HITSS 2 and Pro-Tech

      As if the fall buying season were not busy enough, two big solicitations for small firms are coming soon.

      The State Department’s HITSS II (Hybrid Information Technology Services for State II) is for technical services support for operating systems, hardware and software, with an RFP expected in August, Ashley Bergander, research manager for Deltek, wrote in a report. There are 20 incumbents.

      Expect multiple BPAs to be awarded to small and disadvantaged GSA Schedule 70 holders.

      HITSS II also is to have an 8(a)-only track, and a track for firms that are HUBZone, service-disabled veteran-owned (SDVOSBs) or women-owned.

      The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Pro-Tech contract, valued at $3 billion, is for support for ocean, satellite, meteorological and enterprise operations. Most awards are reserved for small businesses, with an RFP anticipated in September.

More information: http://goo.gl/mLZ3OW

SDVOSB decision

      As long as the Veterans Affairs Department meets its goals for procurements with SDVOSBs, it may buy goods and services from the Federal Supply Schedule without first considering whether SDVOSBs can meet the requirement, a court has ruled.

      The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has denied the appeal of a lower court decision in the Kingdomware Technologies Inc. case, ending several rounds of litigation.

      The court ruled that the purpose of “Veterans First” is to ensure that the VA meets its SDVOSB goals, and if that is the case, the agency need not consider SDVOSBs first in all procurements.

      Steven Koprince, government contracts attorney, called the decision “a crushing blow to SDVOSBs” in a blog posting.

More information: http://goo.gl/6q4NaR

“Aggressive” GSA IG?

      The ongoing billing dispute between the GSA inspector general and GSA Schedule holder ITS Services Inc., a subsidiary of Qinetiq North America, is getting attention as a possible case of audit overreach.

      The GSA is accusing ITS of overbilling because the company did not pass through discounts it received from its subcontractors. ITS, in turn, is countersuing.

      Larry Allen, president of Allen Federal Business Partners, told Set-Aside Alert that the IG’s actions on ITS “show aggressiveness” because Congress and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy addressed such billing practices nearly a decade ago and a policy was established.

      “The GSA IG position, therefore, is an attempt to make new rules out of whole cloth via legal action,” Allen wrote in his blog.

      The GSA IG’s spokeswoman, Sarah Breen, told Set-Aside Alert that the inspector general “disagrees with statements in (Allen’s) blog and looks forward to the court's decision to resolve this matter once and for all.”

More information: Larry Allen’s blog: http://www.allenfederal.com/wk-ahead/6-23-2014.php

VOSB & SDVOSB subs

      The National Veteran Small Business Coalition honored prime contractors with exceptional records of subcontracting with veteran-owned firms in fiscal 2013.

      Here are the top five for subbing with both veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned firms, said Scott Denniston, the coalition’s executive director.

• Leidos Holdings Inc., $2.5 billion total subcontracts: VOSB, 13%; SDVOSB, 6.6%
• Northrop Grumman Information Systems, $2.2 billion total subcontracts: VOSB, 10%; SDVOSB, 5.8%.
• Raytheon Co. Information, Intelligence & Services: $1.2 billion total subcontracts: VOSB, 10.2%; SDVOSB, 6.5%
• Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions, $1.1 billion total subcontracts: VOSB, 10%; SDVOSB, 4.9%
• URS Federal Services Group, $712 million total subcontracts: VOSB, 10.4%; SDVOSB, 5.3%.