Request for Reconsideration

The Forest Service requested that GAO reconsider a prior decision. In that decision, GAO took exception to a geographic restriction which limited potential offerors on Forest Service surveying contracts to surveyors having an office within a specified distance from the jobsite. Since the request was not filed within 10 working days after the Forest Service received the GAO decision, it was untimely and would not be considered. GAO commented, however, that the Forest Service had misinterpreted the prior decision to preclude all geographic limitations in its solicitation for surveying services. GAO stated that its decision held that it was not proper to restrict offerors to those having an office in a specific locale when the actual requirement was for someone with experience in that locale.