AtechGov, LLC (12SAD125Q0007)

B-423738 Nov 17, 2025 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights AtechGov, LLC, of Bethesda, Maryland, protests the agency's actions in connection with request for quotations (RFQ) No. 12SAD125Q0007, issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for information technology (IT) support services. The protester contends that the agency improperly issued the RFQ to a select number of vendors that did not include AtechGov and unreasonably failed to extend the due date for quotation submissions. 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: AtechGov, LLC File: B-423738 Date: November 17, 2025 W. Brad English, Esq., Hunter M. Drake, Esq., Taylor R. Holt, Esq., and Emily J. Chancey, Esq., Maynard Nexsen, PC, for the protester. Adam Humphries, Esq., U.S. Department of Agriculture, for the agency. Christine Martin, Esq., and Tania Calhoun, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protest that the agency violated procurement regulations by issuing a solicitation directly to select vendors is denied where the record shows the agency's actions were consistent with applicable procurement regulations. 2. Protest that the agency unreasonably failed to extend the due date for quotation submissions is denied where the protester has not shown the agency acted unreasonably. DECISION AtechGov, LLC, of Bethesda, Maryland, protests the agency's actions in connection with request for quotations (RFQ) No. 12SAD125Q0007, issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for information technology (IT) support services. The protester contends that the agency improperly issued the RFQ to a select number of vendors that did not include AtechGov and unreasonably failed to extend the due date for quotation submissions. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND USDA's Rural Development (RD) division's mission is to improve economic security and quality of life in rural America by providing a variety of programs to assist Americans in rural areas. USDA Rural Development, Welcome to USDA Rural Development, https://www.rd.usda.gov/about-rd (last visited November 14, 2025). These programs include offering loans, grants, and loan guarantees to create jobs, and support essential services and economic development. Id. One of the division's offices is the business center, a centralized business hub focused on customer service and business administration. USDA Rural Development, Business Center, https://www.rd.usda.gov /about-rd/offices/business-center (last visited November 14, 2025). The business center maintains an IT systems portfolio that includes programs and applications that support RD's core programs. Agency Report (AR), Tab 3.2, RFQ, Performance Work Statement (PWS) at ¶ 2. These programs and applications include financial applications that monitor grants and loan intake, origination, servicing, and reporting, and non-financial applications that support business and operational needs. Id. The business center requires IT support to assist it with managing the IT systems portfolio. Id. at ¶ 1. On January 11, 2025, USDA posted a request for information (RFI) to the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) website, the governmentwide point of entry, to ascertain how many potential vendors could provide the desired IT support services for RD's business center. AR, Tab 8.1, Market Research Report at 1. The agency received responses from 40 potential sources, 39 of which were from section 8(a) small businesses,[1] including AtechGov. Id. The agency determined that, of these 39 small businesses, at least five could meet the agency's requirements. Id. at 2. On April 29, USDA posted a solicitation to SAM.gov to fulfill its requirements but canceled it on May 23 due to a change in acquisition strategy. Contracting Officer's Statement (COS) at 1. On June 17, the agency reissued the RFQ as a competitive set-aside for section 8(a) small businesses to establish a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) with federal supply schedule (FSS) contractors, pursuant to FAR section 8.405-3, to procure IT support services for RD's business center. AR, Tab 3.1, RFQ at 1, 10; PWS at ¶¶ 1-2. Section 8.405‑3 of the FAR prescribes the ordering procedures for establishing BPAs with FSS contractors for services requiring a statement of work and where the acquisition value exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT).[2] Pursuant to FAR subsection 8.405‑3(b)(2)(v)(B), which provides agencies the option to send a solicitation directly to vendors, the agency elected to issue the RFQ directly to four vendors holding FSS contracts with 8(a) status that the agency believed could meet its requirements. COS at 1-2. The protester was not one of these four vendors. Id.