Protest of Bureau of Indian Affairs Contract Award

A firm protested the award of a contract for professional archaeological services. The procurement was restricted to Indian-owned firms. The protester, which is not Indian owned, contended that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) knew that the service could have been acquired at a substantially lower cost if the procurement had not been restricted. The Secretary of the Interior has broad discretionary purchasing authority under the Buy Indian Act. Absent a showing that such discretion clearly has been abused, GAO has no basis to object to a preference given pursuant to the statute. Interior is required to contract with qualified Indian firms to the maximum extent practicable; non-Indian firms may be contacted only after it has been determined that there are no qualified Indian contractors within the normal competitive area that can meet the Government's requirements and are interested in doing so. At least two Indian firms were invited to bid on this requirement. In most procurements that are limited to a particular class, awards often will be at higher prices than those that could be obtained in unrestricted competitions. The protester also requested that GAO investigate the general Buy Indian Act procurement practices of BIA. The firm alleged that the contract awardees often fail to complete performance or perform satisfactorily, non-Indian firms then are hired to finish or redo the work, and the original contractors nontheless still receive substantial payments under the defaulted contract. The agency responded that, if a contractor fails to complete its contract, the agency has always taken appropriate action to protect the interests of the Government. The type of investigation requested clearly was not appropriate under the GAO bid protest function. The protester was speculating that the Buy Indian Act may not be appropriate or was not being effectively implemented. GAO does not consider such speculation to warrant GAO review. The protest was denied.