About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

GAO-16-502R 1 (2016-06-29)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaajzp0001 and id is 1 raw text is: GAO U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 June 29, 2016 Congressional Addressees Defense Contracting: Complete Historical Data Not Available on Canceled DOD Solicitations The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) generally requires that federal executive agencies seek competition for contracting opportunities by issuing solicitations. In certain instances, after notifying industry of its intent to purchase a certain good or service, the government may decide to cancel a solicitation-thereby stopping the procurement process. The House report accompanying the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 included a provision for us to report on solicitations that the Department of Defense (DOD) canceled after receiving bids or proposals from industry between fiscal years 2010 and 2014.1 This report describes: 1) standards for canceling a solicitation, 2) availability of data on canceled DOD solicitations, and 3) the process available for reviewing complaints involving canceled DOD solicitations and examples of decisions involving those complaints. To describe the standards to cancel a solicitation, we reviewed the FAR and GAO bid protest decisions. To determine what information is available on canceled DOD solicitations, we reviewed government data systems and interviewed officials from the office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. To identify examples of bid protest decisions involving canceled solicitations, we reviewed selected bid protest decisions issued in calendar years 2013 through 2015, and judgmentally selected a nongeneralizable sample of examples to illustrate a range of scenarios, including different contracting procedures. We conducted this performance audit from February 2016 to June 2016 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. Standards for Canceled Solicitations Vary Depending on Contracting Procedure Used The FAR lays out two primary procedures-sealed bidding and negotiated procurements-for soliciting responses from industry and awarding contracts. The contracting procedure used depends on different factors, including the risk of unsuccessful contract performance and the extent to which contract requirements are clearly defined. 2 Under sealed bidding procedures, 1H.R. Rep. No. 114-102 (2015). In addition, the Chairman, House Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and the Workforce, signed on in 2016 as a co-requester for this report. 2FAR § 6.401 (a)(b).Contracting officers must solicit sealed bids when (1) time permits the solicitation, submission, and evaluation of sealed bids; (2) the award will be made on the basis of price and other price-related factors; (3) it is not necessary to conduct discussions with the responding offerors about their bids; and (4) there is a reasonable expectation of receiving more than one sealed bid. If these four criteria are not met, contracting officers must use negotiated procurement procedures. GAO-16-502R Canceled DOD Solicitations Page 1

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most