T. W. Recycling

B-413256 Sep 16, 2016 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights T.W. Recycling, of Las Vegas, Nevada, protests the cancellation of request for proposals (RFP) No. SP4530-16-R-0003, issued by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) on behalf of the U.S. Army Garrison Kwajalein Atoll for management and scrap metal removal services. The protester contends that the cancellation was improper. We deny the protest. We deny the protest. View Decision Decision Matter of:  T. W. Recycling File:  B-413256 Date:  September 16, 2016 Anthony E. Hoover for the protester. James J. Diliberti, Esq., and Leslie Chen, Esq., Defense Logistics Agency, for the agency. Elizabeth Witwer, Esq., and Jennifer D. Westfall-McGrail, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest of an agency’s cancellation of a solicitation is denied where the record demonstrates that any contract based upon the prices proposed would exceed the amount budgeted for the acquisition. DECISION T.W. Recycling, of Las Vegas, Nevada, protests the cancellation of request for proposals (RFP) No. SP4530-16-R-0003, issued by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) on behalf of the U.S. Army Garrison Kwajalein Atoll for management and scrap metal removal services.  The protester contends that the cancellation was improper. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On April 22, 2016, DLA’s Disposition Services Pacific Branch (DLA-DSP) issued the solicitation seeking proposals for scrap removal and disposal services at the U.S. Army Garrison Kwajalein Atoll, which is located in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.[1]  RFP at 1; Performance Work Statement (PWS) ¶ 1.0; Combined Contracting Officer’s Statement and Memorandum of Law (COS/MOL) at 2.  The agency explains that it issued the solicitation at the request of the Department of the Army, specifically the U.S. Army Garrison Kwajalein Atoll.  COS/MOL at 1.  Funding for the acquisition was provided by the U.S. Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM) via a Military Interdepartmental Purchase Request (MIPR) and the funding amount was based upon an independent government costs estimate developed by DLA in conjunction with the U.S. Army Garrison Kwajalein Atoll.  Id.; Agency Report (AR), Tab 3, Declaration of Operations Chief, DLA-DSP, ¶ 3; Tab 4, MIPR.  The solicitation provided for the award of a fixed-price contract on a best-value basis consisting of two evaluation factors of equal importance:  (1) past performance and (2) price.  RFP, Addendum, at 4; COS/MOL at 2.  Proposals were due on May 27.  In response to the solicitation, DLA received proposals from three offerors, including T.W. Recycling.  COS/MOL at 2.  The contracting officer represents that he conducted an “initial screening” of the proposals and excluded one of the offerors because its proposal was deemed to be materially deficient.  Id.  With respect to the two remaining proposals, including the proposal submitted by T.W. Recycling, the contracting officer explains that the offerors’ proposed prices were significantly higher that the funding provided by the Army for the acquisition and the independent government cost estimate.  Id.  The record reflects that T.W. Recycling’s proposed price was more than five times higher than the available funding.  Id. at 2 n.2; AR, Tab 2, T.W. Recycling’s Proposal, Attach. 19; Tab 4, MIPR.  The other remaining offeror’s proposed price was also several times higher than the available funding.[2]  AR, Tab 11, Offeror A’s Proposal, at 4; Tab 4, MIPR. DLA consulted the U.S. Garrison Kwajalein Atoll and IMCOM and was informed that additional funds were not available for this requirement.  AR, Tab 3, Declaration of Operations Chief, DLA-DSP.  Accordingly, the agency cancelled the solicitation on June 3 and returned the funds to the Army.  COS/MOL at 2-3; AR, Tab 12, Declaration of Chief, Acquisition Hazardous Pacific Branch, DLA-DSP.  The contemporaneously prepared documentation indicates that the funds were returned by DLA because the submitted proposals “far exceed[ed] cost projections.”  AR, Tab 4, MIPR, at 2. The agency posted its notice of cancellation on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBiz Opps) website, the governmentwide point of entry, on June 3.  COS/MOL at 3.  On June 6, T.W. Recycling requested a debriefing.  AR, Tab 13, Correspondence with T.W. Recycling , at 5-7.  Although the agency explained that a debriefing following a cancelled solicitation was not required under part 15 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), it nevertheless provided T.W. Recycling with a detailed explanation of the basis for the cancellation and provided answers to many of the protester’s questions.  Id.  T.W. Recycling filed this protest on June 13. DECISION T.W.