Sens. Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota) have proposed a bill that would direct the Defense Department to avoid the use of “lowest price, technically acceptable” procedures to buy knowledge-based professional services from industry.
The Promoting Value Based Defense Procurement Act seeks to discourage DoD from applying LPTA methods for acquisition contracts focused on information technology, systems engineering and technical support services, Warner’s office said April 21.
Reps. Don Beyer (D-Virginia) and Rob Wittman (R-Virginia) introduced a companion bill in the House.
Through an LPTA-based source selection process, procuring agencies consider offers that meet a defined set of minimum technical requirements and award a contract to the vendor with the lowest bid.
“Low costs cannot be the only consideration when safeguarding America’s most valuable information,” noted Beyer.
“LPTA is a valuable tool, but it can undermine DOD procurement flexibility and should not be used to purchase complex, innovative programs,” he added.