GAO rules FBI protests are premature
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By
Nick Wakeman
Ernst & Young, General Dynamics and Qbase have been told to wait until the agency eliminates bidders from the competition for spots on a $5 billion IT pact.
The Government Accountability Office has dismissed a set of protests involving a $5 billion FBI blanket purchase agreement, but that does not stop future challenges from happening.
Ernst & Young, General Dynamics IT and Qbase filed protests in November after the FBI suggested they should no longer compete for the IT Supplies and Support Services 2nd Generation BPA.
But the FBI did not eliminate them from the competition, which is ongoing. They have not been eliminated and no awards have been made yet, so GAO ruled that the protests were premature.
The FBI made an “advisory” evaluation and gave the companies the option of withdrawing or continuing.
Once awards are made, the companies can come back with protests if they don’t win an seat.
The ITSSS 2 BPA has faced multiple rounds of protests. The FBI in 2020 cancelled the predecessor contract known as IT Enterprise Contract Services, or ITECS.
The ITSSS-2 solicitation came out in June 2023, at which time the agency said it wanted to make awards by December of that year. That obviously has not happened yet.
With these protests resolved, we should see awards in the coming weeks. We also expect more protests to follow.