Comptroller General

United States Government Accountability Office

Washington, DC 20548 

of the United States

Decision 

Matter of: Corners Construction

File: B-402465 

Date: April 23, 2010 

Rachele Brewer for the protester. 

Lindsay C. Roop, Esq., Department of Veterans Affairs, for the agency. 

Mary G. Curcio, Esq., and John M. Melody, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, 

participated in the preparation of the decision. 

DIGEST 

Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) determination that vendor not listed in VA 

database of eligible service-disabled, veteran-owned small business concerns on date 

of award was not eligible for award was unobjectionable where determination was 

consistent with VA’s applicable statute and regulations. 

DECISION 

Corners Construction, of Chico, California protests the rejection of its bid under 

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) invitation for bids (IFB) No. VA-263-09-RA-0250, 

issued as a set-aside for service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB) 

for carpet replacement. Corners asserts that VA improperly rejected its bid on the 

basis that Corners was not an eligible SDVOSB. 

We deny the protest. 

The IFB was issued on November 25, 2009. Bids were opened on December 30, and 

Corners was the apparent low bidder. However, on January 25, 2010, when VA 

accessed its database of SDVOSBs to determine whether Corners was an eligible 

SDVOSB, it found that Corners was not listed.1

 Agency Report (AR) at 2. In this 

regard, VA maintains a database of SDVOSBs that are eligible to receive contracts 

under solicitations issued by VA as SDVOSB set-asides. 38 C.F.R. part 74 (2009). 

Eligible businesses are placed on the list for 1 year, after which they must re-apply to 

 

1

 This data base is contained in the vendor information pages at Internet website 

www.vetbiz.gov. 
be included on the list again. 38 C.F.R. § 74.15. The record shows that Corners was 

listed in the database on January 16, 2009 for a period of 1 year. Corners was 

removed from the database before January 25, 2010, when the agency checked the 

database in anticipation of making award under the IFB. AR at 2. Because Corners 

was not listed, VA determined that Corners was not eligible for award, and made 

award to the next low bidder. 

Corners maintains that it should be considered an eligible SDVOSB, and that it 

therefore should have received the award, because it was listed in the database on 

both the date the IFB was issued and the date of bid opening.2

The statute granting VA authority to set aside procurements for SDVOSB concerns 

provides that “[a] small business concern may be awarded a [SDVOSB set-aside] 

contract . . . only if the small business concern . . . [is] listed in the database of 

veteran-owned businesses. . . .” 38 U.S.C. § 8127(e) (2006). The VA regulation 

implementing this statute similarly provides that, “all . . . SDVOSBs must be listed in 

the . . . database . . . to receive contract awards under VA’s Veteran-owned Small 

Business. . . [set-aside] program.” VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) § 804.1102. VA 

asserts that, based on this language, a small business concern is eligible for award 

under a VA SDVOSB set-aside only if it is listed in the database on the date of award; 

thus, even though Corners was listed in the database at the time of bid opening, it 

was ineligible for award because it was no longer listed at the time of award. 

We will uphold an agency’s reasonable interpretation of a statute that it is 

responsible for implementing. Blue Rock Structures, Inc., B-293134, Feb. 6, 2004, 

2004 CPD ¶ 63 at 8. VA’s interpretation here is reasonable. While the statute and 

regulation do not expressly provide that small businesses must be “listed in the 

database” at the time of award, neither do they provide that listing is to be at the 

time of solicitation issuance or bid opening. We think the relevant language supports 

VA’s interpretation, since it relates to a concern’s status for purposes of receiving an 

award, suggesting that status at the time of award is contemplated. Moreover, this 

interpretation is consistent with the underlying purpose of SDVOSB set-asides--

i.e., providing contracting opportunities to eligible SDVOSBs, see 38 U.S.C. 

§ 8127(a)--and we think VA reasonably could determine that this purpose is best 

served, and that an eligible SDVOSB concern will actually perform the contract, if it 

satisfies the prerequisite to receiving award (listing) at the time award is made. 

Accordingly, there is no basis for us to question VA’s determination that Corners, 

which was not listed in the database on the date of award, was ineligible for award. 

Compare CMS Info. Servs., Inc., B-290541, Aug. 7, 2002, 2002 CPD ¶ 132 at 2 (where 

request for quotations under Federal Supply Schedule was limited to small business 

concerns, agency reasonably required recertification of small business status to 

 

2

 The Small Business Administration advised our Office that it does not consider the 

status of bidders as SDVOSBs under solicitations issued by VA. 

Page 2 B-402465 
Page 3 B-402465 

ensure that order would be issued to concern that currently qualifies as small 

business). 

The protest is denied. 

Lynn H. Gibson 

Acting General Counsel