[Protest of VA Contract Award]

A defaulted contractor protested a reprocurement award to another firm under a solicitation issued by the Veterans Administration (VA) for completion of work initiated under the terminated contract. The contracting officer rejected the protester's low proposal, stating that an offer received from a defaulted contractor in an amount exceeding the original contract balance is not eligible for consideration. The protester contended that the solicitation contained changes to the original drawings that increased the scope of work and justified a higher price. GAO held that a repurchase contract may not be awarded to a defaulted contractor at a price that would give it more than the terminated contract because that would be tantamount to modification of the original contract without consideration. GAO declined to consider the protester's argument that this was not a reprocurement due to the changes in the solicitation. This allegation disputed a matter of fact and was a matter of contract administration for resolution by the VA Board of Contract Appeals, to which the protester had appealed the default termination. Accordingly, the protest was denied.