Protest Dismissal Decision Posted: Dept. of Energy DSW Technical Support Services

Updated December 2, 2025

The GAO Decision has now been posted for this protest. See details below.

DIGEST

1. Protest alleging that the agency erred by excluding the protester from the competition for an 8(a) small business set aside because the Small Business Administration (SBA) concluded the protester was not an eligible 8(a) small business is dismissed because GAO does not consider as part of our bid protest function challenges to SBA’s determinations with respect to a firm’s small business or socio-economic status.

2. Protest alleging that the agency applied an unstated evaluation criterion by deferring to SBA’s conclusion that the protester was not an eligible 8(a) small business is dismissed where the protester fails to demonstrate any legal prohibition on the agency’s consultation with the SBA and SBA’s acceptance of the procurement was predicated on the agency submitting the putative awardee to SBA for an eligibility determination.

DECISION

The Building People, LLC, a small business of Leesburg, Virginia, protests its exclusion from the competition and the issuance of an order to Transpacific Technologies Inc., a small business of Pasadena, California, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 89503125QWA000337, issued by the Department of Energy (DOE) under the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract for technical support services. The protester contends that the agency erred in excluding it from the competition for several reasons related to its size status.

We dismiss the protest because it, in effect, challenges the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) determination of the protester’s size status, which is outside of our bid protest jurisdiction.

Read the full report here.

Protester: The Building People, LLC
Solicitation Number: 89503125QWA000337
Agency: Department of Energy
File number: B-423896.1
Outcome: Dismissed
Decision Date: November 20, 2025

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OS AI Note: Dismissed or Withdrawn does not necessarily mean resolved, and it can oftentimes indicate proactive steps taken by the government to address deficiencies or issues raised in the protest. More will be shared if it is made available.