Preference for Sealed Bidding

[frankie]

At 10 USC 2304 and 41 USC 3301, the preference for sealed bidding is stated with 4 conditions.  I believe these preceded CICA in some form but cannot remember.  My questions is about (A) (i) and they are:

1.  What is the original source of (A) (i) and

2.  Do you believe(A) (I) is implying that the sealed bidding process took (takes) longer than competitive proposals process?

Quote

(2) In determining the competitive procedure appropriate under the circumstances, the head of an agency—

(A) shall solicit sealed bids if—

(i) time permits the solicitation, submission, and evaluation of sealed bids;

(ii) the award will be made on the basis of price and other price-related factors;

(iii) it is not necessary to conduct discussions with the responding sources about their bids; and

(iv) there is a reasonable expectation of receiving more than one sealed bid; and

 

[Todd Davis]

 

1.  Not sure why the original source of the statute is relevant, but USC historical and revision notes can be found on the following U.S. House of Representatives USC website http://uscode.house.gov/browse.xhtml.

2.  No, not as a general rule. If fact, it could be the other way around, that it takes longer to award a negotiated procurement than one conducted by sealed bidding. I think it is just contemplating there are certain situations where being able to negotiate a procurement may be quicker (e.g. letter contracts or certain unusual or compelling situations where time is of the essence and a contract must be negotiated with a source).

[Jamaal Valentine]

I don't believe the FAR implies anything. Since any contract awarded using other than sealed bidding procedures is a negotiated contract - there are several methods of fulfilling requirements that may be timelier than traditional sealed bidding procedures.

FAR 14.202-1(a) has a 30 day posting requirement, for example.

You can find a lot of information on the history of the Racal factors ... B-240579 is a good start.