IS THE G7 DORAL DECISION LEGAL?

Is the decision to host the G7 Summit at the Doral resort legal?  Probably not, but the Government Accountability Office (GAO) should investigate the facts either through its protest jurisdiction if it applies or under its Congressionally approved audit function.  Although the facts at this point are unclear, it appears that a government procurement contract may be or has been awarded to the Trump owned resort complex in violation of procurement statutes and implementing regulations.

The Competition in Contracting Act (CICA), 10 U.S.C 2304 and 41 U.S.C. 3301 require, with certain very limited exceptions for sole source awards, that contracting officers for the government must promote and provide for full and open competition in soliciting offers and in awarding government contracts.  The GAO has jurisdiction to hear protests that the rules were violated.  Prospective bidders can have standing to pursue such protests.  It is unclear whether offers were solicited and if so from which prospective bidders.  (Even if simplified acquisition is used, stringent rules must be followed for selection, approval and transparency.)

The Procurement Integrity Act, 41 U.S.C. 2102 prohibits disclosing procurement information.  The Trump owned complex is a private entity to which a contract may be or has been awarded with the office of the owner overseeing the bidding by other contractors for the contract.  Again, we do not know if there was a bidding process.  If not, CICA is implicated.  Other statues abound, some with criminal penalties which may apply to the process by which the White House reached this decision.

There are circumstances which permit other than full and open competition but they are limited and require careful scrutiny and high level approval within the government acquisition system.  One exception is where only one source is available and no other source will meet the requirements.  Certainly, that is not the case here.  Another exception is for unusual and compelling urgency.  Again, not applicable here.  None of the other exceptions even comes close.  Even in the case of "public interest", which requires high level authority and notification to Congress, there must be proof it is not in the public interest to have competition.

So, we question the legality of the G7 Doral decision and call upon prospective competing bidders to file protests at GAO and we ask GAO to conduct an audit of how this decision was made.

bill@spriggsconsultingservices.com            bill@spriggslawgroup.com