B-299744.2; B-299744.3, XTec, Inc., August 6, 2007

B-299744.2; B-299744.3, XTec, Inc., August 6, 2007 TITLE: B-299744.2; B-299744.3, XTec, Inc., August 6, 2007 BNUMBER: B-299744.2; B-299744.3 DATE: August 6, 2007 ************************************************** B-299744.2; B-299744.3, XTec, Inc., August 6, 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: XTec, Inc. File: B-299744.2; B-299744.3 Date: August 6, 2007 John S. Pachter, Esq., Jonathan D. Shaffer, Esq., and Mary Pat Gregory, Esq., Smith Pachter McWhorter PLC, for the protester. Daniel R. Forman, Esq., Christopher Gagne, Esq., and John E. McCarthy, Jr., Esq., Crowell & Moring LLP, for Electronic Data Systems, Inc., an intervenor. Micul E. Thompson, Esq., Carmody A. Gaba, Esq., and Kevin J. Rice, Esq., for the agency. Edward Goldstein, Esq., and Christine S. Melody, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Even assuming that protester's interpretation of solicitation issued under the Federal Supply Schedule program for a contractor managed "end-to-end" solution meeting government-wide federal identification card requirements is reasonable and required all products and services within a vendor's end-to-end solution to be listed on the agency's Approved Product List at the time price submissions were due, protester failed to establish that it was prejudiced by the agency's alleged waiver of this requirement where the protester's proposal was lower-rated technically and higher priced and the protester only generally asserted that had it known of the agency's interpretation, it could have substituted products and reduced its price. DECISION XTec, Inc. protests the issuance of a task order to Electronic Data Systems, Inc. under request for quotations (RFQ) No. TQ-PLB07-0002, issued by the General Services Administration (GSA) to vendors under its Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program, to provide contractor-managed services for an "end-to-end" solution meeting government-wide federal identification card requirements. XTec argues that EDS was not eligible for an order because its solution did not meet mandatory solicitation requirements, GSA improperly evaluated EDS's solution under the RFQ's technical criteria, and that GSA's selection of EDS as the best value was flawed. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 In an effort to enhance security, increase efficiency, reduce identity fraud, protect personal privacy, and deter terrorist threats, the President, on August 27, 2004, issued Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12), mandating the establishment of a standard for identification of federal employees and contractors. HSPD-12 requires the use of a common identification card for access to federally-controlled facilities and information systems.[1] RFQ amend. 4, at 6-7. Under HSPD-12, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) was tasked with producing a standard for a secure and reliable form of identification. In response, on February 25, 2005, NIST issued Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 201 (FIPS 201), Personal Identity Verification (PIV) of Federal Employees and Contractors. In order to assist agencies with implementing the FIPS 201 requirements, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) established GSA as the "executive agency" for government-wide acquisition of the products and services necessary to implement the HSPD-12 mandate. As the executive agency, GSA is responsible for making available products and services that meet all applicable federal standards and requirements, to include FIPS 201, for acquisition by federal agencies. In order to achieve this end, and as directed by OMB, GSA has assumed various roles. Specifically, in conjunction with NIST, GSA identified 22 categories of products/services which must comply with specific normative requirements contained in FIPS 201. In May 2006, GSA established a FIPS 201 evaluation program to ensure that commercial products in the 22 identified categories are FIPS 201 compliant. Under this program, laboratories test products and services under the 22 categories to ensure conformance with FIPS 201 standards. When a product/service is determined to be FIPS 201 compliant, GSA issues an approval letter, specifying the supplier, the Approved Products List (APL) category (e.g., PIV smart card), approved product name, and version/part number. Products/services receiving an approval letter under one of the 22 categories are then publicly listed on what is known as the FIPS 201 APL.