Major university close to withdrawing from Los Alamos competition

One of the nation's largest universities is on the verge of pulling out of the contest to operate Los Alamos National Laboratory, and a government watchdog group is concerned about a lack of serious competition for the contract.

Chancellor Mark Yudof of the University of Texas system announced Friday that he would recommend to its Board of Regents that the organization not continue with its bid for the Los Alamos contract.

Late last year, the National Nuclear Security Administration launched the formal process to find a contractor for the facility, which is responsible for developing some of the nation's most advanced technology and nuclear weaponry. The University of California has operated Los Alamos for more than 61 years-without competition-but the facility recently has been plagued with security lapses and poor management. The University of California is seeking to retain the contract.

Officials at the Project on Government Oversight said Friday that the withdrawal of the University of Texas would hurt the bidding process. In August 2004, defense contractor Lockheed Martin dropped out of the contest to run the lab. According to reports, the company had been considering a joint bid with the University of California, but the cost of pursuing the contract was prohibitive.

"It is not a good news story for competition, that's for sure," said Pete Stockton, a Los Alamos observer from POGO. "Texas appeared to be one of the serious ones."

The National Nuclear Security Administration did not return calls for comment on the recommendation from Yudof.

Stockton theorized that some potential competitors are being scared off by the existing problems at Los Alamos. Officials there have been sharply criticized over missing computers and disks, purchase card abuse by employees and bungled efforts to investigate fraud.

The University of Texas has not officially pulled out of the competition. The Board of Regents is scheduled to meet on Feb. 9 and 10 and will consider Yudof's recommendation. The board approved planning for the bid in February 2004. Stockton said POGO is not supporting any particular bidder but is interested in a lively challenge.

"We would like to see competition…" Stockton said. "But we don't have a dog in this fight."