GAO: Agency Reasonably Required Resumes, Signed Employment Letters

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Steven Koprince

How easy would be for you to obtain resumes and signed letters of intent from your competitor’s employees?

If you answered “not very,” you’re not alone. A small business contractor, Maritime Institute Inc., recently protested the terms of a Navy solicitation, complaining that the solicitation unreasonably forced Maritime to obtain resumes and signed commitment letters from prospective employees, including any incumbent personnel Maritime intended to hire. According to the GAO, however, the Navy’s requirement was perfectly reasonable–notwithstanding any competitive advantage to the incumbent.

GAO: Agency Properly Upped Contractor’s Proposed Labor Rates

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Steven Koprince

Here’s hoping that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, full of relaxation, family time, football and lots of food.

For one Arizona contractor, the holiday was a little less festive this year, after the contractor lost out on a Navy cost-reimbursement contract–in part because the Navy unilaterally upped some of the contractor’s proposed labor rates. The GAO found nothing wrong with the agency’s decision, holding that the Navy reasonably determined that the contractor’s proposed labor rates were unrealistically low.

DOJ Intervenes In False Claims Suit Over FAR Lobbying Restrictions

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Steven Koprince

In the latest indication that the Government is on the lookout for false and improper contractor certifications, the Department of Justice has intervened in a False Claims Act lawsuit against a Texas-based contractor involving the FAR lobbying restrictions.

According to a False Claims Act complaint filed by a whistleblower, Fluor Hanford Inc. and its parent company, Fluor Corporation, used federal funds for lobbying purposes, in violation of a FAR provision requiring Fluor to certify that it would not engage in lobbying with federal funds.

GAO: Agencies Have Broad Discretion On Conducting Discussions

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Steven Koprince

I don’t have a tag for “bad grounds for a GAO bid protest,” but if I did, challenging an agency’s decision not to conduct discussions would fall in that category–at least (as is typically the case), when the solicitation does not state that discussions will be conducted.

This issue comes up often enough in GAO bid protest decisions (with the same predictable result nearly every time) that it’s worth taking a quick look at one such recent case in which this particular issue arose.

Event: Mentor-Protege Roundtable And Book Signing, Hosted By MAGIC

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Steven Koprince

I am pleased to announce that I will be joining the Mid-America Government Industry Coalition for a roundtable on federal mentor-protege programs on March 26-27, 2013 in Midwest City, Oklahoma.

Each program attendee will receive an autographed copy of my book, The Small-Business Guide to Government Contracts. (If you already have a copy, here’s your chance to pick up gift for that special government contractor in your life). The program will offer lots of important information on federal mentor-protege programs and invaluable networking opportunities–you don’t want to miss it.

If you are a government contractor in the Midwest, you owe it to yourself to attend a MAGIC event and see what this great organization can do for you. For more information on the March 2013 mentor-protege event, click over to the event’s page on the MAGIC website.

See you in Oklahoma!

GAO: Protester’s “Scant” Past Performance Descriptions Justified Low Score

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Steven Koprince

If your high school teacher or college professor had asked you to compose an essay up to five pages in length, would you expect an “A” for writing a single paragraph?

Probably not, and the same principle applies when it comes to proposals. In a recent GAO bid protest decision, the agency gave contractors up to five pages to describe each past performance reference. Not surprisingly, the GAO held that it was reasonable for the procuring agency to downgrade an offeror’s past performance score when that offeror only provided a one-paragraph write-up of each project.

GAO Bid Protests Rise 5% In FY 2012

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Steven Koprince

Contractors filed 2,475 GAO bid protests in Fiscal Year 2012, a five percent increase from the prior year, according to the GAO’s annual bid protest report to Congress. The GAO’s annual report indicated that “sustain” decisions were up slightly from the prior year, while the overall “effectiveness rate” of protests–a combination of sustain decisions and agency corrective actions–held steady at 42%.

Meanwhile, the VA was the only procuring agency to ignore GAO recommendations–something the VA did repeatedly in the Aldevra line of cases.