[Protest of NIH Contract Award for Laser Scanning System]

A firm protested a National Institutes of Health (NIH) contract award for a laser scanning system, contending that NIH: (1) improperly rejected its bid, since its product complied with the solicitation's salient requirements; and (2) should have awarded it the contract, since it was the low bidder. GAO held that NIH properly: (1) determined that the protester's bid was nonresponsive, since its descriptive material indicated that its product did not meet the solicitation requirements; and (2) rejected the protester's nonresponsive bid, despite possible monetary savings to the government. Accordingly, the protest was denied.