[Complaint That Local Agency Improperly Rejected Bid Under HUD-Funded Solicitation]

A firm, the low bidder under a solicitation funded by the Department of Housing and Development, and the manufacturer of its product complained that the procuring agency improperly rejected the low bid as nonresponsive to a requirement that the product be constructed of certain noncorrosive materials. The low bidder contended that its offered product was made of galvanized metal and was equal to the specified materials. GAO held that the grantee's decision to reject the low bid was proper because the product did not satisfy the exact specification requirements and that consideration of alternative materials was not permitted under the solicitation. Accordingly, the protest was denied.