On March 7, 2022, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) dismissed a protest in the Matter of K&K Industries, Inc. B-420422; B-420422.2, finding the protest untimely because it had been filed more than ten days after enhanced debriefing concluded. This decision serves as another reminder that when it comes to bid protest litigation before the GAO … Continue Reading
On November 4, 2021, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustained a protest in the matter of Ashlin Management Group, Inc., B-419472.3; B-419472.4. Ashlin protested the issuance of an order to Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc. (BAH) under the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration’s request for quotations for consulting services connected to the department’s Job … Continue Reading
On September 14, 2021, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a decision in the matter of Marquis Solutions, LLC B-419891, B-419891.2, sustaining a protest. The GAO determined that the Department of Veteran Affairs’ (VA) source selection decision was unreasonable, lacked a meaningful evaluation, and was inconsistent with the terms of its solicitation and applicable statutes … Continue Reading
When it comes to adjectival ratings assigned to proposals during a source selection, a very recent protest decision serves as a reminder that contracting agencies must document with specificity why they are selecting one offeror over another when both have been assigned identical adjectival ratings. In other words, when offerors receive identical adjectival ratings and … Continue Reading
When it comes to proposal evaluation, a recent decision serves as a stark reminder that an agency must consider the plain language of an offeror’s quote in the context of the entire quote or risk having its evaluation decision deemed to be unreasonable. Mayvin, Inc. (Mayvin) filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) … Continue Reading
On February 10, 2021 Inmarsat Government Inc. (Inmarsat) filed a protest, which the Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustained in part on May 21, 2021. See Inmarsat Government, Inc., B-419583; B-419583.2, May 21, 2021, 2021 CPD ¶ 215 at 1. Specifically, the GAO found that the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) failed to sufficiently mitigate the … Continue Reading
On April 26, 2021 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a decision in the matter of Innovate Now, LLC. B-419546, Apr, 26, 2021 sustaining a pre-award protest challenging the solicitation terms of a cost-plus-fixed-fee type task order. Specifically, GAO sustained the protest on two grounds finding: the Air Force’s requirement that protégé members of a … Continue Reading
On April 2, 2021 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a decision in the matter of Trademasters Service, Inc. dismissing in part and denying in part a protest that challenged the General Services Administration’s (GSA) establishment of a facilities maintenance and management Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA). See Trademasters Service, Inc. B-418522.2 et al., April 2, … Continue Reading
On March 26, 2021 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a decision in the matter of Cydecor, Inc. B-418165.5, denying a protest that challenged the Department of the Navy’s (DoN) decision to exclude the protester’s expired proposal from the competition. The GAO based its decision on the fact that the agency record showed that the … Continue Reading
In March, the Federal Circuit settled a split between the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) and the Court of Federal Claims that focused on the gray area between cooperative agreements and procurement contracts. Siding with the GAO, the appeals court ruled that the Department of Housing and Urban Development could not sidestep federal competition requirements by … Continue Reading
On January 2, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) provided its annual report to Congress of bid-protest activity for fiscal year (“FY”) 2013. The primary purpose of these reports is to meet the Comptroller General’s requirement under the Competition in Contracting Act to inform Congress of each instance in which a federal agency declined to … Continue Reading
To mandate or not to mandate the use of suspension and debarment – that is the current question up for debate among federal agencies and government officials. As criticism of agencies for failure to utilize or enforce suspension and debarment procedures continues, the idea of mandating the use of these procedures as punishment for indictments … Continue Reading
A proposed rule issued by the Department of Defense, the General Services Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on June 28, 2011 proposes to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) to provide a single set of standards for contract officers reviewing contractor past performance. In 2010, agencies were required to transition their various … Continue Reading
What happens when a bid proposal is sent via e-mail prior to the submission deadline but not by the proper party until after the submission deadline has passed? Turns out, the answer depends on whether the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) or the Court of Federal Claims (“COFC”) is reviewing the matter. A government contractor dealing … Continue Reading
