New protests for $50B Army MAPS vehicle
gettyimages.com
By
Nick Wakeman
Two protesters are challenging the professional services solicitation's limits on small business proposals and a third is objecting to CMMC requirements.
A fresh set of protests have hit the much-troubled MAPS professional services vehicle that the Army is still trying to get out the door.
The $50 billion Marketplace for the Acquisition of Professional Services was hit with several protests over the summer involving small business participation, as well as questions about transparency and ambiguities surrounding the solicitation.
The resolved most of those by late September. GAO denied most of the challenges, but in one ruling it told the Army to allow small business teams to submit revised bids.
Two of the three new protests directly target the small business changes GAO recommended. The third protest challenges how the Army is requiring the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification in light of the Defense Department’s pause of the the program.
AHS Business Services and Mindboard are both challenging the small business portion of MAPS.
The Army reopened the proposal window for small business teams to follow GAO’s recommendation. AHS and Mindboard are arguing that the Army’s approach is too narrow because it only applies to the small business category of the contract.
They are saying that small business teams should also be able to submit proposals for the commercial-sector vendor portion of the contract.
Intelligence Consulting Enterprise Solutions is challenging the CMMC requirements that are part of the solicitation.
DOD has paused the aspects of CMMC that go beyond self-certification. CMMC is a program to protect the controlled unclassified government information contractors hold on their systems.
GAO's rulings on the new protests are expected by early February.