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B-291275 1 (2002-12-17)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptaoir0001 and id is 1 raw text is: G A 0 Comptroller General Accountability * Integrity* Reliability of the United States United States General Accounting Office DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE Washington, DC 20548 The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: Engineering Services Unlimited, Inc. File: B-291275; B-291275.2 Date: December 17, 2002 Howell Roger Riggs, Esq., for the protester. John J. Fausti, Esq., and Monica C. Parchment, Esq., John J. Fausti & Associates, for Mainthia Technologies, Inc., an intervenor. H. Gray Marsee, Esq., and Sumara M. Thompson-King, Esq., National Aeronautics and Space Administration, for the agency. Louis A. Chiarella, Esq., and Christine S. Melody, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Contracting agency did not induce or coerce the protester into raising its proposed labor rates where the agency was reasonably concerned with protester's ability to attract and retain incumbent personnel, as the protester proposed, due to its low proposed labor rates and asked the protester during discussions to explain how it intended to attract and retain incumbent personnel at the rates proposed; the protester's decision to increase its proposed labor rates reflected the exercise of the firm's business judgment. 2. Protest that agency's negotiating techniques led to an impermissible auction is denied; agency's disclosure that an offeror's proposed labor rates were in certain instances materially lower than current wage rates did not constitute prohibited communications. DECISION Engineering Services Unlimited, Inc. (ESU) protests the award of a contract to Mainthia Technologies, Inc. under request for offers (RFO) No. 8-1-2-CD-D7142, issued by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for administrative support services at the Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama. ESU alleges that the agency improperly induced ESU to raise its offered price and that the agency's negotiating techniques with ESU led to an improper auction. We deny the protest.

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