[Protest of Air Force RFP]

An individual protested an Air Force request for proposals for facility maintenance and operation, arguing that: (1) the solicitation should have been set aside for small businesses; (2) the procurement should have been advertised rather than negotiated; and (3) the Air Force improperly charged offerers for the solicitation documents. GAO held that, since procurement regulations do not require a particular solicitation to be set aside for small businesses, such a determination is based on the discretion of the contracting officer and will not be disturbed by GAO. GAO also found that the contracting officer's decision to negotiate for the contract was reasonable, since the work required was more complex than normally solicited in service contracts and a work statement could not have adequately described the specifications. Finally, GAO noted that a contracting agency may properly charge a modest fee for solicitation documents to cover copying service charges. Accordingly, the protest was denied.