Protest of DOE Refusal To Award Cooperative Agreement

A firm complained of the Department of Energy's (DOE) refusal to award it a cooperative agreement for a fuel alcohol plant. The complainant alleged that the DOE source selection official violated a number of procurement regulations and DOE policies as to the use of the funds. Specifically, the complainant asserted that, of the 126 responses to the solicitation, only six projects were selected for award. Other complaints were made concerning the amount of funds to be awarded to various firms, funds to be used for innovative technology, the geographical location of those firms selected for award, and the selection of firms rated lower than the complainant was rated. In its Public Notice on grant complaints, GAO stated that it will consider complaints concerning the award of contracts by Federal grantees in order to foster compliance with grant terms and with statutory and regulatory requirements. However, it does not intend to interfere with the functions and responsibilities of Federal agencies in making grants. While the assistance in this case is in the form of a cooperative agreement, rather than a grant, the two are treated alike for purposes of review. GAO will consider the propriety of an award only when there is a showing that the agency is using a grant or cooperative agreement, instead of a contract, to avoid the statutory and regulatory requirement for competition or when it appears that a conflict of interest exists. There was no such showing in this case. Moreover, the Federal regulations which the complainant believes were violated do not apply to cooperative agreements. Therefore, GAO declined to review the complaint under the procedures outlined in its Public Notice, and it was dismissed.