J.E. Federal Enterprises, LLC (B-422916)

You should not care.

Category: process issue, technical evaluation

Date: 4 December 2024

URL: https://www.gao.gov/products/b-422916

JE Federal Enterprises, LLC, protested the Defense Health Agency’s (DHA’s) RFP for a clinical decision support (CDS) tool, alleging overly restrictive and unclear requirements. Central to the protest was the demand for five DVDs containing the tool’s full content, a mandate intended for secure, offline use in remote or high-security locations. JE Federal argued this approach was outdated and favored competitors.

GAO upheld DHA’s rationale, affirming that DVDs offered a consistent evaluation baseline and addressed specific military needs for secure, offline access. JE Federal also objected to evaluation criteria such as the preference for academic authorship and the use of specific terms such as “recommendations.” GAO found these criteria reasonable and tailored to DHA’s requirements.

Additionally, JE Federal claimed the solicitation unfairly favored a competitor’s product, but GAO determined the RFP provided a level playing field and met the government’s needs without contravening procurement law. The protest was denied for lack of merit or evidence that the requirements were unreasonable or overly restrictive.

Digest

Protest challenging solicitation terms as overly restrictive and favoring competitors is denied where GAO finds the requirements reasonable, tailored to agency needs, and neutral.