[Protest of HUD Contract Award for Property Inspections]

A firm protested a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) contract award for real property inspections, contending that: (1) HUD failed to conduct meaningful discussions regarding weaknesses in the contract proposal; and (2) HUD did not consider recent performance problems of the subcontractor of the awardee in evaluating past performance. GAO held that: (1) HUD indicated to the protester the area of the proposal that required amplification; and (2) the subcontractor's past performance problems were under investigation at the time of the award and available information indicted that HUD was favorably impressed with its response at the time of contract. Accordingly, the protest was denied.