Donald L. Savage Headquarters, Washington, D.C. December 2, 1992 (Phone: 202/453-8400) RELEASE: 92-216 NASA TO BOOST CONTRACTING WITH SMALL, DISADVANTAGED BUSINESSES NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin today announced that $310 million would be set aside under a determinations and Findings (D & F) to ensure NASA reaches the congressionally- mandated goal of awarding at least 8 percent of its contracts and subcontracts to small, disadvantaged and women-owned businesses. The goal covers small business concerns or other organizations owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals including women-owned businesses, Historically Black Colleges and Universities and minority educational institutions. "NASA is committed to meeting our self-imposed deadline of reaching this goal by 1994," Goldin said. "These contracts will be in addition to our 8 (a) procurements and will round out our strategy for emphasizing contract and subcontract opportunities for small disadvantaged businesses (SDBs). "I'm confident that Congress will support this determination as an aggressive means of meeting the goal they set for us," Goldin said. The law provides for exceptions to the requirement that government contracts be fully and openly competed when the head of an agency determines that use of other than competitive procedures is in the public interest. Goldin said that without a means for limiting competition to small, disadvantaged concerns, achieving the goal is problematical at best. He made the announcement in a speech before the American Astronautical Society in San Francisco. During the first 6 months of fiscal year 1992 (Oct. 1, 1991 - March 31, 1992), NASA's total procurements were $7.932 billion. Of this, small, disadvantaged firms received $128 million, with $34 million awarded to small women-owned firms. Greater Agency Emphasis on SDB Contracting In addition to setting the target date for achieving the goal, NASA has taken a number of other steps to improve SDB contracting and subcontracting. These include elevating the position of the Director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization to the level of Assistant Administrator and increasing the responsibility of the associate administrators and center directors in achieving the 8 percent goal. Also, a number of policies have been established which emphasize SDB contracting and subcontracting, such as greater consideration in the early phases of procurement, increased emphasis on SDB subcontracting in source selections and greater consideration of SDB subcontracting in award fee determinations. Designed to be a one-time effort, the D & F contains a list of 26 requirements for contracts at NASA centers. The list includes a $70 million, 5-year support service contract at the Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.; a $40 million, 5-year contract to provide personal computers at the Johnson Space Center, Houston; a $1 million contract for construction of new roads at the Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif.; and a $45 million, 7-year contract to provide technical, engineering and related computer support at the Lewis Research Center, Cleveland. Other contracts listed in the D & F include administrative support services, hazardous material disposal, air traffic control support services, various infrastructure improvements and maintenance contracts, analysis and evaluation services, and Russian language liaison support. - end - EDITOR'S NOTE: Copies of the plan "Determination and Findings, Authority to Use Other Than Full and Open Competition," which includes information on the 26 contracts to be awarded, are available to news media by calling the NASA Headquarters Newsroom on 202/453-8400. After Dec. 4, the Headquarters Newsroom can be reached on 202/358-1600.