In April 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued Request for Quotes No. 12639520Q0130, an unrestricted solicitation under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) 70, to secure IT operations and maintenance support for the USDA’s Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting System (LMPRS) and Market Analysis & Reporting Services (MARS). VSolvit, LLC (“VSolvit”), a California-based small business technology services provider, filed a pre-award protest, contending that USDA improperly issued the solicitation on an unrestricted basis, failed to provide sufficient technical information for fair competition, and did not address that the incumbent contractor had unfair access to proprietary development environment details. VSolvit argued that USDA should have considered whether a small business set-aside was required before issuing the solicitation unrestricted. USDA countered that no procurement statute or regulation had been violated. VSolvit sought permanent injunctive relief to halt the award until its concerns were remedied. Proposals were originally due May 18, 2020, and the closing date was extended twice to June 4, 2020. The protest was pursued administratively with USDA, followed by a pre-award bid protest filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and then a complaint filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Ultimately, VSolvit’s motions were denied and judgment entered for the government, with the court allowing USDA’s unrestricted procurement to proceed.
