Many GAO protests can hinge on fairly minute details that render a proposal unacceptable. A recent GAO case is a reminder that a contractor’s GSA Federal Supply Schedule must have sufficient duration to cover the period of performance for a blanket purchase agreement or the contractor may be ineligible for award.
Continue reading…Section 809 Panel Recommends Changes to Domestic Purchase Preferences
The Section 809 panel is the Congressionally-mandated group that has made a number of far-reaching recommendations to change current programs that affect DOD acquisitions.
Another one of their ideas is to eliminate certain domestic purchasing preferences by having Congress create exceptions for DOD purchases and create a public interest exception for the Berry Amendment. The panel’s concern is that the purchasing restrictions can result in higher prices, reduced volume, or delivery delays.
Continue reading…Inconsistency Killed the Cat: GAO Sustains Protest Where Agency Inconsistently Evaluated Proposal
GAO generally defers to an agency’s judgment when it comes to the evaluation of proposals. This deference flags, however, when an agency evaluates competing proposals inconsistently; or, in other words, treats offerors disparately.
Let’s take a look at how GAO, in a recently sustained protest, found that the agency’s evaluation was unreasonable.
Continue reading…SmallGovCon Week In Review February 18, 2019-February 22, 2019
Another week; another snow storm. As with much of the country, lovely Lawrence Kansas is thawing out from yet another midweek snow deluge.
For those of you looking to escape the snow for a bit, we’ve got a fresh set of stories in this week’s news including misbehaving contractors, the success of PTAC in Little Rock, a contract war in space, and Snoop Dogg giving back to SDVOSBs.
Kick your feet up, put on some D-O-double-G, and have a great weekend!
Continue reading…GAO Denies Costs in Deja Vu Protest
One GAO protester is starting to feel like Bill Murray’s character from Groundhog Day, and not in a good way. In a recent series of protests, a contractor challenged the terms of various solicitations as unduly restrictive of competition. These protests resulted in successive corrective actions.
Growing weary of continually protesting the same issue without tangible resolution, the protester finally requested GAO recommended it be reimbursed for its costs. Unfortunately for the protester, GAO had less sympathy for its situation.
Continue reading…5 Things You Should Know: SBA Certificates of Competency
If a contracting officer determines that a small business offeror is not qualified to perform under a solicitation, that usually means the offeror’s proposal will be rejected. In some instances, however, the offeror gets a second chance through the SBA’s Certificate of Competency (“COC”) program.
Here are five things you should know about the COC program.
Continue reading…SmallGovCon Week In Review February 11 – February 15, 2019
Let’s wrap up the week as we always do, with the Week In Review. In this edition, we’ll look at GAO’s recommendations for DOD’s planned IT upgrades, additional uncertainty for federal contractor back-pay, and more contractors behaving badly.
Have a great weekend!
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