Protest against the Inclusion of Bid, Performance, and Payment Bond Requirements in an Invitation for Bids

The protester objected to the inclusion of bid, performance, and payment bond requirements in an Invitation for Bids for janitorial services at a hospital. It is within the discretion of a contracting officer to determine whether or not to impose bonding requirements for individual procurements for other than construction work, and the decision to include the bonding requirements was reasonable in procurement for hospital housekeeping services because of the potentially severe financial and medical risks involved.