Claim for Proposal Preparation and Other Costs

The protester claimed proposal preparation and other costs with regard to an award under a total small business set-aside procurement. The allegation that the contracting agency fraudulently induced the claimant to submit a proposal which it did not intend to fairly and honestly consider was unsupported on the record and therefore speculative. Since the proposal indicated that an offeror was both a small business concern and a nonprofit corporation, the question of the offeror's eligibility should have been referred to the Small Business Administration (SBA). Even assuming that the agency was arbitrary and capricious in failing to refer the matter to the SBA, the claim submitted by the offeror sixth in line for award failed to show why it should be entitled to recover.