B-299504.3; B-299504.4, Environmental Protection Agency; CGI Federal, Inc.--Reconsiderations, July 23, 2008

B-299504.3; B-299504.4, Environmental Protection Agency; CGI Federal, Inc.--Reconsiderations, July 23, 2008 TITLE: B-299504.3; B-299504.4, Environmental Protection Agency; CGI Federal, Inc.--Reconsiderations, July 23, 2008 BNUMBER: B-299504.3; B-299504.4 DATE: July 23, 2008 *********************************************************************************************************** B-299504.3; B-299504.4, Environmental Protection Agency; CGI Federal, Inc.--Reconsiderations, July 23, 2008 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: Environmental Protection Agency; CGI Federal, Inc.--Reconsiderations File: B-299504.3; B-299504.4 Date: July 23, 2008 Avital G. Zemel, Esq., Environmental Protection Agency, for the agency/requester. Mark D. Colley, Esq., Christopher R. Yukins, Esq., Kristen E. Ittig, Esq., and Cameron W. Fogle, Esq., Arnold & Porter LLP, for CGI Federal, Inc., a requester. Linda S. Lebowitz, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST GAO will not grant request to vacate protest decision based on subsequent developments where the parties requesting such action have not demonstrated that newly-disclosed information has rendered the decision as issued invalid, or that the public interest would be served by vacating the decision. DECISION The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and CGI Federal, Inc. ask that we reconsider our decision in IBM Corp., B-299504, B-299504.2, June 4, 2007, 2008 CPD para. 64, in which we sustained IBM's protest of the award of a contract to CGI under request for proposals (RFP) No. PR-HQ-05-12521, issued by the EPA for the upgrade of the agency's financial management system. In its protest, IBM argued, among other things, that the agency did not reasonably evaluate the offerors' price/cost proposals. We sustained the protest, concluding that the agency improperly made upward adjustments to fixed-price elements of IBM's proposal and did not reasonably evaluate CGI's price/cost proposal. However, because of subsequent developments, the agency and CGI ask that we reconsider and either rescind (i.e., vacate) or modify our decision sustaining IBM's protest. We deny the requests for reconsideration. BACKGROUND The RFP contemplated the award of an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract under which performance-based task orders would be issued.^[1] After evaluating the four initial proposals submitted in response to the RFP, the agency selected the proposals of IBM and CGI to be included in the competitive range. Following discussions, IBM and CGI submitted final proposal revisions (FPR). The agency's technical evaluation panel (TEP) evaluated the FPRs and reported its results to the contracting officer, who then prepared a selection decision with final technical and price/cost evaluations for IBM and CGI. The contracting officer recommended that the award be made to CGI and, after conferring with the TEP chair and others, the agency's source selection authority approved the award to CGI. In its protest filed with our Office, IBM argued that the agency improperly evaluated proposals, failed to conduct meaningful and equal discussions and, as a result, made an unreasonable selection decision. We sustained the protest, concluding that the agency improperly adjusted fixed-price elements of IBM's proposal and performed an unreasonable evaluation of CGI's price/cost proposal.^[2] We recommended that the agency reevaluate proposals, consistent with our decision; we further recommended that the agency reexamine its requirements, providing offerors an opportunity to revise their proposals, if necessary, and that the agency make a new selection decision. In addition, we recommended that IBM be reimbursed the costs of filing and pursuing its protest, including reasonable attorneys' fees. EPA'S REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION In its request for reconsideration, the agency asks that we rescind or modify our June 4, 2007 decision sustaining IBM's protest, based on events that took place after we issued our decision and based on information not previously considered by our Office.