By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:Section 1.
05/12/2021 10:59 AM EDT
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
United States Department of State
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL)
Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO):DRL Supporting Peaceful Elections in Ethiopia
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 19.345
Type of Solicitation: Open Competition
Application Deadline: 11:59 PM EST on 1, July, 2021
Funding Floor: $1,000,000
Funding Ceiling: $1,000,000
Anticipated Number of Awards: 1
Type of Award: Cooperative Agreement
Period of Performance: 12-18 months
Anticipated Time to Award, Pending Availability of Funds: 3 Months
A. Project Description
The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) announces an open competition for organizations interested in submitting applications for projects that enhance electoral security and mitigate violence in future referenda and electoral cycles in Ethiopia.
NCI Information Systems, Inc. (NCI), of Reston, Virginia, requests reconsideration of our decision in
NCI Info. Sys., Inc., B-419322, B-419322.2, Jan. 12, 2021, 2021 CPD ¶ 23, denying in part and dismissing in part its protest challenging the issuance of a task order to Salient CRGT, under request for proposals (RFP) 70SBUR20R00000001. The Department of Homeland Security, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued the task order for information technology (IT) deployment, maintenance, and repair services. NCI contends that our decision materially erred when it concluded that the protester was not an interested party to challenge the agency s failure to amend the solicitation to revise an incorrect independent government cost estimate (IGCE).
File: B-419193.4; B-419193.5; B-419193.6
Date: April 15, 2021
Lars E. Anderson, Esq., Charlotte R. Rosen, Esq., and James P. Miller, Esq., Odin Feldman Pittleman PC, for the protester.
Timothy A. Furin, Esq., Ryan C. Bradel, Esq., Alan M. Apple, Esq., and Chelsea A. Padgett, Esq., Ward & Berry PLLC, for BCD Travel USA, LLC, the intervenor.
Jeremiah Strack, Esq., General Services Administration, for the agency.
Jonathan L. Kang, Esq., and John Sorrenti, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision.
DIGEST
1. Challenges to the evaluation of the awardee’s technical quotation and past performance are denied where the protester’s arguments rely on definitions that are not found in the solicitation, and where the evaluations were reasonable and consistent with the solicitation criteria.
[Craig Stetson, partner with Capital Edge Consulting]
In our previous blogs, we discussed the multiple government enforcers and regulators charged with authority to oversee the application, eligibility, and use of COVID relief funds. Here, we address how to know whether you or your company is under investigation or review or being considered for same. Sometimes it is obvious for example, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) along with other agencies raid your offices. Other times, the signs are subtle.
The federal government has an arsenal of tools it uses to gather information for investigations and audits. These tools are not new and are not specific to COVID relief funds. However, some of the “new” entities created by COVID relief legislation (