[Protest of Air Force Contract Award Alleging Awardee's Bid Unreasonably Low]

A firm protested an Air Force contract award to any other bidder, alleging that the lower bidders' prices were significantly less than the cost of doing the work and reflected a misunderstanding of the invitation for bids' requirements. Therefore, it alleged that the bids should be rejected as unreasonably priced. The submission of a below-cost bid is not illegal and provides no basis for challenging the award of a contract to a responsible contractor. Furthermore, GAO does not review protests concerning affirmative determinations of responsibility absent a showing of fraud or that definitive responsibility criteria have not been met. Neither exception was alleged in this case. Finally, GAO found that the protester's reliance on a Defense Acquisition Regulation was misplaced since the regulation cited applied to unreasonably high bids. Accordingly, the protest was dismissed.