GSA wants to use STARS III and Polaris to introduce competition at the task order level and expand government's pool of small business IT contractors.

A top GSA IT acquisition official said the agency will continue to bake new controls for how contractors handle sensitive government information into its largest acquisition vehicles.

2GIT, STARS III and other governmentwide acquisition contracts are all part of the more "proactive approach" to protecting federal information systems, say officials.

It appears GSA beat DOD to its own punch. CMMC language was put into GSA's $50 billion STARS III IT contract, giving the agency the right to require certifications in the future.

The solicitation comes just days after GSA announced it is canceling its $15 billion Alliant 2 Small Business governmentwide IT contract after it was plagued with protests.