This document comprises the General Accounting Office's (GAO) report to the House Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations concerning the GAO's review of the contract awarding process of the National Institute of Education (NIE) for fiscal year 1983. The review focused on 39 of NIE's 52 newly negotiated procurement contracts; a sample of purchase orders for commissioned papers on topical education problems and issues were also reviewed. This report is presented in the form of summary responses to six specific questions from the subcommittee regarding NIE's procurement activities. The questions concern (1) how often NIE has revealed the number of proposals received, prices, cost ranges, or government cost estimates to bidders; (2) how often NIE has awarded contracts to other than lowest-priced bidders; (3) how often the Director of NIE has made the award decision; (4) what percentage of NIE contracts were awarded competitively; (5) how many contracts NIE awarded at the end of the fiscal year; and (6) how many Department of Education personnel have been employed by NIE contractors. A lengthy appendix assesses NIE's contract award processes in detail, covering (1) its scope and methodology; (2) competitive contract awards, with specific attention to requests for proposals (RFPs), awards to other than lowest offeror, and contract awards decided by NIE Director; (3) four noncompetitive contract awards deemed unjustifiable; (4) contracts awarded at year-end; and (5) employment relationships between Education Department employees and NIE contractors. (TE)