American Federal Contractors, Inc.

B-413314.4 Apr 24, 2017 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights American Federal Contractors, Inc. (AFCI), of Reston, Virginia, requests that we recommend that it be reimbursed the reasonable costs of filing and pursuing its protest of the award of a contract to Beacon Associates, Inc., of Bel Air, Maryland, under request for proposals (RFP) No. HSFLAR-15-R-00001, issued by the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), for student support services at its Artesia, New Mexico location. We dismissed the protest after the agency advised our Office that it would take corrective action by canceling the solicitation and reissuing it after a review of its requirements. AFCI, the incumbent contractor for these services, argues its protest was clearly meritorious and the agency unduly delayed taking corrective action. We deny the request. We deny the request. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This version, with no redactions, has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of:  American Federal Contractors, Inc.--Costs File:  B-413314.4 Date:  April 24, 2017 Matthew R. Keller, Esq., Jonathan D. Frieden, Esq., and Lars E. Anderson, Esq., Odin Feldman Pittleman PC, for the protester. Jim Caine, Esq., Department of Homeland Security, for the agency. K. Nicole Willems, Esq., and Jennifer D. Westfall-McGrail, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Request for recommendation that protest costs be reimbursed is denied where the agency did not unduly delay taking corrective action and the protest grounds were not clearly meritorious. DECISION American Federal Contractors, Inc. (AFCI), of Reston, Virginia, requests that we recommend that it be reimbursed the reasonable costs of filing and pursuing its protest of the award of a contract to Beacon Associates, Inc., of Bel Air, Maryland, under request for proposals (RFP) No. HSFLAR-15-R-00001, issued by the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), for student support services at its Artesia, New Mexico location.  We dismissed the protest after the agency advised our Office that it would take corrective action by canceling the solicitation and reissuing it after a review of its requirements.  AFCI, the incumbent contractor for these services, argues its protest was clearly meritorious and the agency unduly delayed taking corrective action. We deny the request. BACKGROUND The RFP was issued on August 20, 2015, and sought student support services including student transportation; vehicle support to include dispatching, scheduling, maintenance, and minor repair; driver training support; firearm training support; training equipment and uniform issue; provision of a recreation specialist; training and administrative support; training record support; and provision of role players to support training scenarios.  Agency Report (AR) at 2.  The RFP, which was set aside for small businesses, contemplated the award of a fixed-price contract on a best-value basis considering the following factors:  (1) method of operations; (2) quality control; (3) management and administration; (4) personnel qualification; (5) past performance; and (6) price.  RFP at §§ L.3, M.7.  The RFP provided that the non-price factors were considered approximately equal in importance, and, when combined, were approximately equal to price.  Id. at § M.9.  Possible ratings for the past performance factor ranged from excellent to unsatisfactory, and possible ratings for the other non-price factors were excellent, satisfactory, marginal, and unsatisfactory.  Id. The agency received seven proposals in response to the RFP.  AR at 2.  Only three proposals, including the protester’s proposal, were found eligible for award.  AR, Tab J, Source Selection Decision Document (SSDD) at 3.  The evaluation results for AFCI and Beacon were as follows:    AFCI Beacon Overall Non-Price Rating Excellent Satisfactory   Method of Operation Excellent Satisfactory   Quality Control Excellent Satisfactory   Management and    Administration Excellent Satisfactory   Personnel Qualifications Excellent Satisfactory   Past Performance Satisfactory Satisfactory Evaluated Price $57,779,109 $45,331,857 Id. The source selection authority (SSA) determined that both AFCI and Beacon were capable of performing the requirements of the solicitation.  Id. at 11.  While the agency noted that the evaluation of AFCI’s proposal indicated that AFCI might perform at a higher level than Beacon, the SSA concluded that AFCI’s additional strengths would not be worth the 28 percent price premium.  Id.