So, the GAO sustained your bid protest? Perhaps surprisingly, a sustained protest doesn’t necessary mean GAO will recommend that the agency cancel the award and re-open the solicitation. You may just walk away with your bid preparation and protest costs.
In Savannah Cleaning Systems, Inc., B 415817.2 (Comp. Gen. Apr. 23, 2018), GAO addressed whether it must recommend a fairly standard remedy—such as, cancelling the award and reissuing the solicitation—when it sustains a bid protest. Under c
Unless an agency designates different business hours, the FAR says that a government agency is deemed to close at 4:30 p.m. local time–not 5:00 p.m., as it would be easy to assume.
In a recent case, the 4:30 p.m. closing time cost an unsuccessful offeror a chance at a GAO protest because the offeror’s debriefing request, sent to the agency at 4:59 p.m., was deemed untimely.
The GAO’s decision in Exceptional Software Strategies, Inc., B-416232 (July 12, 2018) involved an NSA solicitation seek
When it comes to timely filing a bid protest, government contractors should keep one overriding principle in mind: late is late, and it probably won’t matter why the protest wasn’t timely received.
GAO recently reaffirmed this principle when it dismissed a bid protest that wasn’t timely received by its new, mandatory Electronic Protest Docketing System.
As avid SmallGovCon readers know, GAO’s regulations include strict deadlines: protests must be filed within 10 days from the date the protes
When an agency reevaluates proposals in response to a protest, the reevaluation must be thorough and reasonable.
In a recent GAO bid protest decision, GAO sustained a protest because the agency’s reevaluation of proposals, undertaken after a protest was sustained, did not reasonably address “widespread discrepancies” in the awardee’s proposal.
Earlier this year, we blogged on GAO’s decision in Immersion Consulting, LLC, B-415155 et al. (Dec. 4, 2017) where the SSA had unilaterally revised th
It’s Friday, which means it’s time for the SmallGovCon Week in Review. This week’s edition includes a look at federal spending on 8(a) contracts, GAO’s response to a discussion about a much-publicized OTA decision, and the SBA’s new effort to modernize its IT systems. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get to it!
Have a great weekend!
Federal spending on competitively awarded 8(a) contracts exceeds that spent on sole-source 8(a) contracts. [Bloomberg Government]
GAO offers a response to crit
The SBA takes its SDVOSB joint venture requirements very seriously, and even a relatively minor deviation or omission can be enough to render a joint venture ineligible.
Time and time again, the SBA’s Office of Hearing and Appeals has shown that it will strictly enforce the rules governing SDVOSB status. OHA’s stance on SDVOSB joint venture agreements is no different. A recent OHA ruling reinforces that SDVOSB joint venture agreements must abide by the letter of the regulation when it comes to
Thinking about hiring an employee of the incumbent contractor for your next bid? If so, make sure to protect yourself from disqualification based on an organizational conflict of interest (“OCI”).
In a recent bid protest by Archimedes’ Global, Inc., (“Archimedes”), the GAO reversed the Government’s decision to exclude Archimedes from consideration for a bid when an alleged OCI was based on mere innuendo and supposition instead of hard facts supported by the record.
Pursuant to FAR 9.505, certa
Here’s a situation my colleagues and I see with some frequency: a contractor, in the course of working on a government contract, submits a request of some sort to the agency. Then waits for a response. And waits some more. Meanwhile, the government’s delay in responding prevents the contractor from moving forward with some aspect of the project, causing the contractor to incur costs.
For contractors faced with this type of government inaction, a recent decision by the Armed Services Board of
While the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals hears appeals for many of the SBA’s programs, there are certain decisions that remain outside of its purview.
As one protester was surprised to learn, among those items outside of OHA’s jurisdiction are appeals of the HUBZone status determinations.
In JEQ & Co., LLC, SBA No. SIZ-5932 (June 7, 2018), the Defense Logistics Agency issued a solicitation for castellated nuts, a type of machine part. The Solicitation was entirely set-aside for HUBZo
When an incumbent contractor’s general manager got sick and had to quit, the contractor promptly found a replacement, which the agency approved. But there was still one problem: the incumbent had already proposed to use the same general manager for the next contract.
According to GAO, the agency was right to eliminate the contractor from the competition, even though the agency knew that the contractor had a new general manager and had, in fact, approved the replacement.
In Chenega Healthcare
We hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July. Next week promises to be busy, with vacations ending and preparations for the 4th quarter rush. In the meantime, let’s dive into this week’s edition of the SmallGovCon Week in Review!
This week, we highlight IT draft requests from the DOT, an update to the DHS EAGLE II program, a proposed amendment to the DFARS, and more.
Have a great weekend!
DOT continues to modernize its IT infrastructure by issuing two draft requests for proposals on its EITS
GAO’s outcome prediction alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) can be a tempting option for all parties to a protest, as it provides a preview of sorts for GAO’s written decision. A recent GAO decision, however, underscores that despite its relative informality, outcome prediction ADR can have significant repercussions on future protest developments.
In Will Technology, Inc; Paragon TEC, Inc., B-413139.4 et al., __ CPD ¶ __ (Comp. Gen. June 11, 2018), NASA issued a procurement for acquisitio
When companies seek to join forces under an 8(a) joint venture agreement, they often focus on meeting the SBA’s specific joint venture requirements. In doing so, however, they might overlook the threshold goal of an 8(a) joint venture: to allow an 8(a) to develop the necessary capacity to perform a contract.
As a recent Court of Federal Claims decision shows, overlooking this requirement can cause an 8(a) joint venture agreement to be rejected by SBA—and lead to the joint venture being found in
I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July as we celebrate our nation’s independence. If you’re still struggling to think of top-notch grilling ideas for Independence Day, might I suggest this delicious recipe from the fine folks at the Big Green Egg?
But before firing up the grill, let’s take a look at the latest and greatest in government contracting news. In this week’s star-spangled edition of the SmallGovCon Week in Review, a former government employee pleads guilty to criminal char
At least a couple times a month, I’m asked when the FAR’s limitations on subcontracting provisions will be updated to correspond with SBA regulations adopted in 2016, and underlying statutory changes adopted way back in the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act.
Well, now it seems that the FAR updates may take longer than I’d hoped. In its most recent “Open Cases” update, the FAR Council says that it’s made a switch in the procedure that will be used to implement the changes to the limitatio
A contractor can become entitled to costs during a delay in performance. But when is a government contractor entitled to unabsorbed overhead costs during a government-caused suspension or delay? A recent Civilian Board of Contracts Appeals case answers that question in part.
In BCPeabody Construction Services, Inc., CBCA 5410 (Mar. 26, 2018), the CBCA considered a claim from BCPeabody for costs incurred under a firm fixed-price design build task order issued by the VA to renovate two kitchen
Summer has officially started! Let’s get it started off with the SmallGovCon Week in Review.
This week’s edition includes a new FAR provision relating to the Kaspersky ban, NIH’s CIO-SP3 HUBZone awards, and much more.
DoD, GSA, and NASA issue an interim rule amending the FAR to ban Kaspersky products. [federalregister.gov]
NIH makes more CIO-SP3 on-ramp awards. [washingtontechnology.com]
House appropriators putting the Defense Department on notice that they’ll be keeping a close eye on fu
Nearly 90% of women-owned small business sole source contracts reviewed by the SBA Office of Inspector General were improper, according to a startling report issued yesterday.
In the study, the SBA OIG concluded that because of pervasive flaws in the award of WOSB and EDWOSB sole source contracts, “there was no assurance that these contracts were awarded to firms that were eligible to receive sole-source awards under the Program.” And if that wasn’t enough, the SBA OIG reiterated its position
As Koprince Law attorneys have discussed in depth, GAO will in some instances award costs for a clearly meritorious protest where an agency does not take corrective action before the due date for the agency report. But what are the standards for a “clearly meritorious” protest?
It’s instructive to look at a recent GAO decision that reviewed protest grounds dealing with past performance evaluation and a requirement that the Army be able to set up the proposed product within 60 seconds.
In HES
I am very pleased to announce that Stephen Skepnek has joined our team of attorney-authors here at SmallGovCon. Stephen is an associate attorney with Koprince Law LLC, where his practice focuses on federal government contracts law.
Before joining our team, Stephen practiced civil litigation and administrative law with the Kansas Corporation Commission. Check out Stephen’s full biography to learn more about our newest author, and don’t miss his first SmallGovCon post on the GAO’s tricky timeli
In honor of Father’s Day, how about a dad joke?
What kind of train eats too much?
A chew-chew train!
. . .
Now that you’ve stopped laughing, let’s dig into the SmallGovCon Week in Review. This week’s edition includes articles about the draft 2019 NDAA, an update on the SAM.gov hack, a proposed FAR amendment, and more. Happy Father’s Day, and have a great weekend!
House version of the NDAA contains biggest overhaul to DoD’s commercial buying practices being debated in the Senate this week
An agency has broad discretion to terminate a contract for convenience. But sometimes, a contractor will challenge the termination for convenience by arguing that the agency acted in bad faith in terminating the contract.
A recent CBCA decision looks at what type of evidence is needed to establish bad faith. Not surprisingly, the CBCA confirms that the standard of proof is quite high.
In J.R. Mannes Gov’t Servs. Corp., CBCA 5911 (Mar. 29, 2018), the CBCA reviewed an appeal of J.R. Mannes Gov
GAO’s bid protest regulations provide strict timelines for filing a protest.
Typically, a protest challenging an award must be filed within 10 days after the basis of the protest is known or should have been known. There is an exception to this rule for protests filed after a debriefing, but only when a debriefing was required by the FAR. As one contractor recently discovered, where a debriefing is not required, GAO’s bid protest regulations are not nearly as forgiving.
ITility, LLC, B-41527
Even skilled graphic designers often struggle with creating effective proposal graphics. While the usual rules of good graphic design still apply, proposal graphics come with their own unique set of challenges and requirements.
In this post, we’ll look at some quick tips that can mean the difference between missed opportunities and winning graphics. But first, let’s dispel two common myths.
Proposal Graphic Myths:
Myth 1: Creating proposal graphics requires expensive or difficult software.
Ordinarily, a company isn’t affiliated with the affiliates of its affiliates.
That sentence may sound a little silly, but it encapsulates an important principle about the breadth of the SBA’s affiliation rules. As demonstrated in a recent SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals decision, the SBA doesn’t apply its rules to create “chain affiliation.”
Before we get to the case itself, a simple example might be helpful. Let’s say two companies–Company A and Company B–are affiliated under the commo
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