BearingPoint's HSPD-12 contract to expire in January

The General Services Administration said today that it will not pursue the option years on its Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) contract with BearingPoint.

BearingPoint won the contract, worth $104.6 million, Aug. 17 to provide a turnkey solution to produce identification cards that meet HSPD-12 credentials requirements. It also had to provide the technology and services for setting up personal identity verification accounts.

Now GSA will allow the contract to expire in January 2007.

"GSA has determined that it is in the best interest of the government to further compete all of its future HSPD-12 requirements," the agency said in a statement.

The HSPD-12 deadline required agencies to begin issuing employees and contractors identification cards by Oct. 27. The credentialing must be complete by Oct. 27, 2007.

GSA said it believes the marketplace for HSPD-12 products has matured and prices will decrease. Its multiple-award schedule program has 11 vendors with HSPD-12-compliant services.

“BearingPoint and others have schedule contracts for these services and are equally able to compete for all future HSPD-12 requirements,” GSA said.

“Frankly, we welcome the competition,” BearingPoint spokesman Steve Lunceford said. “We believe we have a very robust solution.”

Moreover, he said, it was a feat to make the initial HSPD-12 deadline, especially after winning the contract in August, two months before the mandated deadline.

GSA said that was strictly a business decision. Lunceford reiterated that “performance is not an issue whatsoever.”

The National Institute of Standards and Technology recently finalized its standards. GSA also wants to make the multiple-award schedule contracts available for state and local governments to participate in the credentialing system, according to its statement.

BearingPoint’s competitors see GSA’s move as good news.

“We support GSA’s action to terminate the current contract for HSPD-12 shared services and to provide these products and services to federal agencies in a fair and competitive manner,” said Brad Bass, EDS spokesman, in a statement. EDS is one company that is interested in the HSPD-12 contract.