From Shutdown to Surge: How the GSA is Now on a Spending Spree
For a while, it felt like everything stopped. Agencies slowed to a crawl, new awards froze, and contracting officers could not move files even if they wanted to. That is the uncomfortable reality of a federal shutdown.
But history is evident in something most business owners never see on the surface.
Shutdowns usually delay spending. They rarely erase it. Once funding is restored, agencies rush to catch up. That rush shows up as what feels like a spending spree – and the vendors already positioned through GSA contracts are the first ones in line.
This is precisely the environment we are stepping back into now.
Ready To Win Contracts?
Talk To One Of Our Specialist!
Shutdowns Delay Awards. They Do Not Eliminate Demand.
Past shutdowns give us a playbook.
After the 2013 shutdown, federal data showed that overall federal spending in the fourth quarter dipped about 6.6 percent, but analysts noted that much of that drop reflected timing, not permanent cuts. Once funding returned, agencies still had to execute their budgets, so spending flowed later in the fiscal year than on its original schedule.
The 2018–2019 shutdown is an even clearer example. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that roughly $18 billion in discretionary spending on salaries and purchases was delayed during that five-week partial shutdown. CBO also noted that most of that activity would be made up after the government reopened, with only about 3 billion dollars in economic activity permanently lost.
In other words, the money did not disappear. It got compressed into a shorter window.
Over the last fifty years, there have been more than twenty shutdowns. Each one created short-term pain for contractors and agencies. Each one also produced the same pattern once funding returned: contracting officers working overtime to catch up on awards, obligate remaining funds, and get critical projects back on track.
The newest shutdown cycle has followed that same script. During the first week of the 2025 shutdown, federal agencies still obligated about 1.7 billion dollars across nearly 8,000 transactions, primarily for pre-funded work and essential operations. New awards were slowed, options and task orders were deferred, and contracting officers built up a backlog of files that could not move until appropriations were restored.
Now that the shutdown has ended, that backlog is turning into activity. Federal acquisition coverage is already describing contracting offices with “a lot to catch up on,” from implementing new FAR class deviations to pushing out delayed awards at a faster pace.
That is what a spending spree looks like from the inside.
Don't Wait...Win.
Let's Make This Happen!
Why GSA Contracts Become the Fast Lane After a Shutdown
When time is short, contracting officers reach for whatever lets them move the fastest without sacrificing compliance.
That is precisely what the GSA Multiple Award Schedule program was built for. GSA’s own description of MAS emphasizes that it gives federal, state, local, and tribal buyers an easy way to purchase pre-negotiated commercial products and services at fair, pre-competed prices.
The numbers behind MAS tell the story.
Recent GSA performance reporting shows that MAS sales have grown into a multi-billion-dollar channel. One analysis put MAS sales at about 46.6 billion dollars in fiscal year 2021, rising to more than 51.1 billion dollars by fiscal year 2024.
GSA’s own annual performance report cites double-digit growth and more than 51.5 billion dollars in MAS sales in fiscal year 2024.
If you include both the GSA MAS and the VA Federal Supply Schedule, total schedule-based spending exceeds $72 billion in the most recent fiscal year.
That growth has happened while GSA has been tightening the program. Recent policy updates focus on “rightsizing” MAS by allowing low-performing contracts to expire and cracking down on noncompliant contractors.
In practice, that means more awards flowing through a slightly smaller but stronger pool of schedule holders.
Layer a shutdown on top of that trend, and the logic inside the government is simple.
If you are a contracting officer coming out of a funding lapse, you do not have time to run lengthy open-market competitions for every urgent need. You look for existing vehicles that are already completed, already priced, and already structured to move quickly. GSA Schedules, GWACs, and other IDIQ vehicles become the default path.
If you are on one of those schedules, this is an opportunity. If you are not, you are watching from the outside while others move.
How Agencies Behave When the Window Reopens
On paper, shutdowns are a political fight. In the field, they are a workload problem.
During the shutdown, CBO and other observers consistently flag delays in new contract awards, modifications, options, and task orders. Government-wide analyses show that agencies halt or slow down new solicitations, defer awards, and temporarily stop adding funds to existing contracts.
When the funding finally passes, contracting officers do not suddenly have fewer requirements. They have more:
- The projects that were supposed to be awarded before the shutdown.
- The work that piled up during the shutdown.
- New priorities that leadership pushed to the top of the list.
This is why you see “catch-up” behavior. Awards that were supposed to be spread across several months get compressed into the remaining weeks of the fiscal quarter or year. Contracting offices prioritize vehicles that streamline competition and documentation. Program offices push to obligate funds quickly to avoid losing them.
At the same time, specific categories of spending have been trending upward regardless of shutdowns. GSA Advantage sales analyses indicate that, even with quarter-to-quarter swings, agencies are increasing their use of online and catalog-style purchasing tools to buy faster and with more pricing and performance data.
The result for a business owner is simple.
When the government comes out of a shutdown, it tends to spend fast, use established vehicles, and seek vendors who are already positioned and easy to award.
Download Your Copy of The Ultimate Guide To The GSA Schedule for 2026 Today!
What This “Spending Spree” Means For Small And Mid-Sized Businesses
A shutdown makes headlines. The recovery does not. That is why many small to mid-size businesses miss the window.
Look at the pattern:
- Funds are delayed for weeks.
- Congress ultimately restores appropriations.
- Agencies rush to obligate budgets to real projects before they expire.
For firms already holding a GSA Schedule contract, this is often when the pipeline suddenly feels more active. Program managers who were waiting for clarity can finally move. Task orders are released. RFQs through GSA eBuy and other portals pick up volume. Contracting officers lean on schedule holders they know can perform.
For firms without a GSA Schedule, the moment looks very different. You may hear from agencies that it would be “easier” if you were on schedule. You may see opportunities that are limited only to schedule holders. You may find that by the time you respond to open market solicitations, the work is already being routed to existing schedule contractors because the clock is ticking on end-of-year funds.
Meanwhile, GSA has been expanding the program’s use cases. Federal, state, and even specific local buyers are eligible to use these contracts for a wide variety of mission needs, from IT and professional services to facilities, logistics, and more.
That means the pool of potential buyers you can reach through a single contract vehicle is larger than many business owners realize.
In a normal year, that is powerful. In a post-shutdown surge year, it can be the difference between winning multiple projects or sitting out the cycle.
Positioning Now So You Are Not Chasing The Next Surge
If you are reading this without a GSA Schedule, the worst response is to shrug and hope the next fiscal year is calmer.
History suggests there will be more shutdown risk in the future. It also suggests a clear pattern: short-term disruption, followed by compressed, sometimes intense periods of spending as agencies work through the backlog and execute the funds they were given anyway.
The smart move is to position your company so that when the next surge hits, you are inside the system rather than knocking on the door from the outside. That means:
- Treating a GSA Schedule as an entry ticket, not just “another contract.”
- Making sure your offerings, pricing, and SIN choices line up with real demand, not just what looks good on paper.
- Building a basic internal process for responding quickly when RFQs and task orders come out, because windows will be short.
From there, you can layer in more advanced strategies, such as aligning with category management goals, tracking which agencies are increasing their schedule spending, or pairing your schedule with other certifications and past performance to stand out.
Don't Wait...Win.
Let's Make This Happen!
Where B2G Connect Fits In
The mechanics of getting a GSA Schedule in place are not glamorous. The forms are technical, the rules are strict, and the review process is slow even in the best political climate.
In a post-shutdown environment, the stakes are even higher. You want your offer built correctly the first time so that when GSA evaluation teams clear the backlog, your file is ready to move and you are not stuck in another round of clarifications.
B2G Connect exists to bridge that gap.
We live inside this world every day. We track policy shifts, sales thresholds, rightsizing rules, and buying trends across agencies. We understand how shutdowns ripple through budgets, and more importantly, how agencies behave when the lights come back on, and they have to move.
If you want your company to be on the receiving end of the next wave of spending rather than watching it flow to your competitors, stepping onto the GSA Schedule now is one of the most direct ways to do so.
The shutdown is over. The catch-up phase is starting. The spree is real. The only question is whether you will be ready for it the next time the government starts spending fast.
Start Today!
Marketing your business to the government can be complex and highly competitive.
That’s where we come in...at B2G Connect, our team of experts are there for every step of the complicated process.
Call Us Today At (727) 615-4929