The Government Accountability Office said last week that the National Nuclear Security Administration and six of its management and operating contractors incorrectly reported small business contracts awarded in fiscal 2018-2022.
According to a report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) March 13, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) awarded $1.1 billion of its $16.8 billion small business contract funds to businesses “that did not meet size standards established by the Small Business Administration.”
The report also said that, encompassing another $1.9 billion of the $16.8 billion, NNSA and the contractors could not provide information needed for GAO to determine whether the businesses met the size criteria.
Teresa Robbins, acting administrator for NNSA, concurred with GAO’s recommendations in an agency letter. Robbins said that NNSA would ensure its Small Business Program addresses root causes of errors, which Robbins said was “human input error,” by Oct. 31. She also said the program would work with prime contractors and update the procurement review system.
By Dec. 31, Robbins said NNSA expects to have a process in place to verify vendor size errors have been corrected.
The management and operating contractors the GAO studied from fiscal 2018-2022 included:
- Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC, which was the joint-venture contractor for the Pantex Plant and Y-12 National Security Complex at the time.
- Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, which managed and operated Kansas City National Security Campus.
- Lawrence Livermore National Security, the joint-venture running Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
- Mission Support and Test Services, the joint-venture running Nevada National Security Site.
- National Technology & Engineering Solutions Of Sandia, the joint venture running Sandia National Laboratories.
- Triad National Security, the joint-venture running Los Alamos National Laboratory.
