Protest Against Award of Contract to Other Than Low Bidder

Pursuant to an order by the U.S. Court of Appeals that deferred action until GAO ruled on a protest against a contract award, the three parties to the dispute submitted briefs to GAO for consideration. One company alleged that it was improperly denied the award, citing significantly lower prices. The proposal evaluation criteria listed the technical/operations and maintenance area as of paramount importance and the technical/phase-in area as of critical importance, with the cost area listed as the fourth consideration and rated only significantly important. Although the record indicated that the protester was downgraded in various technical areas due to the low costs quoted, the record also demonstrated that the awardee's technical superiority rather than the protester's cost deficiencies determined the award selection. The contract award was proper, and the protest should be denied.