Protest challenging agency’s decision to cancel solicitation is denied. The protester alleged the agency cancelled the solicitation to avoid reevaluating proposals following a sustained protest. GAO, however, found that the agency had reasonably determined that the solicitation no reflected the agency’s needs.
The Department of Agriculture (DOA) awarded a contract for information technology services to AttainX. An unsuccessful bidder, Harmonia Holdings, protested the award. GAO sustainted the protest finding that the agency’s cost and past performance evaluations were flawed. Shortly after GAO sustained the protest, the agency cancelled the solicitation. Harmonia protested alleging that the decision to cancel lacked a reasonable basis and was a pretext to avoid reevaluating proposals after GAO sustained the protest.
But GAO found that the agency had a reasonable basis to cancel the solicitation. In particular, the record showed the solicitation no longer reflected DOA’s needs. Indeed, GAO’s decision sustaining the previous protest noted that the solicitation did not notify vendors of the agency’s intended methodology for evaluating development, modernization, and enhancement CLINS. DOA now intended to resolicit the requirement to incorporate changes to the price instructions to describe the large amount of development, modernization, and enhancement work. To the extent DOA did not believe the solicitation accurately reflected its needs, GAO could not find the cancellation unreasonable.
Harmonia argued that DOA was now issuing a new solicitation reflecting an irrational, unreasonable, and misleading price evaluation. GAO failed to see any logical basis for this complaint. The fact that DOA had not finalized the exact changes it planned to make to the solicitation did not demonstrate that the decision to cancel the solicitation was unreasonable.
Harmonia is represented by W. Brad English, Emily J. Chancey, and Michael W. Rich or Maynard Cooper & Gale, PC. The agency is represented by Caleb Pearson of the Department of Agriculture. GAO attorneys April Y. Shields and Christina Sklarew participated in the preparation of the decision.
