Colonial Press International, Inc. (199-S-R-1)

B-418718 Jul 10, 2020 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Colonial Press International, Inc., of Miami, Florida, protests the terms of an unnumbered invitation for bids (IFB) issued by the Government Publishing Office (GPO) for printing services. Colonial Press alleges that the solicitation's production schedule is unduly restrictive of competition. 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:  Colonial Press International, Inc. File:  B-418718 Date:  July 10, 2020 Anthony W. Hawks, Esq., Law Offices of Anthony Hawks, for the protester. Craig D. Barrett, Esq., Government Publishing Office, 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 Protest that the solicitation contained an unduly restrictive production schedule is denied where, as the agency explained, the schedule was rationally based on a statutory mandate. DECISION Colonial Press International, Inc., of Miami, Florida, protests the terms of an unnumbered invitation for bids (IFB) issued by the Government Publishing Office (GPO) for printing services.  Colonial Press alleges that the solicitation’s production schedule is unduly restrictive of competition. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On May 4, 2020, the GPO issued the IFB to procure printed copies of the Medicare handbook, Medicare and You,[1] to be provided over a 1-year base period and four 1‑year option periods.[2]  Agency Report (AR), Tab 6, IFB at 1, 12.  The handbook would be printed in 63 different regional, national, and language versions with an estimated production schedule consisting of between 275,000 and 375,000 copies per month.  Id.  The IFB advised that the agency may order up to three months’ worth of copies in a single order.  Id. at 13, 24.  All orders, including combined orders, must be printed and distributed in accordance with an 18 workday (18-day) schedule.  Id. at 24-25.  Bid opening was scheduled for May 8. DISCUSSION On May 7, Colonial Press filed this protest, arguing that applying the 18-day production schedule to combined monthly orders constitutes an unduly restrictive solicitation term.[3]  Protest at 4.  According to Colonial Press, the schedule restricts competition because it increases storage costs since the contractor will be required to maintain a stock of paper and materials in the event that the agency wishes to place a combined order.  Id.  Similarly, Colonial Press argues that the schedule unreasonably requires the contractor to set aside sufficient manpower and printing press time to fill a combined order, which results in additional overhead costs and loss of other business opportunities.  Id.  Government procurement officials who are familiar with the conditions under which services have been used in the past, and how they are to be used in the future, are generally in the best position to know the government’s actual needs, and therefore, are best able to draft appropriate specifications.  See, e.g., Nick Chorak Mowing, B‑280011.2, Oct. 1, 1998, 98-2 CPD ¶ 82 at 3-4.  Where a protester challenges a specification as unduly restrictive of competition (i.e., a term that limits competition by including a requirement that exceeds the needs of the government), the burden is on the procuring agency to establish prima facie support for its position that the restriction imposed is necessary to meet its needs.  Fry Communications, Inc., B‑220451, Mar. 18, 1986, 86-1 CPD ¶ 265 at 3; NCS Techs., Inc., B‑403435, Nov. 8, 2010, 2010 CPD ¶ 218 at 3.  GAO will examine the adequacy of the agency’s justification for a restrictive solicitation provision to ensure that it is rational and can withstand logical scrutiny.  Id.; accord Israel Aerospace Indus., B‑417681, Aug. 16, 2019, 2019 CPD ¶ 292 at 2-3.  Once the agency establishes support for the provision, the burden shifts to the protester to show that the requirement is clearly unreasonable.  WKF Friedman Enters., B‑410827, Feb. 23, 2015, 2015 CPD ¶ 81 at 2.  Here, as the procuring agency, GPO explains that CMS is required to provide eligible persons with the Medicare handbook no later than 30 days before the beginning of the enrollment period.  Contracting Officer’s Statement of Facts (COS) at 3; AR, Tab 2, Emails Between GPO and CMS at 2; see also 42 U.S.C.