CenturyLink QGS (36C10A19R0003)

B-418556.3 Sep 08, 2020 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Qwest Government Services, Inc., d/b/a CenturyLink QGS (CenturyLink), of Monroe, Louisiana, protests the scope of the agency's corrective action, following its prior protest of the issuance of a task order to Manhattan Telecommunications, Inc. (MetTel), of New York, New York, under request for task order proposals (RFTOP) No. 3610A19R0003, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), for voice services. The protester argues that the VA's planned corrective action would result in the disparate and unequal treatment of offerors. 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:  CenturyLink QGS File:  B-418556.3 Date:  September 8, 2020 Shelly L. Ewald, Esq., and Emily C. Brown, Esq., Watt Tieder Hoffar & Fitzgerald, LLP, for the protester. Frank V. DiNicola, Esq., Peetr Kozlowski, Esq., and Christopher Tiroff, Esq., Department of Veterans Affairs, for the agency. Michael P. Grogan, Esq., and Edward Goldstein, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging agency’s corrective action is denied where the agency’s corrective action does not permit any offeror to revise its proposal, and thus, does not treat offerors unequally. DECISION   Qwest Government Services, Inc., d/b/a CenturyLink QGS (CenturyLink), of Monroe, Louisiana, protests the scope of the agency’s corrective action, following its prior protest of the issuance of a task order to Manhattan Telecommunications, Inc. (MetTel), of New York, New York, under request for task order proposals (RFTOP) No. 3610A19R0003, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), for voice services.  The protester argues that the VA’s planned corrective action would result in the disparate and unequal treatment of offerors. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On June 19, 2019, the agency issued the RFTOP to holders of the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) multiple-award indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) government-wide acquisition contract, for the delivery of “voice (telephone), transport, and associated supporting services that include installation and maintenance across multiple sites in the United States and its territories.”  Contracting Officer’s Statement (COS) at 1.  The solicitation contemplated the issuance of a single, fixed-price with economic price adjustment task order, with a four-month base period of performance, and multiple option periods that could extend performance through the year 2032.  Agency Report (AR), Tab 5O, Amended RFTOP, Jan. 3, 2020, at 66, 104.  The solicitation advised that award would be made to the offeror whose proposal represented the best value to the agency, considering price and other factors.  Id. at 114.  In addition to price, proposals were to be evaluated based on the following factors:  technical; oral presentation; past performance; and veterans involvement.  Id. As relevant to the issues raised, the VA’s RFTOP required proposals to comply with provisions found in GSA’s EIS contract, to include section G.3.2.5, concerning the authorization of orders.  Id. at 111.  This section provides that an EIS contract holder may compete for an agency task order--even if it does not have all of the agency-required services included on its EIS contract--if the contractor, at the time of its task order proposal submission, submits to GSA a modification adding the missing services (and the associated pricing) to its EIS contract.[1]  See GSA EIS IDIQ Contract No. GS00Q17NSD3009 (EIS Contract), at 10-11, § G.3.2.5. Section G.3.2.5 goes on to specifically state that contractors are prohibited from accepting a task order for services that are not on their EIS contract (i.e., until GSA has processed the EIS contract modifications and added the to-be-performed services, and their related pricing, to a firm’s EIS contract).  Id.