[Request for Reimbursement of Bid and Protest Costs]

A firm requested a decision regarding the amount it was entitled to recover for the costs of filing and pursuing its protest challenging a Department of Energy (DOE) contract award for technical and management services. GAO held that: (1) attorney fees related to issues not addressed in the protester's sustained protest were reimbursable; (2) protest costs related to pursuing the claim with DOE were not reimbursable; (3) costs related to pursing claim at GAO were not reimbursable, since DOE responded to the protester's claim in a timely manner; and (4) out of pocket expenses were reimbursable, since they related to the protest as a whole, rather than to specific issues. Accordingly, GAO recommended that DOE reimburse the protester $39,755.26.