Protest Involving Awardee's Responsiveness, Responsibility, and Allegedly Unlawful Practices

A protester to a contract award contended that the awardee was nonresponsible, submitted a nonresponsive bid at an unreasonably low price, and that the protester was denied the opportunity to compete because of the awardee's unlawful practices. Questions of a bidder's responsibility are not reviewed by GAO in the absence of definitive responsibility criteria in the solicitation or evidence of fraud. The protest was denied because: the failure to furnish an affidavit regarding affiliates was not a material deviation from the solicitation and may be waived; the possibility of a buy-in did not provide a basis for challenging the award; and rejection of the bid for too low a price required a determination of nonresponsibility which was not the case here. An alleged violation of antitrust laws was a matter for determination by the Department of Justice.