SEWP VI faces small business challenges
Gettyimages.com/ Teera Konakan
By
Nick Wakeman
A protest involving a now-deleted sustainability requirement is dismissed, but three other challenges go on and NASA cannot award the $60 billion IT contract until they are resolved.
One protest involving NASA’s $60 billion SEWP VI contract vehicle has been dismissed, but three remain active with claims that the space agency is treating small businesses differently.
Proposals were due on Monday (today) for the IT products and services contract. NASA can continue to evaluate proposals for this government-wide IT contract, but it cannot make award decisions until the Government Accountability Office resolves the outstanding protests.
GAO dismissed Avalogic’s protest on Friday after NASA changed the provision the company was objecting to.
Avalogic company challenged a sustainability clause in the solicitation. The protest became moot when NASA removed the requirement.
NASA eliminated requirements for bidders to submit sustainability management plans. Those would have included a documented environmental management system, the monitoring of carbon emissions and mitigation of any environmental impacts.
That shift away from sustainability requirements reflects the Trump administration's different approach to environmental regulations.
Protests filed by AdaptiveStack Technologies, Copia Consulting and Next Step Group remain active at GAO.
All three companies are objecting to provisions in the solicitation that they claim treat small businesses differently than SB joint ventures.
NASA requires that standalone small businesses submit relevant experience and past performance on contracts that are higher in value than what NASA is requiring of SB joint ventures.
GAO will rule on the protests in mid-May. NASA wanted to award SEWP VI in June, but a GAO ruling in favor of the protestors could push the awards further into the summer.