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Short updates from GAO, CRS, and the Federal Register with quick analysis on why they matter for government contracting.
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Sometimes, buzzwords matter

Protestor did not identify key technologies in their resumes and agency dinged them for it. Protestor claimed that this was an unstated requirement. GAO disagreed, and held that the "plain language of the RFQ clearly advised vendors that the resume factor would be evaluated, in part, based on how experienced and proficient the key personnel was with the Azure and Intune technologies." Protest denied.

GAO: Technology Information Systems, LLC, B-424087,B-424088 (Jan 26, 2026)

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No COC? No protest.

VA determined that Calvary was not a responsible bidder. SBA declined to issue Calvary a certificate of competency (COC), which is dispositive for responsibility determinations. Because Calvary's GAO protest did not raise any of the "limited prescribed circumstances" that GAO will review SBA COC decisions, GAO dismissed the protest.

GAO: Calvary Contracting, Inc., B-424024, (Jan 13, 2026)

40 more strengths, please?

Incumbent protestor lost a proposal to a lower bidder, though both had good technical factor ratings. Agency assigned 2 strengths but felt that wasn't enough to overcome the price factor. Protestor claimed that the agency should have given the proposal 40 more strengths. Agency disagreed, GAO said that decision was within agency's discretion. Other protest grounds included Unequal Treatment, Service Contract Act noncompliance, and failure to conduct a responsibility determination. But on each front, GAO said allegations weren't supported and agency's record was sufficient. Protest denied.

GAO: Strategic Resources, Inc., B-423597.2,B-423597.3 (Jan 14, 2026)

The Labor Rates Were Too Low

Air Force's cost-realism analysis showed that ~20% of a proposal's unburdened hourly labor rates were unrealistic based on ERI and Salary.com benchmarks. Protestor argued that agency's analysis was flawed and should have looked at its pricing narrative, but the agency and GAO were unpersuaded, with GAO saying that the narrative was "overly general." Protest denied.

GAO: T3i, Inc., B-423815 (Dec 30, 2025)

Lack of experience, even if not a weakness, can be dispositive

The Air Force solicited proposals for "fuel transportation services." After reviewing proposals, the Air Force picked the vendor with better experience with "aviation fuel" even though the solicitation required other fuels, too. GAO found that the protestor's lack of experience with aviation fuel was enough to make the award even if it wasn't considered a significant weakness or deficiency. And because it wasn't a weakness, Air Force wasn't required to raise it during discussions. Protest denied.

GAO: Centerline Logistics Corporation, B-423838,B-423838.2 (Jan 07, 2026)

Misevaluated? Nah

Protestor argued that GSA "misevaluated" the awardee's proposal. GAO reviewed the record and found that, based on that record, GSA's evaluation was reasonable and consistent with the solicitation. Protest denied.

Also, a case where the incumbent's past performance was determined to be "high risk" based on its failure to meet SLAs. Ouch.

GAO: CWTSatoTravel, B-423181.2,B-423181.3,B-423181.4 (Dec 19, 2025)

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