[Protest of Air Force Rejection of Proposal for Sewer and Pipe Cleaning Trucks]

A firm protested the Air Force's rejection of its bid under a solicitation for sewer and pipe cleaning trucks, contending that the contracting officer improperly influenced the Small Business Administration (SBA) to reject its request for a certificate of competency. GAO held that: (1) the Air Force properly communicated its negative views of the protester's responsibility to SBA, since the Federal Acquisition Regulation encouraged full exchange of information between the contracting officer and SBA; (2) the protester failed to show that SBA accepted the Air Force's views without conducting its own investigation; and (3) it would not conduct an investigation for the purpose of establishing whether the protester had a valid basis for protest. Accordingly, the protest was denied.