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Language Services and the U.S. Federal Government 
 
Keywords
U.S. government translation, U.S. military interpreters, U.S. government language services, U.S. military linguists, U.S. federal government language budget, U.S. government language spending

Abstract
How much does the U.S. federal government spent on translation and interpreting services? In this report, we review government expenditures from 1990 through 2009. We rank the top language services contractors for each year, and show which agencies spend the most, both yearly, and overall. We show detailed maps of supplier locations, and explain how budgetary priorities have changed over the year. We also look at correlations between political parties of U.S. presidents and spending habits, as well as the relationship between the federal budget, defense budget, and year-to-year language services expenditure.

Benefits
In General: 
  • Learn which 20 agencies account for more than 90 percent of total U.S. federal government spending
  • See which agencies issue contracts to non-U.S. suppliers of language services
  • Access annual rankings of the top ten government language services contractors
  • Understand whether Republican or Democratic presidential administrations make a difference on language services spending patterns
  • Identify historical trends for translation and interpreting expenditure over a 20-year period (1990-2009)
  • Find out which months are most important for federal government contracts

Physical Details
Authors: Nataly Kelly, Donald A. DePalma, and Robert G. Stewart
Date: 31 December 2009
ISBN: 978-1-933555-74-4
Pages: 90

Companies
Advanced Communication; Advanced Language Systems International, LLC; Aegis Mission Essential Personnel, LLC; Aguirre International, Inc.; Allworld Language Consultants, Inc.; AM General Corporation; Antiquariat Literary Services; Aset International Services; Batelle Memorial Institute; BDM International, Inc.; Berlitz International, Inc.; Bowne Global Solutions, Inc.; BTG, Inc.; CACI; Calnet, Inc.; Capcom Sign Language Interpret; Chenega Federal Systems, LLC; Communications Resource, Inc.; Comprehensive Technologies; Conduit Language Specialists, Inc.; Corporate Family Solutions; CRH Associates; Diplomatic Language Services; Edix Corporation; FLS, Inc.; Gaia Communications, LLC; Genesys, Ltd.; GH, LLC; Global Linguist Solutions, LLC; Global Professional Solutions; Information Manufacturing; Integrity Business Solutions, Inc.; International Communications; Kansas City Air Filter, Inc.; L-3 Services, Inc.; Lafayette Group, Inc.; Language Services Associates; Latsec, Inc.; Leo Kanner Associates; Linguex Language Center; Linguist Services, Inc.; Lionbridge Global Solutions; Master Translating Service; McElroy Translation; McNeil Technologies, Inc.; Metropolitan Interpreters & Translators, Inc.; Miller Reporting Company; Ministry of Defense, DGW&T; MPRI, Inc.; Multimax, Inc.; MVM, Inc.; Nangwik Services, LLC; National Technologies, Inc.; Northrop Grumman; Partners in Sign, Inc.; PSC, Inc.; REEP, Inc.; Resource Consultants, Inc.; Rosetta Stone, Ltd.; SAIC; Schreiber Translations, Inc.; Scitran Sci Translation Services; Shee Atika Languages, LLC; Sign Language Associates, Inc.; SM Consulting, Inc.; SOL Translation Services, Inc.; SOS International, Ltd.; SOS Interpreting, Ltd.; Stuart B. Consultants, Inc.; Systran Software, Inc.; Techtrans, International, Inc.; Teleinterpreters, Inc.; Tempo Services; The Language Arts, Inc.; The Language Doctors, Inc.; The Ventura Group, Inc.; Thomas Computer Solutions, LLC; Torres Advanced Enterprise Solutions, LLC; TRW, Inc.; Universal Language Corp.; Valencia Language Group, Inc.; Visual Language Interpreting; Voxtec International, Inc.; Worldwide Language Resources, Inc.; York Stenographic Services, Inc.; ZKD, Inc.

Table of Contents
  • Topic
    • What This Report Contains
      • What Isn’t Included in This Report
    • Past Research on the United States Government
  • Data
    • How We Carried Out the Research for This Report
      • Federal Government Data Poses Research Challenges
      • Custom Search Methods and Programming Addressed Data Barriers
    • An Overview of U.S. Federal Language Services Spending
    • Twenty Agencies Make Up 96 Percent of Language Services Spending
    • The Suppliers That Earn the Most from Federal Contracts
    • Two Decades of Federal Government Language Services
      • 1990: One Vendor Takes It All
      • 1991: DOJ Interpreting Leads Language Contract Awards
      • 1992: Defense Language Spending Accelerates
      • 1993: DOJ and Defense Pump Up Language Spending
      • 1994: The Army Emerges as the Biggest Language Services Spender
      • 1995: Federal Language Spending Leaps by More than 50 Percent
      • 1996: Government Expenditures Reach a Plateau
      • 1997: Army, PTO, and DEA Ratchet Up Spending
      • 1998: Defense Agency Expenditures Shift to Specialized Procurement
      • 1999: Another Plateau in Federal Language Spending, Except at the Army
      • 2000: Overall Language Budget Drops: Army Down, DOJ Up
      • 2001: Defense Spending Fuels Major Rise in Language Spending
      • 2002: Army Again Leads, but Overall Spending Drops by 35 Percent
      • 2003: Federal Language Budget Triples over Previous Year
      • 2004: DIA Takes the Spending Lead
      • 2005: Intelligence, Army, and Drug Enforcement Lead the List
      • 2006: Language Expenditures Ramp Up Significantly
      • 2007: Linguistic Budgets Leap Yet Again, Led by the Army
      • 2008: Federal Language Spending Breaks the One Billion Dollar Barrier
      • 2009: New President Brings New Initiatives but Same Old Budget
    • One Nation with a World of Language Service Providers
  • Analysis
    • Federal and Defense Budgets Determine Translation Spending
    • Spending on Language Services Closely Follows Political Party Lines
    • Federal Agencies Not Only Buy Locally – They Buy Next Door
    • Timing Is Everything When It Comes to Government Contracts
    • Government Market Drivers: Multiculturalization and Defense
      • National Security Interests Depend Directly on Multilingual Support
      • Immigration Fuels Domestic Demand for Language Services
    • Federal Government Buyers Require a Diverse Array of Services
      • Languages of Limited Demand Suddenly Grow in Importance
      • “Localization” Goes by Other Names in the Government Space
      • Most Needed Services: Interpreting and Translation
    • Changes for Language Services under the Obama Administration
  • Implications
    • Already Selling to the Feds? Get Ready to Sell More
    • Thinking about Selling Language Services to Federal Agencies?
      • Shifting to Public Sector Sales Means Major Business Changes
      • In Spite of the Challenges, Business Opportunities Abound
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