[Protest of CDC Contract Award for Emergency Alert System Maintenance and Repair Services]

A firm protested a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) contract award for emergency alert system maintenance and repair services, contending that CDC should have referred its nonresponsibility determination to the Small Business Administration under certificate-of-competency (COC) procedures. GAO held that COC procedures did not apply to technical proposal deficiencies under a negotiated procurement. Accordingly, the protest was denied.