DE Under 3: U.S. GAO Report on Military Spouse Employment Focused on Challenges of Part-Time Work
A Discussion with GAO General Counsel Edda Emmanuelli Perez
GovCon Perspectives Podcast Episode 24: Effective Use of “Open and Frank” Discussions in Bid Protests
Award Protests: Choosing the Forum
How to Assess the Likelihood of Success in Deciding Whether to Bring a Bid Protest
Federal government contracts are routinely awarded to companies supplying goods and services to U.S. government agencies. According to the Government Accountability Office, in 2023, the federal government committed about $759...more
A recent Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) decision highlights the Small Business Administration’s (“SBA”) regulations relating to agency evaluations of a mentor-protégé joint venture’s past performance and experience,...more
On March 22, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustained a protest challenging an agency decision finding the protester ineligible for award under both the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986...more
On October 5, 2023, the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) released a Joint Notice that provides guidance on the facility security clearance (FCL) requirements for joint...more
The Government Accounting Office (GAO) recently issued MiamiTSPi, LLC-Reconsideration, an important decision concerning a procuring agency’s obligation to consider, when evaluating a joint venture, the experience of not only...more
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS - GAO Confirms Agency Must Consider Experience of Each Partner in a Small Business Joint Venture - Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office (GAO)—in AttainX, Inc., B-421216,...more
Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office (GAO)—in AttainX, Inc., B-421216, B-421216.2 (Feb. 9, 2023)—clarified that in evaluating the experience of a mentor-protégé joint venture (JV) for a small business...more
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), in AttainX, recently sustained a bid protest where the protester argued that the agency’s evaluation was inconsistent with the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) regulations...more
In a recent bid protest decision from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”), the GAO clarified that, in evaluating the experience of a mentor-protégé joint venture for a small business set-aside procurement, when...more
Protests filed at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (“COFC”) differ in many ways from protests before the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”). For example, protests before GAO are uniform given that they are...more
Over the last few years, the government has shifted away from lowest price technically acceptable valuations placing a larger importance on past performance. The past performance requirement can sometimes create obstacles for...more
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued an important new decision in the protest of AttainX,Inc ., B-421216, B-421216.2, Jan. 23, 2023, 2023 WL 1860802. The decision addresses how agencies must evaluate the...more
In this month’s bid protest roundup, we consider: (1) an exception to the normal rule governing reliance on affiliate experience and past performance; and (2) two different bid protests of very similar solicitation terms that...more
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS - GSA Seeks Feedback on Potential Changes to Polaris Joint Ventures - On May 13, 2022, the General Services Administration (GSA) published draft proposed changes to the Polaris Government-Wide...more
The National Institutes of Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) issued yet another round of significant changes to the Chief Information Officer-Solutions and Partners 4 (CIO-SP4) Request...more
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued two decisions sustaining challenges to solicitation restrictions on mentor-protégé joint ventures. Both were matters of first impression for GAO, in which GAO...more
In today’s competitive market, more and more businesses are choosing to pursue new contract opportunities as Joint Ventures (or, “JVs”). JVs allow companies to combine capabilities, which allows them to not only perform...more
In a bid protest decision released on Aug. 27, 2021, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has resolved a long-simmering question regarding joint ventures and facility clearances. Specifically, in InfoPoint, LLC,...more
In a recent decision, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustained a protest challenging the terms of a solicitation because it required that a joint venture (JV) pursuing an Air Force contract hold a facility...more
In the recent matter of Innovate Now, LLC, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) sustained a protest on the grounds that the Agency’s solicitation required that both parties in a mentor-protégé joint venture (“MP-JV”)...more
In a time of uncertain federal budgets and an increasingly crowded marketplace, contractors of all sizes are on the lookout for ways to enhance their chances of winning federal business opportunities. Step one in this process...more
In a recent decision, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustained a protest challenging the terms of a solicitation, as the solicitation impermissibly required that a protégé and mentor in a joint venture have the...more
As we recently discussed, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has published a long-awaited rule that made important changes to numerous small business contracting programs and the rules Federal agencies must follow...more
As we dive into the next decade of small business matters (hello 2020!), we wanted to briefly review the key small business regulatory changes that took place at the end of 2019. We also want to discuss a December 2019...more
CYBERSECURITY & DATA PRIVACY - Start Preparing Now for DoD's Upcoming Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) - For a while now, we have been writing about the increasing impact of cybersecurity on the...more