[Protest of Any Treasury Contract Award for Copper-Plated Zinc Coin Blanks]

A firm protested any contract award under a Department of the Treasury solicitation for copper-plated zinc coin blanks, contending that the bid preparation time was insufficient for it to prepare an adequate bid and that the time allowed for delivery of the coin blanks after contract award was so short that only the incumbents could comply with the requirement. GAO held that: (1) the solicitation did provide the minimum 30-day bid preparation time required by the Federal Acquisition Regulation; (2) the protester previously bid on similar procurements and did not explain why it needed 60 days to prepare a bid for this procurement; and (3) there was no evidence of unfair competition, that reasonable prices were not obtained, or that a responsible source was denied an opportunity to compete. GAO also held that: (1) since this procurement was subject to the Walsh-Healey Act requirement that the awardee be a manufacturer or regular dealer, the protester, which met the Walsh-Healey requirement, should have had no trouble complying with the initial delivery schedule; (2) an agency is not required to consider any competitive advantage afforded to an incumbent bidder unless that advantage resulted from preferential or unfair government action; and (3) there was no evidence of such preferential or unfair action. Accordingly, the protest was denied.