American Systems Group (N33191-20-R-3005)

B-418667 Jul 23, 2020 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights ASG Solutions Corporation, doing business as American Systems Group (ASG), a small business of San Diego, California, protests the terms of task order request for proposals (TORP) No. N33191-20-R-3005, issued by the Department of the Navy for engineering technician assistant services. The protester asserts that the services sought under the TORP are beyond the scope of the indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract under which the TORP was issued. We dismiss the protest. View Decision Decision Matter of:  American Systems Group File:  B-418667 Date:  July 23, 2020 Ritobrata Banerjee, for the protester.  Geoffrey D. Chun, Esq., Deparatment of the Navy, for the agency. Katherine I. Riback, Esq., and Evan C. Williams, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest that services requested under a task order solicitation are outside the scope of the underlying multiple-award contract is dismissed where the protester fails to demonstrate competitive prejudice. DECISION   ASG Solutions Corporation, doing business as American Systems Group (ASG), a small business of San Diego, California, protests the terms of task order request for proposals (TORP) No. N33191-20-R-3005, issued by the Department of the Navy for engineering technician assistant services.  The protester asserts that the services sought under the TORP are beyond the scope of the indefinite-delivery, indefinite‑quantity (IDIQ) contract under which the TORP was issued. We dismiss the protest. On June 1, 2018, the agency issued solicitation No. N00178-18-R-7000 for the Seaport‑Next Generation (Seaport-NxG) IDIQ multiple-award contract (MAC) for engineering, technical, and programmatic support services.  Req. for Dismissal, Attachment 7, IDIQ Solicitation at 1, 7.  The solicitation provided that task orders would be issued under the IDIQ contract for two areas of support--engineering services and program management services.  Id. at 7.  The solicitation further divided these areas of support into 23 functional area subcategories.  Id. at 7-8.  Offerors were required to submit a technical proposal which demonstrated experience performing some effort related to at least one of the areas identified by the scopes of work.  Id. at 63.  Technical proposals were to be evaluated as acceptable or unacceptable.  Id.  The solicitation also provided that the agency would make an award to all qualifying offerors.  Id.  A qualifying offeror was defined as a responsible source that submitted a technical proposal that was rated acceptable, and was likely to offer fair and reasonable pricing.  Id.  The Navy awarded ASG a Seaport-Next Generation IDIQ contract on January 2, 2019.  Protest, App. B, Seaport-NxG Contract Awarded to ASG.[1] On March 17, 2020, the agency issued TORP No. N33191-20-R-3005, to holders of the Seaport-Next Generation IDIQ contract.  Protest, App. A, TORP at 24.  The TORP requires the contractor to provide “One (1) Engineering Technician to provide support services for the Public Works Department Naples located in Naples, Italy and surrounding areas.”  Id. at 3.  The solicitation provided that award would be made to the offeror whose proposal offered the best value to the government based on the lowest‑price, technically acceptable source selection method.  Id. at 24.  On April 15, ASG filed a protest with our Office, contending that the TORP seeks services that are outside the scope of the IDIQ contract under which the TORP was issued.  The protester specifically argues that the IDIQ contract does not encompass the award of a contract for construction professional services.  Protest at 6-10.  In response, the agency asserts that the services requested are within the scope of the IDIQ contract.  Req. for Dismissal at 6-7.  In the alternative, the agency argues that even if the services are outside of the scope of the IDIQ contract, ASG has not been competitively prejudiced by the agency’s actions because it can submit a proposal in response to the TORP.  Id. at 14. Under the Federal Acquisition and Streamlining Act of 1994, as modified by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, our Office is authorized to hear protests of task orders that are issued under multiple-award contracts established within defense agencies (or protests of the solicitations for those task orders) where the task order is valued in excess of $25 million, or where the protester asserts that the task order increases the scope, period, or maximum value of the contract under which the order is issued.[2]  10 U.S.C. § 2304c(e)(1); see also Threat Mgmt. Grp., LLC, B-413729, Dec. 21, 2016, 2017 CPD ¶ 9 at 1-2 n.1.  The Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) requires agencies to obtain “full and open competition” in procurements through the use of competitive procedures.  41 U.S.C.