[Protest of SEC Lease Award for Office and Related Space]

A firm protested a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lease award for office and related space, contending that the awardee had an unfair competitive advantage, since it was able to offer a below-cost bid. GAO held that SEC: (1) was not required to offset the effects on the awardee of the alleged subsidy, since its competitive advantage was not the result of preferential or unfair SEC action; and (2) properly awarded the lease to the low bidder. Accordingly, the protest was dismissed.