[Protest of Army Corps of Engineers Rejection of Bid as Nonresponsive]

A firm protested the Army Corps of Engineers' rejection of its bid to harvest plants, contending that: (1) the awardee was nonresponsible; (2) the awardee submitted a nonresponsive bid; (3) its bid contained no conflict of interest, since the government employee who signed it no longer substantially owned or controlled the corporation; and (4) the Corps should reimburse it for its bid and protest preparation costs. GAO held that: (1) absent a showing of unreasonableness, it would not overturn the Corps' determination of the awardee's responsibility; (2) the protester was not an interested party since it would not be in line for award even if the awardee was found to be nonresponsive; (3) the Corps properly determined that the protester was ineligible for award due to a conflict of interest; and (4) the protester was not entitled to reimbursement for its bid and protest preparation costs, since its protest was without merit. Accordingly, the protest was denied in part and dismissed in part, and the claim was denied.