B-299452, Rothe Computer Solutions, LLC d/b/a Rohmann Joint Venture, May 9, 2007

B-299452 May 09, 2007 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Rothe Computer Solutions, LLC d/b/a Rohmann Joint Venture (RJV) protests the decision by the Department of the Air Force and the Small Business Administration (SBA) to place a requirement for visual information services for the Air Force Academy under the SBA's section 8(a) business development program for award on a competitive basis. We deny the protest. View Decision B-299452, Rothe Computer Solutions, LLC d/b/a Rohmann Joint Venture, May 9, 2007 DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: Rothe Computer Solutions, LLC d/b/a Rohmann Joint Venture File: B-299452 Date: May 9, 2007 David F. Barton, Esq., The Gardner Law Firm, for the protester. Christopher S. Cole, Esq., Department of the Air Force, and John W. Klein, Esq., and Kenneth Dodds, Esq., Small Business Administration, for the agencies. Jennifer D. Westfall-McGrail, Esq., and Christine S. Melody, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Small Business Administration properly accepted requirement for visual information services for the Air Force Academy into the 8(a) business development program for award on a competitive basis without determining whether acceptance of the requirement into the 8(a) program would have an adverse impact on an existing small business after reasonably determining that the services qualified as a new requirement. DECISION Rothe Computer Solutions, LLC d/b/a Rohmann Joint Venture (RJV) protests the decision by the Department of the Air Force and the Small Business Administration (SBA) to place a requirement for visual information services for the AirForceAcademy under the SBA's section 8(a) business development program for award on a competitive basis. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND RJV has been performing a contract for various information management and communications services, including the visual information services at issue in this protest, for the Air Force Academy since 2002. Because this contract is due to expire in July 2007, the Air Force has initiated the process of reprocuring the services. In June 2006, the Air Force shifted responsibility for the visual information services from the Communications Squadron, which had awarded the contract to RJV, to the Air Force Public Affairs Office; as a consequence of this reorganization, the Air Force determined that the visual information services should be procured separately from the other services. After determining that the visual information services should be procured separately, the Air Force conducted market research to determine the size status and assess the capabilities of potential sources. Based on the results of its research, the agency concluded that there were multiple 8(a) firms capable of performing the requirement and that the services should be offered to the 8(a) program for award on a competitive basis. By letter of November 16, 2006, the Air Force offered the requirement to the SBA. Of significance to this protest, the letter furnished the following summary of the acquisition history of the requirement: These services were outsourced as part of an A-76 study and are currently included in a larger scale contract that was awarded to a small business, Rohmann Joint Venture, San Antonio, TX. Mandated reorganization of Media Services under Public Affairs requires a new contract action to be put into place for those services. . . . To be noted is the fact that the value for the Media Services piece is approximately [deleted] of the current contract value for Communication Support, which includes the Media Services.[1] This is considered to be a new requirement. Letter from AF Director of Small Business to SBA at 1.[2] By letter of the following day, SBA accepted the requirement for competition in the 8(a) program. The Air Force posted a presolicitation notice describing the requirement on the Federal Business Opportunities website on November 28. The notice informed prospective sources that the requirement would be set aside as a competitive 8(a) acquisition. RJV contacted the contracting officer later the same day to object to the setting aside of the requirement for 8(a) competition, arguing that such a course of action would have an adverse impact on it –in that the proposed set-aside is more than 25% of [its] only contract and therefore its annual gross sales.— E-mail from RJV to the Contracting Officer, Nov. 28, 2006, Agency Report, Tab 23. The Air Force sought guidance from the SBA regarding the protester's complaint. By letter dated December 15, the SBA advised the Air Force that an adverse impact determination had not been required because the procurement in question was considered a new requirement.