Sev1Tech, Inc.

B-413758 Dec 12, 2016 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights BlueWater Federal Solutions, Inc. (BlueWater), of Chantilly, Virginia, protests the exclusion of its proposal from further consideration under task order request (TOR) number GSC-QF0B-16-32998, issued by the General Services Administration (GSA), for mission support services for the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Agency (JIDA). We deny the protest. We deny the protest. View Decision 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:  BlueWater Federal Solutions, Inc. File:  B-413758 Date:  December 12, 2016 Lee Dougherty, Esq., and Katherine A. Straw, Esq., Montgomery Fazzone PLLC, for the protester. Kelli Cochran-Seabrook, Esq., General Services Administration, for the agency. Young H. Cho, Esq., and Christina Sklarew, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging exclusion from the competition is denied where the agency reasonably found the protester’s total proposed price to be unrealistic in accordance with the terms of the solicitation. DECISION BlueWater Federal Solutions, Inc. (BlueWater), of Chantilly, Virginia, protests the exclusion of its proposal from further consideration under task order request (TOR) number GSC-QF0B-16-32998, issued by the General Services Administration (GSA), for mission support services for the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Agency (JIDA).  We deny the protest. BACKGROUND JIDA is the most recent incarnation of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO), which was established in 2006 as a Deputy Secretary of Defense-directed initiative with the mission to rapidly provide solutions to defeat the enemy’s improvised threat campaign and save the lives of service members deployed fighting insurgent networks that employ improvised threats as a strategic weapon of choice.  TOR,[1] Section C, Performance Work Statement, at C-1.  On March 11, 2015, the Deputy Secretary of Defense directed the establishment of JIEDDO as a defense agency and designated JIEDDO as a combat support agency, aligned under the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.  Id.  On April 30, 2015, JIEDDO was renamed as JIDA.  Id. The TOR sought to procure mission support services to support JIDA, by providing subject matter expertise not readily available to the government that would allow government personnel to focus on JIDA’s core mission of defeating improvised threats while the contractor support personnel were processing, drafting for government approval, and updating the documentation needed to keep those core functions running smoothly.  Id. at C-2.  The solicitation provided details for the 16 task areas of performance, 13 of which were considered “mandatory,” while the remaining 3 were considered to be optional.  Id. at C-3-C-68; see also id., Section B, Supplies or Services and Prices/Costs, at B-2 – B-6.  The TOR was issued by GSA on April 20, 2016, under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 16.5, to contractors holding GSA’s One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) small business (SB) multiple award indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) – pool 1 contracts.  TOR, Cover Page.  The solicitation contemplated the issuance of a single cost-plus-award-fee (CPAF) task order with not-to-exceed contract line item numbers for travel, materials and equipment, and other direct costs, with a one-year base period and four one-year option periods.  Id., Section B, at B-1-B-6.  Award was to be made on a best-value basis considering the following technical factors in descending order of importance, and cost/price:  technical approach; management approach; key personnel and project staffing approach; and corporate experience.  Id., Section M, Evaluation Factors for Award, at M-1, M-3-M-5.  The solicitation stated that the technical factors, when combined, were significantly more important than cost.  Id. at M-1, M-3.  The solicitation provided the agency’s estimate of the total value of the CPAF portion of the task order, excluding the contract line item numbers (CLINs)[2] for task 16 (additional as-needed support); travel, materials and equipment, and other direct costs; and contract access fee[3] to be between $133,325,135 and $140,342,248.[4]  Id., Section L, Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors, at L-3.  Of particular relevance here, the solicitation advised offerors that any proposal that was not within the total estimated CPAF “shall include an explanation that specifically draws the [g]overnment’s attention to any unique technical aspects of the proposal the offeror would like the [g]overnment to consider as the justification for the deviation from the range.”  Id.