Protest Against Proposed Award of Air Force Contract

A firm protested the proposed award of a contract under an invitation for bids (IFB) issued by Grand Forks Air Force Base. The record showed that the IFB called for bids to relocate military housing units. Item I of the schedule called for a fixed, job-lot price for relocating the housing units. Item II called for prices for each of three types of repairs. About 1 hour before bid opening, the Air Force received a telegram from the protester stating that it wished to make additions to these items. The Air Force stated that, before bid opening, it called the protester and verified the wording of the telegram. Thus, the Air Force made the additions to both Items. After bid opening, the protester called and insisted that its intent was to increase only Item I, and that it meant for the Air Force to add that figure to the figure appearing beside the category, total amount of bid Item I, basic bid and the estimated total of Item II. The Air Force concluded that the protester had made a mistake, but there was no convincing evidence as to what price the protester actually intended to bid. GAO held that the bid could properly be corrected since the protester's intent could be clearly and convincingly ascertained from the IFB and the bid itself. In this regard, GAO noted that virtually all of the work to be done was included within Item I, and the work included in Item II was for a relatively insignificant aspect of the project. Thus, the Air Force's action in increasing both Items I and II was unwarranted, and GAO found no grounds to support the Air Force's position. Accordingly, GAO recommended that the protester be considered for award.