[Protest of Contract Award Alleging Improper Rejection of Bid]

A firm protested the award of a contract to another firm under a solicitation for bids issued by Federal Prison Industries, Inc., for aluminum-coated, flange material for mattresses. Although the protester was the lowest responsive bidder, the contracting officer requested that a sample of the material be provided by the protester for evaluation after bid opening. The contracting officer found that the material did not meet solicitation specifications. GAO held that: (1) a bid sample requested and submitted after bid opening may not be used to determine bid responsiveness; and (2) the protester was a small business and, as such, its bid could not be rejected without referral of the issue to the Small Business Administration. Accordingly, the protest was sustained; however no remedial relief was available since the contract had been completed.