CGP, GSA working to avoid chaos once schedules expire
With many GSA schedules contracts set to expire over the next few years, the time is now for GSA to figure out a game plan for those contractors who hold these schedules and the agencies that rely on them.
Nearly every contractor holds a spot on one of the General Services Administration’s schedule contracts, but time is running out for these 20-year contracts, as many are nearing their expiration date.
Because of this looming expiration—set to happen over the course of the next few years—the Coalition of Government Procurement reached out to GSA urging them to provide guidance on how the agency plans to proceed.
There are three issues at hand here, said Roger Waldron, president of the Coalition for Government Procurement:
-
What GSA plans to do when these schedule contracts expire
-
Requirements of schedule-holding companies who try to get onto new schedule vehicles
-
What to do about blanket purchase agreements
“There were some issues around, if you’ve successfully performed for 20 years and you want a new contract, how much work should you have to go through to get that contract because you’ve already demonstrated you understand how to comply with GSA’s requirements and you’ve successfully performed on behalf of agencies,” Waldron said.
In a letter addressed to Waldron, GSA said that it is already addressing contracts nearing expiration by awarding dual contracts.
“It is also worth noting that, as part of the consolidation of the Professional Service Schedules, the Management Services Center is in the process of migrating approximately 370 contractors to the new professional services schedule,” GSA said.
Also in the letter, GSA said that the Federal Acquisition Service will prioritize expiring contracts based on the length remaining in the contract period and contract sales and that it is looking for ways it can streamline the proposal submission and review process for contractors involved with BPAs.
This is a good first step, Waldron said. “We’re very pleased so far with GSA’s response; they’ve taken some proactive steps to address the evaluation process, and I think it’s fair for everybody.”
Moving forward, Waldron and the Coalition for Government Procurement will continue to work with GSA to figure out what happens in the case of blanket purchase agreements.
“We look forward to continuing to work with them on is addressing BPAs, the letter of references, working on new FAR language, and we think that’s a very good thing,” Waldron said.