[Protest of Justice Contract Award for Operation and Maintenance of Computer System]

A firm protested a Department of Justice contract award for operation and maintenance of a computer system, contending that: (1) the award to a higher bidder was improper because Justice improperly evaluated its low bid; and (2) Justice was biased in favor of the awardee. GAO held that Justice: (1) properly made award to the higher-priced, technically superior bidder, since the solicitation provided that technical considerations were more important than price; (2) reasonably evaluated bids consistent with the evaluation criteria; and (3) was not required to equalize the competition, since the advantage arose from the bidder's incumbent status and was not the result of unfair government action. Accordingly, the protest was denied.