[Protest of VA Contract Award]

A firm protested award to any bidder other than itself under a solicitation issued by the Veterans Administration. The protester alleged that: (1) its bid was the only accurate bid; (2) the other bids could not be evaluated by the agency because they were not correctly prepared; and (3) the other bid prices were so low that they must have either been erroneous or the bidders were attempting a buy-in. GAO stated that, if the prices submitted appeared so unreasonably low as to suggest error, the contracting officer was obligated to seek appropriate verification prior to making an award. Furthermore, the submission of a below-cost bid is not a valid basis to challenge an award. Whether the low bidder can adequately perform the contract at the bid price is a matter of responsibility, and GAO will not review an agency's affirmative determination of the awardee's responsibility absent a showing of fraud, bad faith, or failure to apply definitive responsibility criteria, none of which were alleged here. Accordingly, the protest was dismissed and the protester's request for a conference was denied.