MCR Federal, LLC (FA8802-18-F-0002)

B-416654.5,B-416654.6 Mar 06, 2020 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights MCR Federal, LLC, of El Segundo, California, protests the issuance of a task order to Tecolote Research, Inc., of Goleta, California, under Fair Opportunity Proposal Request (FOPR) No. FA8802-18-F-0002, issued by the Department of the Air Force, Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, for acquisition and financial support services. MCR challenges the agency's evaluation of proposals and award decision. 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:  MCR Federal, LLC File:  B-416654.5; B-416654.6 Date:  March 6, 2020 Richard B. O'Keeffe, Jr., Esq., J. Ryan Frazee, Esq., and William A. Roberts, III, Esq., Wiley Rein LLP, for the protester. Richard B. Oliver, Esq., and J. Matthew Carter, Esq., Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, for Tecolote Research, Inc., the intervenor. Colonel Patricia S. Wiegman-Lenz, Lieutenant Colonel John C. Degnan, Lawrence M. Anderson, Esq., and Malcolm L. Langlois, Esq., Department of the Air Force, for the agency. Joshua R. Gillerman, Esq., and Peter H. Tran, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging the agency’s evaluation of proposals and award decision is denied where the record shows that the evaluation was reasonable and consistent with the solicitation and applicable statutes and regulations. DECISION   MCR Federal, LLC, of El Segundo, California, protests the issuance of a task order to Tecolote Research, Inc., of Goleta, California, under Fair Opportunity Proposal Request (FOPR) No. FA8802-18-F-0002, issued by the Department of the Air Force, Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, for acquisition and financial support services.  MCR challenges the agency’s evaluation of proposals and award decision. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The FOPR was originally issued on April 10, 2018, pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 16.5, to offerors holding indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts under the General Services Administration’s (GSA) One Acquisition Solution For Integrated Services Small Business Pool 5B contracts.  Agency Report (AR), Tab 2, FOPR, at 1.[1]  The FOPR contemplated the issuance of a task order for the provision of acquisition, financial, and administrative services to support the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center’s Launch Enterprise.  Id. at 2, 61. The task order was to be issued on a best-value tradeoff basis, considering the following factors:  personnel management, technical expertise, and cost/price.  Id. at 162.  Under the personnel management factor, proposals would be rated as either acceptable or unacceptable.  Id. at 162-163.  For the technical expertise factor, proposals would be assigned an adjectival rating of outstanding, good, acceptable, or unacceptable.  Id. at 164.  The technical expertise factor was significantly more important than the cost/price factor, which was more important than the personnel management factor.  Id. The agency received and evaluated proposals, initially making award to Tecolote on July 19.[2]  AR, Tab 1, Combined Contracting Officer’s Statement of Facts/Memorandum of Law (COS/MOL) at 7.  MCR protested the award to our Office.  In response, the agency notified our Office of its intent to take corrective action by, essentially, reopening discussions, allowing submission of final proposal revisions (FPR), reevaluating proposals, and making a new award decision.  Id. at 7-8.  Our Office dismissed MCR’s first protest as academic.  MCR Federal, LLC, B-416654, Sept. 4, 2018 (unpublished decision). On September 10, the agency issued what it terms “interchange notices” to MCR and Tecolote.[3]  COS/MOL at 7-8.  Two notices were issued to MCR, advising the firm of perceived risks in MCR’s proposal.  The notices also informed offerors that final proposal revisions were due on September 12 at 5:00 p.m.  Id. MCR protested the agency’s short response for FPRs, arguing that the Air Force failed to provide the firm with adequate time to respond to the interchange notices.  Id.  In response, the agency notified MCR that it was again proposing to take corrective action, this time by extending the response deadline until September 18 at 5:00 p.m.  Id. at 8.  Based on that proposed corrective action, the Air Force requested that our Office dismiss the second protest.  Our Office, however, declined to dismiss MCR’s protest at that time.  MCR Federal, LLC, B-416654.2, B-416654.3, Dec. 18, 2019, 2018 CPD ¶ 335 at 5.  We subsequently sustained MCR’s protest, finding that the agency had failed to provide MCR with a fair opportunity to revise its proposal.  Id.