Discrimination Allegation

A firm alleged that discrimination against it has prevented it from obtaining contracts for federally funded projects. The complaint concerned three general areas: (1) allegations that serveral water project contracts were improperly awarded or administered by an agency, (2) Small Business Administration (SBA) refusal to issue a loan or bid bond guarantee while guaranteeing loans to a competitor, and (3) the local natural gas distributor banned any new gas hookups, resulting in the use of more expensive propane by the firm and therefore it must bid higher than competitors receiving natural gas services. While GAO does consider protests of awards or proposed awards by or for any agency subject to review, GAO does not consider contract awards where only Federal loan funds are involved, nor does GAO consider complaints involving the performance of a contract because such matters involve contract administration. Moreover, GAO will not consider protests and complaints that are not timely filed. Similarly, GAO declined to review the propriety of SBA refusal to issue a loan or bid guarantee, since the actions did not involve procurement by or for a Federal agency. Likewise, the complaint about the natural gas distributor did not involve a Federal procurement.