Decision released: DOE Intelligence and Counterintelligence Services protest dismissal

File No. B-422653

Digest

Protest contending the agency should not have classified a solicitation fails to state a valid legal or factual basis for protest.

Discussion

On June 7, 2024, the protester emailed the DOE to request further information about a classified solicitation, which Inteliteams discovered when it saw the RFP’s name on the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Acquisition Resource Center’s (ARC) website.[1] Protest at 5. The RFP, issued as a small business set-aside, had a closing date of June 20, 2024. Id. The protester requested a “sanitized,” unclassified copy of the RFP; and on June 11, the agency denied the request. Email Exchange at 1. On June 12, Inteliteams filed this protest with our Office.

The protester, who acknowledges that it has not been able to access the solicitation, argues that “the [RFP] and its subsequent proposal submission(s) need not be classified.” Protest at 2. Inteliteams contends that it has provided the same counterintelligence services to other agencies, which issued unclassified solicitations; and DOE consequently has “no legitimate reason” for issuing a classified rather than an unclassified RFP. Resp. to Req. for Dismissal at 5. The protester also complains that it is unable to compete under this solicitation because …

Decision

Inteliteams, Inc., a service-disabled veteran-owned small business of Holland, Michigan, protests the terms of request for proposals (RFP) No. 89303023RET000009, issued by the Department of Energy (DOE) for intelligence and counterintelligence services. The protester primarily argues that the solicitation should not be classified, asserting that the classified nature of the solicitation makes it unduly restrictive of competition.

We dismiss the protest.

Read the decision here.

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