Chairman Williams, Rep. LaLota Pen Letter to NASA Over Concerns with New Contracting System

Summary

A January 12, 2024 item stating that Congressman Roger Williams (R-TX), Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, and Congressman Nick LaLota (R-NY), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure, wrote to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) about its new government contracting system. The letter excerpts say the Committee is investigating NASA procurement decisions on the Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts (SEWP VI GWAC) solicitation and is concerned that a revenue-based size standard proposed for use in SEWP VI limits small business' ability to service task orders. The letter requests a staff level briefing and additional information. It says SEWP V small entities won an estimated 80 percent of contract dollars.

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Full text

Chairman Williams, Rep. LaLota Pen Letter to NASA Over Concerns with New Contracting System

January 12, 2024

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Congressman Roger Williams (R-TX), Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, along with Congressman Nick LaLota (R-NY), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure, wrote to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) regarding concerns with their new government contracting system. Chairman Williams issued the following statement.

“We have heard concerns that these changes by NASA will prevent small businesses from partnering with the space agency,” said Chairman Williams. “All small businesses deserve the right to compete for government contracts, and we must ensure the fine print in these large deals allows them to do so. I look forward to hearing from the agency about these changes and how they believe it will benefit small businesses.”

Read the full letter here.

Read excerpts from the letter below:

“The Committee on Small Business (the Committee) is investigating National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) procurement decisions related to the Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts (SEWP VI GWAC) solicitation. The Committee is concerned that the revenue-based size standard proposed for use in SEWP VI limits small business’ ability to service task orders without compromising their size status. We write today to request a staff level briefing and request additional information.

“NASA’s SEWP VI provides an all-encompassing one-stop acquisition vehicle for Information Technology Product and Service Solutions. This contract vehicle has the potential to provide small businesses with immense growth opportunities. The previous vehicle iteration, SEWP V, showed remarkable small business inclusion with small entities winning an estimated 80 percent of contract dollars. The apparent success of SEWP V makes the decision to use a revenue-based overall contract NAICS code even more concerning. This decision could restrict the ability for small businesses to access task orders and prevent them from fully participating in SEWP VI.”

Background:

Signatories include Chairman Roger Williams (R-TX) and Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY).

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