[Request for Reconsideration of Dismissal of Protest Against Subcontract Award for Medical Sterilizers]

A firm requested reconsideration of the dismissal of its protest against a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) prime contractor's subcontract award for medical equipment, contending that HHS, not the contractor, should select the subcontractor since the equipment would be paid for with federal funds. GAO held that: (1) since the prime contractor did not act as an intermediary between the government and the subcontractor, the subcontractor was not working for the government; and (2) it would not consider a protest against a subcontract that was not made by or for the government. Accordingly, the prior dismissal was affirmed.