Financial & Realty Services, LLC (B-422858)

You should not care.

Category: Multiple Award Schedule order, Part 8, small business set-aside

Date: 25 November 2024

URL: https://www.gao.gov/products/b-422858

Financial & Realty Services, LLC (FRS), protested HHS’s decision to cancel a Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) procurement for facilities maintenance services at the Hubert H. Humphrey Building in Washington, DC. Initially set aside for small businesses, the RFQ was later reissued as an unrestricted solicitation after HHS received fewer than three quotations during the set-aside competition. FRS argued that HHS failed to evaluate quotations for price reasonableness and violated FAR requirements by not notifying the Small Business Administration (SBA) of the cancellation.

GAO dismissed the protest, noting that set-asides under the Schedules are discretionary per FAR 8.405-5, which permits but does not mandate small business set-asides. GAO held that FAR Part 19, including its notification requirements, does not apply to FSS procurements unless explicitly invoked (see American Relocation Connections, LLC, B-416035, 18 May 2018).

GAO dismissed the protest dismissed noting agencies have broad discretion to manage set-asides under the Schedules program.

Digest

Protest challenging the agency’s decision to cancel a Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) procurement set aside for small businesses is dismissed for failure to state a valid basis of protest because set-asides under the FSS are discretionary.