[Protest of Army Cancellation of Solicitation for Food Services]

A firm protested the Army's cancellation of a solicitation for food services, contending that the Army: (1) improperly cancelled the solicitation; and (2) should have awarded it the contract as the low responsive, responsible bidder. The protester also claimed reimbursement of costs it incurred in anticipation of receiving the award and bid and protest preparation costs. GAO held that: (1) the Army properly cancelled the solicitation, since it contained defective specifications; (2) the protester was not entitled to award under the defective solicitation, even though the Small Business Administration issued it a certificate of competency; and (3) the protester was not entitled to reimbursement for its bid and protest preparation costs, since the cancellation was proper, and there was no legal basis for recovering costs incurred in anticipation of award. Accordingly, the protest and the claim were denied.