Hi readers—Quick programming note. You may notice that the snippets are not in today's newsletter. That's because, next week, I'm planning on sending out two GovContrActually posts: a snippets-only edition earlier in the week and a more traditional narrative post later in the
The GSA IG, as part of its review of the Multiple Award Schedules pricing efforts, found that "federal customer agencies relying on GSA pricing on schedule contracts are at risk of overpaying for products due to significant price variability." The IG made a number of recommendations though, in its response, the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) Commissioner responded that "FAS believes the report lacks sufficient context and the findings are overstated."
The GSA Integrated Award Environment is moving to decommission two legacy services (eSRS and FPDS) and roll them both into the System for Award Management (i.e., SAM.gov) in the next 2 weeks.
GSA: eSRS.gov Will Decommission on February 20, 2026 (Feb 5, 2026)
GSA: FPDS.gov Decommissions on February 24, 2026 ( Feb 9, 2026)
The Army Corps of Engineers sought sealed bids. The low bidder failed to acknowledge Amendment 3, but the ACE accepted the low bid anyway. Protestor alleged that the failure to acknowledge and accept Amendment 3 was material even though acknowledging the amendment wouldn't have changed the price spread. GAO agreed explaining that "an amendment is deemed material to an IFB if the amendment adds requirements to contract performance which were not contained in the original IFB." And by failing to acknowledge a material amendment, the lowest bid should have been deemed nonresponsive. (Or, as GAO delightfully wrote "failure to acknowledge the amendment was not merely a matter of failing to follow the punctilios of the solicitation.") Protest sustained
GAO: Morrish-Wallace Construction d/b/a Ryba Marine Construction Co., B-423796.2 (Feb 05, 2026)
Same basic fact pattern as in "Not an interested party if you aren't on the QPL." Protestor challenged a $1.3 billion sole-source contract by the Forest Service. As before, the protestor was not an interested party. Also, GAO rejected the protestor's "bundling" claim, finding that the agency demonstrated that bundling was "necessary to ensure uninterrupted, safe, and consistent application of the product." Protest dismissed.
GAO: Kaiterra Fire Systems, LLC, B-423952.2,B-423952.4 (Feb 04, 2026)
GSA issued a solicitation for its 4PL ("Fourth-Party Logistics") program in which it requested vendors to quote a "market basket." Noting the "long history of gamesmanship related to the market basket in prior 4PL procurements," GSA disallowed discounts on individual items in the market basket. The protestor alleged that this violated the GSAR rule on voluntary discounts, but GSA and GAO agreed that the GSAR does not require GSA to accept voluntary discounts, even if offered. Protest denied.
Protestor alleged that ManTech had unmitigable organizational conflicts of interests. After the protest, the agency's Head of Contracting Activity executed an OCI waiver. Because the waiver met the procedural requirements of FAR 9.503, the protestor's OCI claims failed.
The protestor also challenged the agency's technical evaluation, but the GAO rejected those challenges.
But of particular note, the protestor alleged that the agency failed to conduct an adequate responsibility determination because the agency did not review an "Administrative Agreement" with USCIS that would have raised concerns. Apparently, the agency relied on "DORA bot" which is "an automation tool Army contracting officials are required to use to assist them in making responsibility determinations," and DORA bot didn't find the Administrative Agreement. Although DORA bot missed it, because the contracting officer was also unaware of the Administrative Agreement, the GAO denied the protestor's claims.
The USPS had an interagency agreement under the Economy Act with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for postage. Under the IAA, USPS used Auctane (stamps.com) to supply the postage for the EEOC. When the government cut a purchase order to Auctane without competition, Pitney Bowes protested. But, here, apparently, the EEOC's use of a purchase order was not for new services, but instead "to effectuate payment of goods (postage) obtained through the IAA." That's because, previously, a "technical error with the platform prevented the payment of postage from being deducted from the EEOC's account," and the purchase order was intended to cover that cost. As a result, the GAO rejected Pitney's claim because it had "no basis to question the propriety of the IAA."
Air Force sought out a "common armament tester for F-15, F-16, and A-10 fighter aircraft." Protestor's product did not meet the Air Force's minimum requirements. For example, the protestor's screen was too small. Accordingly, the GAO concluded that the protestor was not an interested party and dismissed the protest.
GAO: Marvin Test Solutions, Inc., B-423928,B-423928.2 (Jan 28, 2026)
Agency requested that vendors include "pre-priced, and non-pre-priced, coefficients for each performance location" as part of vendors' pricing proposals. One of the vendors, however, in the pricing spreadsheet didn't provide coefficients, it provided the full total within the proposal. On protest, that vendor argued that "because it made an obvious error in its pricing proposal, the agency should have afforded the firm an opportunity to correct its mistake." GAO disagreed, noting its longstanding view that seeking clarifications is an option, not an obligation. Protest denied.
GAO: Diversified Maintenance Systems, Inc., B-423945,B-423945.2 (Jan 29, 2026)
