United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao_comptroller_general legislative 2016-06-23 U.S. Government Publishing Office 1997-05-05 monographic deposited born digital 13 p. GA 1.13:B-276033 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-B-276033 P0b002ee18fd44b9f f:276033 DGPO 2016-06-23 2016-06-23 GAOREPORTS-B-276033 machine generated eng fdlp COMPTROLLERDECISION GAOREPORTS-B-276033 B-276033 Comptroller General Decision

1. Agency contention that protest should be dismissed as untimely when filed nearly 3 months after contract award, and nearly 2 months after debriefing, is denied where the record shows that: (1) the protester sought a debriefing within 10 days of contract award; (2) the debriefing was delayed because of the unavailability of agency technical personnel; (3) the information which forms the basis for protest was withheld from the protester at the debriefing, even though the protester requested the information; and (4) the information was later provided to the protester in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed immediately after the debriefing.<p/>2. Contention that agency unreasonably evaluated technical proposals by awarding both proposals the maximum number of available points is denied because the record shows that the evaluation was reasonable and in accordance with the stated evaluation criteria, and because there is nothing per se improper about an evaluation which results in the award of the maximum score to more than one offeror.<p/>3. Protester's contention that the cost evaluation improperly relied on a flawed government cost estimate is denied where the agency recognized that its estimate of costs was low and other steps were available to the agency to permit an assessment of proposed costs.<p/>4. Challenge to agency's evaluation of sample task costs is sustained where the record shows that the agency failed to evaluate sample task cost proposals in accordance with the solicitation evaluation criteria, and did not reasonably consider the impact that widely divergent sample task costs might have on the determination of which proposal is most advantageous to the government. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-B-276033/html/GAOREPORTS-B-276033.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-B-276033/pdf/GAOREPORTS-B-276033.pdf GAO/B-276033 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-B-276033 Comptroller General Decision GAO/B-276033; Geo-Centers, Inc., B-276033, May 5, 1997; Title 31 Section 3553(d)(4) 31 U.S.C. 3553(d)(4)