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GGD-93-4R 1 (1992-12-17)

handle is hein.gao/gaobacket0001 and id is 1 raw text is: t,($tjo GAO United Geheral Accounting Office Washington, D.C. 20548 General Government Division B-251641 December 17, 1992 148190 The Honorable Richard G. Lugar United States Senate The Honorable Dan Coats United States Senate This is in response to your inquiry on behalf of the F.A. Wilhelm Construction Co., Inc. That company was concerned about its prequalification status for United States Postal Service (USPS) solicitation No. 169982-92-A-0032. Specifically, you wanted us to review the materials enclosed with your letter and advise you whether the USPS has the authority to exclude potential bidders under a prequalification process. Our answer to your question is that the USPS clearly has the authority to exclude potential bidders under its prequalification process. When Congress established the USPS as an independent entity, Congress permitted the USPS to operate like a private business when it is advantageous to do so. Further, Congress permitted the USPS to establish its own procurement rules and regulations. Unlike executive branch agencies, the USPS is exempt from the Competition in Contracting Act, which establishes the federal policy of full and open competition. Because the USPS believes the federal policy can be cumbersome and time consuming, and thus prevent it from operating in a businesslike way, it has adopted a policy of adequate competition. The USPS' Procurement Manual defines adequate competition as the solicitation and participation of a sufficient number of vendors to ensure that the price paid by the USPS is fair and reasonable. Consequently, the USPS' policy focuses on the business objective of meeting the needs of its operating customers rather than full and open access of competitors to postal business. The key feature of the USPS' policy is that it allows contracting officers discretion to determine the measures taken to obtain competition, including limiting GAO/GGD-93-4R, USPS Bidder Prequalification ,-'

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