[Request for Reconsideration of Decision Addressed to the Joint Committee on Printing]

A firm requested reconsideration of a decision in which GAO stated that it had no objection to the Joint Committee on Printing (JCP) proceeding with the second part of a two-part test comparing non-geographically restricted with geographically restricted contracts in the Washington, D.C., area. In its request for reconsideration, the firm contended that JCP already had ample evidence that the minimum needs of the Government Printing Office (GPO) could be satisfied without geographic restrictions. The firm indicated that this evidence could be compared with data on restricted procurements conducted in the same region between 1982 and 1984 and that GPO should not be permitted to continue to exclude contractors from outside the region while it collects additional data. GAO determined that the firm failed to show that between 1982 and 1984 GPO in fact collected data so that the test would now be unnecessary. As a result, GAO could not conclude that the test was inappropriate. Accordingly, the prior decision was affirmed.