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"description": "You should not care.\n\nCategory: Process issue, other\n\nDate: 7 July 2025\n\nURL: https://www.gao.gov/products/b-423591%2Cb-423591.2\n\nAlvarez and Associates, LLC, protested the Department of Veterans Affairs’ RFQ No. 36C10B24Q0030, a GSA Schedule competition for an electronic Freedom of Information Act (eFOIA) software solution supporting VA’s Office of Information and Technology. Alvarez argued that public LinkedIn comments by a former VA FOIA director—posted after a Bloomberg News report criticize",
"path": "/alvarez-and-associates-llc-b-423591-b-423591-2/",
"publishedAt": "2026-03-17T21:45:57.000Z",
"site": "https://washingtonhorizon.com",
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"https://www.gao.gov/products/b-423591%2Cb-423591.2"
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"textContent": "### _You should not care._\n\n**Category:** Process issue, other\n\n**Date:** 7 July 2025\n\n**URL:** https://www.gao.gov/products/b-423591%2Cb-423591.2\n\nAlvarez and Associates, LLC, protested the Department of Veterans Affairs’ RFQ No. 36C10B24Q0030, a GSA Schedule competition for an electronic Freedom of Information Act (eFOIA) software solution supporting VA’s Office of Information and Technology. Alvarez argued that public LinkedIn comments by a former VA FOIA director—posted after a Bloomberg News report criticized Alvarez’s proposed subcontractor, AINS, LLC dba OPEXUS—compromised the integrity of the ongoing procurement, and later alleged a Procurement Integrity Act (PIA) violation tied to purported disclosures of quotation and source-selection information.\n\n**Prejudice and prematurity:** GAO dismissed the initial protest because Alvarez failed to show competitive prejudice; the record showed only that VA had invited Alvarez to proceed to the step-two task demonstration, with no source-selection decision or postcomment agency action to evaluate. GAO treated the protest as speculative and therefore premature.\n\n**PIA allegation timing:** GAO also dismissed the supplemental PIA claim as premature because Alvarez filed at GAO the same day it first provided notice to the agency; GAO generally will not consider PIA-based protests before the agency responds to a timely allegation under GAO’s rules.\n\nThe protest was dismissed because Alvarez remained in the competition and could not demonstrate prejudice, and the PIA claim was procedurally premature.\n\n#### Digest\n\n 1. Protest that does not demonstrate prejudice, and merely reflects speculation regarding the agency's subsequent actions, is dismissed as premature.\n 2. Where protest alleging a Procurement Integrity Act violation was filed on the same day the protester gave the agency notice of the alleged violation, the protest is premature and will not be considered.\n\n",
"title": "Alvarez and Associates, LLC (B-423591; B-423591.2)",
"updatedAt": "2026-03-17T21:45:57.752Z"
}