A firm protested the Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement's (OSMRE) suspension of negotiations with it for automatic data processing support services, contending that: (1) another protester's allegations of a conflict of interest did not constitute a valid basis for suspending negotiations under the small-disadvantaged-business program; and (2) OSMRE im...

There is no legal basis to object to agency's suspension of negotiations with an 8(a) firm pending resolution of protest by another 8(a) firm involving allegations of conflict of interest on the part of the agency's technical project officer in selecting the 8(a) firm for negotiations or to the issuance of a task order for these services within the scope of an existing contract with a third 8(a) c...