[Complaint Regarding Specifications for Housing Authority Project]

A firm complained that the project specifications listed by the city of Pittsburgh's Housing Authority did not include its product as one of the acceptable brand name products. The project was funded in part by modernization funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The record showed that the complainant wrote to the Housing Authority regarding the failure to include its product as a brand name. The parties were still corresponding when bids were opened, but the complainant took no further action. It then filed its complaint with GAO over 2 months after bid opening. Bid protest procedures require that following a protest to the procuring activity any subsequent protest must be filed within 10 working days after the initial adverse agency action. GAO found that the opening of bids without the agency taking the requested action was the initial adverse agency action. While these procedures are not directly applicable to grant complaints, GAO believed a delay of over 2 months after bid opening was unreasonable and the complaint was dismissed without consideration.