[Protests of Army Contract Award for M1 Tank Filters]

Two firms protested an Army contract award to an Israeli firm for tank filters, contending that: (1) the award was inconsistent with the Buy American Act; (2) the awardee was buying-in to the contract with Israeli government subsidies; and (3) the awardee, a foreign firm, was not required to comply with the socio economic requirements applicable to domestic firms and had an unfair competitive advantage. GAO found that: (1) since Israel was a defense cooperation country, it was exempt from the act's domestic evaluation preference; (2) agencies are not required to offset foreign government subsidies in evaluating proposals; and (3) procuring agencies are not required to equalize competitive advantages that foreign firms might have because they are not subject to socio economic requirements. Accordingly, the protests were dismissed.