Latvian Connection LLC Shareefa Complex 5th Floor Kuwait City, Kuwait Tel: 001 965 950 50 775

June 5, 2013 BY REGISTERED EMAIL

General Counsel Government Accounting Office 441 G Street, NW Washington DC 20548 Email: Protests@gao.gov Attn: Procurement Law Control Group, Room 1139
RE: Pre-Award Protest against the Department of the Air Force, 386 ECONS RFQ FA5703-13-T-0012 for Automatic Transfer Switches for not being a Small Business Set-Aside exclusively for U.S. Registered Small Business

Dear Procurement Law Group: Latvian Connection General Trading and Construction LLC, ( LC LLC), Shareefa Complex, 5th Floor, Kuwait City, Kuwait, tel: [001 965 5012 2072]. Email: [keven.barnes@LatvianConnectionLLC.com] , a SAMS Registered company ( DUNS 830587791 and CAGE 5GLB3, with a LOCAL office in Kuwait, DUNS 534749622 and CAGE SGM59 submits this Pre- Award Protest against Shaw AFBs 386 ECONS purchase that is in excess of $ 3,000 in value ( Exhibit 1). 386 ECONS is part of Shaw AFB, S.C. ( Exhibit 23 ) and the main contracting office is located at 524 Shaw Dr. Suite 235, Shaw AFB, South Carolina, 29152. 386 ECONs has conducted purchase that have has a value far in excess of $ 3,000.00, but less than $ 1,000,000 ( Exhibit 1 ), yet will not set-aside the solicitation exclusively for Small Business. (Exhibit 22) Since 386 ECONS is located overseas, and the contracting officers claim they are in contingency operations, then FAR 2.101 applies for Small Businesses. ( Exhibit 16 ) b. Increased simplified acquisition threshold. Once a contingency operation has been declared, an agency head may increase the SAT from $150,000 to $300,000 for purchases inside the United States and $1 million for purchases outside the United States, when those supplies or services are used to support the contingency operation. Increasing this threshold will also raise the small business set-aside thresholds. (See FAR 2.101 Exhibit 16) This GAO Pre-Award protest will address the recently approved and enacted 112th Congress SMALL BUSINESS CONTRACTING ACT of 2012 and the fact that there are no exclusions or restrictions to the Act. FAR 19.601 (e) specifically states: (e) Contracting officers, including those located overseas, are required to comply with this subpart for U.S. small business concerns. This Pre-Award protest will show the legal opinions already given by Small Business Administration lawyer, Mrs. Laura Mann Eyester B-407391( Exhibit 20 ) where the SBA Senior Attorney Mrs. Mann Eyester and SBA Associate General Counsel John W. Klein have stated: 48 C.F.R. 2.101 The Small Business Act states that small business set-asides are mandatory for the acquistition of supplies and services valued from $ 2,500 to $ 100,000. 15 U.S.C. 644 (j)(1). However 41 U.S.C. 431a(a) (1) states that the Federal Acquisition Regulatory[FAR] Council shall adjust each acquisition-related dollar threshold provided by law, as described in subsection (c) of this section to the baseline constant dollar value of that threshold. The FAR Council published a final rule on August 30, 2012, which implemented these inflationary adjustments. 75 Fed. Reg. 53129. As a result of 41 U.S.C. 431a and the final rule, the FAR now states: (a) Before setting aside an acquisition under this paragraph, refer to 19.203(b). Each acquisition of supplies or services that has an anticipated dollar value exceeding $ 3,000 ($15,000 for acquisitions as described in 13.201(g)(1), but not over $ 150,000 ( $ 300,000 for acquisitions described in paragraph (1) of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold definition at 2.101), is automatically reserved exclusively for small business concerns and shall be set aside for small business unless the contracting officer determines there is not a reasonable expectation of obtaining offers from two or more responsible small business concerns that are competitive in terms of market prices, quality, and delivery. If the contracting officer does not proceed with a small business

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set-aside and purchases on an unrestricted basis, the contracting officer shall include in the contract file the reason for this unrestricted purchase. If the contracting officer receives only one acceptable offer from a responsible small business concern in response to a set-aside, the contracting officer should exclusively for the small business concerns unless the contracting officer is unable to obtain offers from two or more small business concerns that are competitive with market prices and are competitive with regard to quality and delivery of the goods and services being purchased. (Exhibit 20 pg 2-3) The Air Force use AFFARS 9952.900-H904 ( Enhanced Small Business Participation ) ( Exhibit 5 ) is consistently found in Air Force Prime Contracts and stipulates that there is a goal of 20% of all subcontracts be with Small Business inside or outside the United States. The Air Force Compliance Checklist ( Exhibit 7 )

Public Law 95-907, Federal Acquisition Regulations, AFFARS; Air Force Checklists, Air Force Training Guides; Memos from the President; the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense; the Office of the Department of the Air Forces MG Wendy Masiello and Joseph M. Dades; 112th Congress; and the legal opinion of the Small Business Administrations lawyer all support that there is a mandatory set-aside for all solicitations with a value between $ 3,000 and $ 150,000 that does apply to U.S. Air Forces Central (AFCENT), Shaw AFB, and their 386 ECONS contracting office. MG Masiello (USAF) in her position as Deputy Assistant Secretary ( Contracting )/ Assistant Secretary ( Acquisition) along with Joseph M. Dades (SES) in his position as Director of Small Business Programs for the Air Force state in their memo dated December 13, 2012: On July 11, 2012, the Director of Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy, USD(AT&L), and the Office of Small Business Programs issued a memo to remind the Department ( AF) of the statutory requirement to automatically set aside contracts for small business when the anticipated contract value is at or below the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT) but exceeds the micro-purchase threshold unless the rule of 2 is not met, and also requested efforts be taken to ensure this requirement is consistently followed ( Attachment 1 of the Memo ) An internal analysis of the Air Force FY12 contracts awarded to small businesses within the dollar thresholds specified above, indicates a need for improvement in this area (Attachment 2). The findings show the Air Force awarded 67.54% of these contracts to small business. These findings are cause for concern, and you are requested to ascertain whether your organization is falling short of its requirement to exclusively reserve these contracts for small businesses when the rule of two is met in accordance with FAR 19.502, unless an exception applies and is documented by the contracting officer. Automatic small business set-asides for acquisitions between the thresholds identified above are part of our longterm strategy to promote competition in the Air Force marketplace. ( Exhibit 10) (July 11, 2012 memo Exhibit 27) Latvian Connection LLC believes also that an Agency overseas does not have the option to not set-aside solicitations when there is set-aside competition in the area of the Middle East. Because Latvian Connection LLC is a Veteran Owned Small Business ( VOSB ) it specifically requests that this GAO Pre-Award protest be referred to the Small Business Administration for their review and comment.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In accordance with 4 C.F.R. 21.1 (c ) (1), the relevant electronic mail address for this protest is keven.barnes@LatvianConnectionLLC.com ( Representative for the Protester Latvian Connection General Trading and Construction LLC) The Contracting Officer for this procurement is Patricia Steinmann, Department of the Air Force, 386 ECONS, Ali Al Salem Air Base, Bldg 592 APO AE 09855. Ms Steinmanns telephone number is 0119659724 8939, and her email is patricia.steinmann@asaf.afcent.af.mil

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The General Counsel U.S. Government Accountability Office June 5, 2013 Per FAR 33.103 Protests to the agency (2) Latvian Connection LLC Shareefa Complex Kuwait City, Kuwait Representative of Protester: Keven Barnes, CEO Email keven.barnes@LatvianConnectionLLC.com The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) should sustain this protest, stay the performance of the Contract, and direct the Department of the AIR FORCE and 386 ECONS of Shaw AFB, S.C.s AFCENT to setaside this solicitation and all requests that have a value between $ 3,000 and $ 1,000,000,000 for U.S. Small Business according to Federal Acquisition Regulations 2.101, 19.601, 19.502-1, 19.502-2, 19.502-4, 19.502-5, PUBLIC LAW 95-907, and the Small Business Contracting Act of 2012, and for overseas, purchases less than $ 1,000,000 set-aside exclusively for Small Business and excluding all non-Small Business entities that do not qualify under as a U.S. Small Business. INTERESTED PARTY STATUS As discussed below LC LLC seeks to compete for the contract that the proposed RFQ (Exhibit 1). Latvian Connection LLC incorporates all the below facts and (Exhibits) into this Interested Party Status section. Further, if this protest is sustained and Department of the Air Force and 386 ECONS of Shaw AFB, S.C.s AFCENT evaluates Latvian Connections timely proposal, LC LLC, a VOSB, responsible offeror will have a reasonable chance of winning the Contract. Therefore, Latvian Connection LLC is an actual offeror whose direct economic interest is affected by the award of the Contract and hence, an interested party. 31 U.S.C. 3551 (2000); FAR 33.101; 4 C.F.R. 21.0(a)(2006); Designer Assoc. , Inc.,B-293226, FEB 12, 2004 C.P.D. 114 at 2. TIMELINESS OF THIS PROTEST The Pre-Award protest against the Department of the Air Force and 386 ECONS of Shaw AFB, S.C.s AFCENT

RFQ dated March 22, 2013 is timely if:

21.2 Time for filing.(a)(1) Protests based upon alleged improprieties in a solicitation which are apparent prior to bid opening or the time set for receipt of initial proposals shall be filed prior to bid opening or the time set for receipt of initial proposals. In procurements where proposals are requested, alleged improprieties which do not exist in the initial solicitation but which are subsequently incorporated into the solicitation must be protested not later than the next closing time for receipt of proposals following the incorporation. This is a pre-award protest and SSgt Cooper has not given a bid due in time or used any Federal Acquisition Regulation clauses while conducting this solicitation even though this RFQ is valued between $ 3,000 and $ 1,000,000, and the bid is due in June 5, 2010 at 4:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. FACTUAL GROUNDS OF THE PROTEST 1. The RFQ The Department of the Air Force and 386 ECONS of Shaw AFB, S.C.s AFCENT issued the RFQ on March 22, 2013. (Exhibit 1) and although the solicitation appears to combine several non-related items, what stands out is that there is a request for 6 Each Automatic Transfer Switches and was posted on May 31, 2013 on the GPE, www.fedbizopps.gov There were brand name only Justification and Approval posted. What is clear is that this is a solicitation that falls in the Small Business Set-Aside range of $ 3,000 to $ 1,000,000 and was not set-aside for U.S. Small Business concerns.

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The General Counsel U.S. Government Accountability Office June 5, 2013 II. Latvian Connection LLCs Proposal

Latvian Connection LLC, a Small Business Administration registered company that is a Veteran-Owned Business (VOSB), should only be competing against other Small Businesses and the solicitation should be marked that the solicitation is exclusively set-aside for U.S. Small Business excluding all businesses that do not qualify under the definitions of a U.S. Registered Small Business. Latvian Connection LLC has submitted a proposal for RFQ FA5703-13T-0012. Request of a ruling by the Comptroller General of the United States Latvian Connection LLC (VOSB) specifically requests that the GAO level Pre-Award protest be referred to the Small Business Administration for their review. Latvian Connection LLC also requests that the Comptroller General of the United States ruling be made about the Pre-Award protest of unnumbered Solicitation for 50 driers and miscellaneous items, and ask the Department of the Air Forcess Shaw AFB (ARCENT) 386 ECONS to take corrective action and set-aside all purchases for U.S. Registered Small Business of which Latvian Connection LLC is one of and has an office located in Kuwait. President Obamas Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget issued a Memorandum on the subject of a April 25, 2012 meeting of the Small Business Procurement Group ( Exhibit 27) and this memo from Joseph G. Jordan, Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, and Karen G. Mills, Administrator of the Small Business Administration state that there were immediate steps to ensure small businesses are utilized to the maximum extent possible. Maximizing Opportunities for Small Businesses under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold Pursuant to longstanding statutory requirements in the Small Business Administration Act, agencies are required to automatically set aside work for small businesses that is equal to or less that the value of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) (generally $ 150,000) unless the contracting officer determines the rule of two cannot be met ie. There is not a reasonable expectation of obtaining offers from two or more responsible small business concerns that are competitive in terms of market prices, quality, and delivery. Mr. Jordan and Ms Mills go on to say that a third-party analysis of the Federal Procurement Data System suggest that a significant amount of work under the SAT is not going to small businesses, including for products and services in industries where small businesses are typically well represented. This suggests that opportunities for small businesses are being lost, and that agencies must take additional steps to consistently apply set-asides in the manner prescribed by law and regulation . REQUEST FOR HEARING OR CONFERENCE AND PROTECTIVE ORDER If the issues in this case cannot be resolved on the basis of the documents requested, then Latvian Connection LLC requests a hearing on all of the matters set forth above. 4 C.F.R. 21.1 (d)(2008). LC LLC does not request a protective order. LEGAL GROUNDS OF PROTEST There is Overwhelming Evidence of Latvian Connection LLC that Shaw AFBs 386 ECONS are not automatically setting aside solicitations under SAT for small business and have not done for years. The legal grounds that support this Pre-Award Protest are: FAR 2.101 ( Exhibit 16) b. Increased simplified acquisition threshold. Once a contingency operation has been declared, an agency head may increase the SAT from $150,000 to $300,000 for purchases inside the United States and $1 million for purchases outside the United States, when those supplies or services are used to support the contingency operation. Increasing this threshold will also raise the small business set-aside thresholds. (See FAR 2.101.) I.

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The General Counsel U.S. Government Accountability Office June 5, 2013 Public Law 95-507, The Small Business Act (Exhibit 6) On October 24, 1978, President Carter signed Public Law 95-507 amending the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, making federal procurement contracting more readily accessible to all small businesses. PL 95-507 stipulates that it is the policy of the Government to provide maximum practicable opportunities in its acquisitions to small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses and women-owned businesses. This stipulation also extends to having the The head of each agency is responsible for effectively implementing the small business programs within his agency, including setting and achieving yearly procurement opportunity program (POP) goals for small and small disadvantaged business contracting. FAR 6.203-206 & 19.5/219.5 (Exhibit 2) From the Defense Procurement Acquisition and Policy Defense Pricing DOMESTIC PREFERENCE RESTRICTIONS AFFECTING PURCHASES BY, OR ON BEHALF OF, DoD table,

Competitive procedures, but excluding other than small business, small disadvantaged business concerns, historically Black colleges, and universities, and minority institutions, HUBZone small business concerns, and/or service disabled veteran owned small business concerns. Ms Steinmann did not exclude local foreign business from this solicitation for the driers ( Exhibit 1) FAR 19.601 (Exhibit 3) (e) Contracting officers, including those located overseas, are required to comply with this subpart for U.S. small business concerns.

Air Force Contracting Compliance Inspection Checklist (Exhibit 7 slide 2) The Air Force have a checklist that is used in their procurements

Latvian Connection LLC is one U.S. Small Business in Kuwait and there other others. Trade Links USA, SMI, American General Trading, to name but a few Small Businesses in Kuwait, and as the Senior Attorney from the Small Business Administration stated in her review comments to the GAO for B-407391, Protest of Latvian Connection LLC, Request for Reconsideration, Dec 12, 2012, 15(j) of the Small Business Act, 19.502-2 of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), and GAO rulings on small business set-asides, all of which state that small business set-asides below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) are automatic; in other words, a contracting officer must set-aside the acquisition for small business unless he/she can demonstrate that the agency will not receive at least two competitive offers from small businesses.

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The General Counsel U.S. Government Accountability Office June 5, 2013 First, the Small Business Act provides for an automatic set-aside, or reservation, for small businesses for acquisitions valued below SAT as follows: (j)Small business reservation (1) Each contract for the purchase of goods and services that has an anticipated value of greater than $ 2,500 but not greater than $ 100,000 shall be reserved exclusively for small business concerns unless the contracting officer is unable to obtain offers from two or more small business concerns that are competitive with the market prices and are competitive with regard to the quality and delivery of the goods or services being purchased. 15 U.S.C. 644 ( emphasis added). In other words, every acquisition under the SAT is reserved for small businesses unless the contracting officer will be unable to obtain offers from two or more small businesses. Moreover, the statute states that it is up to the contracting officer not a specific small business advocating for a small business set-aside, not SBA, and not any other entity to perform adequate market research to be able to make a determination that there are not at least two small businesses capable of performing the requirement. (Exhibit 21) 19.502-1 Requirements for setting aside acquisitions. (Exhibit 8) (a) The contracting officer shall set aside an individual acquisition or class of acquisitions for competition among small businesses when (1) It is determined to be in the interest of maintaining or mobilizing the Nations full productive capacity, war or national defense programs; or (2) Assuring that a fair proportion of Government contracts in each industry category is placed with small business concerns; and the circumstances described in 19.502-2 or 19.502-3(a) exist.

19.502-2 Total small business set-asides. (Exhibit 9) (a) Each acquisition of supplies or services that has an anticipated dollar value exceeding $3,000 ($15,000 for acquisitions as described in 13.201(g)(1)), but not over $100,000 ($250,000 for acquisitions described in paragraph (1) of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold definition at 2.101), is automatically reserved exclusively for small business concerns and shall be set aside for small business unless the contracting officer determines there is not a reasonable expectation of obtaining offers from two or more responsible small business concerns that are competitive in terms of market prices, quality, and delivery. If the contracting officer does not proceed with the small business set-aside and purchases on an unrestricted basis, the contracting officer shall include in the contract file the reason for this unrestricted purchase. If the contracting officer receives only one acceptable offer from a responsible small business concern in response to a set-aside, the contracting officer should make an award to that firm. If the contracting officer receives no acceptable offers from responsible small business concerns, the set-aside shall be withdrawn and the requirement, if still valid, shall be resolicited on an unrestricted basis. The small business reservation does not preclude the award of a contract with a value not greater than $100,000 under Subpart 19.8, Contracting with the Small Business Administration, under 19.1007(c), Solicitations equal to or less than the ESB reserve amount, or under 19.1305, HUBZone set-aside procedures. (b) The contracting officer shall set aside any acquisition over $100,000 for small business participation when there is a reasonable expectation that (1) offers will be obtained from at least two responsible small business concerns offering the products of different small business concerns (but see paragraph (c) of this subsection); and (2) award will be made at fair market prices. Total small business set-asides shall not be made unless such a reasonable expectation exists The Contracting Officer did not follow this Federal Acquisition Regulation, and instead solicited companies that were not qualified as small businesses. The contracting officer did not set-aside the original RFQ for small business. 19.502-5 Insufficient causes for not setting aside an acquisition. (Exhibit 11) None of the following is, in itself, sufficient cause for not setting aside an acquisition: (a) A large percentage of previous contracts for the required item(s) has been placed with small business concerns.

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(b) The item is on an established planning list under the Industrial Readiness Planning Program. However, a total small business set-aside shall not be made when the list contains a large business Planned Emergency Producer of the item(s) who has conveyed a desire to supply some or all of the required items. (c) The item is on a Qualified Products List. However, a total small business set-aside shall not be made if the list contains the products of large businesses unless none of the large businesses desire to participate in the acquisition. (d) A period of less than 30 days is available for receipt of offers. (e) The acquisition is classified. (f) Small business concerns are already receiving a fair proportion of the agencys contracts for supplies and services. (g) A class small business set-aside of the item or service has been made by another contracting activity. (h) A brand name or equal product description will be used in the solicitation. To date, there has not been a legal reason given by the Contracting Commander, Col Joseph Martin, or the Air Forces Deputy Assistant Secretary, MG Wendy Masiello, (USAF), or the Contracting Officer, Ms Steinmann, as to why Shaw AFBs 386 ECONS contracting office refuses to set-aside solicitations under SAT as directed by: President Obamas Executive Office Office of Management and Budget Office of the Under Secretary of Defense Air Force Senior Procurement Executives Air Force Small Business Directors Federal Acquisition Regulations Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations Air Force Instructions The Small Business Act and Small Business Act of 2012

19.502-4 Methods of conducting set-asides. (Exibit 13) (a) Total small business set-asides may be conducted by using simplified acquisition procedures (see Part 13), sealed bids (see Part 14), or competitive proposals (see Part 15). Partial small business set-asides may be conducted using sealed bids (see Part 14), or competitive proposals (see Part 15). SSgt Cooper did not exclude local foreign business from this solicitation for the driers ( Exhibit 1) (Exhibit 14)(Exhibit 19) 15 U.S.C. 644(j): Each contract for the purchase of goods and services that has an anticipated value greater than $2,500 but not greater than $100,000 (recently raised to $3,000 and $150,000) shall be reserved exclusively for small business concerns. The interim rule issued by DoD, GSA and NASA provides for the use of small business set-asides on GSA Schedule contracts but only at the discretion of the federal agency. This is unacceptable in particular because when federal regulators originally passed a rule at section 8.4 of the FAR exempting GSA Schedule contracts from FAR 19, they exceeded the scope of their authority and went against the original congressional intent of the Small Business Act. The interim rule is nothing more than an egregious attempt on the part of federal regulators to grant federal agencies the authority to decide whether or not to recognize the constitutional rights of small business concerns. Moreover, in 2007 the Small Business Administration offered a legal opinion to the GAO, which stated that, according to statute and regulations, small business set asides are mandatory for acquisitions valued from $3,000 to $100,000 (upgraded to $150,000 in 2011) and take priority over GSA Schedule contracts. This interpretation is consistent with the declared and unambiguous intent of Congress as it relates to Federal procurement and small Businesses. In other words, agencies do not have any latitude on the matter. (Exhibit 15) FAR Part 19 also recognizes VOSBs, see FAR 19.201(a) (It is the policy of the Government to provide maximum practicable opportunities in its acquisitions to small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteranowned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns.) (emphasis added), although no separate VOSB program like the set-aside program for SDVOSBs is found in FAR Part 19.

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Latvian Connection LLC is a VOSB Veteran Owned Small Business as applicable to FAR Part 19 and the Small Business Act. FAR 2.101 (Exhibit 16) b. Increased simplified acquisition threshold. Once a contingency operation has been declared, an agency head may increase the SAT from $150,000 to $300,000 for purchases inside the United States and $1 million for purchases outside the United States, when those supplies or services are used to support the contingency operation. Increasing this threshold will also raise the small business set-aside thresholds. (See FAR 2.101.) AIR FORCE INSTRUCTION 64-117 - INCIRLIK, TURKEY (Exhibit 22) COMPLIANCE WITH THIS PUBLICATION IS MANDATORY

2.1.2. The GPC may be used to purchase authorized supplies, equipment, and non-personal services up to the micropurchase threshold (currently $2,500). See paragraph 2.2.10 regarding use of the GPC for construction. Purchases under $2,500 are exempt from the Competition in Contracting Act, Buy American Act, Economy Act, Service Contract Act, and the Small Business Set-Aside Program. Non-personal services are further divided into recurring and non-recurring services.
The Air Forces Instruction implies that above $ 2500, the Small Business Set-Aside Program does apply. Incirlik Air Base is an overseas USAF base located in Turkey. Air Force Material Command Training (Exhibit 24 slide 21)
1Note: SAPs awarded in Micro-purchase to $150K range are reserved for Small Businesses 2Contingency Contracting micro-purchase threshold for supplies/services is $15,000 in USA and $25,000 outside USA

This Command of the U.S. Air Force recognizes that $ 3,000 to $ 150,000 is reserved for Small Businesses even overseas. Memo from Office of Under Secretary of Defense, July 12, 2012 (Exhibit 26) From Richard Ginman, Director of Defense Acquisition and Procurement Policy Andre J. Grudger, Director of Small Business Programs Subject: Increasing Opportunities for Small Business through Small Business Set-Asides under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold.

Nowhere in the memo is there a mention that there is exclusion overseas.

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The General Counsel U.S. Government Accountability Office June 5, 2013 (Exhibit 20) In the legal opinion and analysis of B-407391, SBAs Senior Attorney stated that the GAO gave deference to the SBAs interpretation of its statute, citing Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v Natural Resources Defense Council Inc., 467 U.S. 837(1984) and the GAO state that wen a statute under consideration creates a program to be administered by the SBA it is the views of the SBA, rather than [another agency], to which our Office will afford deference. General Service Administration Reconsideration, B-406040.2, Oct 4, 2012. In this case, we are interpreting 15 U.S.C. 644(a) & 644(j), which are set forth in 15 of the Small Business Act. The Small Business Act specifically provides that: Small Business Administration ( herein referred to as the Administration) 15 U.S.C. 633. Congress granted SBA the authority to administer the Act. As a result, GAO must afford SBA deference over the FAR in creating policy and interpreting the Small Business Act, especially when the two conflict. SBAs regulations on this issue state the following: (f) Contracting Among Small Business Programs (1) Acquisitions Valued At or Below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold. The contracting officer shall set aside acquisition with an anticipated dollar value exceeding the Micro-Purchase Threshold but not exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (defined in the FAR at 48 CFR 2.101) for small business concerns when there is reasonable expectation that offers will be obtained from at least two small business concerns that are competitive terms of quality, and delivery and award will be made at fair market prices. The SBA Senior attorney went on to state that 13 C.F.R. 125.2 (f); 13 C.F.R. 124.503(j), 125.19(b), 126.607(b), 127.503(d), SBAs regulations require a contracting officer to set-aside all acquisitions valued above or below the simplified acquisition threshold for small businesses, including those awarded and/or performed overseas, if market research indicates that the rule of two may be met. As a result, we believe that the FAR is inconsistent with SBAs regulations and the SBAs regulations should control. See C & G Excavating, Inc., v U.S, 32 Fed.C1. 231, 239 (1994) (Where there is a conflict between SBAs regulations on the COC program and the FAR the SBAs procedures generally should control, especially considering that the SBA is the agency charged with issuing COCs, not DoD, GAO, or NASA.) Hawpe Const., Inc., v U.S. 46 Fed.C1. 571, 582 (2000) (Conflicts between FAR and SBA regulations should be resolved by looking to the SBAs latest intent on the issue and by relying on the SBA to determine which provision best implements the policies of the agency itself.) Finally, we note that GAO has addressed this issue already, with respect to the SBAs COC Program. In Discount Machinery & Equipment. Inc., the Panama Canal Commission believed that FAR 19.000(b) precluded the SBAs review of any Federal procurement if the procuring agency is located outside the United States. The GAO stated that: Based on our review of the Small Business Act and the applicable regulations, we find that the location of the Contracting agency has no bearing on the applicability of SBAs COC program. Nothing in the Small Business Act imposes any geographic limitation regarding a contracting agencys location which would exempt procurements from the Acts coverage. Rather the factor which determines whether a small business concern qualifies for SBAs COC proceedings is the nationality of the business. The SBA Senior attorney went on to cite one more case to show that the Small Business Act does apply overseas. Discount Machinery & Equipment, Inc., 70 Comp. Gen. 108, B-240525, 90-2 CPD 420 (1990) (Emphasis added ) Interestingly, the GAO further states that it believes the Small Business Administration Act applies to agencies located outside the United States. This legal analysis was given by SBA Senior Attorney Laura Mann Eyester and John Klien, Associate General Counsel for Procurement Law for the SBA. (Exhibit 20) 386 ECONs Shaw Air Force Bases contracting office conducted a Total Small Business Set-Aside solicitation for Fire Control Panel Benchstock with a delivery to their Kuwait location and utilized www.fbo.gov and gave the applicable and appropriate FAR clauses. ( Exhibit 4) Yet when the contracting officer from 386 ECONS conducts a solicitation from

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The General Counsel U.S. Government Accountability Office June 5, 2013 Kuwait, it is not set-aside for U.S. Small Business. The Air Force is conducting a current solicitation that is a Section 8a Set-Aside with performance in Kuwait and ONLY overseas locations.( Exhibit 18) Air Force Combat Command Postal Operations Service - FA4889-13-R-0005 FBO and this too is being conducted on www.fbo.gov . The locations will be Transit Center Manas, Kyrgyzstan, Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, and Al Dhafra Air Base, UAE, Non-U.S. Section 8a solicitations are set-asides and monthly they appear from various agencies in Kuwait and the Middle East, yet, Shaw Air Force Bases 386 ECONS will not set-aside solicitations according to another part of the same Small Business Act that Section 8a is derived from. II. Contracting officers generally are required to set aside for small business all procurements exceeding $150,000 if there is a reasonable expectation of receiving fair market price offers from at least two responsible small business concerns. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 19.502-2(b). A partial set-aside must be made if a total set-aside is not appropriate, the requirement is severable into two or more economic production runs or reasonable lots, and one or more small business concerns are expected to have the technical competence and productive capacity to satisfy the set-aside portion at a reasonable price. FAR 19.502-3(a). FAR 19.202-2 generally requires contracting officers, before issuing solicitations, to make every reasonable effort to find additional small business concerns and to maximize small business participation. The Air Forces Shaw AFBs 386 ECONS made no effort at all to locate small business concerns in Kuwait. This solicitation exceeds $ 150,000 in value. The Air Forces (ARCENT) Shaw AFBs 386 ECONS was Unreasonable

III.

By Contracting Officer, Ms Steinmann not conducting a set-aside solicitation as required by the FAR and the Small Business Act, the contracting officer acted unreasonably. This Pre-Award protest clearly demonstrates that this solicitation should first be conducted exclusively for small business set-asides and apply the rule of two. IV. Latvian Connection LLC Has Been Prejudiced

Prejudice requires a reasonable likelihood that Latvian Connection LLC would have been awarded the Contract if we had been allowed the opportunity had been conducted as a Small Business Set-Aside that fell into the U.S. Dollar value range of $ 3,000 to $ 1,000,000. Such a determination is not susceptible to a precise mathematical calculation; rather, prejudice requires only that but for the agencys actions, the protestors would have had a reasonable chance of receiving the award. Anthem Alliance for Health, Inc., TRICARE Management Activity Reconsideration, B-278189.5, July 13, 1998, 98-2 CPD 66. A reasonable possibility of prejudice therefore is sufficient to sustain the protest. United Intl. Engg., Inc., B-245448.3, Jan 29, 1992, 92-1 C.P.D. 122. Europe Displays, Inc., B-297099. The fact that another Department of Defense Agency conducted a similar solicitation that, yet conducted that solicitation using the Federal Governments required GPE for electronic solicitations www.fbo.gov. ( Exhibit 4 ) to send a message that that solicitation was a total small business set-aside. Latvian Connection LLC has been prejudiced for years by Shaw AFBs 386 ECONS and the contracting office not settingaside exclusively for Small Business for purchases under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold has been prejudicing Latvian Connection LLC since it started its Kuwait office in June 2009.

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The General Counsel U.S. Government Accountability Office June 5, 2013 REQUEST FOR DOCUMENTS Latvian Connection LLC requests that the following materials be included in the agency report, pursuant to 4 C.F.R. 21.1(d)(2008): All Market Research regarding Set-Aside Businesses in Kuwait Signed DD Form 2579, Small Business Coordination Record Bid Abstract and Evaluations All emails, memo for record, regarding this solicitation All documents that refer or relate to the efforts to obtain competition from U.S. Registered Small Businesses in Kuwait. All documents that refer or relate to the efforts to increase competition All documents that refer or relate to the Contracting Officers Market Research REQUEST FOR RELIEF AND CONCLUSION Latvian Connection LLC requests that the agency conduct the RFQ in accordance with the Small Business Act and the Federal Acquisition Regulations and set-aside this, and all future solicitations under SAT for exclusively Small Business. Solicitations with a value exceeding $ 25,000 to be placed on www.fbo.gov and set-aside for the authorized Small Businesses. Should Latvian Connection LLC be the low bidder among the qualified U.S. Small Businesses, then awarded this contract. The Air Force has acknowledged that is has not met its Small Business Goals for the last 2 years ( Exhibit 10) and according to Jodie Lee of Federal News Radio.com in her article on USAID, an agency that operates nearly exclusively overseas, has not met their Small Business Goal for the last 6 years, and one of the reasons is Agencies are not complying with the law. The SBA Senior Lawyer has stated that set-aside are mandatory exclusively for Small Business and the FAR and SBA rules do apply overseas. We also request that Latvian Connection LLC be reimbursed the costs of filing and pursuing its protest, including reasonable protest preparation fees. Bid Protest Regulations 4 C.F.R. 21.8(d)(1) (2010).

Respectfully submitted,

KEVEN L. BARNES

__________________________ Keven L. Barnes CEO Latvian Connection LLC

Digitally signed by KEVEN L. BARNES DN: cn=KEVEN L. BARNES, o=LATVIAN CONNECTION LLC, ou, email=keven.barnes@latvia nconnectionllc.com, c=US Date: 2013.06.05 21:41:40 +03'00'