Management and Technical Services Alliance- JV

B-416239 Jun 25, 2018 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Management and Technical Services Alliance Joint Venture (MTSA), of McLean, Virginia, protests the terms of request for proposals (RFP) No. 70RDND-18-R-00000006, issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for financial and program management support services in support of the agency's Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office. The protester alleges that the solicitation improperly restricts competition by requiring each offeror to possess a facility clearance prior to award. 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:  Management and Technical Services Alliance Joint Venture File:  B-416239 Date:  June 25, 2018 Steven J. Koprince, Esq., Matthew T. Schoonover, Esq., Nicole D. Potroff, Esq., and Shane J. McCall, Esq., Koprince Law, LLC, for the protester. Andrew J. Baker, Esq., and Justin V. Briones, Esq., Department of Homeland Security, for the agency. Todd C. Culliton, Esq., and Tania Calhoun, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Solicitation requirement that an offeror possess a facility clearance does not unduly restrict competition where the record shows that the requirement is reasonably related to the agency's needs. DECISION Management and Technical Services Alliance Joint Venture (MTSA), of McLean, Virginia, protests the terms of request for proposals (RFP) No. 70RDND-18-R-00000006, issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for financial and program management support services in support of the agency's Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office.  The protester alleges that the solicitation improperly restricts competition by requiring each offeror to possess a facility clearance prior to award.  We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The RFP was issued on March 19, 2018, to companies holding one of DHS's Program Management, Administration, Operations (Clerical), and Technical Services II (PACTS II) indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity Functional Category 1 contracts.[1]  Agency Report (AR) Tab C, Solicitation at 1.  The solicitation contemplated the award of a time-and-materials task order to be performed over a 1-year base period, three 1-year option periods, and one 9-month option period.  Id. at 2.  Specific services contemplated including budgetary planning, developing a financial system, and providing travel and human capital support.  Id. at 64-68.  In order to perform these services, the selected contractor would be required to handle classified information related to national security matters.  Id. at 77.  Thus, the solicitation specified that "[p]rior to award, the Contractor must obtain and hold a facility clearance at the SECRET level for performance under this task order."  Id. MTSA, a prospective offeror, is an unpopulated joint venture, meaning that it does not have any employees or facilities, and also does not hold a facility clearance itself.  Protest at 3.  On April 2, 2018, MTSA submitted a question to the agency, inquiring whether it would accept an unpopulated joint venture as satisfying the facility clearance requirement when all of the joint venture members hold the appropriate clearance.  Tab F, E-mail Correspondence Between Agency and Protester, at 2-3.  The contracting officer simply responded "No."  Id. at 2.  MTSA then submitted the instant protest to our Office prior to the deadline set for receipt of proposals. DISCUSSION In its protest, MTSA asserts that the solicitation requirement that, prior to award, the contractor must obtain and hold a facility clearance is unduly restrictive of competition because it effectively prevents any unpopulated joint venture from receiving award.  Protest at 3.  To this end, the protester argues that the agency should allow an unpopulated joint venture to rely on any clearances that its constituent members hold, particularly in situations where all of the members possess facility clearances.  Id. at 4.  A contracting agency generally has the discretion to determine its needs and the best method to accommodate them.  Gallup, Inc., B-410126, Sept. 25, 2014, 2014 CPD ¶ 280 at 5.  Further, an agency has heightened discretion to define solicitation requirements to achieve the highest possible effectiveness when the subject of the agency's acquisition relates to national defense or human safety.  Remote Diagnostic Techs., LLC, B-413375.4, B-413375.5, Feb.