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B-227037.2, Jul 17, 1987, 87-2 CPD 57

B-227037.2 Jul 17, 1987
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Highlights

PROCUREMENT - Bid Protests - Moot allegation - GAO review DIGEST: Protest that agency was based toward a specific contractor is dismissed as academic where that contractor is not eligible for an award. The solicitation was issued as a small business set-aside to procure data processing services for various federal agencies. Who will order the services from the contractor as they are required. The closing date for the receipt of proposals was October 31. Whose offer was eliminated from the competitive range. Protests that GSA was biased toward OAO Corporation. We will not consider Gallegos' protest that GSA was biased in favor of OAO. The Small Business Administration determined that for purposes of the present solicitation the team of COLSA/OAO is not a small business concern.

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B-227037.2, Jul 17, 1987, 87-2 CPD 57

PROCUREMENT - Bid Protests - Moot allegation - GAO review DIGEST: Protest that agency was based toward a specific contractor is dismissed as academic where that contractor is not eligible for an award.

Gallegos Research Group:

Gallegos Research Group protests the General Services Administration's (GSA) conduct of a procurement under solicitation No. KECA-86-011. dismiss the protest.

The solicitation was issued as a small business set-aside to procure data processing services for various federal agencies, who will order the services from the contractor as they are required. The closing date for the receipt of proposals was October 31, 1986. Gallegos, whose offer was eliminated from the competitive range, protests that GSA was biased toward OAO Corporation, a large business concern, and that from the beginning of the procurement GSA intended to award the contract to COLSA, the small business that proposed OAO as a subcontractor. As further evidence of GSA's bias towards OAO, Gallegos points to GSA's decision not to conduct the procurement under section 8(a) of the Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 637(a) (1982).

We will not consider Gallegos' protest that GSA was biased in favor of OAO. On June 10, 1987, the Small Business Administration determined that for purposes of the present solicitation the team of COLSA/OAO is not a small business concern, and thus is ineligible for award. Consequently, Gallegos' protest of the anticipated contract award to COLSA/OAO is academic.

Gallegos argues that we still should consider the protest, as a challenge to the entire procurement. The firm argues that there is only one potentially eligible offeror remaining in the procurement and reasons that if this offeror is found ineligible to receive an award, Gallegos either will be able to compete on the resolicitation or will receive an award under the 8(a) program.

Under the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984, 31 U.S.C. Sec. 3551 (Supp. III 1985), and our Bid Protest Regulations, 4 C.F.R. Secs. 21.0(a), 21.1(a) (1986), a party must be interested in order to have its protest considered by our Office. A party is interested if its direct economic interest would be affected by the award or the failure to award a contract, which generally means that the party is next in line for award if the challenged offeror is eliminated from the competition. See Gentex Corp., B-225669, Feb. 27, 1987, 87-1 CPD Para. 230. Here, Gallegos concedes that it is not eligible for an award under the solicitation since it did not timely protest its exclusion from the competitive range. Further, the record contains no evidence that the remaining offeror under the solicitation will be found ineligible to receive an award, so that Gallegos' assertion to this effect is speculation. Gallegos therefore is not an interested party.

The protest is dismissed.

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