[Request for Reconsideration]

A trade association requested reconsideration of a decision which dismissed its protest concerning the small business set-aside status of the awardee under an Army contract to provide steel wire rope. In dismissing the protest, GAO held that the association was not an interested party because no member of the association had a direct or substantial interest in the procurement. In requesting the reconsideration, the association argued that: (1) the sixth low bidder was an association member and, therefore, had sufficient interest to maintain a protest; (2) the association itself had a direct and substantial interest; and (3) the association had a further interest in ensuring that Government agencies adhere to regulations and laws. In response, GAO held that to confer interested party status on an association where no individual member is an interested party in a particular dispute would enable firms to circumvent GAO regulations to bring protests through an association rather than on their own behalf. Moreover, the association's concern regarding the enforcement of a statute or regulation was insufficient in itself to confer interested party status. Further, GAO pointed out that a challenge to a firm's eligibility for award as a small business set-aside on the grounds that the firm is allegedly furnishing foreign components must be resolved by the Small Business Administration, not GAO. GAO concluded that the association presented no additional facts or legal arguments to show that the earlier decision was erroneous. Accordingly, the prior decision was affirmed.