May 29, 2014

GAO HEARING ON Y-12/PANTEX PROTEST REMAINS A POSSIBILITY

By ExchangeMonitor

A Government Accountability Office hearing on Babcock & Wilcox’s protest of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Y-12/Pantex procurement remains a possibility, NW&M Monitor has learned. Babcock & Wilcox-led Nuclear Production Partners has pushed for a hearing in its third protest of the NNSA’s award to Bechtel-led Consolidated Nuclear Security, but the GAO has not made a decision and is believed to be weighing whether or not it needs to convene the parties to seek more details. The GAO has until Feb. 28 to rule on the protest. Ralph White, the GAO’s Managing Associate General Counsel for Procurement Law, declined to comment on the agency’s plans. “I’m not going to discuss our considerations about the hearing and no hearing is scheduled,” White told NW&M Monitor.

Nuclear Production Partners and the NNSA have traded legal filings since NP2 filed the protest in November, with NP2 filing comments to the NNSA’s Dec. 23 response on Jan. 8. The GAO convened a hearing during NP2’s first protest of the contract, which it sustained, but it did not hold a hearing in NP2’s second protest, which was rejected. In its protest, NP2 argued that the NNSA allowed Consolidated Nuclear Security to unfairly alter its proposal, made mathematical errors in calculating the cost savings contained in its bid, and improperly evaluated CNS’ key personnel. Industry officials have suggested that a hearing could suggest GAO is strongly considering the merits of NP2’s protest, increasing the chance that it could rule in favor of NP2.

Comments are closed.