[Protest of HHS Rejection of Proposal as Technically Unacceptable]

A firm protested the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) rejection of its bid under a solicitation for business office services, contending that: (1) HHS improperly evaluated its proposal as technically unacceptable; (2) the project manager improperly participated in the evaluation and reduced its technical score; (3) its proposed costs were significantly lower than the awardee's; and (4) HHS should reimburse it for its proposal preparation costs. GAO held that: (1) HHS reasonably determined that the protester's proposal was unacceptable for a variety of reasons; (2) the contracting officer properly consulted with the project manager in evaluating the protester's proposal; (3) the protester's lower proposed costs were insignificant given that its proposal was technically unacceptable; and (4) given the failure of the protest, the claim was without merit. Accordingly, the protest and claim were denied.