GAO Says Agency Was Not Bound by the Rule of Two
The protester alleged the “rule of two” prevented the agency from canceling its small business set-aside until it evaluated the two quotations it received. GAO dismissed the protest. GAO reasoned that agencies are not required to follow the Rule of Two when issuing orders or establishing blanket purchase agreements (BPAs) under the Federal Supply Schedule (FSS).
Financial & Realty Services, LLC, GAO B-422858
- Canceled Solicitations – The agency issued the RFQ as an SDVOSB set-aside, but only received one quotation. The agency concluded other non-SDVOSB vendors could fulfill the requirements, so it canceled the SDVOSB set-aside for SDVOSB and reissued it as a small business set-aside. After only receiving two quotations, the agency canceled the small business set-aside and reissued the solicitation as an unrestricted procurement. The protester challenged the second cancellation.
- Rule of Two – The protester averred based on the FAR section 19.502-9 (“rule of two”), that the agency may only cancel a small business set-aside if the agency did not receive a reasonable price quotation from two responsible small businesses. Because the agency never evaluated the quotations, the protester argued, it could not know whether the two quotations it received were reasonably priced. GAO explained that agencies are not required to follow the rule of two under FAR part 19 when issuing orders or establishing BPAs under the FSS. See American Relocation Connections, LLC, B-416035, May 18, 2018. GAO dismissed, finding the cancellation reasonable.
Eden Brown Gaines of Brown Gaines, LLC represented the protester. Megan R. Nathan and Anthony E. Marrone of HHS represented the agency. Sarah T. Zaffina and Jennifer D. Westfall-McGrail of GAO participated in the preparation of the decision.
— Case summary by Joshua Lim, Assistant Editor
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