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A-76 Mix And Match Faulted By GAO

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 08.16.04

In Career Quest (Aug. 2, 2004), GAO sustained a protest of the GSA's decision under OMB Circular A-76 that it was more economical to continue performance of services in-house at the National Customer Support Center, as the agency evaluated the in-house offeror's technical performance plan based on a higher level of staffing than the same offeror included in its cost of performance. Inconsistencies between in-house offerors' staffing levels for compliance with work requirements and those it uses for calculating the cost of performance remain a persistent problem in A-76 competitions, and this decision sends the message that GAO will be alert to such shell games.

Insights

Client Alert | 3 min read | 07.23.26

Protester Beware: Recent GAO Decision Suggests Traditional “Reasonable Possibility” Prejudice Standard May Be Evolving

It is well established that “[c]ompetitive prejudice is an essential element of every viable protest.” Yet, for decades, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has tempered this requirement with two critical corollaries: protesters need only demonstrate a “reasonable possibility” that they were prejudiced by an agency’s actions, and GAO “will resolve doubts regarding prejudice in favor of the protester.” These principles have been consistent features of GAO’s bid protest jurisprudence for more than 30 years. See, e.g., United Int’l Eng'g, Inc., B-245448, Jan. 29, 1992, 71 CPD ¶ 177....