February 23, 2005
Contact: Viki Reath
(202) 501-1231
viki.reath@gsa.gov

Washington, D.C. - The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) today announced it will release a request for proposal in March for a government-wide acquisition contract (GWAC) that will be set aside for service disabled veteran owned small businesses. The GWAC, named Veterans Technology Services (VETS), will provide information technology (IT) services for federal government agencies. This GWAC responds to an Executive Order signed by President Bush in October 2004 that directed GSA to establish a GWAC for service disabled veteran owned small businesses, which GSA supported.

GSA has already submitted its business case to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the 10-year, $5 billion GWAC contract known as the Veterans Technology Services (VETS) contract, which will promote opportunities for disabled veteran small business owners to provide information technology (IT) services to federal government agencies. The Request for Proposal will be issued this spring for VETS, and contract awards are expected early in 2006. The GWAC will have two functional areas that serviced disabled veteran businesses can propose on, namely Information Systems Engineering and Systems Operations and Maintenance, and both will include IT Security.

"We believe that serving those who have served the Nation so ably is the right thing to do," said GSA Administrator Stephen A. Perry. "We are proud to partner with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Small Business Administration to provide this contract vehicle that will help our disabled veterans and also enable federal agencies to meet their statutory 3 percent goal for contracting with service disabled veteran owned small businesses."

The proposed VETS contract will be awarded to multiple companies for information technology services. Under this approach, agencies will have options to consider for the work they need accomplished. These contracts are the so-called "Multiple Award/Indefinite Delivery/ Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contracts. GSA provides this type of contract for federal agencies when the government knows it will need a variety of services, but cannot immediately specify the required services. When agencies identify their requirements, they award specific "task orders," under the contract terms. The agency task orders include final prices.

Brad Scott, GSA Heartland Regional Administrator, and also the designated GSA senior official for service disabled veteran matters, said, "GSA has made a commitment to help service disabled veteran owned small businesses, and the VETS GWAC is a big step in showing just how deep the GSA level of commitment goes. This is something we believe in, and GSA will continue to be a strong advocate for providing opportunities to disabled veterans."

GSA's Small Business GWAC Center in Kansas City, Mo., will manage the VETS procurement. Online information is available at www.gsa.gov/vetsgwac.

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GSA is a centralized federal procurement, property management, and policy agency, created by Congress to improve government efficiency and help federal agencies better serve the public. It acquires, on behalf of federal agencies, office space, equipment, telecommunications, information technology, supplies and services. It also plays a key role in developing and implementing government-wide policies. GSA's 12,000 associates provide services and solutions for the office operations of more than one million federal workers located in more than 8,000 government-owned and leased buildings in 2,000 U.S. communities.