We recommend that the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office direct the Director of the Office of Procurement to develop policies and procedures to monitor plan of action and milestones documents against timelines and communicate and escalate contractor security issues, including existing issues such as contractor background investigations. The procedures should clarify (a) communication of serious or persistent issues to the Contracting Officer for action and (b) available enforcement actions, including the reduction of payments.