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When Size Matters, SBA Has Final Say

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 05.18.10

In DynaLantic Corp., GAO denied a protest based on an allegation that the awardee in a small business set-aside procurement proposed a flight training device simulator that did not comply with the nonmanufacturer rule because the awardee procured the simulators from another country. GAO explained that the protester had concurrently filed a size protest with SBA, which determined that the awardee did comply with the nonmanufacturer rule because it transformed the simulators from a COTS product to a specific product solicited, and that SBA's decision was binding on GAO because SBA has "conclusive authority" to determine the size status of offerors.

Insights

Client Alert | 4 min read | 10.30.26

Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right: GAO Sustains Protest Where Agency Tried to Fix PIA Violation with a Second PIA Violation

Recent sustain decisions by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in Fluor Federal Solutions, LLC and Reliance Test & Technology send a clear message: when an agency tries to fix a Procurement Integrity Act (PIA) violation by committing a second one, the cure can be just as fatal as the disease. The cases involved the U.S. Air Force’s $1.8 billion procurement for O&M services at Elgin Air Force Base. During discussions, the Air Force inadvertently released a pricing overview slide with all offerors’ bottom-line evaluated costs to Reliance Test & Technology, which immediately notified the agency of the error. In response, the Air Force decided to level the playing field by providing the same information to all the other offerors in the procurement, stating, “[o]fferors may consider this disclosure in their [final proposal revision].”...