U.S. Code > Title 41 Public Contracts > CHAPTER 4—PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES (§§ 201_to_205—281_to_291) > SUBCHAPTER IV—PROCUREMENT PROVISIONS (§§ 251—266a) > § 253b. Evaluation and award

§ 253b. Evaluation and award

(a) Basis
An executive agency shall evaluate sealed bids and competitive proposals, and award a contract, based solely on the factors specified in the solicitation.
(b) Rejection of bids or proposals
All sealed bids or competitive proposals received in response to a solicitation may be rejected if the agency head determines that such action is in the public interest.
(c) Opening of bids; promptness of award; written notice
Sealed bids shall be opened publicly at the time and place stated in the solicitation. The executive agency shall evaluate the bids in accordance with subsection (a) of this section without discussions with the bidders and, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, shall award a contract with reasonable promptness to the responsible source whose bid conforms to the solicitation and is most advantageous to the United States, considering only price and the other price-related factors included in the solicitation. The award of a contract shall be made by transmitting, in writing or by electronic means, notice of the award to the successful bidder. Within 3 days after the date of contract award, the executive agency shall notify, in writing or by electronic means, each bidder not awarded the contract that the contract has been awarded.
(d) Discussions with offerors; written notification
(1) An executive agency shall evaluate competitive proposals in accordance with subsection (a) of this section and may award a contract—
(A) after discussions with the offerors, provided that written or oral discussions have been conducted with all responsible offerors who submit proposals within the competitive range; or
(B) based on the proposals received and without discussions with the offerors (other than discussions conducted for the purpose of minor clarification), if, as required by section 253a (b)(2)(B)(i) of this title, the solicitation included a statement that proposals are intended to be evaluated, and award made, without discussions, unless discussions are determined to be necessary.
(2) If the contracting officer determines that the number of offerors that would otherwise be included in the competitive range under paragraph (1)(A) exceeds the number at which an efficient competition can be conducted, the contracting officer may limit the number of proposals in the competitive range, in accordance with the criteria specified in the solicitation, to the greatest number that will permit an efficient competition among the offerors rated most highly in accordance with such criteria.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, the executive agency shall award a contract with reasonable promptness to the responsible source whose proposal is most advantageous to the United States, considering only cost or price and the other factors included in the solicitation. The executive agency shall award the contract by transmitting, in writing or by electronic means, notice of the award to such source and, within 3 days after the date of contract award, shall notify, in writing or by electronic means, all other offerors of the rejection of their proposals.
(e) Post-award debriefings
(1) When a contract is awarded by the head of an executive agency on the basis of competitive proposals, an unsuccessful offeror, upon written request received by the agency within 3 days after the date on which the unsuccessful offeror receives the notification of the contract award, shall be debriefed and furnished the basis for the selection decision and contract award. The executive agency shall debrief the offeror within, to the maximum extent practicable, 5 days after receipt of the request by the executive agency.
(2) The debriefing shall include, at a minimum—
(A) the executive agency’s evaluation of the significant weak or deficient factors in the offeror’s offer;
(B) the overall evaluated cost and technical rating of the offer of the contractor awarded the contract and the overall evaluated cost and technical rating of the offer of the debriefed offeror;
(C) the overall ranking of all offers;
(D) a summary of the rationale for the award;
(E) in the case of a proposal that includes a commercial item that is an end item under the contract, the make and model of the item being provided in accordance with the offer of the contractor awarded the contract; and
(F) reasonable responses to relevant questions posed by the debriefed offeror as to whether source selection procedures set forth in the solicitation, applicable regulations, and other applicable authorities were followed by the executive agency.
(3) The debriefing may not include point-by-point comparisons of the debriefed offeror’s offer with other offers and may not disclose any information that is exempt from disclosure under section 552 (b) of title 5.
(4) Each solicitation for competitive proposals shall include a statement that information described in paragraph (2) may be disclosed in post-award debriefings.
(5) If, within one year after the date of the contract award and as a result of a successful procurement protest, the executive agency seeks to fulfill the requirement under the protested contract either on the basis of a new solicitation of offers or on the basis of new best and final offers requested for that contract, the head of such executive agency shall make available to all offerors—
(A) the information provided in debriefings under this subsection regarding the offer of the contractor awarded the contract; and
(B) the same information that would have been provided to the original offerors.
(f) Preaward debriefings
(1) When the contracting officer excludes an offeror submitting a competitive proposal from the competitive range (or otherwise excludes such an offeror from further consideration prior to the final source selection decision), the excluded offeror may request in writing, within 3 days after the date on which the excluded offeror receives notice of its exclusion, a debriefing prior to award. The contracting officer shall make every effort to debrief the unsuccessful offeror as soon as practicable but may refuse the request for a debriefing if it is not in the best interests of the Government to conduct a debriefing at that time.
(2) The contracting officer is required to debrief an excluded offeror in accordance with subsection (e) of this section only if that offeror requested and was refused a preaward debriefing under paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(3) The debriefing conducted under this subsection shall include—
(A) the executive agency’s evaluation of the significant elements in the offeror’s offer;
(B) a summary of the rationale for the offeror’s exclusion; and
(C) reasonable responses to relevant questions posed by the debriefed offeror as to whether source selection procedures set forth in the solicitation, applicable regulations, and other applicable authorities were followed by the executive agency.
(4) The debriefing conducted pursuant to this subsection may not disclose the number or identity of other offerors and shall not disclose information about the content, ranking, or evaluation of other offerors’ proposals.
(g) Summary of debriefing
The contracting officer shall include a summary of any debriefing conducted under subsection (e) or (f) of this section in the contract file.
(h) Alternative dispute resolution
The Federal Acquisition Regulation shall include a provision encouraging the use of alternative dispute resolution techniques to provide informal, expeditious, and inexpensive procedures for an offeror to consider using before filing a protest, prior to the award of a contract, of the exclusion of the offeror from the competitive range (or otherwise from further consideration) for that contract.
(i) Antitrust violations
If the agency head considers that a bid or proposal evidences a violation of the antitrust laws, such agency head shall refer the bid or proposal to the Attorney General for appropriate action.
(j) Planning for future competition
(1)
(A) In preparing a solicitation for the award of a development contract for a major system, the head of an agency shall consider requiring in the solicitation that an offeror include in its offer proposals described in subparagraph (B). In determining whether to require such proposals, the head of the agency shall give due consideration to the purposes for which the system is being procured and the technology necessary to meet the system’s required capabilities. If such proposals are required, the head of the agency shall consider them in evaluating the offeror’s price.
(B) The proposals that the head of an agency is to consider requiring in a solicitation for the award of a development contract are the following:
(i) Proposals to incorporate in the design of the major system items which are currently available within the supply system of the Federal agency responsible for the major system, available elsewhere in the national supply system, or commercially available from more than one source.
(ii) With respect to items that are likely to be required in substantial quantities during the system’s service life, proposals to incorporate in the design of the major system items which the United States will be able to acquire competitively in the future.
(2)
(A) In preparing a solicitation for the award of a production contract for a major system, the head of an agency shall consider requiring in the solicitation that an offeror include in its offer proposals described in subparagraph (B). In determining whether to require such proposals, the head of the agency shall give due consideration to the purposes for which the system is being procured and the technology necessary to meet the system’s required capabilities. If such proposals are required, the head of the agency shall consider them in evaluating the offeror’s price.
(B) The proposals that the head of an agency is to consider requiring in a solicitation for the award of a production contract are proposals identifying opportunities to ensure that the United States will be able to obtain on a competitive basis items procured in connection with the system that are likely to be reprocured in substantial quantities during the service life of the system. Proposals submitted in response to such requirement may include the following:
(i) Proposals to provide to the United States the right to use technical data to be provided under the contract for competitive reprocurement of the item, together with the cost to the United States, if any, of acquiring such technical data and the right to use such data.
(ii) Proposals for the qualification or development of multiple sources of supply for the item.
(3) If the head of an agency is making a noncompetitive award of a development contract or a production contract for a major system, the factors specified in paragraphs (1) and (2) to be considered in evaluating an offer for a contract may be considered as objectives in negotiating the contract to be awarded.
(k) Protest file
(1) If, in the case of a solicitation for a contract issued by, or an award or proposed award of a contract by, the head of an executive agency, a protest is filed pursuant to the procedures in subchapter V of chapter 35 of title 31, and an actual or prospective offeror so requests, a file of the protest shall be established by the procuring activity and reasonable access shall be provided to actual or prospective offerors.
(2) Information exempt from disclosure under section 552 of title 5 may be redacted in a file established pursuant to paragraph (1) unless an applicable protective order provides otherwise.
(l) Agency actions on protests
If, in connection with a protest, the head of an executive agency determines that a solicitation, proposed award, or award does not comply with the requirements of law or regulation, the head of such executive agency—
(1) may take any action set out in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of subsection (b)(1) of section 3554 of title 31; and
(2) may pay costs described in paragraph (1) of section 3554(c) of such title within the limits referred to in paragraph (2) of such section.
(m) Prohibition on release of contractor proposals
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a proposal in the possession or control of an executive agency may not be made available to any person under section 552 of title 5.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to any proposal that is set forth or incorporated by reference in a contract entered into between the agency and the contractor that submitted the proposal.
(3) In this subsection, the term “proposal” means any proposal, including a technical, management, or cost proposal, submitted by a contractor in response to the requirements of a solicitation for a competitive proposal.