NNSA: NO DELAY IN Y-12/PANTEX PROCUREMENT WITH MILLER’S DEPARTURE

The pending departure of acting National Nuclear Security Administration chief Neile Miller will leave a void atop the agency’s senior leadership structure, but it won’t impact the NNSA’s Y-12/Pantex procurement, NNSA spokesman Josh McConaha told NW&M Monitor. The agency said on May 8 that it would seek more information “in the coming weeks” from bidders about cost savings proposals after the Government Accountability Office upheld a pair of protests from teams led by Babcock & Wilcox and Jacobs/Fluor. Bechtel-led Consolidated Nuclear Security was initially awarded the $22.8 billion contract in January.

Miller, who was the Source Selection Authority for the procurement and the agency’s principal deputy administrator until Tom D’Agostino announced his retirement as NNSA administrator in December, is leaving her post as the acting administrator June 14, but McConaha said the procurement process will continue without interruption despite her departure. Previously, Miller told NW&M Monitor that the agency was moving to wrap up the procurement as quickly as possible. “We’re very pleased that we only have one of the issues to deal with,” she said. “We think we can get this done and move along expeditiously.”