[Protest of Any Army Contract Awards for Custodial Services]

A firm protested any contract awards under several Army solicitations for custodial work. The contracting officer determined that the protester was nonresponsible based on prior unsatisfactory contract performance. However, the Army did not refer the determination to the Small Business Administration (SBA) under certificate of competency (COC) procedures, believing that such referral was not required in a small purchase situation. GAO found that: (1) the Army referred the matter to SBA after the protester had filed its protest with GAO; (2) in rejecting the protester's bid, the contracting activity was unaware that the small purchase exemption from the requirement for referral of nonresponsibility determinations to SBA had been eliminated from procurement regulations; and (3) the protester would have the opportunity to compete for the contracts if SBA issued a COC. GAO has held that a contracting officer's improper rejection of a low small business offerer without referring the matter to SBA for COC consideration is cured by subsequent referral to SBA; therefore, the protest was moot. Accordingly, the protest was dismissed.