January 12, 2015
Beware the revolving door. It can hit you or those with you on the way in or the way out. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently reminded us of this fact when it sustained a protest by International Resources Group (IRG) regarding an organizational conflict of interest. The problem? The Agency (USAID) failed to properly investigate the awardee AECOM’s hiring of a…
December 16, 2014
Ben Franklin famously advised, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision in InSpace 21 LLC, B-410852; B-410852.3 (December 8, 2014) demonstrates that those words remain as relevant today as when they were first uttered, at least in the context of joint ventures (JVs). The case reminds us once again of the dangers of…
December 9, 2014
As previously noted in this blog, GAO has repeatedly made clear that protests alleging that the awardee’s proposal violates the applicable limitation on subcontracting cannot succeed unless the protester can demonstrate that the quotation shows, on its face, that awardee will not comply with the clause. In the recent case of Archer Western Federal JV, B-410168.2/B-410168.3 (November 12,…
November 25, 2014
Agencies are in the hot seat when it comes to protests. First, it’s the Contracting Officer’s (CO’s) job to prevent a protest from being filed and, second, if a protest is filed, it’s the CO’s job, working with agency procurement counsel, to make sure the protest is not successful. But is the fear of protests driving agencies to make bad decisions? We think so.
The most common…
November 25, 2014
Just because a small business award involves security clearance issues does not automatically mean there is a “responsibility matter” that must be referred to the Small Business Administration (SBA) for a Certificate of Competency (COC) determination. Sometimes, as in the recent case of MT & Associates, LLC, B-410066 (October 17, 2014), the protestor simply fails to convince the agency…
November 18, 2014
A recent decision by the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) reminds potential size protestors that the “notice” triggering the five business day size protest period in a negotiated procurement does not have to be in writing, nor does it have to come from the cognizant contracting officer (CO), and may even be indirect, including by published announcements,…
November 18, 2014
Given the FAR 9.103(b) mandate that “no purchase or award shall be made unless the contracting officer makes an affirmative determination of responsibility,” FCi Federal, Inc. (FCi) was surprised when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded a $210 million contract to FCi’s competitor, USIS PSD. Why? Because the award came after a flurry of media reports containing allegations of…
November 11, 2014
On October 4, 2014, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a report for Congress entitled GAO Bid Protests: An Overview of Time Frames and Procedures. Bid protests are of interest to Congress because they affect agency missions and operations. While the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is not the only forum with authority to hear bid protests involving federal acquisitions – the…
November 11, 2014
The performance of Government contracts often requires the use of contractors’ preexisting data. Your rights in this data are frequently very valuable – sometimes even indispensable to your continued existence. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that when submitting a proposal for a government contract it is crucial that you understand and articulate your rights and those of the…
November 11, 2014
Despite all the alarming news about Ebola in the press these days, government contractors face another ailment that’s also scary and, unfortunately, far more common. Known as incumbentitis, this disease all too often prevents contractors from winning renewals of their existing contracts. The symptoms include overconfidence based on past performance; an inability to notice changes in an agency’s…
November 4, 2014
Protesting contractors sometimes prematurely interpret an agency’s decision to take corrective action as a tacit admission of their protest’s merits, only to be brought back to earth when that corrective action fails to “properly” resolve the issues (i.e. in their favor). This dynamic reflects the practical realities of corrective action, one of the most powerful tools in an agency’s protest…
November 4, 2014
The Court of Federal Claims recently determined, for the second time in two years (see our March 2013 blog: Due Process is Alive and Well), that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) failed to provide due process to a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) in connection with its eligibility decertification. The Court also ruled that VA’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged…
January 12, 2015
Beware the revolving door. It can hit you or those with you on the way in or the way out. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently reminded us of this fact when it sustained a protest by International Resources Group (IRG) regarding an organizational conflict of interest. The problem? The Agency (USAID) failed to properly investigate the awardee AECOM’s hiring of a…
December 16, 2014
Ben Franklin famously advised, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision in InSpace 21 LLC, B-410852; B-410852.3 (December 8, 2014) demonstrates that those words remain as relevant today as when they were first uttered, at least in the context of joint ventures (JVs). The case reminds us once again of the dangers of…
December 9, 2014
As previously noted in this blog, GAO has repeatedly made clear that protests alleging that the awardee’s proposal violates the applicable limitation on subcontracting cannot succeed unless the protester can demonstrate that the quotation shows, on its face, that awardee will not comply with the clause. In the recent case of Archer Western Federal JV, B-410168.2/B-410168.3 (November 12,…
November 25, 2014
Agencies are in the hot seat when it comes to protests. First, it’s the Contracting Officer’s (CO’s) job to prevent a protest from being filed and, second, if a protest is filed, it’s the CO’s job, working with agency procurement counsel, to make sure the protest is not successful. But is the fear of protests driving agencies to make bad decisions? We think so.
The most common…
November 25, 2014
Just because a small business award involves security clearance issues does not automatically mean there is a “responsibility matter” that must be referred to the Small Business Administration (SBA) for a Certificate of Competency (COC) determination. Sometimes, as in the recent case of MT & Associates, LLC, B-410066 (October 17, 2014), the protestor simply fails to convince the agency…
November 18, 2014
A recent decision by the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) reminds potential size protestors that the “notice” triggering the five business day size protest period in a negotiated procurement does not have to be in writing, nor does it have to come from the cognizant contracting officer (CO), and may even be indirect, including by published announcements,…
November 18, 2014
Given the FAR 9.103(b) mandate that “no purchase or award shall be made unless the contracting officer makes an affirmative determination of responsibility,” FCi Federal, Inc. (FCi) was surprised when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded a $210 million contract to FCi’s competitor, USIS PSD. Why? Because the award came after a flurry of media reports containing allegations of…
November 11, 2014
On October 4, 2014, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a report for Congress entitled GAO Bid Protests: An Overview of Time Frames and Procedures. Bid protests are of interest to Congress because they affect agency missions and operations. While the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is not the only forum with authority to hear bid protests involving federal acquisitions – the…
November 11, 2014
The performance of Government contracts often requires the use of contractors’ preexisting data. Your rights in this data are frequently very valuable – sometimes even indispensable to your continued existence. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that when submitting a proposal for a government contract it is crucial that you understand and articulate your rights and those of the…
November 11, 2014
Despite all the alarming news about Ebola in the press these days, government contractors face another ailment that’s also scary and, unfortunately, far more common. Known as incumbentitis, this disease all too often prevents contractors from winning renewals of their existing contracts. The symptoms include overconfidence based on past performance; an inability to notice changes in an agency’s…
November 4, 2014
Protesting contractors sometimes prematurely interpret an agency’s decision to take corrective action as a tacit admission of their protest’s merits, only to be brought back to earth when that corrective action fails to “properly” resolve the issues (i.e. in their favor). This dynamic reflects the practical realities of corrective action, one of the most powerful tools in an agency’s protest…
November 4, 2014
The Court of Federal Claims recently determined, for the second time in two years (see our March 2013 blog: Due Process is Alive and Well), that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) failed to provide due process to a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) in connection with its eligibility decertification. The Court also ruled that VA’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged…
