GSA to Bidders: Cut Prices GSA is pressing for lower prices on its 8(a) STARS II set-aside governmentwide acquisition contract. In a June 21 email to prospective offerors, GSA said it was delaying awards on the multiple-award contract. “This discussion e-mail serves as notice that GSA has made the decision to hold additional discussions, with an emphasis on pricing,” the message said, according to Federal Computer Week. The agency said it plans to make awards by July 31. STARS II is a five-year task order contract for IT with a ceiling of $10 billion. The original STARS contract was the first 8(a) set-aside GWAC and proved to be popular with buyers. GSA said the email gave contractors an opportunity to discuss their bids and to submit a final proposal with revised pricing. “Our intention was to ask all offerors to extend their offer deadlines in an effort to get more competitive pricing,” said Mary Davie, assistant commissioner of the Office of Integrated Technology Solutions, in a statement. But one executive of a company bidding on the STARS II contract said the last-minute request for new pricing poses a headache, because the contract covers myriad job categories, and each of them must be repriced for each region. The emphasis on pricing comes as all agencies are bracing for a prolonged period of tighter budgets. The Defense Department recently created a new position of director of defense pricing as part of its effort to hold down costs. An earlier email from GSA apparently led some contractors to believe that awards had already been made. GSA rescinded that message, saying it was ambiguous and no contracts had been awarded.