File this one in the “A for effort” category. In a GAO bid protest, a contractor recently complained that it was unfairly excluded from a competition because the gloves sought by the agency were not “clothing” covered by a domestic preference law. Not surprisingly, the GAO’s response was, “nice try.”
Category Archives: GAO Bid Protests
GAO bid protest decisions, commentary on GAO bid protest regulations, and related topics.
GAO to VA: Read the Whole Stinkin’ Proposal
If you’re an eight-year-old who has recently begun the literary journey to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, avert your eyes, because here comes a major spoiler: at the end of the Harry Potter series, a grown-up Harry, now married to his pal Ron’s sister, Ginny, sends his own child off to Hogwarts. Oh, and Ron is married to Hermione, and they also have Hogwarts-bound offspring.
How do I know this culturally valuable information? Because I read to the very end of the last Harry Potter book (yes, I’m one of those people). Contrast this with the VA, which in a recent GAO bid protest case, refused to consider certain information presented by the protester because the information was contained in an exhibit to the proposal, not the narrative section. The GAO’s reaction: “read the whole stinkin’ proposal, VA.”
Joint Ventures and Past Performance: Agency May Consider Experience of JV Members
Joint ventures seem to be an increasingly popular vehicle for pursuing federal contracts, but the FAR and agency solicitations usually are not written with joint ventures in mind. As a result, confusion can sometimes arise over how a joint venture’s proposal should be evaluated.
Case in point: past performance. A joint venture is often a new legal entity, so should it receive a “neutral” past performance score? Not necessarily. According to a recent GAO bid protest decision, it is perfectly acceptable for a procuring agency to consider the relevant experience and past performance of the individual joint venture members.
Single Negative Past Performance Reference Sinks Contractor’s Bid
Past performance is a key ingredient in most competitive government procurements. Even if a contractor’s overall past performance record is excellent, a single blemish can damage the contractor’s chances of award.
In a recent GAO bid protest decision, the agency relied on a single adverse past performance reference to assign the contractor a poor past performance rating–even though the contractor strongly disagreed with the adverse reference. The GAO held that there was nothing wrong with the agency’s past performance evaluation.
Another Day, Another Aldevra Victory–When Will It End?
The standoff between the VA and the GAO over the VA’s use of the Federal Supply Schedule without putting “Veterans First” continues. This week, Michigan-based Aldevra–the SDVOSB company at the center of the battle–won another bid protest at the GAO.
GAO: Protest of Unlicensed Awardee Not Allowed
What do you do if a federal agency awards a contract to one of your competitors, but the competitor in question does not possess certain licenses required by the solicitation? At least in one recent GAO bid protest decision, the answer appears to be, “not much.”
In SIMMEC Training Solutions, B-406819 (Aug. 20, 2012), the protester complained–correctly–that the prime contractor lacked two required licenses. The GAO ruled against the protester anyway, holding that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the licensing challenge.
GAO: Agencies Cannot Ignore Price In Evaluating BPAs
In the current economic climate, procuring agencies seem to be focused more than ever on the bottom line, with “lowest-price, technically-acceptable” solicitations appearing to be on the rise. Even today, however, price is not the government’s paramount consideration in every solicitation–nor is it required to be. But that does not mean that a procuring agency is free to ignore price completely.
In a recent GAO bid protest decision, the procuring agency failed to consider the protester’s price before eliminating the protester from a competition for award of a Blanket Purchase Agreement. The GAO’s response? “Not so fast.”