M&C Venture Group, LLC (140G0121R0008)

B-419870 Jul 28, 2021 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights M&C Venture Group, LLC, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB), of Bellport, New York, protests the terms of a solicitation under request for proposals (RFP) No. 140G0121R0008, issued by the Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), for parking lot, roadway, and sidewalk renovations at the USGS National Center Campus in Reston, Virginia. The protester contends that the agency was required to seek approval from the Small Business Administration (SBA) prior to removing the requirement from the SDVOSB set-aside program, and argues that the agency's issuance of a new solicitation as a total small business set-aside was improper. We dismiss the protest. View Decision Decision Matter of:  M&C Venture Group, LLC File:  B-419870 Date:  July 28, 2021 Justin T. Huffman, Esq., Camardo Law Firm, PC, for the protester. William B. Blake, Esq., Department of the Interior, and Edmund Bender, Esq., Small Business Administration, for the agencies. Emily R. O’Hara, 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 decision to amend the solicitation from a set-aside for service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns to a 100% small business set‑aside is dismissed for failing to state a legally sufficient basis of protest. DECISION M&C Venture Group, LLC, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB), of Bellport, New York, protests the terms of a solicitation under request for proposals (RFP) No. 140G0121R0008, issued by the Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), for parking lot, roadway, and sidewalk renovations at the USGS National Center Campus in Reston, Virginia.  The protester contends that the agency was required to seek approval from the Small Business Administration (SBA) prior to removing the requirement from the SDVOSB set-aside program, and argues that the agency’s issuance of a new solicitation as a total small business set‑aside was improper. We dismiss the protest. BACKGROUND On September 21, 2017, USGS awarded contract No. G17PC00037 to M&C, as an SDVOSB set-aside.  Contract at 2; Protest at 1.  That contract was awarded as an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract with fixed-price and time-and- materials contract line item numbers (CLIN) for the replacement of surface materials on USGS parking lots, roadways, and sidewalks.  The term of the contract was five years.  Id. at 3.  USGS issued the current solicitation on April 6, 2021, seeking proposals for construction involving the replacement of damaged and deteriorated surfaces of USGS parking lots, roadways, walkways, sidewalks, and curbs at the USGS National Center Campus.  Request for Proposals (RFP) at 1, 3.[1]  The current RFP anticipates awarding multiple award IDIQ contracts, with fixed-price CLINs, for a 1-year base period and four 1-year options.  Id. at 5, 87.  The current RFP, as issued, set aside the procurement for SDVOSB concerns.  Id. at 1.  On April 6, the same day the solicitation was issued, the agency amended the RFP, notifying offerors that the procurement would, instead, be totally set aside for small business concerns.  Id. at 127.  Proposals were due on July 1.  Id. at 132.  M&C filed this protest with our Office on May 28, challenging the terms of the solicitation. DISCUSSION M&C raises two interrelated challenges to USGS’s decision to not set the solicitation aside for SDVOSB concerns.  First, the protester argues that the agency needed SBA approval prior to removing the requirement from the SDVOSB program.  Second, M&C contends that the agency improperly amended the solicitation from a procurement set aside for SDVOSB concerns to one totally set aside for small businesses.  Protest at 3‑6.  For the reasons below, we dismiss the protest. SBA Approval M&C contends that the current solicitation is a follow-on requirement to the contract awarded to M&C in 2017.  The protester asserts that because the original requirement was awarded as an SDVOSB set-aside, USGS was required to seek approval from SBA before issuing a new solicitation for the same requirements as a total small business set-aside.  Protest at 3-4.  The protester argues that the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and SBA’s regulations, as well as GAO’s prior decisions, support this contention.  Id.  Before the agency report due date, USGS submitted a request for dismissal to our Office stating that this protest ground was legally insufficient.  Req. for Dismissal at 1.  USGS notes that the protester’s argument incorrectly conflates the SDVOSB program with SBA’s 8(a) program, which requires permission from SBA to remove a follow-on requirement from the 8(a) program.[2]  Id.