Impacted by an acquisition where an unusually high number of protests were filed and sustained, the GAO’s sustain and effectiveness rates increased to 31 and 57 percent, respectively.
The number of filed Government...more
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has created a potential trap regarding the beginning of the 10-day protest timeliness period when an offeror receives information from the contracting office outside of the...more
The effectiveness rate increased to 51 percent.
The number of filed Government Accountability Office (GAO) protests dropped another 12 percent, after dropping 12 percent in 2021....more
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims issues another decision highlighting a growing divergence in case law between the Court and the Government Accountability Office.
COFC rejects GAO precedent for determining whether...more
The final rule provides for additional debriefing rights and clarifies the GAO bid protest stay timeliness rules.
DoD debriefings now must include a redacted version of the source selection decision document for all awards...more
A Court of Federal Claims decision holds that offerors do not have a duty to inform agency of changes to key personnel availability after submission of proposal.
- The decision departs from well-settled GAO precedent.
-...more
On November 16, 2021, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published its Bid Protest Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2021. The GAO’s report, which is mandated by the Competition in Contracting Act, lists its...more
The Department of Defense recently issued a proposed rule that would implement the enhanced debriefing procedures required by Congress in the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (FY18 NDAA).
The proposed...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit confirms that a protester seeking to avail itself of the statutory “automatic stay” of performance in connection with a GAO bid protest must file that protest within five days...more
2/9/2021
/ Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Automatic Stay ,
Bid Protests ,
CICA ,
COFC ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
GAO ,
US Army Corps of Engineers
Recent GAO protest decision provides a painful reminder that protests that run afoul of the “diligent pursuit” rule will be dismissed as untimely.
GAO’s Bid Protest Regulations contain strict rules for the timely...more
Effectiveness rate increases to 51 percent, the highest on record.
GAO’s effectiveness rate increased to 51 percent from 44 percent in FY 2019 and 2018.
GAO’s sustain rate increases to 15 percent from 13 percent in FY...more
While GAO does not make any recommendations in its report, it provides a useful overview of the federal government’s implementation of Section 3610.
Agencies made relatively little use of their Section 3610 authority...more
9/11/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Contractors ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Final Rules ,
GAO ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
NASA ,
New Guidance ,
OMB ,
Reimbursements ,
Relief Measures ,
Stop Work Orders
In a recent decision, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC) addressed the timeliness rules for enhanced debriefing situations.
The clock for purposes of obtaining an automatic stay and timeliness may start after the...more
The FY 2020 NDAA mandates the FAR be revised to require Contracting Officers to provide the rationale for award and other information to unsuccessful offerors for task or delivery orders.
Currently, FAR Part 16 only...more
GAO’s sustain rate dropped to 13 percent, the lowest level since Fiscal Year 2015.
Protest activity at the GAO decreased by 16 percent over the previous year....more
Department of Defense issues a final rule limiting the ability of defense agencies to use lowest-price, technically acceptable procurement procedures.
The new rule takes effect on October 1, 2019 and permits defense...more
The Act extends from three to five years the “look-back” period for determining whether a government contractor qualifies as a small business based on its average annual revenue. A recent GAO decision held that the Act will...more
GAO’s sustain rate and effectiveness rate both dropped to the lowest levels since Fiscal Year 2015.
Protest activity at the GAO increased slightly over the previous year....more
President Donald Trump signed the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, which authorizes a top-line budget of $717 billion and includes significant provisions for government contractors.
DoD is required to...more
The FY 2019 NDAA requires DoD study multiple protest filings, and develop a plan for an expedited protest process for small contracts.
Congress is concerned about the delays caused by bid protests that have been filed at...more
In a recent decision, GAO addressed timeliness rules for enhanced debriefing situations.
Enhanced Debriefing rule does not alter GAO timeliness rules....more
7/31/2018
/ Bid Protests ,
CICA ,
Debriefing ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Filing Deadlines ,
GAO ,
NDAA ,
Offerors
New final rule implements electronic filing system and other key changes.
GAO has implemented a formal electronic filing system and imposed a one-time, nominal filing fee. ...more
4/5/2018
/ Bid Protests ,
CICA ,
Comment Period ,
Electronic Filing ,
Federal Contractors ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Filing Fees ,
Final Rules ,
GAO ,
New Regulations ,
Redaction
New DoD rules enhance contractors’ post-award debriefing rights.
New rules implemented immediately for all Department of Defense agencies expand offerors’ rights in connection with post-award debriefings in federal...more
A Congressionally mandated research study demonstrates that bid protests filed against Department of Defense (DoD) procurements do not unduly delay these acquisitions and are not frivolous.
More than 99.7% of DoD contracts...more
For Department of Defense (DoD) acquisitions, the Conference Report for FY 2018 NDAA includes enhanced debriefing rights and pilot program for protester payment of Government costs for denied GAO bid protests.
Enhanced DoD...more