[Protest of USDA Nonresponsibility Determination]

A small business protested a contracting officer's determination that it was nonresponsible and therefore not eligible for a contract award under an invitation for bids issued by the Soil Conservation Service. The contracting officer found the protester to be nonresponsible on the basis of its alleged poor management and financial instability. Because he believed the procurement to be urgent, he awarded the contract to the next bidder without referring the matter of the protester's responsibility to the Small Business Administration (SBA) under Certificate of Competency procedures. GAO held that the contracting officer's action was improper because urgency of procurement was not a justifiable reason for not referring the question of the bidder's responsibility to SBA. Accordingly, the protest was sustained; however, no corrective action was possible since the contract had been completed.