[Protest of SBA Contract Award]

A firm protested the Small Business Administration's (SBA) award of a contract for camera-ready tables for certain Government publications. The protester, a nondisadvantaged small business, was prevented from competing for work because, under section 8(a) of the Small Business Act, the contract could only be awarded to a socially and economically disadvantaged small business firm. The protester stated that it had been successfully performing the same work under a prior contract and contended that SBA failed to furnish it with an impact statement concerning the subsequent loss of this contracting opportunity on the firm. GAO stated that whether to award a contract under the Small Business Act is a matter for SBA determination; GAO will not review that determination absent a showing of fraud, willful misconduct, or violation of a specific regulation by Government officials. Accordingly, since none of these conditions were present in this case, the protest was dismissed.