[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 17736-17737]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          FAR EXCEPTION THREE

 Mr. CHAMBLISS. Madam President, the Mercer Engineering 
Research Center, or MERC, is the nonprofit, research and applied 
engineering arm of Mercer University, a private university founded in 
1833 and located in a state-of-the-art research facility in Warner 
Robins, GA; just a short drive from Robins Air Force Base. For over 175 
years, the University has served Georgia as a highly respected 
educational institution.
  In 1984, the School of Engineering was established at the Macon, GA, 
campus with the charter class beginning studies in 1985. Two years 
later, MERC was established under the School of Engineering to provide 
locally available engineering and scientific services with critical 
specialized skills to the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, while 
simultaneously providing a workload support-base to the Mercer School 
of Engineering in its development of high-technology skills in the 
Middle Georgia area.
  MERC has a highly qualified professional staff, complex tools and 
test equipment, and extensive technical capability in the fields of 
aircraft structural analysis and design, flight test instrumentation, 
reverse engineering and prototyping, laboratory structural testing, 
electronic warfare software algorithm development, web deployed 
applications with integrated database access, industrial engineering 
and logistics.
  MERC also employs engineering interns providing an avenue for 
students to get real world, Air Force-related experience, and today 
they are the largest source of entry-level engineers for Robins Air 
Force Base while also providing superior support to all other military 
services, large and small business, and other research agencies.
  MERC has been able to maintain a successful, strategic relationship 
with Robins Air Force Base because of its Ph.D-level knowledge of 
sponsors' requirements and problems; its developing capability; its 
broad corporate knowledge and quick response capability; independence 
and objectivity; freedom from conflicts of interest; and lower costs. 
Their demonstrated ability to provide efficient, cost effective 
solutions to pressing research and development problems established 
MERC as the preferred source of real solutions to real problems
  Over the last few years, however, the Air Force and the Robins Air 
Force Base Small Business Office have emphasized increasing the 
percentage of small business contract awards; an initiative not without 
merit for sure. However, their interpretation and application of the 
Federal Acquisition Regulations, or FAR, has resulted in MERC 
essentially being barred from providing contracted services the likes 
of which they have provided with unmatched efficiency and significant 
savings for the Air Force for almost 30 years.
  Since nonprofit research organizations by definition cannot be small 
businesses, they are excluded by law from competing for small business 
set-asides. However, the FAR offers seven equal and independent 
statutory authorities the U.S. government can apply which authorize, 
under certain conditions, contracting without providing for full and 
open competition.
  Senior Air Force leadership at Robins Air Force Base have long 
supported the use of those exceptions, specifically, the so-called 
``Exception Three'' which allowed for contacting without providing for 
full and open competition ``when it is necessary to award the contract 
to a particular source or sources in order to establish or maintain an 
essential engineering, research, or development capability to be 
provided by an educational or other nonprofit institution or a 
federally funded research and development center.''
  That application of the FAR allowed Robins AFB to maintain the 
essential engineering capabilities of MERC to augment their own because 
under FAR Exception Three, MERC received sole source contracts when 
their expertise, flexibility and lower costs demanded it.
  In recent years, however, the Small Business Office at Robins Air 
Force Base has approved the use of only one of the FAR exceptions, that 
being when ``only one responsible source and no other supplies or 
services will satisfy agency requirements.''
  This application of the FAR, or misapplication if you will, makes it 
virtually impossible for the Robins Air Force Base to award certain 
contracts to any entity other than small businesses. It translates to 
higher costs and greater inefficiencies. Robins Air Force Base 
continues to seek MERC's unique expertise and essential engineering 
skills, but is forced to pass money through small and large businesses 
to MERC adding time and cost to the product/service delivery. By 
demanding more awards go to small businesses, the government also 
suffers a loss of intellectual property, IP, since MERC transfers 
ownership of all said property back to the U.S. Government, while small 
businesses can retain IP for future revenue.
  You would be hard pressed to find any bigger supporter of small 
businesses in the Senate than myself. However, when it comes to 
ensuring our men and women fighting overseas for our freedom have what 
they need to get the job done, there are only three things I care 
about: cost, schedule, and performance. Our men and women in uniform 
deserve that.
  In this era of defense spending austerity, the Air Force can ill 
afford the unintended consequences of precluding entities that supply 
vital complex engineering solutions, along with the added benefit of 
cross pollination of educational experience between government 
employees, both civilian and military, and the best in the academic 
engineering community, from receiving business simply to meet a set-
aside quota.

[[Page 17737]]

  This issue is about ensuring Robins Air Force Base maintains 
essential engineering capabilities to supplement their own and their 
ability to swiftly and inexpensively select the most capable 
organization to provide the best product or service at the best value 
to the government. The Small Business Office at Warner Robins, in their 
attempt to carry out the Air Forces' broader goal of increasing small 
businesses participation, is jeopardizing the very survival of 
institutions provided for and protected by the FAR.
  By selectively applying the FAR exceptions, the Air Force is ignoring 
the intent of the acquisition regulations. It is certain to destroy 
these few vital educational links between academic institutions and 
government engineers that need that level of expertise. More 
importantly, by ignoring FAR Exception Three, the government is 
limiting its ability to pursue the best solutions at the best price. We 
can ill-afford such consequences in this period of economic austerity, 
simply in the name of fostering the growth of small businesses.
  I was encouraged in September when the Air Force took a step in the 
right direction with their approval of a Justification and Approval, 
J&A, for the use of other than full and open competition for an 
engineering, research and development contract in support of 
technologies and methodologies applicable to aging aircraft and support 
equipment. The contract will maintain essential engineering, research, 
and development capabilities at Robins AFB through support provided by 
MERC.
  I am hopeful this recent development is indicative of a new way of 
doing business at Warner Robins. In case it is not, I urge my 
colleagues here in the Senate to remain vigilant in their oversight 
responsibilities, and I renew my call to the Secretary of the Air Force 
to ensure local commands apply the FAR as written so as to guarantee 
our men and women in uniform have exactly what they need, when they 
need it, and at a price that is in keeping with our responsibilities as 
stewards of the American tax dollar.

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