Columbia Ancillary Services, Inc. (36C24418R0667)

B-416800.4 Jan 21, 2020 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Columbia Ancillary Services, Inc., a small business of Houtzdale, Pennsylvania, requests that our Office recommend that it be reimbursed the costs of filing and pursuing two protests of the decision to set aside a procurement for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to acquire durable medical equipment (DME) and related services. The protester alleges that the agency unduly delayed taking corrective action in response to a clearly meritorious protest because the agency's corrective action taken in response to Columbia's first protest did not effectively resolve its protest issues, forcing it to protest the procurement a second time on the same grounds. 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 has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of:  Columbia Ancillary Services, Inc. File:  B-416800.4 Date:   January 21, 2020 Matthew T. Schoonover, Esq., John M. Mattox II, Esq., Haley E. Claxton, Esq., and Gregory P. Weber, Esq., Koprince Law, LLC, for the protester. Natica C. Neely, Esq., Department of Veterans Affairs, for the agency. Michael Willems, Esq., Evan Wesser, Esq., and Edward Goldstein, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Request for recommendation that agency reimburse costs of two sequential protests because agency failed to address issues alleged in first protest is denied because the agency promptly proposed corrective action in response to the second protest on the basis of new information not available to it during the pendency of the first protest. DECISION Columbia Ancillary Services, Inc., a small business of Houtzdale, Pennsylvania, requests that our Office recommend that it be reimbursed the costs of filing and pursuing two protests of the decision to set aside a procurement for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to acquire durable medical equipment (DME) and related services.  The protester alleges that the agency unduly delayed taking corrective action in response to a clearly meritorious protest because the agency’s corrective action taken in response to Columbia’s first protest did not effectively resolve its protest issues, forcing it to protest the procurement a second time on the same grounds. We deny the request. BACKGROUND On August 20, 2018, the agency issued the request for proposals (RFP) as an SDVOSB set-aside.  Agency Response at 1.  The solicitation contemplated the award of nine fixed-price indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts for each of nine major sites in veterans integrated service network (VISN) 4.[1]  Id. at 1-2.  Prior to issuing the RFP, the agency conducted market research and received expressions of interest from two SDVOSBs:  one SDVOSB that was currently providing DME services in VISN 4, and another SDVOSB that expressed interest in providing DME to all nine sites in VISN 4.  Id. at 2. On September 11, Columbia filed a protest of the set-aside decision with our Office, alleging that there were not two SDVOSBs capable of successfully performing the requirements, and the VA had failed to assess whether there was a reasonable expectation that it would receive fair and reasonable prices.  Protest (B-416800.1) at 12-15.  On September 19, the agency notified GAO that it would take corrective action by re-examining its market research and set-aside decision, and then re-soliciting if necessary.  Agency Request for Dismissal (B-416800.1).  On September 25, our Office dismissed the protest as academic.  Columbia Ancillary Servs., Inc., B-416800.1, Sept. 25, 2018 (unpublished decision). As part of the corrective action, the agency conducted additional market research, and received two additional expressions of interest from SDVOSBs.  Agency Response at 3‑4.  The agency then distributed a sources sought notice, and received four responses.  Id.  The contracting officer reviewed the capabilities and experience of the four respondents to the sources sought notice and concluded that the agency could expect to receive proposals from multiple SDVOSBs at fair and reasonable prices.  Id.  The agency notified the protester, on June 6, 2019, that the procurement would remain a SDVOSB set-aside, and amended the solicitation to establish a July 8 due date for proposals.  Id. On July 3, the protester filed a new protest of the set-aside decision on substantially the same grounds as its original protest.  See Protest (B-416800.2).  Notwithstanding the ongoing protest, on July 7 and 8, the agency received two proposals in response to the solicitation.  Agency Response at 5.  On July 9, the agency filed a request for dismissal of the protest alleging t...