In Recent Decision, GAO Finds Agency Documentation Lacking

Posted on February 7, 2019 by SmallGovConContributor

When choosing the most appropriate awardee for any federal contract, agencies are required to fully document all procurement decisions and their rationale, especially when those decisions could narrow the competition.

In Soft Tech Consulting, Inc., B-416934 (Comp. Gen. Feb. 1, 2019), GAO held that the Department of Homeland Security failed to adequately document its evaluation decision in a procurement for software development services and recommended that DHA reevaluate all offers from square one.

Error in Table of Contents Dooms Proposal

Posted on February 6, 2019 by SmallGovConContributor

By now, our frequent readers are familiar with GAO’s mantra that it is an offeror’s responsibility to submit a well-written proposal that complies with the solicitation’s requirements and risks being found unacceptable if it fails to do so.

That rule serves its purpose: it helps maintain an organized bidding process, under which the agency can evaluate proposals on an even footing. But it can also lead to harsh results, like it did in a recent protest challenging a proposal’s unacceptability due to its non-compliant table of contents.

Let’s take a look.

COFC Dismisses Claim for Failure to State Dollar Amount, Despite Claimant’s Attempt to Camouflage Claim

Posted on February 5, 2019 by Shane McCall

A government contractor must include certain details in a certified claim, including a sum certain, signature, and a request for a final decision. With regards to the “sum certain,” a contractor cannot avoid this requirement by attempting to portray its claim as one not for monetary relief, when the contractor is really just asking for money.

GAO Says SBA Certificate of Competency is (Usually) Outside its Jurisdiction

Posted on February 5, 2019 by SmallGovConContributor

The breadth and depth of protests heard by GAO may lead even a seasoned government contractor to overlook the limitations of GAO’s jurisdiction.

As one contractor recently found, the GAO generally will not consider protests based on an allegation that the agency should not have referred an adverse responsibility determination to the SBA for a certificate of competency review.

SmallGovCon Week In Review January 28 – February 1, 2019

Posted on February 1, 2019 by SmallGovConContributor

Happy February, everybody! After a bit of frigid weather here in Lawrence this past week (though not nearly as frigid as it was for our friends up north), we’re gearing up for a spring-like weekend. Don’t get too jealous: it’ll turn cold again just a few days later. Gotta love that Kansas weather!

Now that the federal government is open again (at least for now), let’s take a look at some of the post-shutdown news in this edition of the Week In Review. We’ll look at federal IT spending, mounting shutdown effects, and, as usual, some contractors behaving badly.

Have a great weekend!

GAO Dismisses Untimely Protest Grounds, Incumbent Should Have Known of Pricing Issues Based on Debriefing

Posted on January 30, 2019 by Shane McCall

GAO will frequently dismiss protest grounds based on its strict timeliness rules, as we’ve written about before on the blog. Generally, GAO’s bid protest regulations require a contractor to file a protest within “10 days after the basis of protest is known or should have been known.”

But sometimes knowing when a protest ground is untimely can be difficult. For instance, where a protester should have known the basis for protest based on an inference from a debriefing response and its incumbent knowledge, does that debriefing start the 10-day protest clock running? A recent GAO decision answers that question in the affirmative.

GAO Finds that FEMA Reasonably Evaluated Stafford Act Set-Aside Eligibility

Posted on January 29, 2019 by SmallGovConContributor

You’ve likely heard of small business set-asides, SDVOSB set-asides, 8(a) Program set-asides, HUBZone set-asides, and other set-aside categories regulated, for the most part, by the Small Business Administration. But have you ever heard of a Stafford Act set-aside?

If not, you might want to keep reading about GAO’s recent analysis where it assessed whether the awardee was eligible for the Stafford Act set-aside.