The Commerce Business Daily Project Summary In accordance with the Small Business Act, PL 87-305, government purchasing offices are required to publicize all and procurement transactions exceeding $10,000 for military agencies, $5,000 for civil agencies. The vehicle through which the government fulfills this requirement is the newspaper, the Commerce Business Daily, published every working day of the year in Chicago by the Government Printing Office. The paper is administered and edited by the Commerce Department. There are approximately 28,000 subscribers. The average edition runs 28 pages and contains 700 transactions, plus notes and special notices. This results in the printing and distribution of about 196 million sheets of 6 point typed data per year (28,000 subscribers x 28 pages x 250 days). Methods employed for data transmission from purchasing offices, for editing, setting type, printing and distribution are antiquated and Moreover, the great majority of subscribers inefficient. require only a small fraction of the data provided. Statutory and Regulatory Basis for Publicizing Procurement In accordance with the Small Business Act, PL-87-305, September 26, 1961, the Armed Services Procurement Regulation (ASPR), and the Federal Procurement Regulation (FPR), Government procuring activities are required to publicize, on a daily basis all procurement transactions except small purchases (under $10,000 per ASPR and $5,000 per FPR). A few transactions are excluded for such reasons as security classification or extreme urgency. The intent is to promote competition, offer increased opportunity to small business, and generally broaden industry participation in Government procurement. To satisfy this requirement, the Commerce Business Daily (CBD) is published by the Federal Government each business day of the year. Current Publication The Department of Commerce, Office of Field Operations, is responsible for the administration, editing, format and content of the CBD. Subscriptions and mailing lists are handled by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D.C., and it is printed by the Government Printing Office, Chicago, Illinois. The general public may subscribe at a cost of $105 per year for first class mailing, and $80 per year for second class. 92-577 077 12 In 1976 there were approximately 28,000 private sector subscribers to the CBD, of which, only about 20% elected to receive their copies by first class mail. An additional 1,500 subcriptions are distributed free to Government agencies, libraries, etc. In accordance with format specified in detail in ASPR (Section 1, Part 10) and FPR (Chapter 1, Subpart 1-1.10), Federal procurement agencies forward entries to the CBD directly by first class mail to the Commerce Department CBD office in Chicago. addition, Government prime contractors are encouraged to forward entries indicating subcontracting opportunities. The preponder ance of entries cover synopses of: In The Department of Commerce CBD Chicago office edits entries, and the Government Printing Office, Chicago field office, sets type, prints, and mails the daily issues. Five Department of Commerce personnel are utilized in these pro cesses. Entries furnished by procuring activities are edited, typeset, and printed in sequence received, in standard categories indicating types of goods or services required. First listed are requirements for services. These are published under alphabetical headings, for example, "A Experimental, Developmental, Test and Research Work . . ."; "H Expert and Consultant Services"; "R Architect-Engineer Services." Following, under two-digit numbers of the Federal Supply Classification Code, are the requirements for supplies and other material, for example, "10 Weapons", "16 Aircraft Components and Accessories': "20 Ship and Marine Equipment." Following these are "RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT SOURCES SOUGHT", and "CONTRACT AWARDS." The former are presented in no particular sequence; the latter in the same grouping as utilized for requirements. Other procurement-related data are published (not necessarily daily) under headings such as "SURPLUS PROPERTY SALES," "FUTURE CONSTRUCTION ABROAD," and "FOREIGN TRADE OPPORTypical examples of individual entries follow: TUNITIES." * A--RESEARCH ON CORROSION OF COPPER-NICKEL T--PRINTING OF MARGINALLY PUNCHED CONTINUOUS 76. 29--RADIATOR. NSN 2930-oo-1042838. MIL P/N Utilization The CBD is widely utilized by the private sector for all of the purposes for which it was designed, and for many other uses. The subscription figure of roughly 28,000 is not truly indicative of its utilization, since many organizations, particularly small manufacturing, research, and service firms share copies or use library copies. Larger firms reproduce pertinent sections and distribute them to appropriate organizational segments. Among the principal objectives of its readers are to: O Discover sales opportunities in Government O Discover subcontract opportunities with major prime contractors O Discover opportunities for material sales to manu facturers with Government contracts о Discover employment opportunities |