Protester Said It Could Fill More Positions With Fewer Employees. Why Did GAO Think this Approach Merited a Deficiency?

The protester claimed in its quotation that it could fill 77 posts with fewer than 77 employees. The agency found this was a deficiency because the protester did not describe a plan of action on how it would do so. GAO agreed that the agency came to a reasonable conclusion.

Paragon Systems, Inc., GAO B-422828; B-422828.2

• Context – In 2021, the United States Capitol Police (USCP) experienced an unanticipated surge of resignations and retirements. To meet the urgent need, USCP awarded two sole-source contracts for unarmed security guards. One of these was awarded to the protester. These contracts expired on August 31, 2024, so the agency sought to combine these two contracts under a single, competitively established blanket purchase agreement (BPA). After it was not selected for award, the protester challenged the agency’s evaluation of its quotation.
• Staffing Plan – The agency had assigned the protester’s staffing plan a deficiency. It claimed the protester did not provide a clear plan for staffing all 77 posts identified in the RFQ. The protester argued there was no requirement in the solicitation to propose dedicated employees for each post identified in the RFQ. The agency responded that was a mischaracterization. GAO found that the record supported the agency’s position. The protester’s quotation provided the conclusory statement that it intended to execute all of the security needs of the 77 posts with fewer than 77 employees but didn’t describe how it would do so.
• Interested Party – The protester also challenged the evaluation of its quotation under the solicitation’s technical approach factor. GAO did not resolve this issue finding that the protester was not an interested party. Its unacceptable quotation already rendered it ineligible for award.

The protester was represented by Douglas P. Hibshman, Keeley McCarty, Dana Molinari of Fox Rothschild LLP. The agency was represented by Rahsaan J. Dickerson of United States Capitol Police. Thomas J. Warren and Alexander O. Levine of GAO participated in the preparation of the decision.

— Case summary by Joshua Lim, Assistant Editor