[Protest of Air Force Contract Award for Family Housing Construction]

A firm protested an Air Force contract award for family housing construction, contending that the Air Force: (1) failed to inform it during discussions that its bid price exceeded the government estimate; and (2) improperly evaluated the technical proposals, since it did not account for the significant technical enhancements in its bid. GAO held that the Air Force: (1) was not required to inform the protester during discussions that its bid price exceeded the government estimate; (2) reasonably evaluated the technical proposals in accordance with the stated evaluation criteria; and (3) reasonably determined that the awardee's technically superior lower bid represented the best value to the government. Accordingly, the protest was denied.