Apogee Engineering, LLC

B-415976 May 01, 2018 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Apogee Engineering, LLC, a small business located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, challenges the terms of request for proposals (RFP) No. SOL-OAA-17-000089, issued by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), for global health technical professionals. The protester alleges that the RFP is unduly restrictive of competition because it requires that an offeror's subcontractors possess a secret facility clearance at the time of proposal submission. 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:  Apogee Engineering, LLC File:  B-415976 Date:  May 1, 2018 Peter B. Ford, Esq., Michelle E. Litteken, Esq., Meghan F. Leemon, Esq., and Timothy F. Valley, Esq.,Piliero Mazza PLLC, for the protester. R. René Dupuy, Esq., United States Agency for International Development, for the agency. Heather Weiner, Esq., and Jennifer D. Westfall-McGrail, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Solicitation requirement that an offeror’s subcontractors possess a secret facility clearance at the time of proposal submission does not unduly restrict competition where the record shows that the requirement is reasonably related to the agency’s needs. DECISION Apogee Engineering, LLC, a small business located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, challenges the terms of request for proposals (RFP) No. SOL-OAA-17-000089, issued by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), for global health technical professionals.  The protester alleges that the RFP is unduly restrictive of competition because it requires that an offeror’s subcontractors possess a secret facility clearance at the time of proposal submission. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND USAID issued the RFP on November 14, 2017, as a small business set-aside, seeking proposals to “develop a new cadre” of USAID Global Health technical professionals, and to provide such professionals to the USAID Bureau for Global Health and other agency offices in Washington, D.C. and overseas.  RFP at 8.  The competition was limited to firms holding one of the General Services Administration’s One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) small business-pool 1, multiple-award indefinite-delivery contracts for professional, scientific, and technical services.  The RFP anticipated the issuance of a cost-plus-fixed-fee task order for a period of performance of five years.  Id. at 1, 4.  The estimated value of the task order is $125,000,000.  Agency Report (AR) at 1.  As relevant here, the RFP’s statement of work provides that “[c]ontract employees hired to work directly with the Bureau for Global Health will be expected to provide whatever services that may be required by the Bureau to accomplish its mission, including participating in design and award of health programs worldwide.”[1]  RFP at 10.  The RFP advises that the contractor will initially provide support for approximately 156 technical professionals, ranging from junior to expert level, to be phased down to 45 junior to mid‑level technical professionals by year five of the task order.  Id. The RFP also advises that all contractor employees “will co-locate with the Bureau for Global Health” in its office space.  Id. at 11.  The solicitation therefore specifies that both the “[c]ontractor and subcontractors . . . must secure and maintain [an] active DoD [Department of Defense] Security Service (DSS) Facility Secret clearance,” which will allow the contractor and subcontractors to “request the processing and issuance of Secret clearances for [technical professionals]” under the task order.  Id. at 3, 11.  Specifically, the solicitation explains that “[t]he facilities clearance is necessary because the contractor will need to supply institutional contract staff with security clearances whose responsibilities will require them to sit in USAID office space on a daily basis.”  Id. at 3.  The RFP further specifies that the secret facility clearance must be “active at the time of proposal submission.” [2]  Id. at 3, 11.  With regard to offer acceptability, the RFP provides that the agency may reject an offer as unacceptable if it does not “comply with all of the terms and conditions of the RFP and prospective contract,” including “[p]roof of current/active facility clearance.”  Id.