Link: GAO Decision
Protestor: First Information Technology Systems, Inc.
Agency: Transportation Security Agency
Disposition: Request for Reconsideration Denied.
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GAO Digest:
Request for reconsideration of decision is denied where request does not show that our prior decision contains either errors of fact or law or presents information not previously considered that warrants reversal or modification of our decision.
General Counsel PC Highlight:
First Information Technology Systems, Inc. (FITS) requested that the GAO reconsider its decision denying FITS’s protest of the award to Knowledge Consulting Group, Inc. (KCG) of a contract for IT security support services. FITS had initially argued that the agency’s price realism analysis led to prejudicially misleading discussions, that the evaluation of KCG’s proposal was improper, and that the agency made a flawed best value determination. FITS later added an assertion that the agency’s determination that FITS’s fixed-price labor rates were so low as to create a performance risk to the government was a responsibility matter which should have been referred to the SBA. The GAO denied the initial protest, dismissing the responsibility challenge as untimely.
Noting that FITS must either demonstrate that the prior decision contained errors of law or fact, or present information not previously considered that warrants reversal or modification of the decision, the GAO found no basis to reconsider its earlier decision. The GAO found that the record showed that FITS’s rates were routinely the lowest and deviated substantially from the mean, and that FITS cited no authority supporting its assertion that prices must be two or more standard deviations from the mean in order to be identified as unreasonably low. The GAO then found that FITS essentially repeated the arguments made regarding the responsibility challenge, and declined to reconsider that argument. Finally, the GAO concluded that any arguments made by FITS regarding inconsistencies between the solicitation’s evaluation provisions related to patent ambiguities which were apparent prior to the time set for receipt of proposals.
The GAO will only reconsider its decisions if the prior decision contained errors of law or fact, or if the protestor presents new information, not considered in the prior decision, that warrants the reversal or modification of the prior decision. Before requested reconsideration, unsuccessful protestors should consider carefully whether they merely disagree with the GAO’s decision, or whether the decision was fundamentally flawed due to error or missing information. If a protestor merely disagrees with the decision, it should save the expense of requesting reconsideration unless it can provide additional information justifying the reconsideration.