[Request for Reconsideration of Complaint]

A firm asked GAO to reconsider a decision which dismissed its complaint regarding an agency's award practices in connection with a cooperative agreement for the operation of a rural assistance program. GAO refused to consider the protester's contentions because GAO generally does not review complaints concerning the award of cooperative agreements. The protester contended that GAO should treat a complaint concerning the award of a cooperative agreement in the same manner as a protest concerning the award of a contract and review its allegations of improper agency actions. GAO has consistently declined to review complaints about the propriety of an award of a grant or a cooperative agreement, except where there is some showing that the agency used a cooperative agreement, rather than a contract, to avoid regulatory requirements for competition or that a conflict of interest exists. Since the protester did not make either of these allegations, its protest and request for reconsideration did not meet the criteria for GAO review of cooperative agreement awards. Accordingly, the prior decision was affirmed.