Complaint Regarding Award of Competitive Grant

A complaint was made concerning the denial of a grant to a company for feasibility studies for alternative fuels production under a Department of Energy solicitation. The company alleged that the agency's reasons for not funding its proposal were unreasonable, unfair, and arbitrary and capricious. GAO does not review grant awards unless evidence is presented that the agency chose to award grants instead of contracts in order to circumvent procurement statutes or regulations or that a serious conflict of interest was involved. Since the company's complaint did not allege either of these conditions, GAO declined to review the matter. Accordingly, the complaint was dismissed.