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As Summer Comes to a Close, So Does GAO’s Sustain Drought

In last month’s Bid Protest Sustain of the Month installment, we noted that GAO was suffering from a sustain drought, having failed to issue a single sustained protest decision in the month of July.  But it appears that drought is over!  The final tally for August shows that GAO issued a whopping six separate sustained protest decisions in August 2024.  Four of these decisions—issued at the end of the month—are still under Protective Orders, so we do not yet know the grounds for the sustains.  The remaining two involved less-common sustain issues: an offeror’s compliance with the Trade Agreements Act (TAA) and an agency’s compliance with the “Rule of Two.”  In HPI Federal, LLC, B-422583, the protester argued that some of an awardee’s offered products were not TAA compliant.  GAO sustained the protest, finding that the contractor had certified only that its products were “assembled” in Mexico, not that they were “an end product of Mexico.” Continue Reading August 2024 Bid Protest Sustain of the Month

The following is an installment in Crowell & Moring’s Bid Protest Sustain of the Month Series.  In this series, Crowell’s Government Contracts Practice will keep you up to date with a summary of the most notable bid protest sustain decision each month.  Below, Crowell Consultant Cherie Owen discusses Peraton Inc., B-422409.2, B-422409.3, July 22, 2024, which provides helpful insight regarding protest timelines.Continue Reading July 2024 Bid Protest Sustain of the Month

GAO issued three sustain decisions in June, but the Sparksoft Corporation decision stands out for its discussion of prejudice.  In Sparksoft, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sought to procure supplemental security testing for the agency’s Center for Clinical Standards and Quality (CCSQ).  CMS evaluated Sparksoft and the eventual awardee, TSG, as follows:Continue Reading June 2024 Bid Protest Sustain of the Month

In February 2024, GAO continued its streak of taking a hard look at procurements conducted under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 8.4.  Subpart 8.4 allows the government to use “simplified” ordering procedures to obtain commercial supplies and services.  However, some agencies have apparently adopted the position that “anything goes” in these simplified procurements.  Not so!  Over the past year, GAO has issued a series of decisions emphasizing that, although this process is supposed to be simplified, it is not intended to be lawless.  (Check out our discussion of the Washington Business Dynamics, LLC, decision in December’s Sustain of the Month post.)  This welcome trend has continued into 2024, with GAO’s issuance of a sustain decision in LOGMET LLC, B-422200, Feb. 21, 2024. Continue Reading February 2024 Bid Protest Sustain of the Month

Though not the first sustain of 2024 (click here for our writeup of 2024’s first sustain), GAO’s decision in American Material Handling, Inc. provides an informative discussion of the level of scrutiny agencies face when conducting “brand name or equal” procurements.  In American Material, the International Boundary and Water Commission sought a contractor to provide a brand name or equal “Caterpillar 980 wheel loader.”  The requirement was competed among Federal Supply Schedule holders under FAR subpart 8.4.  The request for quotations (RFQ) included a two-page specification sheet identifying the salient characteristics of the wheel loader equipment and stated that award would be made on a lowest price, techncally acceptable basis.  Two vendors responded to the RFQ – Caterpillar offered its own brand name equipment and American Material offered a Volvo L220H wheel loader.  After receiving quotations, the agency added several additional salient characteristics to the technical evaluation form, then concluded that American Material’s equipment did not meet these new characteristics.  Thus, although American Material offered the lower price, the agency awarded to Caterpillar because American Material’s equipment was evaluated as technically unacceptable for failing to meet the newly added requirements.   Continue Reading January 2024 Bid Protest Sustain of the Month

The following is the final installment in Crowell & Moring’s 2023 Bid Protest Sustain of the Month Series.  All through 2023, Crowell’s Government Contracts Practice kept you up to date with a summary of the most notable bid protest sustain decision each month.  Below, we cap off 2023 with an excellent GAO decision that provides guidance about the standards an agency must satisfy when conducting procurements under FAR subpart 8.4 and an in-depth discussion of interested party status for companies that are graduating from small business programs.Continue Reading December Bid Protest Sustain of the Month

The following is an installment in Crowell & Moring’s 2023 Bid Protest Sustain of the Month Series.  All through 2023, Crowell’s Government Contracts Practice will keep you up to date with a summary of the most notable bid protest sustain decision each month.  Below, Crowell Partner Cherie Owen discusses RELX Inc., B-421597.2, Nov. 17, 2023, in which GAO considered an agency’s issuance of a brand-name-or-equal task order.Continue Reading November Bid Protest Sustain of the Month

The following is an installment in Crowell & Moring’s 2023 Bid Protest Sustain of the Month Series.  All through 2023, Crowell’s Government Contracts Practice will keep you up to date with a summary of the most notable bid protest sustain decision each month.  Below, Crowell Partner Cherie Owen discusses several protest decisions issued in October that provide helpful insights about the GAO protest process.Continue Reading October Bid Protest Sustain of the Month

On October 30, 2023, President Biden released an Executive Order (EO) on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).  This landmark EO seeks to advance the safe and secure development and deployment of AI by implementing a society-wide effort across government, the private sector, academia, and civil society to harness “AI for good,” while mitigating its substantial risks.Continue Reading Biden’s Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence

The following is an installment in Crowell & Moring’s 2023 Bid Protest Sustain of the Month Series.  All through 2023, Crowell’s Government Contracts Practice will keep you up to date with a summary of the most notable bid protest sustain decision each month.  Below, Crowell Partner Cherie Owen discusses GAO’s decision in Mandex, Inc., involving organizational conflicts of interest (OCIs).Continue Reading August 2023 Bid Protest Sustain of the Month