F.S.O.C., LLC--Reconsideration

B-424074.2 Feb 09, 2026 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights F.S.O.C., LLC, of El Segundo, California, requests reconsideration of our decision, F.S.O.C., LLC., B-424074, Dec. 15, 2025 (unpublished decision), which dismissed as untimely the protester's challenge to the award of a contract to another firm under request for proposals (RFP) No. 15F06725R0000117, issued by the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). F.S.O.C. contends that our decision contains legal and factual errors. We deny the request for reconsideration. View Decision Decision Matter of: F.S.O.C., LLC--Reconsideration File: B-424074.2 Date: February 9, 2026 Ruth E. Ganister, Esq., Rosenthal and Ganister, LLC, for the protester. Camille Small-Simon, Esq., and Carlos Pedraza, Esq., Department of Justice, 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 Request for reconsideration is denied where the request does not demonstrate a factual or legal error in our decision dismissing the firm's earlier protest. DECISION F.S.O.C., LLC, of El Segundo, California, requests reconsideration of our decision, F.S.O.C., LLC., B‑424074, Dec. 15, 2025 (unpublished decision), which dismissed as untimely the protester's challenge to the award of a contract to another firm under request for proposals (RFP) No. 15F06725R0000117, issued by the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). F.S.O.C. contends that our decision contains legal and factual errors. We deny the request for reconsideration. BACKGROUND On March 28, 2025, the FBI issued the solicitation to procure overt ballistic resistant soft armor. Protest, exh. 1, RFP at 7.[1] On September 19, 2025, the FBI notified F.S.O.C. that its proposal was unsuccessful. Protest at 2. On September 23, F.S.O.C. filed an agency-level protest, arguing that the agency unreasonably evaluated its proposal and improperly made the selection decision, as well as challenging the awardee's size status. Req. for Dismissal at 2. The size status challenges were sent to the Small Business Administration. Id. at 3. On October 28, the agency denied the agency‑level protest with respect to the allegations made concerning the evaluation and selection decision. Req. for Dismissal, attach. 8, Agency-Level Protest Decision at 2-3. On October 1, our Office closed due to a lapse in appropriations. We distributed the following email to all accounts registered in the Electronic Protest Docketing System (EPDS): 1. GAO is closed due to a lapse in appropriations. This includes the GAO bid protest office. 2. Beginning at noon on October 1, 2025, the Electronic Protest Docketing System (EPDS) will not be operational, and will be inaccessible during the time our Office is closed. Accordingly, no protest‑related documents may be filed or accessed through EPDS during the period of time that GAO is closed. 3. GAO will toll protest decision deadlines for a period of time equal to the length of time that GAO is closed. 4. Deadlines for the filing of new protests that fall on a day that GAO is closed are extended to the first day that GAO resumes operations. This extension operates in the same manner as when a deadline falls on a weekend or federal holiday. 5. Because EPDS will not be operational and the parties will be unable to access protest documents during a shutdown, any other filing deadline for an agency or private party (to include supplemental protest deadlines) that falls on a day that GAO is closed is extended by one day for every day that GAO was closed. For example, if GAO is closed starting on October 1, 2025, and reopens on October 6, an agency report due on October 3, would now be due October 8. Req. for Dismissal, attach. 10. GAO Notice Concerning Closure at 1. On November 12, the Congress passed, and the President signed, the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026, Pub. L. No. 119‑37, div. C, title I, 139 Stat. 495, 581 (2025), which appropriated funding for GAO through the remainder of fiscal year 2026. As a result, our Office resumed operations on November 12 and reopened for a full business day on November 13. Oready LLC--Recon., B‑424096.2, Jan. 5, 2026, at 4 (stating “GAO resumed operations on November 13”). As part of the reopening process, we restored functionality to EPDS and distributed another email to EPDS users stating “[e]ffective Thursday, November 13, GAO has resumed normal operations” at 6:19 a.m., Eastern Time (ET). Resp. to Req. for Dismissal, exh. B, EPDS Email to All Users at 1. At 6:29 p.m. ET, on November 13, F.S.O.C. filed the underlying protest with our Office.