[Protest of VA Contract Award]

A firm protested a Veterans Administration (VA) contract award for emergency boiler repairs, alleging that it was treated unfairly and that VA and the awardee acted in concert to exclude it from competition. After receipt of offers, VA issued an amendment to the original solicitation that deleted a set-aside restriction and changed the procurement to a negotiated one under a public exigency exception to formal advertising. During subsequent telephone discussions, the protester informed VA that it could not meet the delivery schedule, and VA awarded the contract to the only other offerer. The protester contended that: (1) it was not solicited; (2) it did not receive a copy of the solicitation until it specifically asked for one; (3) bid closing time was moved up to make competing more difficult; (4) no public bid opening was conducted; and (5) the solicitation was amended after closing to remove the set-aside requirement because the awardee was not a small business. GAO found that: (1) the protester received a copy of the solicitation in sufficient time to compete; (2) the immediate rejection of the protester's proposal by VA upon learning that it could not meet the delivery schedule was justified under the exigent circumstances; (3) the protester presented no evidence to support its allegation regarding the change to the bid closing time; (4) negotiated procurements do not require public bid openings; and (5) the protester did not meet its burden of proving its allegations of bias. Accordingly, the protest was denied.