Helping individuals, companies, and organizations understand key legal and practical considerations for promoting compliance and making better business decisions in these types of federal, state, and local government contracting matters MORE

Government Accountability Office

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When an agency makes an award to the incumbent, the disappointed offerors often believe that the incumbent’s performance of the previous contract must have given it an impermissible leg up on the competition in the form of an organizational conflict of interest (“OCI”). However, as the recent Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) decision in Lukos-VATC JV…

Even when agencies use simplified acquisition procedures, they generally must maximize competition to the extent practicable. There is, however, an exception to this default rule if only one source is reasonably available based on the urgency of requirements or other grounds. Unfortunately, as the recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision in Summit Technologies, Inc.,…

Just as in golf swings, your follow-through in Government Accountability Office (GAO) protests can mean the difference between success and failure. And if you don’t have a solid argument to bolster your protest grounds, you might want to rethink bringing them in the first place. The recent GAO decision in U.S. Electrodynamics, Inc., B-418574.2;…

A lie may be a lie, but false representations and certifications on SAM may not necessarily be a proper protest ground. As the recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision in Phoenix Environmental Design, Inc. (Phoenix), B-418473, B-418473.2 (May 20, 2020) suggests, “minor” inaccurate statements may fall short of sustaining a protest.

Through the underlying solicitation,…

Ideally, an agency’s solicitation would provide comprehensive information about its requirements so that interested offerors each had what they needed to craft their best response to the agency’s actual needs. Such a situation would create a level playing field for competition and allow the agency to conduct a meaningful “apples to apples” evaluation to determine…