Subcontractor Responsibility and Bid Responsiveness

The protester objected to the contract award on the bases that the low bid was nonresponsive and that the subcontractor listed by the low bidder was nonresponsible. The allegation concerning the subcontractor's responsibility was not reviewed. The formally advertised solicitation contained duplicate subcontractor listings and bid submission requirements, and the low bid listed two different subcontractors on separate headings under the same work category. The low bid need not have been rejected as nonresponsive since the record disclosed no practical opportunity to bid shop, the bidder was not given a chance to clarify the bid, and there was no legal reason to preclude the contracting officer from making binding the determination as to what was intended by the bidder.