Last month, as detailed in our prior advisory, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced that the Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) pilot program had exceeded target goals and that expansion of the program—which establishes an alternative to the traditional Commercial Sales Practices/Price Reductions Clause GSA Schedule pricing regime—would continue. Now, however, the GSA Inspector General (IG) has released a report on TDR, sharply criticizing the program and calling for its termination. In particular, the IG contends that TDR data are inaccurate and unreliable, and that GSA Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) contracting personnel are not utilizing the data. Indeed, in the report, the IG goes so far as to recommend that FAS:

1. Take immediate action to mitigate risks associated with the TDR pilot by: 
   • Restricting additional contractors from opting into the TDR pilot; and
   • Restricting access to, and use of, the TDR pilot data. 
2. Develop and implement an exit strategy for the TDR pilot and transition participating contractors out of the TDR pilot.

The FAS Commissioner, however, has rejected these recommendations. While agreeing with the IG that there are issues regarding FAS contracting personnel's ability to access and understand the data, as well as deficiencies with certain pricing tools, the Commissioner rejected the IG's contentions that TDR data are "inaccurate and unreliable", and that the TDR pilot is not improving value to taxpayers. In this regard, the Commissioner pointed to various improved metrics under the program such as stronger sales growth for small businesses participating in TDR and reduced contractor reporting burdens. 

The IG has requested that the FAS Commissioner reconsider his rejection of the IG's recommendations, and it remains to be seen how this dispute will ultimately play out. Miller & Chevalier will continue to monitor any developments.

For more information, please contact:

Jason N. Workmaster, jworkmaster@milchev.com, 202-626-5893

Alex L. Sarria, asarria@milchev.com, 202-626-5822

Connor Farrell, a Miller & Chevalier law clerk, contributed to this client alert.

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