[Protest of BOP Solicitation for Laboratory Testing]

A firm protested a Bureau of Prisons (BOP) solicitation for clinical laboratory testing services, contending that BOP should have set the solicitation aside for small businesses, since: (1) three qualified small businesses submitted reasonably priced bids under a recent procurement for the same services; and (2) two small businesses submitted bids under the current procurement. GAO held that BOP: (1) reasonably determined from prior procurement history that it would not receive bids from two or more qualified small businesses at reasonable prices, since the bid prices on the prior procurement were well above the awardee's bid price and the government estimate; and (2) was not required to change its procurement decision in response to the bids submitted under the current procurement. Accordingly, the protest was denied.