CONGRESS EYEING RELEASE OF CONTRACTOR FEE DATA

The decision by the National Nuclear Security Administration and the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management not to release Performance Evaluation Review data has drawn the attention of Congress, and Hill staffers expect the issue to receive increased attention over the next year. NNSA has shielded the reviews from public release since 2009, citing federal acquisition regulations that prohibit the disclosure of the documents due to possible procurement sensitivities. EM has no formal policy guiding the release of the documents, but it has also largely withheld releasing the Performance Evaluation Reviews. That has generated concern among government watchdog groups, former NNSA General Counsel Tyler Przybylek, and now some Congressional staffers. “The issue of performance evaluations, how they are used to award fees, and make decisions about competition and contract renewals is an important one,” one staffer said this weekend.