Opinion ID: 6661188
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: General Services Administration (“GSA”)./Federal Supply Schedule (“FSS) Contracts

Text: Plaintiffs claim that if the Court enjoins the option work, the Air Force could obtain the services of licensed healthcare providers through GSA/FSS contracts. Magnum Opus’s Revised Summary of Anticipated Testimony at 3 (“Magnum’s Revised Summary”) (docket entry 78, Apr. 20, 2010); Evid. Hearing Tr. at 10-16. During the evidentiary hearing on April 22, 2010, Mr. Mirrow confirmed that there are a large number of medical service contractors available under the GSA/FSS, and that several MTFs have used GSA/FSS contracts to obtain medical services in the past. Evid. Hearing Tr. at 10, 12, 14; see also Exhibit 1 introduced by Magnum Opus at the evidentiary hearing on April 22, 2010 (“Ex. 1”). However, Mr. Mirrow explained that the Air Force could not quickly obtain medical service providers through GSA/FSS contracts because the Air Force would be legally obligated to formulate an acquisition plan and evaluate whether using the GSA/FSS was the acquisition strategy that would best meet the Air Force’s needs under the circumstances. Evid. Hearing Tr. at 12. FAR part 10 requires agencies to conduct market research to determine the most suitable approach for acquiring goods and services. See FAR § 10.001 (setting forth policy requiring market research); id. § 10.002 (describing procedures for performing market research). Similarly, FAR part 7 requires agencies to develop acquisition plans to ensure that the Government meets its needs in the most effective, economical, and timely manner. FAR § 7.102 (requiring agencies to perform acquisition planning and conduct market research); see also id. § 7.103 (setting forth agency head responsibilities with respect to acquisition plans). In March 2009, AFFARS Mandatory Procedure (“AFFARSMP”) § 5301.9001 instituted new and even more intense acquisition review requirements within the Air Force, rendering the acquisition process even more time-intensive. Mirrow Deck ¶ 8; AFFARSMP § 5301.9001(b). This multitude of procurement regulations necessarily creates a lengthy process for the Air Force to obtain the medical services through any mechanism other than the ID/IQ contract options. During the eviden-tiary hearing on April 22, 2010, Mr. Mirrow testified that the Air Force would require two years to complete a new procurement for the medical services. Evid. Hearing Tr. at 74-77. Plaintiffs challenged Mr. Mil-row’s assessment, claiming that the Air Force could re-use some of the work that it had previously undertaken in deciding to utilize the ID/IQ contracts at issue in this protest, and that the process should take less than two years because the Air Force already knows what its requirements for health care services are. Evid. Hearing Tr. at 76-77; Magnum’s Remedy Resp. Br. at 11; Healing Staffs Remedy Resp. Br. at 5. But Mr. Mir-row explained that it would be necessary, in the face of an injunction such as that sought by plaintiffs, to prepare another acquisition plan and conduct additional market research to assess which procurement strategy would best meet the Air Force’s needs under the circumstances. Evid. Hearing Tr. at 76-77. In addition, staffing constraints for the Air Force Commodity Council do not permit more than one acquisition to proceed at a time. Mirrow Decl. ¶ 8. Therefore, other procurement work would need to be pushed aside in order for the acquisition process for the new procurement for medical services to be completed. Id. Furthermore, defendant correctly observes that Robert Manigault and Gerald Gregory, plaintiffs’ witnesses who contended that the process should take less than two years, have no experience in the federal acquisition planning process. Defendant’s Response to Plaintiffs’ Supplemental Remedy Briefs at 9-10 (“Def.’s Remedy Resp. Br.”) (docket entry 91, May 7, 2010); Evid. Hearing Tr. at 92,124-25. Defendant has also established that using the GSA/FSS schedule would cause the Air Force to incur substantial user fees. Mr. Mirrow’s assessment of these user fees was based upon the erroneous assumption that the Court would immediately enjoin all existing task orders under the ID/IQ contracts, not just the option work. Evid. Hearing Tr. at 39-40. However, even if only the option work were enjoined, these fees would likely still be significant. If the Air Force were to use an assisted acquisition through the GSA/ FSS, 26 Mr. Mirrow estimated that external re-procurement costs for a $350 million annual program would potentially amount to $10.5 million. Mirrow Decl. ¶ 11; Evid. Hearing Tr. at 56. Furthermore, an additional one percent industrial funding fee would be required by the GSA. Evid. Hearing Tr. at 56. Plaintiffs argue that these fees may be offset by potential cost savings from using the GSA/FSS contracts as opposed to the ID/IQ contract options. Magnum’s Second Supp. Br. at 10-11; Healing Staffs Remedy Supp. Br. at 7. Although plaintiffs have presented evidence that in a select sample of instances, the GSA/FSS rates are lower, neither party has presented the Court with a comprehensive comparison of the rates, leaving the Court incapable of reaching a conclusion upon this issue. See Exhibit 2 introduced by Magnum Opus at the evidentiary hearing on April 22, 2010 (“Ex. 2”); Evid. Hearing Tr. at 58. It is unnecessary for the Court to do so, however, because the Court concludes that solely as a result of the time-consuming acquisition planning process, use of the GSA/FSS schedule would not significantly mitigate the potential harm to the Air Force of an immediate injunction.