[Protest of Air Force Contract Awards]

A firm protested two Air Force contract awards which called for similar work at two Air Force facilities. The protester challenged the Air Force's finding that it was nonresponsible, although the Small Business Administration (SBA) reviewed the matter and refused to issue a Certificate of Competency. GAO held that, although an SBA ruling is usually conclusive, a contracting officer should reconsider the matter if new evidence bearing on the protester's responsibility is presented. GAO noted that, since the protester provided new evidence which supported its responsibility, the contracting officer's refusal to reconsider the matter was unreasonable. The Air Force stated that it refused to accept the new evidence because it was not submitted until after the acceptance deadline. GAO noted that the lateness of the evidence was negligible and that the information should have been accepted. However, upon reviewing the new information, GAO found that it did not support a reversal of the Air Force's nonresponsibility determination. Accordingly, the protest was denied.