AN ANALYSIS OF USMC SERVICE CONTRACTS UNDER THE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD, AND THE EFFECTS CAUSED BY CONTINUING RESOLUTIONS

Daily operations within the United States Marine Corps (USMC) are reliant upon the effective and uninterrupted operations of services contracts in both garrison and field environments. From fiscal years 2010–2021, the federal government began the fiscal year with a continuing resolution (CR) in 11 out of 12 years. With the consistency of budget uncertainties at the onset of every fiscal year, purchasing and operations are affected resulting in interruptions to services. Additionally, across the Marine Corps, there is no organizational level standard operating procedures (SOP) for budget execution under a CR. Meshing CRs and the lack of standardization across the organization has potential to affect the deliverability of services. Analyzing data received from a Purchase Request Builder across fiscal years with and without CRs can develop a better understanding of what types of services, dollar amounts, and time are affected most by CRs. This project aims to better identify and understand efficiencies that can be implemented to affect services contracting when operating under a CR and provides recommendations that increase effectiveness of using unit and contracting professionals.Captain, United States Marine CorpsCaptain, United States Marine CorpsApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited