Q2 Impact goes to court over its OASIS+ bid rejection
Gettyimages.com/ marian
By
Nick Wakeman
The company claims its waiver to use Huawei equipment should allow it to pursue a spot on the government-wide professional services contract.
Q2 Impact is not giving up on its fight for a chance to compete for a spot on the OASIS+ vehicle after the General Services Administration rejected the company's bid.
GSA based its decision on how Q2 is using banned communications equipment for a U.S. Agency for International Development contract. The company has a waiver to use equipment from Huawei Technologies, the China-headquartered telecommunications equipment manufacturer.
The company argues that it should be allowed to bid for a place on the general small business portion of OASIS+ because it has the waiver for the USAID contract.
Q2 first took its protest to the Government Accountability Office, which rejected that argument in November. Now the company has moved its argument to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
GSA’s position is that the waiver only applies to USAID and is not a blanket waiver.
In its complaint unsealed Dec. 5, Q2 explains how it received the waiver from the Director of National Intelligence for the USAID contract.
The waiver process is described in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, which banned Huawei and certain other China-based manufacturers. That legislation also has been incorporated into the Federal Acquisition Regulations.
Q2 can use Huawei equipment in areas where it is the only equipment choice. For USAID, Q2 is working under a $25 million contract through the U.S. mission in Egypt that GovTribe describes as a “learning activity program.”
The name of the customer is redacted in the public version of Q2’s complaint, but the solicitation number was still listed.
Q2 says there are no telecommunications providers operating in the area that are compliant with the ban, so the company had no choice but to seek the waiver.
The company also told the court it holds an active GSA Schedule contract, which the waiver is part of.
Q2 is claiming that GSA's rejection of the OASIS+ proposal was “arbitrary and capricious," and is a “blatant misreading” of the 2019 NDAA.
“(GSA) appears to have completely ignored the fact that Q2 Impact’s limited use of non-compliant telecommunications equipment or services is covered by a valid waiver,” Q2 argues in its complaint.
Q2 is asking the court to reinstate Q2’s OASIS+ proposal so it can rejoin the competition.