[Protest of Navy Rejection of Bidder as Nonresponsible]

A firm protested the Navy's rejection of its bid for equipment and building painting, contending that the: (1) documentation it submitted on behalf of its sureties showed that each had sufficient net worth to cover the bid bonds; and (2) Navy should have referred the matter of responsibility to the Small Business Administration (SBA) for review under certificate-of-competency procedures. GAO held that the: (1) protester failed to provide sufficient information to show that its sureties had sufficient net worth to cover the bonds, since the documentation was virtually the same as that it submitted with its bid; and (2) Navy was not required to refer the matter to SBA, since it based the nonresponsibility determination on the sureties' unacceptability. Accordingly, the protest was denied.