Davis voices concerns about GSA contract management

Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) urged the head of the General Services Administration today to review acquisitions that may overlap with the agency's $20 billion Networx telecommunications procurement, fearing that GSA does not have the resources to manage simultaneously all the programs.

In a two-page letter sent today to GSA Administrator Stephen Perry, Davis said he's concerned by what he sees as a lack of management coordination among various related GSA programs and a drain on its limited resources.

Davis raised questions about GSA Alliant and Alliant Small Business contracts, which will be awarded simultaneously in July 2006. The two 10-year awards, worth $50 billion and $15 billion, respectively, will offer a wide range of IT support services for all federal agencies. About 60 awards will be issued under the contracts.

It is unclear to Davis how the Alliant program will fit with the Networx program for telecommunications services, he said in his letter. The programs are being managed by different GSA regional offices.

Davis also said that there was no need for GSA to press ahead with plans to conduct wide-ranging acquisitions for local telecommunications services that appear to encroach upon requirements that being solicited through the Networx program.

He said that the local acquisition programs would send the "wrong signal that it is acceptable for GSA regions to go off on their own."

"It appears that GSA will be strained to manage all of these moving parts, and it will likely affect its ability to serve customer agencies," Davis said.

Davis asked Perry to conduct a full-scale review of the acquisition programs to determine whether GSA has the capacity to manage them at the same time.

A GSA spokesman said the agency is working on a response to Davis' letter.