[Complaint Concerning Contract Award by Indiana Department of Highways]

A firm complained about a proposed contract award to another firm by the Indiana Department of Highways (IDOH) under a grant from the Federal Highway Administration (FHwA). GAO rendered its decision in response to an expression of interest by a court that was hearing the case. The solicitation was for repairs to a highway and set a goal of 15 percent of the contract bid price for subcontracting to minority business enterprises (MBE). The protester contended that: (1) the awardee's bid was nonresponsive because potential MBE subcontracts listed in its bid amounted to only 9.9 percent of the amount bid and the awardee did not account for its good faith efforts to obtain additional MBE participation; (2) various precedents prohibited the awardee from submitting after bid opening information regarding its efforts to obtain additional MBE participation; (3) FHwA failed to require IDOH to meet various federal requirements regarding the submission of MBE information; and (4) alternatively, the solicitation was ambiguous and that the ambiguity placed the protester at a competitive disadvantage. GAO held that the matter was one of bidder responsibility, not responsiveness, and that the awardee could submit information pertaining to responsibility after bid opening. GAO also held that: (1) the various precedents cited by the protester were not relevant to the specific circumstances of this case; (2) there was no evidence that federal requirements were not met; and (3) the protester did not demonstrate that it was so prejudiced by the ambiguity of the solicitation that the procurement should be resolicited. Accordingly, the complaint was found to be without merit.