. Seeing a company's contracts, lobbying and its executives' trades on one page shows that these things coexist. It does not show that one caused another, and this site does not suggest it.
Questions and answers
What is the difference between an obligation and an outlay?
An obligation is money the government has committed to pay, for example by signing a contract. An outlay is money that has actually been paid.
Why are Department of Defense contracts missing from recent data?
Because Defense contract records are released to the public after a 90-day delay.
Does Spot the Money list every federal contract?
No. It shows the largest awards that started in each of the last six months and awards to companies it tracks, matched by exact name.
Is a contract's award value the amount paid?
No. The current award value is what has been committed so far, and the potential value is a ceiling. The amount actually paid is the outlay, which is often lower.
See it on this site
Related guides
Sources
Not investment advice. This guide explains public records and how this site presents them. It makes no recommendation to buy or sell anything. All guides · All questions · Report an error