US Agencies urged to document oil spill costs

The White House is directing federal agencies to document all costs and spending related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, according to a memo from Office of Management and Budget Director Peter R. Orszag.

The 11-page directive, which applies to past and future costs, urges agencies to categorize all spending that can be attributed to the spill to "preserve options for cost recovery and reimbursement."  While it could be months -- and likely years -- before the government can put a definite price tag on the oil spill, one of the few glimpses into the actual ongoing spending is through government contracting.

To date, agencies have spent more than $45 million on roughly 180 contracts related to the spill, according to the Federal Procurement Data System. Nearly half these contracts were subjected to full and open competition, while more than $16 million went to small businesses.

Those procurement costs, however, could be understated. A note attached to the data indicated that many contracting offices responding to the spill do not have access to their normal contract writing systems and have not been able to enter procurement information into the database.

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