USA TODAY, B-278650, February 20, 1998

B-278650 Feb 20, 1998 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights DIGEST Where agency reasonably decides that technical proposals are essentially equal. The RFP is intended to provide advertising to meet the FBI's statutory requirement to provide public notice of seized properties subject to forfeiture. Was determined to be in the best interests of the government. Past performance and that these evaluation areas were listed in order of importance. The agency responded as follows to a question asked by USA TODAY prior to the initial closing time: QUESTION: What is the minimum circulation a newspaper must deliver in each Judicial District to be considered a newspaper of "general circulation?". ANSWER: Property seized for purposes of federal forfeiture laws must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the judicial district where the property was seized or where the forfeiture action is brought. View Decision Matter of: USA TODAY File: B-278650 Date: February 20, 1998 * Redacted Decision DIGEST Attorneys DECISION USA TODAY protests the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) award of a fixed-price, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract to Miller Advertising Agency, Inc. under request for proposals (RFP) No. 7116 for advertising services. USA TODAY argues that the FBI failed to evaluate proposals consistent with the stated evaluation criteria and, as a result, performed a flawed price/technical tradeoff analysis. We deny the protest. The RFP is intended to provide advertising to meet the FBI's statutory requirement to provide public notice of seized properties subject to forfeiture. The RFP provided that award would be made to that offeror whose proposal, conforming to the solicitation, was determined to be in the best interests of the government. The RFP stated that proposals would be evaluated for technical capabilities, price, and past performance and that these evaluation areas were listed in order of importance. Technical criteria consisted of the following areas for evaluation: The Offeror must demonstrate how th[e] proposal addresses requirements and specifications of the Statement of Work and the practicalness and probable effectiveness of those methods. The Offeror must provide detailed documentation that substantiates that the specific requirement that their newspaper has general circulation in all the Judicial Districts of the United States and its Territories. The Offeror must clearly demonstrate their ability to receive data electronically (or manually if necessary) accurately and completely and publish that same information accurately. Methods to be used to validate data received and published must be clearly explained. The RFP also explained in detail how past performance would be evaluated. Further, of relevance here, by amendment No. 1, the agency responded as follows to a question asked by USA TODAY prior to the initial closing time: QUESTION: What is the minimum circulation a newspaper must deliver in each Judicial District to be considered a newspaper of "general circulation?" ANSWER: Property seized for purposes of federal forfeiture laws must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the judicial district where the property was seized or where the forfeiture action is brought. See Title 19, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 162.45(b); Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 1316.75; and Title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 8.8(c). The term "general circulation" is not defined in the governing statute or enabling legislation. The FBI conducted a review of case law attempting to define a newspaper of "general circulation in a judicial district" which would satisfy the statutory-and regulatory requirements. The following legal factors must be considered: 1. That the publications be a "newspaper" 2. That the newspaper be published at a minimum on a weekly basis 3. That the newspaper be readily available in all judicial districts to anyone who wishes to obtain it (demonstrated by circulation figures in that judicial district - both subscription and newsstand) 4. That the content of the newspaper contain news or information of a general character and of a general interest, appeals to public generally and reaches a diverse readership 5. That the newspaper advertise in such a manner as to bring legal advertisements or official notices to the attention of the general public 6. That the newspaper have at least one newspaper in circulation by subscription per 4,000 people in that judicial district (FBI's threshold of de minimus circulation) 7. That the newspaper have a national circulation The FBI received proposals from eight firms including USA TODAY and Miller, which proposed to advertise in The New York Times. The proposals were evaluated by the FBI's Advertising Services Committee (ASC).