Protest Protocol Questions

[frog2]

I'm looking for help in understanding protocol under the following protest scenaio. Thank's in advance for you reply .....

____________________________________________________________________________

A Government agency issues a solicitation for, and subsequently makes an award to operate a federal facility. The RFP contained many evaluation factors including cost savings each bidder proposes to save operating the facility.

The award is protested by multiple bidders citing 15-20 different issues. One of the issues is skepticism about the amount of savings proposed by the successful bidder.

After 100 days, GAO renders a decision denying all claims but one. GAO says agency accepted the cost savings proposed by each bidder at face value – didn’t evaluate the realism of the savings proposed. GAO recommends that the agency make a new award after reopening the procurement and requesting more information on the proposed cost savings of each bidder while also evaluating those savings.

My questions are about how the government agency would go about complying with the GAO recommendation.

• Could/ Would the government agency issue a modification to the original solicitation, extend the bid due date, and ask only for backup on the cost savings proposed?
  

Or

• Could / Would they issue a Best and Final potentially, allowing bidders to submit different (higher?) cost savings?
  

Or

• Could / would the agency issue a request for additional information by letter rather than issuing a modification to the RFP.
  

Or

• Something completely different?
  

If the agency chooses not to follow GAO’s recommendation, GAO will inform appropriate congressional committees in writing, but what happens after that?

· What are the potential repercussions for the agency in disregarding the GAO recommendation? Is it the threat of being hauled before a Congressional subcommittee to explain why?

· If the challengers decide to turn to the courts, would the court issue an injunction staying the award/ putting the award on hold?

[Oyster]

Frog - Can you cut and paste the actual language of the GAO recommendation from the decision? That would likely help others answer your questions.

[frog2]

The decision isnt published yet but here is more information

GAO sustained these protests on the basis that Agency failed to follow the publicly-stated solicitation criteria, which provided that the agency would evaluate the feasibility and size of each offerors proposed cost savings resulting from the consolidation of the management and operation of these sites. Specifically, GAO concluded that Agency failed to meaningfully assess the majority of each offerors proposed cost savings, and based its source selection decision on the unsupported assumption that all cost savings proposed by every offeror would be achieved. The protesters raised various other protest allegations which were denied.

[frog2]

GAO sustained these protests on the basis that NNSA failed to follow the publicly-stated solicitation criteria, which provided that the agency would evaluate the feasibility and size of each offerors proposed cost savings resulting from the consolidation of the management and operation of these sites. Specifically, GAO concluded that NNSA failed to meaningfully assess the majority of each offerors proposed cost savings, and based its source selection decision on the unsupported assumption that all cost savings proposed by every offeror would be achieved. The protesters raised various other protest allegations which were denied.

The challenged contract, awarded pursuant to request for proposals No. DE-SOL-0001458, contemplates the consolidation of management and operating activities at NNSAs Y-12 National Security Complex, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and NNSAs Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, as well as the construction of a new uranium processing facility at the Y-12 Complex. The contract also contemplates the possible exercise of an option to subsequently add the management and operation of NNSAs Savannah River Tritium Operations, located near Aiken, South Carolina. NNSA has stated that the total value of this contract is $22.8 billion.

We recommended that the agency reopen the procurement, request additional information from the offerors about their proposed cost savings, and evaluate the relative size of each offerors proposed cost savings, consistent with the solicitations provisions. At the conclusion of this review, we recommended that NNSA make a new source selection decision.

Because this protest decision contains proprietary and source selection sensitive information, release of the decision, at this point, is limited to NNSA personnel and to outside counsel who have been admitted under the GAO protective order issued for these protests. The parties have been directed to submit proposed redactions for the purpose of preparing a public version of the decision. GAO expects to publish a public version of the decision as soon as possible; however, since this competition will be ongoing, the release of a public decision may take a few weeks. When the public version of the decision is available, it will be posted to our website, www.gao.gov.

[Oyster]

Frog2: I thought you were referring to a published decision. I don't recommend sending any more info on this without your servicing attorney's knowledge/permission. The last para is GAO direction not to release it. Release may violate the protective order.

[frog2]

Understood - This information is in the local news paper and the weapons complex monitor. The redacted details about the protest are not public and probably wont be for quite some time.

I wouldnt presume to put something out there which was not public knowledge.

[bob7947]

This information was in a press release. You can find an example of the news article here.

[frog2]

Thank you sir.