Army tells McCaul it will follow GAO ruling

Katy Times

Congressman Michael McCaul said the U.S. Army will abide by the United States Governmental Accountability Office’s ruling that a recent bidding process for a military vehicle contract was flawed and that the bids should be re-evaluated.

The Army has not made a public announcement on its decision, but McCaul met with Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology Dean Popps on Wednesday and released the following statement that afternoon:

"The Army told me they will follow the GAO’s recommendations, and they will take as much time as necessary to make the right decision. I look forward to discussing this further with Under Secretary (Ashton) Carter and Secretary (John) McHugh."

McCaul’s meeting with Popps followed the GAO’s ruling Monday, upholding BAE System’s protest for awarding a $3 million contract to build Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles to Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Truck.

"We recommended that the Army: reevaluate the offerors’ proposals under the capability evaluation factor, in a manner consistent with the terms of the solicitation; conduct a new evaluation of Navistar’s past performance that adequately documents the agency’s judgments; and make a new selection decision," said Michael R. Golden, GAO’s managing associate general counsel for procurement law.

"We also recommended that if, at the conclusion of the reevaluation, Oshkosh is not found to offer the best value, the agency should terminate Oshkosh’s contract for the convenience of the government."

While the Army has no obligation to abide by the GAO’s recommendations, it has 60 days to notify the office of its intended course of action.

BAE employs more than 3,200 people in Texas and Michigan, and its 900,0000-square-foot facility in Sealy employs approximately 3,000, a third of whom are Katy area residents. BAE also has a 234,009-square-foot inventory warehouse in Sugar Land, a 35,000-square-foot aftermarket warehouse in Katy, as well as the Global Tactical Systems Headquarters in Park 10.

The company has an impact of more than $500 million annually on the state’s economy, and a recent analysis by the Research Department of the Greater Houston Partnership said the loss of the contract would cost the Houston region $1.8 billion annually.