1. We recommend that the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office direct the Directors of the Office of Procurement and the Office of International Patent Cooperation to: recommend that the Director of the U.S. Census Bureau develop a plan to address the continuing lack of compliance with intial classification error rate requirements. Specifically, this plan should include (a) methods to optimize oversight resources to ensure effective communication and collaboration between USPTO and vendors regarding technical or quality issues and (b) contingencies for the contract structure for future option periods, including consideration of the optimal number of vendors, the effectiveness of the use of volume adjustments to drive quality improvements or lower costs, the inclusion of quality price incentives or disincentives for all vendors, and thresholds for enforcement of price reductions or other considerations for nonconformance.