[Protest of Air Force RFP for Cargo Nets]

A firm protested an Air Force multiyear solicitation for cargo nets, contending that the contract format: (1) was improper because the multiyear format would require offerers to anticipate price increases for supplies so the government would not obtain the lowest fixed price possible and would restrict competition; and (2) should be modified to exclude the second-year option, provide for a single-year procurement, and include an economic price adjustment clause. GAO has held that: (1) the expression of the government's requirements in a solicitation must reflect the actual and legitimate minimum needs of the government; (2) the contracting agency has the primary responsibility for determining its minimum needs; (3) it will not question an agency's determination of its needs absent clear evidence that the determination was arbitrary or unreasonable; (4) a difference of opinion between a protester and an agency concerning the agency's needs is not sufficient to upset an agency's determination; (5) a contracting officer may include options in a contract when it is in the government's best interest; and (6) the use of an economic price adjustment clause is at the discretion of the procuring activity. Since the protester failed to demonstrate that the agency's actions were arbitrary, GAO found no basis upon which to question the agency's determination. Accordingly, the protest was denied.