GAO PROTEST AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP AND ROCK ISLAND W52P1J-17-R-0062 NON-TACTICLE VEHICLES BUNDLING THAT IS HARMING VETERAN OWNED U.S. SMALL BUSINESSES

Latvian Connection LLC
1083 Vine St. No. 503
Healdsburg, CA 95448
Tel: 707 385 9344

May 23, 2017

BY REGISTERED EMAIL

General Counsel
Government Accounting Office
441 G Street, NW
Washington DC 20548
Email: Protests@gao.gov

Attn: Procurement Law Control Group, Room 1139

RE: Pre Award Protest against the U.S. ARMY ROCK ISLAND
SOLICITATION No W52P1J-17-R-0062 NON-TACTICLE VEHICLES 20 Geographically different locations –
Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Uzbekistan, and Yemen.

DEFECTIVE SOLICITATION –

 BUNDLING VIOLATES DoD DIRECTIVE
 VIOLATING FAR 19.1405 AND 19.1406 AND FAR 19.202-2 FAR 19.202-4
 BUNDLING 20 DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS (
 ROCK ISLAND FAILED TO COMPLY WITH ACCOMPLISHING DD FORM 2579
SMALL BUSINESS COORDINATION RECORD
 VIOLATED 5 YEAR MAXIMUM TERM OF CONTRACT FAR § 16.505(c)(1) FAR § 17.104(a)

Dear Procurement Law Group:

Latvian Connection LLC, (“ LC LLC”) A SERVICE DISABLED VETERAN OWNED SMALL BUSINESS SAM REGISTERED with CALIFORNIA DUNS: 830587791 CAGE: 5GLB3 AND IS LOCAL FOR KUWAIT UNDER DUNS: 534749622 CAGE: SGM59 submits this PRE- AWARD Protest against the:
ARMY CONTRACTING COMMAND, ROCK ISLAND for violating Anti Bundling Statutes; failing to post a notice 30 days prior to the release of the solicitation to notify of bundled solicitation and failing to publish a Determination and Findings to BUNDLE signed by the HEAD of CONTRACTING AUTHORITY as required by NDAA FY 16.

205.205-70 Notification of bundling of DoD contracts.
(a) When a proposed acquisition is funded entirely using DoD funds and potentially involves bundling, the contracting officer shall, at least 30 days prior to the release of a solicitation or 30 days prior to placing an order without a solicitation, publish in FedBizOpps.gov (or any successor site) a notification of the intent to bundle the requirement. In addition, if the agency has determined that measurably substantial benefits are expected to be derived as a result of bundling, the notification shall include a brief description of those benefits (see FAR 7.107).
(b) This requirement is in addition to the notification requirements at FAR 10.001(c)(2)(i) and (ii).
[75 FR 40716, July 13, 2010]

¹ ¹In accordance with 4 C.F.R. § 21.1 (c ) (1), the relevant electronic mail address for this protest is keven.barnes@LatvianConnectionLLC.com ( Representative for the Protester Latvian Connection General Trading and Construction LLC) CALIFORNIA - KUWAIT

² The Contracting Office for this ARMY CONTRACTING COMMAND, 3055 RODMAN AVE, ROCK ISLAND, IL 61299. CONTRACTING SPECIALIST ZACHARY E. SCHULER, ZACHARY.E.SCHULER.CIV@MAIL.MIL
CONTRACTING OFFICER MICHELLE M. TALBOT, MICHELLE.M.TALBOT2.CIV@MAIL.MIL, PHONE 309 782 7363

Per FAR 33.104 Protests to the GAO

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS

WE EXPECT THE GAO LAWYERS THAT LIED AND COVERED UP FOR GAO PROTESTS AGAINST HILLARY CLINTON THAT WERE THE SUBJECT OF THE WEBSITE www.SDVOSB-AGAINST-HILLARY.com TO RECUSE THEMSELVES FOR LACK OF INTEGRITY, LACK OF CANDOR, AND VIOLATING THE BARs PROFESSIONAL CODE OF CONDUCT WHEN THEY LIED AND STATED THAT LATVIAN CONNECTION LLC WAS UNDER A PROTECTIVE ORDER ON B-413442 WHEN, LATVIAN CONNECTION LLC OWNER IS NOT A LAWYER.

THE LAWYERS THAT VIOLATED ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL CODE OF CONDUCT BY LYING ARE:

RALPH O. WHITE

KENNETH E. PATTON

TANYA LYNN CALHOUN

HEATHER WEINER

SCOTT RIBACK

INTERESTED PARTY STATUS
Our company is a SDVOSB concern and we will have a reasonable chance of winning the Contract if the solicitation is set aside under the Rule of 2 and NOT BUNDLED in violation of FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION and Anti – Bundling statues issued by the Small Business Administration. ( EXHIBIT 2 ) THAT IS A TOTAL SMALL BUSINESS SET ASIDE FOR US SMALL BUSINESSES RULE OF 2.
Therefore, LATVIAN CONNECTION LLC is an actual offeror that is LOCAL in Kuwait and whose direct economic interest is affected by the award of the Contract and hence, an interested party. 31 U.S.C. § 3551 (2000); FAR 33.101; 4 C.F.R. § 21.0(a)(2006); Designer Assoc. , Inc.,B-293226, FEB 12, 2004 C.P.D. ¶ 114 at 2.

TIMELINESS OF THIS PROTEST

This is a PRE-Award Protest filed before the bid due in date of MAY 25, 2016. (EXHIBITS 1 )
§ 21.2 Time for filing:
(a)(1) Protests based upon alleged improprieties in a solicitation which are apparent prior to bid opening or the time set for receipt of initial proposals shall be filed prior to bid opening or the time set for receipt of initial proposals. In procurements where proposals are requested, alleged improprieties which do not exist in the initial solicitation but which are subsequently incorporated into the solicitation must be protested not later than the next closing time for receipt of proposals following the incorporation.
(2) Protests other than those covered by paragraph (a)(1) of this section shall be filed not later than 10 days after the basis of protest is known or should have been known (whichever is earlier), with the exception of protests challenging a procurement conducted on the basis of competitive proposals under which a debriefing is requested and, when requested, is required. In such cases, with respect to any protest basis which is known or should have been known either before or as a result of the debriefing, the initial protest shall not be filed before the debriefing date offered to the protester, but shall be filed not later than 10 days after the date on which the debriefing is held. This pre award protest is filed before bid due in date of MAY 25, 2016

FACTUAL GROUNDS OF THE PROTEST

The solicitation W52P1J-17-R-0062 was posted on ARPIL 24, 2017 with a bid due in date of MAY 25, 2017 and no Sources Sought was conducted for just Kuwait ( EXHIBITS 1 ) and no Determination and Findings was published to justify why this solicitation was being bundled, and this solicitation has more than 2 U.S. Small Businesses, and more than 2 SDVOSB that are LOCAL in Kuwait and the Middle East that were available to bid. THE U.S. ARMY ARE VIOLATING THE RULE OF 2 AND THE SUPREME COURT DECISION OF KINGDOMWARE WHERE THE RULE OF 2 has been decided at the Highest Court in the United States.

Request of a ruling by the Comptroller General of the United States

LATVIAN CONNECTION LLC specifically requests that the GAO recommend that the solicitations W52P1J-17-R-0062 be cancelled and resolicited for TOTAL SMALL BUSINESS SET ASIDES only and for KUWAIT and individual countries only, and be conducted as a Lowest Priced, Technically Acceptable solicitation on www.fbo.gov .

The solicitation states 20 geographic locations which makes this a bundled contract according to the GAO Report to Congress, Exhibit 4, EXHIBIT 4 BUNDLING GAO REPORT ON BUNDLING GAO-14-36 makes this a bundled contract.

19.202-2 Locating small business sources.
The contracting officer must, to the extent practicable, encourage maximum participation by small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns in acquisitions by taking the following actions:
(a) Before issuing solicitations, make every reasonable effort to find additional small business concerns, unless lists are already excessively long and only some of the concerns on the list will be solicited. This effort should include contacting the SBA procurement center representative (or, if a procurement center representative is not assigned, see 19.402(a)).
(b) Publicize solicitations and contract awards through the Governmentwide point of entry (see Subparts 5.2 and 5.3).

19.202-4 Solicitation.
The contracting officer must encourage maximum response to solicitations by small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns by taking the following actions:
(a) Allow the maximum amount of time practicable for the submission of offers.
(b) Furnish specifications, plans, and drawings with solicitations, or furnish information as to where they may be obtained or examined.
(c) Provide to any small business concern, upon its request, a copy of bid sets and specifications with respect to any contract to be let, the name and telephone number of an agency contact to answer questions related to such prospective contract and adequate citations to each major Federal law or agency rule with which such business concern must comply in performing such contract other than laws or agency rules with which the small business must comply when doing business with other than the Government.

Small Businesses Achieve Victory with Final Passage of NDAA
f t # e
Washington, Oct 1
Small businesses that create jobs and save taxpayer dollars by contracting with the federal government scored a victory today with final passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2016. The final version of the legislation, approved by the House of Representatives today, includes several provisions offered by the Small Business Committee that open doors for small businesses through the contracting and procurement opportunities.
“The National Defense Authorization Act for 2016 recognizes that small businesses play a major role in protecting the American people in a responsible, innovative way,” said Small Business Committee Chairman Steve Chabot (R-OH). “I’m especially proud of the Members of the Small Business Committee—Richard Hanna, Steve Knight, Carlos Curbelo, Cresent Hardy, Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, and Mike Bost—for seeing their excellent ideas through to the end of this process and giving small businesses a strong voice in this vital legislation.”

REQUEST FOR HEARING OR CONFERENCE AND PROTECTIVE ORDER

If the issues in this case cannot be resolved on the basis of the documents requested, then LATVIAN CONNECTION LLC requests a hearing on all of the matters set forth above. 4 C.F.R. § 21.1 (d)(2008). Latvian Connection LLC does not request a protective order.
GAO - WE EXPRESSLY REQUEST THAT THIS PROTEST NOT BE EXPEDITED.
WE REQUEST THE GAO INVITE THE SBA TO COMMENT ON THIS BUNDLED REQUIREMENT
WE SPECIFICALLY REQUEST PRESIDENT TRUMPS NEW ADMINISTRATOR, Linda E. McMahon comment as she was specifically asked about bundling of solicitations by SENATOR CARDIN:

2 Ms. McMahon. Thank you.
3 Senator Cardin. You have already heard the numbers. I
4 could go over the half a million small businesses in
5 Maryland, over a million jobs. But I will focus a little
6 bit on the individual companies that I have visited where I
7 see a small business developing a way to deal with
8 diagnosing student athletes on head injuries, or I see new
9 drugs being developed along the I-270 corridor that are
10 going to help quality of life, or I see a small business
11 developing a better way to help other businesses deal with
12 their administrative costs. I see it in our national
13 defense. So many of these small companies are figuring out
14 better weapons systems or ways that we can test our weapons
15 systems for efficiency. All of that is the creativity of
16 small business.
17 They all had one thing in common. They all used the
18 services of the Small Business Administration. They used it
19 for mentoring and developing a business plan because at
20 times it is difficult to know exactly what a bank needs in
21 order to be able to get a loan. They used the services of
22 SBA for capital because that is very challenging for small
23 businesses to get particularly venture capital to be able to
24 take those risks. They used the Small Business
25 Administration as an advocate to make sure that they got
29
1 fair Government procurement, and particularly in this
2 region, Government procurement is a very important part of
3 opportunities for small business.
4 So as you and I talked in the office--and I thank you
5 very much for our personal visit--we need an advocate as the
6 Small Business Administrator in that dealing with other
7 agencies. We talked about the procurement issues. We
8 talked about the 5 percent for the women. There is also a
9 set-aside for small businesses. We have minority
10 businesses, veteran-owned businesses. One thing is in
11 common. When an agency, a big agency, is doing their
12 procurement, they at times like as few contractors as
13 possible because they have to evaluate every contract that
14 is there, and they tend to bundle into large contracts that
15 make it virtually impossible for small businesses to be a
16 prime contractor. We have attempted to pass anti-bundling
17 legislation so that that is not done.

Ms. McMahon. Thank you very much for mentioning that
23 again because we did have a good conversation about that. I
24 have found that, you know, the best way to obfuscate what it
25 is you are really trying to do is to bundle things or just
30
1 stack stuff on top of it. So I would really like to peel
2 back some of that bundling and take a look at it so that we
3 have the opportunity for our small businesses to really have
4 that fair shot. They should not just continue to get
5 squeezed out. And I would want to be their advocate. I
6 would want to hear from them. I would want to find out,
7 well, how did this happen? How can we get around this?
8 Whom do we need to speak to? How can I advocate more
9 strongly on your behalf? What avenues have you gone down or
10 what other avenues do you need to go down so that we can
11 reach in and make this more about you? And I would be
12 working very hard to advocate for our small businesses.
13 Senator Cardin. I appreciate that. I also appreciate
14 your response in regards to what you have done for veterans,
15 returning warriors. To me, that is an extremely important
16 part of our commitment to help veterans and returning
17 warriors in regards to small business.

SDVOSB Latvian Connection LLC has experienced 7 years of discrimination by the U.S. Army; the SBA NOT BEING ADVOCATES for veterans or U.S. Small Businesses; and we have experienced the ANTI-SMALL BUSINESS GAO THAT FABRICATES DECISIONS NOT BASED ON LAW, BUT ON ITS ANTI-SMALL BUSINESS AND ANTI-VETERAN PLATFORM OF DISCRIMINATION.

LEGAL GROUNDS OF PROTEST

The Small Business Act is applicable world-wide and so is the SDVOSB Program. EXHIBIT 9, PG 8

THE FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATIONS AND SMALL BUSINESS ACT HAVE BEEN RULED WORLD WIDE BY THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINSTRATION SINCE OCTOBER 2013.

State argues that the GAO decision of Latvian Connection General Trading and Construction LLC, B-408633, Sept. 18, 2013 CPD ¶ 224, applies here. In that case, GAO ruled that FAR 19.000(b) limits the application of FAR part 19 (dealing with SBA’s small business programs) to acquisitions conducted in the United States (and its outlying areas). We believe the basis for the GAO’s ruling was that SBA’s regulation were silent on this issue and therefore, the more specific far regulations controlled.

Heeding this advice, the SBA recently promulgated regulations to address this issue. Specifically, SBA made wholesale changes to 13 CFR § 125.2 on October 2, 2013. As a result, SBA issued a final rule stating that: “Small business concerns must receive any award ( including orders, and orders placed against Multiple Award Contracts) or contract, part of any such award or contract, and any contract for the sale of Government property, regardless of the place of performance, which the SBA and the procuring or disposal agency determine to be in the interest of:” 13 C.F.R. § 125.2(a)(emphasis added). Likewise, the rule also states that: “Small Business Act requires each Federal agency to foster the participation of small business concerns as prime contractors and subcontractors in the contracting opportunities of the Government regardless of the place of performance of the contract.” Id. 125.2 (c)(emphasis added).

Therefore, SBA’s policy and legal interpretation of the Small Business has been incorporated into the regulations. In sum, according to statute and regulations, small business set asides, regardless of place of performance, are mandatory for acquisitions valued from $ 3,000 to $ 150,000 - SBA Senior Attorney in Exhibit 6.

The Small Business Act was amended by section 36 of the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003, Pub. L. No. 108183,
117 Stat. 2651, 2662 (2003), 15 U.S.C. sect. 657f (Supp. IV 2004), to establish the SDVOSBC
procurement program. This amendment provided for procurements with competition restricted to SDVOSBCs
as follows:
In accordance with this section, a contracting officer may award contracts on the basis of competition
restricted to [SDVOSBCs] if the contracting officer has a reasonable expectation that not less than 2
[SDVOSBCs] will submit offers and that the award can be made at a fair market price.

EXHIBIT 10 B299291, MCS Portable Restroom Service, March 28, 2007
Christopher S. Cole, Esq., Department of the Air Force, and John W. Klein, Esq., and Kenneth Dodds, Esq., Small
Business Administration, for the agencies.
Nora K. Adkins, Esq., Sharon L. Larkin, Esq., and James A. Spangenberg, Esq., Office of the General Counsel,
GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision.
DIGEST

1. Procuring agency is required to make reasonable efforts to ascertain whether an acquisition is suitable for a
   set aside for service disabled veteran owned small business concerns (SDVOSBC) before it can proceed
   with a small business set aside

DLA did not make a reasonable effort to determine the number of SDVOSBs concerns in Kuwait or Qatar that could perform the requirement because they failed to conduct a Sources Sought.

By GAO’s definition in their report to Congress (EXHIBIT 5 ) – this is a bundled solicitation due to 2 different geographic regions being included for performance.

(B-290644) The GAO stated:
The Small Business Act, as amended, provides that, “to the maximum extent practicable,” each agency shall “avoid unnecessary and unjustified bundling of contract requirements that precludes small business participation in procurements as prime contractors.” 15 U.S.C. § 631(j)(3) (2000). To implement this restriction, the Small Business Act defines bundling as: consolidating 2 or more procurement requirements for goods or services previously provided or performed under separate smaller contracts [performed by or suitable for award to one or more small business concerns] into a solicitation of offers for a single contract that is likely to be unsuitable for award to a small-business concern due to-- (A) the diversity, size, or specialized nature of the elements of the performance specified; (B) the aggregate dollar value of the anticipated award; (C) the geographical dispersion of the contract performance sites; or (D) any combination of the factors described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C). (B-290644)

Our review of the record confirms an additional statutory violation by the agency regarding notification to the SBA of the anticipated consolidated procurement prior to public issuance of the solicitation. The Small Business Act and its implementing regulations (as well as specific DOD guidance for the consolidation of requirements) call for contracting agencies to submit documentation, including the solicitation, to the SBA for review of anticipated consolidated procurements where a bundled procurement is unjustified or it includes work currently being performed by a small business and the magnitude of the proposed procurement renders small business prime contract participation unlikely. See 15 U.S.C. § 644(a); 13 C.F.R. § 125.2(b); FAR §§19.201, 19.202-1(e); DOD Memorandum Regarding Consolidation of Contract Requirements, Oct. 23, 1996, at 1. The proposed procurement is to be reviewed by the SBA PCR at least 30 days prior to the solicitation’s issuance. Id. Here, even if the contracting officer did not think the procurement was bundled, we believe it was unreasonable for her not to recognize that coordination with the SBA PCR was required, since small businesses were performing work included in the RFP and the magnitude of the proposed consolidated procurement could reasonably render small business prime contractor participation unlikely.8 The agency’s failure to coordinate
its current consolidation of requirements with the SBA PCR was thus inconsistent with the requirements of the Act and implementing regulations.9 See Letter to the Air Force in the Matter of Valenzuela Eng’g, Inc., B-277979, Jan. 26, 1998, 98-1 CPD ¶ 51 at 1-3.

Latvian:
The ARMY failed to conduct a Sources Sought for KUWAIT and failed to notify the SBA of its intent to bundle the solicitation. The ARMY failed to post a notice 30 days before posting the solicitation of its intent to bundle and failed to post a Determination signed by ARMY’s Head of Contracting Authority as now required by NDAA FY16.

The ARMY was required by DFAR 205.205 to post a notice 30 days prior that they intended to bundle the 2 geographic regions. THE ARMY HAVE BUNDLED 20 GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS.

205.205-70 Notification of bundling of DoD contracts.
(a) When a proposed acquisition is funded entirely using DoD funds and potentially involves bundling, the contracting officer shall, at least 30 days prior to the release of a solicitation or 30 days prior to placing an order without a solicitation, publish in FedBizOpps.gov (or any successor site) a notification of the intent to bundle the requirement. In addition, if the agency has determined that measurably substantial benefits are expected to be derived as a result of bundling, the notification shall include a brief description of those benefits (see FAR 7.107). EXHIBIT 5

NDAA FY16 Now requires that the HCA of ARMY to post a Determination 30 days prior to the solicitations release that gives justification of why the solicitation must be bundled. DLA has again failed to post this Determination.

205.205-70 Notification of bundling of DoD contracts.
(a) When a proposed acquisition is funded entirely using DoD funds and potentially
involves bundling, the contracting officer shall, at least 30 days prior to the release of a
solicitation or 30 days prior to placing an order without a solicitation, publish in
FedBizOpps.gov (or any successor site) a notification of the intent to bundle the
requirement. In addition, if the agency has determined that measurably substantial
benefits are expected to be derived as a result of bundling, the notification shall include
a brief description of those benefits (see FAR 7.107).
(b) This requirement is in addition to the notification requirements at FAR
10.001(c)(2)(i) and (ii).
[75 FR 40716, July 13, 2010]
NDAA FY16 APPLIES
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th‐congress/house‐bill/1735/text#toc‐
H0102A84DD43F413188F5B1F2708BC2DF
SEC. 863. NOTICE OF CONTRACT CONSOLIDATION FOR ACQUISITION
STRATEGIES.
(a) NOTICE REQUIREMENT FOR THE HEAD OF A CONTRACTING AGENCY.—Section 15(e)(3)
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(e)(3)) is amended to read as follows:
“(3) STRATEGY SPECIFICATIONS.—If the head of a contracting agency
determines that an acquisition plan for a procurement involves a substantial bundling of
contract requirements, the head of a contracting agency shall publish a notice on a public
website that such determination has been made not later than 7 days after making such
determination. Any solicitation for a procurement related to the acquisition plan may not be
published earlier than 7 days after such notice is published. Along with the publication of
the solicitation, the head of a contracting agency shall publish a justification for the
determination, which shall include the following information:
“(A) The specific benefits anticipated to be derived from the bundling of contract
requirements and a determination that such benefits justify the bundling.
“(B) An identification of any alternative contracting approaches that would
involve a lesser degree of bundling of contract requirements.
“(C) An assessment of—
“(i) the specific impediments to participation by small business concerns as
prime contractors that result from the bundling of contract requirements; and
“(ii) the specific actions designed to maximize participation of small
business concerns as subcontractors (including suppliers) at various tiers under
the contract or contracts that are awarded to meet the requirements.”.
(b) NOTICE REQUIREMENT FOR THE SENIOR PROCUREMENT EXECUTIVE OR CHIEF
ACQUISITION OFFICER.—Section 44(c)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657q(c)(2)) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
“(C) NOTICE.—Not later than 7 days after making a determination that an
acquisition strategy involving a consolidation of contract requirements is necessary and
justified under subparagraph (A), the senior procurement executive or Chief
Acquisition Officer shall publish a notice on a public website that such determination
has been made. Any solicitation for a procurement related to the acquisition strategy
may not be published earlier than 7 days after such notice is published. Along with the
publication of the solicitation, the senior procurement executive or Chief Acquisition
Officer shall publish a justification for the determination, which shall include the
information in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (1).”.
(c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 44(c)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
657q(c)(1)) is amended by striking “Subject to paragraph (4), the head” and inserting “The
head”.

THE ARMY FAILED TO FILL OUT A DD FORM 2579 ( AUG 2015 )

The Dept of Defense Released a revised DD Form 2579 in Aug 2015 ( EXHIBIT 13 ) which now has areas for the Small Business Administration to sign off and this form is applicable for all solicitations with a value of greater than $ 10,000.

Contracting officers are to obtain small business specialist review and coordination on most procurements over $ 10,000 ( ten thousand dollars ); the form has undergone major changes in content and design making it more comprehensive to summarize small business considerations.

There is no mention that this form is not applicable overseas.

John Shoraka, the associate administrator of government contracting and business development is on record stating that in FY 16, the SBA will include overseas contracts in the goaling. ( ATTCH 14 )

19.202-2 Locating small business sources.
The contracting officer must, to the extent practicable, encourage maximum participation by small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns in acquisitions by taking the following actions:
(a) Before issuing solicitations, make every reasonable effort to find additional small business concerns, unless lists are already excessively long and only some of the concerns on the list will be solicited. This effort should include contacting the SBA procurement center representative (or, if a procurement center representative is not assigned, see 19.402(a)).
(b) Publicize solicitations and contract awards through the Governmentwide point of entry (see Subparts 5.2 and 5.3).

19.202-4 Solicitation.
The contracting officer must encourage maximum response to solicitations by small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns by taking the following actions:
(a) Allow the maximum amount of time practicable for the submission of offers.
(b) Furnish specifications, plans, and drawings with solicitations, or furnish information as to where they may be obtained or examined.
(c) Provide to any small business concern, upon its request, a copy of bid sets and specifications with respect to any contract to be let, the name and telephone number of an agency contact to answer questions related to such prospective contract and adequate citations to each major Federal law or agency rule with which such business concern must comply in performing such contract other than laws or agency rules with which the small business must comply when doing business with other than the Government.

EXHIBIT 14 SBA SHOKORA

ROCK ISLAND HAS STATED THAT THIS CONTRACTS PERFORMANCE WILL BE

Base Year: 15 January 2018 – 14 January 2019
Option Year One: 15 January 2019 – 14 January 2020
Option Year Two: 15 January 2020 – 14 January 2021
Option Year Three: 15 January 2021 – 14 January 2022
Option Year Four: 15 January 2022 – 14 January 2023
Option Year Five: 15 January 2023 – 14 January 2024
Option Year Six: 15 January 2024 – 14 January 2025
Option to Extend Period: 15 January 2025 – 14 June 2025

THIS VIOLATES THE STATUTORY 5 YEAR MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE AND IS AN ADDITIONAL ITEM THAT MAKES THIS A DEFECTIVE SOLICITATION.

A search of the Westlaw® Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) database2 for occurrences of the terms: "5-year," "5 year," "five-year," and "five year," produced 98 documents containing hundreds of occurrences of the terms.3 Many of those occurrences were in the Federal Property Management Regulation4and pertained to property leases. This article will address only the limitations in the FAR. A review of the FAR documents identified four five-year limitations, as follows:
• FAR § 16.505(c)(1), a limitation on task order contracts for advisory and assistance ser-vices;

• FAR § 17.104(a), a limitation on multi-year contracts;

I. The Five-Year Limit on Task Order Contracts for Advisory and Assistance Services
FAR § 16.505(c) provides as follows:
(c) Limitation on ordering period for task-order contracts for advisory and assistance services.
(1) Except as provided for in paragraphs (c)(2) and (c)(3), the ordering period of a task-order contract for advisory and assistance services, including all options or modifications, normally may not exceed 5 years.

AR § 17.103 defines the term multi-year contract as follows:
"Multi-year contract" means a contract for the purchase of supplies or services for more than 1, but not more than 5, program years. A multi-year con-tract may provide that performance under the contract during the second and subsequent years of the contract is contingent upon the appropriation of funds, and (if it does so provide) may provide for a cancellation payment to be made to the contractor if appropriations are not made. The key distinguishing difference between multi-year contracts and multiple year contracts is that multi-year con-tracts, defined in the statutes cited at 17.101, buy more than 1 year's requirement (of a product or service) without establishing and having to exercise an option for each program year after the first.

REQUEST FOR DOCUMENTS

LATVIAN CONNECTION LLC LLC requests that the following materials be included in the agency report, pursuant to 4 C.F.R. § 21.1(d)(2008):
 Copy of SOURCES SOUGHT FOR KUWAIT
 Copy of Pre-Solicitation Notice WITH SIGNED HEAD OF CONTRACTING AUTHORITY DETERMINATION TO BUNDLE 20 COUNTRIES
 Copy of Small Business Coordination Record DD FORM 2579 ( REVISED AUG 2015 )
 Copy of the Contracting Officer’s SF1402

REQUEST FOR RELIEF AND CONCLUSION

LATVIAN CONNECTION LLC requests that ARMY take corrective action and cancel the solicitation and re-issue for TOTAL SMALL BUSINESS SET ASIDE; unbundle the solicitation; conduct a proper site visit. OR issue an Amendment, that is posted on www.fbo.gov and that this solicitation as a Lowest Priced, Technically Acceptable solicitation that is reserved for U.S. Small Business concerns exclusively and unbundle the requirement.
We also request that the contracting personnel, the Program Manager, and the Rock Island Army Contracting Commander and Program manager be disciplined for violating Anti Bundling Statutes.
We also request that Latvian Connection LLC be reimbursed the costs of filing and pursuing its protest, including reasonable protest preparation fees. Bid Protest Regulations 4 C.F.R. § 21.8(d)(1) (2010).
Under the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984, the GAO may recommend that protest costs be reimbursed where they find that an agency’s action violated a procurement statute or regulation. 31 U.S.C. § 3554(c)(1) (2010). The
GAO’s Bid Protest Regulations provide that, where the contracting agency decides to take corrective action in response to a protest, the GAO may recommend that the protester be reimbursed the costs of filing and pursuing its protest, including reasonable attorneys’ fees. 4 C.F.R. § 21.8(e) (2010). The GAO has stated that it “does not mean that costs should be reimbursed in every case in which an agency decides to take corrective action; rather, a protester should be reimbursed its costs where an agency unduly delayed its decision to take corrective action in the face of a clearly meritorious protest. Griner’s-A-One Pipeline Servs., Inc.--Costs, B-255078.3, July 22, 1994, 94-2 CPD ¶ 41 at 5.

The Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA)[i] provides for the award of attorney fees and other expenses to eligible individuals and small entities who are parties to certain adversary adjudications in administrative proceedings. An eligible party may receive an award when the party prevails over the government, unless the government’s position was substantially justified or special circumstances make an award unjust. Fee provided under the EAJA is limited to $125 per hour. The EAJA applies to adversary adjudications pending or commenced on or after August 5, 1985.
To recover fee under the EAJA, a claimant must show that s/he is a prevailing party. Prevailing party is one who achieves the benefits s/he sought. To obtain fee under the EAJA a party must also show that:
• the lawsuit was a material factor in bringing about the desired result;
• the outcome was required by law; and
• decision was not a gratuitous act by the government.
If, in adversary adjudication arising from an agency action the demand by the agency is found substantially in excess of the decision of the adjudicative officer and is unreasonable when compared with the decision, the adjudicative officer shall award to the party the fees and other expenses against the excessive demand. To claim award under the EAJA party need not have committed a willful violation of law or otherwise acted in bad faith. Award granted should not be unjust in any circumstances. Fees and expenses awarded shall be paid only as a consequence of appropriations provided in advance.[ii]
Fees and other expenses under the EAJA include:
• the reasonable expenses of expert witnesses:
• the reasonable cost of any study, analysis, engineering report, test, or project which is found by the agency to be necessary for the preparation of the party’s case; and
• reasonable attorney’s or agent fees.[iii]
Every party other than an agency who participated in adversary adjudication can recover attorney’s fee and agent fee. Party represented by a non attorney is also permitted under the EAJA to recover fee. Award provided under the EAJA is mandatory and the agency has no discretion to deny attorney fee provided s/he complies all the requirements under the EAJA.
However certain state laws also authorizes the recovery of reasonable attorney fees. N.D. Cent. Code § 28-32-50(1) requires an award of reasonable attorney fees and costs to a prevailing claimant if an administrative agency has acted without substantial justification. N.D. Cent. Code § 28-32-50(1) sets forth a two-part test which must be met in order to properly award attorney fees: first, the non administrative party must prevail, and second, the agency must have acted without substantial justification.[iv]
[i] 5 U.S.C. § 504; 28 U.S.C. § 2412; [ii] 5 U.S.C.A. § 504(a)(4) ; [iii] 5 U.S.C.A. § 504(b)(1)(A); [iv] 5 U.S.C.A. § 504(b)(1)(A), Tedford v. Workforce Safety & Ins., 2007 ND 142 (N.D. 2007).

Respectfully submitted,

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KEVEN L. BARNES
CEO
LATVIAN CONNECTION LLC

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