Commerce Information Technology Solutions Next Generation Governmentwide Acquisition Contract

Concerns have been raised about the fairness of the "bid down" approach of the Department of Commerce's Information Technology Solutions Next Generation (COMMITS NexGen) contract. In response to these concerns, the fiscal year 2006 Science, the Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce, and Related Agencies appropriations conference report requested our review of COMMITS NexGen. This letter transmits the briefing document we provided to Congress on May 15, 2006, concerning a variety of issues related to the COMMITS NexGen contract. Specifically, we provided information on (1) how the COMMITS NexGen contract is structured to meet its intended goals, (2) what effect the tier system has on the task order competition process, and (3) what oversight and internal control procedures Commerce has implemented to address the risks of interagency contracting.