Protest Wins Client Contract Under $22 Billion VA Program

RJO attorneys Neil O’Donnell, Jeff Chiow and Lucas Hanback secured a significant contract for their client after the Department of Veterans Affairs took corrective action in response to a bid protest at GAO. The protest involved contracts issued for Information Technology service solutions under the VA’s Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology Next Generation (T4NG) multiple-award contract. Failure to obtain such a contract meant that a company would be shut out of satisfying any of the VA’s IT needs for as much as 10 years. RJO challenged various aspects of the award decision, focusing principally on the Agency’s method of determining whether offeror’s prices were realistic. After RJO filed a supplemental protest responding to the Agency’s defense of its actions, GAO engaged in an outcome prediction teleconference in which it indicated that it was inclined to sustain the protest on grounds alleged by RJO. In response, the VA took corrective action and awarded the client a contract under this $22 billion program.