On January 8, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustained a pre-award bid protest filed by
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC (Bass Berry), which challenged the
Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers' (FLETC or the Agency)
determination to exclude the protester, UNICA-BPA JV, LLC (UNICA),
from a competition when UNICA had an active SAM registration at the
time of final proposal revision (FPR), but not at the time of its
initial proposal submission. The decision clarifies that FAR
52.204-7, System for Award Management applies to the proposal that
would bind the offeror to perform the resultant contract.
The Solicitation
On November 29, 2023, FLETC issued a solicitation for an 8(a)
set-aside contract, seeking dormitory management support services
at its campus in Glynco, Georgia. UNICA, an 8(a) joint venture,
submitted its initial proposal by the January 2, 2024 deadline.
After reviewing initial proposals, the FLETC notified UNICA that it
had been excluded from the
