GAO recently held in ATA Aerospace, LLC, B-417427 (July 2, 2019) that agencies are required to explain how offerors’ proposed labor hours and prices are, or are not, in line with historical data from predecessor contracts when conducting cost realism evaluations.
Continue readingCategory Archives: GAO Bid Protests
GAO bid protest decisions, commentary on GAO bid protest regulations, and related topics.
“We Don’t Do Option Year Challenges,” Says GAO
Most federal contracts are structured with a base period with a number of option periods that can be exercised at the agency’s discretion. But what happens if an option year goes unexercised? Recently, a disappointed contractor attempted to challenge the agency’s decision not to exercise an option before GAO.
Unfortunately, GAO was not receptive.
Continue readingAssumed Name Results in Rejected Proposal
You know what they say about when you assume. Unfortunately, one contractor recently discovered that taking an assumed business name can have serious repercussions for proposal eligibility.
Continue readingHey VA! You Can’t Avoid the Rule of Two By Using GPO To Do Your Shopping.
It’s no secret that the VA has tried to find ways around the statutorily-mandated rule of two–i.e. VA must set aside procurements for VOSBS if it has a reasonable expectation that it will receive fair and reasonable offers from two or more veteran-owned small businesses.
Although the U.S. Supreme Court has already told VA, in Kingdomware, that it cannot circumvent the rule of two, VA apparently is still seeking ways to avoid it.
Continue readingProprietary Information Proper Basis for Restricted Solicitation Terms
While the overarching goal of the federal procurement system is to provide as many opportunities for competition as possible, there are those instances where the unique circumstances of a procurement require limiting the pool of offerors.
In a recent decision, GAO determined that the need for proprietary maintenance information was a sufficient reason to limit competition.
Continue readingThirty-eighth Time’s the Charm? Not for this Protester.
GAO dismissed a protest recently that was the 38th docketed GAO bid protest action regarding a single solicitation.
GAO said the protest was untimely. The decision is a reminder that even seasoned protesters who have gone through complicated bid protests have to stay mindful of GAO’s timeliness rules.
Continue readingGAO: Exclusion Improper Because Former Official Didn’t Have Competitive Information
Hiring former government officials can sometimes be tricky business for contractors. As we discussed in a previous post, this is particularly true if the former official, based on work at an agency, could give the contractor a leg up in a specific procurement.
But hiring a former government official isn’t always a problem. And as a recent GAO decision illustrates, as long as the former official doesn’t have competitively useful, non-public information, an agency shouldn’t exclude an offeror from competition merely because it employs a former government official.
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