§3704 — Title 41 Public Contracts | U.S. Code

Summary

When a federal agency picks a winner from competitive proposals, a bidder who did not win can ask in writing for a debriefing within 3 days after getting notice of the award. The agency should hold the debriefing, if at all possible, within 5 days after it gets the request. The debriefing must explain key weak or deficient parts of the losing bid; show the awarded contractor’s and the losing bidder’s overall evaluated cost and technical ratings; give the overall ranking of offers; summarize why the award was made; name the make and model if a commercial end item is involved; and answer reasonable questions about whether the agency followed the solicitation and rules. The debriefing cannot give point-by-point comparisons or information exempt under section 552(b) of title 5. Every solicitation must warn that this information may be shared. If a successful protest within one year leads to a new solicitation or new final offers, the agency must give all bidders the same debriefing information. The contracting officer must put a debriefing summary in the contract file.

Title 41, §3704

Public Contracts — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)When a contract is awarded by the head of an executive agency on the basis of competitive proposals, an unsuccessful offeror, on 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.

(b)The executive agency shall debrief the offeror within, to the maximum extent practicable, 5 days after receipt of the request by the executive agency.

(c)The debriefing shall include, at a minimum—

(1)the executive agency’s evaluation of the significant weak or deficient factors in the offeror’s offer;

(2)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;

(3)the overall ranking of all offers;

(4)a summary of the rationale for the award;

(5)in the case of a proposal that includes a commercial product 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

(6)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.

(d)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.

(e)Each solicitation for competitive proposals shall include a statement that information described in subsection (c) may be disclosed in post-award debriefings.

(f)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 the executive agency shall make available to all offerors—

(1)the information provided in debriefings under this section regarding the offer of the contractor awarded the contract; and

(2)the same information that would have been provided to the original offerors.

(g)The contracting officer shall include a summary of the debriefing in the contract file.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 3704(a)41:253b(e)(1) (1st sentence).June 30, 1949, ch. 288, title III, § 303B(e), as added Pub. L. 103–355, title I, § 1064(2), Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3268; Pub. L. 104–106, title XLI, § 4104(b)(1), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 645. 3704(b)41:253b(e)(1) (last sentence). 3704(c)41:253b(e)(2). 3704(d)41:253b(e)(3). 3704(e)41:253b(e)(4). 3704(f)41:253b(e)(5). 3704(g)41:253b(g) (related to 41:253b(e)).June 30, 1949, ch. 288, title III, § 303B(g) (related to § 303B(e)), as added Pub. L. 104–106, title XLI, § 4104(b)(3), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 645.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Subsec. (c)(5). Pub. L. 115–232 substituted “commercial product” for “commercial item”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2018 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Jan. 1, 2020, subject to a

Savings Provision

, see section 836(h) of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as an

Effective Date

of 2018 Amendment;

Savings Provision

note under section 453b of Title 6, Domestic Security.

§3704 Post-award debriefings

Summary

Title 41, §3704

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Savings Provision

Effective Date

Savings Provision

Citations & Metadata