The GAO has made it clear that contractors are considered to have “constructive knowledge” of items agencies post on the FedBizOpps website. When agencies post on FedBizOpps, though, they must properly classify the posted information, or a GAO bid protest will be sustained, as was the case in TMI Management Systems, Inc., B-401530 (September 28, 2009).
Category Archives: GAO Bid Protests
GAO bid protest decisions, commentary on GAO bid protest regulations, and related topics.
Who Are You? Ambiguity as to Identity of Bond Principal Costs Joint Venture a Contract
“Who Are You?” asks Pete Townshend, the songwriter behind the tune a later generation would come to know as “The CSI Song.” It’s a good question when it comes to self-reflection (or catching criminals), but it’s not so great when the government is asking the same thing in reference to a bid bond.
An ambiguous bid bond can cost an otherwise successful offeror to lose a contract. And as the GAO’s decision in BW JV1, LLC, B-401841 (Dec. 4, 2009) demonstrates, it is especially important for offerors submitting as joint venturers or in other teaming arrangements to carefully consider their bid bond arrangements to eliminate any potential ambiguities.
C’mon, Prove It: Contractor Rejected Because It Cannot Prove Agency Received Proposal
When a contractor submits its proposal information to an agency, the contractor should be careful to preserve evidence—a fax receipt, “sent” email, or, better yet, a FedEx or certified mail confirmation, showing that the agency received it. Otherwise, as the GAO held in Industrial Construction & Trading Co., B-403849 (Dec. 13, 2010), the contractor is out of luck if the agency says it did not receive the document.
Contractors May File GAO Bid Protests on BPA Task Orders Under $10 Million
The GAO’s authority to hear bid protests of task orders is generally limited to instances in which the task order at issue is valued over $10 million. However, the GAO recently held that the limit doesn’t apply to task orders issued under Blanket Purchase Agreements (“BPAs”). Contractors competing for task order awards under BPAs should be aware that they may file bid protests with the GAO, even where a task order is valued at far less than $10 million.