WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Roger Williams (TX-25), Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, issued the following statement commending NASA for reversing their procurement decisions related to the Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts (SEWP VI GWAC) solicitation.

“After hearing concerns in January about how contracting language in this large NASA contract would prevent small business participation, this Committee took action,” said Chairman Williams. “It is great to see NASA listening to our concerns and rectifying the mistake to allow our nation’s small businesses to compete for this government contract. The Committee will continue being a voice for Main Street America within the federal government and will always fight for our nation’s job creators.”

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Background:

On Jan. 11, 2024, the House Committee on Small Business sent a letter to Administrator Bill Nelson of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) regarding their procurement decisions related to the Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts (SEWP VI GWAC) solicitation.

In this letter, the Committee expressed concern with NASA using a revenue-based North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for their massive SEWP VI contract, as it limited small businesses from being able to fully compete for the orders within the contract. NASA briefed the Committee and in response, reengaged with the SBA (and industry) to find a solution and reverse their decision on a $63 billion contract.

As a result, on May 23, 2024, NASA released the final request for proposal for SEWP VI, outlining how the contract is structured, including which size standards will be used. In this final version, NASA updated the size standard it will use, allowing small businesses to sell to the government without the fear that one or two orders will remove them from being considered small in this contract.

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