Navigating Bid Protest Choices at GAO and COFC
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 Judge Clarifies Scope of TRO Enjoining Federal Spending Freeze - As we recently outlined, on January 31, 2025, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) that blocks the...more
Generally speaking, the U.S. procurement system allows companies competing for U.S. government contracts broad rights to challenge contract awards, as well as the terms of solicitations. There are, however, restrictions...more
On January 20, 2025, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") unanimously elected Commissioner Caroline D. Pham as acting chairman. The Administration has not yet identified who will be nominated for the position of...more
In its “GAO Bid Protest Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2024,” the Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed the most common reasons bid protests were sustained this past year, including: (1) unreasonable...more
On January 29, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) rescinded M-25-13, which it had issued two days earlier, and which required federal agencies to "temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or...more
Welcome to the November-December edition of Akin Intelligence. As the end of 2024 approached, the European Union (EU) sustained progress on guidance and supporting materials for its AI Act and international AI Safety...more
The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes two significant changes to DoD bid protests that are generally not favorable to contractors. (Both changes appear in Section 885 of the NDAA and can be viewed at...more
On December 30, 2024, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) dismissed a protest by Orion Government Services, Inc. (Orion) after determining that Orion lacked standing to protest because one of its proposed key personnel...more
In 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued five noteworthy bid protest decisions: - Percipient.ai Inc. v. U.S. - Oak...more
In the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (“FY25 NDAA”), Congress included some important provisions related to the bid protest process at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”). These provisions...more
In a development no one could have predicted several weeks ago, the first hearing of the 119th Congress in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (E&C) focused on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and amendments to...more
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly released a report entitled “New Chemicals Program: EPA Needs a Systematic Process to Better Manage and Assess Performance” on January 22, 2025. GAO states that it was...more
On January 15, 2025, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council published a proposed rule overhauling the FAR’s Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) provisions. The proposed rule follows a December 2022 law that...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced last Wednesday that settlements and judgments under the False Claims Act (FCA) exceeded $2.9 billion in fiscal year 2024—up approximately 5% from last year. DOJ’s announcement...more
The Mission Essential Group - B-422698.2 - Mission Essential challenged a task order solicitation issued by the Air Force, alleging the lowest price, technically acceptable (“LPTA”) evaluation scheme violated DFARS...more
The Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) fiscal year 2024 report on federal bid protests includes useful insights into federal procurement trends that can help state and local government agencies mitigate bid protest...more
The last week saw GAO sustain two protests that should put the nail in the SAM “continuous registration” coffin. The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (“FAR”) Council recently revised the standard System for Award Management...more
This month’s bid protest roundup highlights one decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, addressing a proposal timely submitted but received late, and two decisions from the U.S. Government...more
On January 8, 2025, in UNICA-BPA JV, LLC, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustained a protester’s challenge to its elimination from the competition for failing to have an active System for Award Management...more
On January 8, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustained a pre-award bid protest filed by Bass, Berry & Sims PLC (Bass Berry), which challenged the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers’ (FLETC or the Agency)...more
On December 23, 2024, President Biden signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. The annual bill authorizes spending for the Department of Defense (DOD) while setting other...more
The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting increase in federal telework have reduced the daily usage of federal buildings in Washington, DC. Over the last few years, Mayor Muriel Bowser has not been shy in highlighting the economic...more
The Board docketed 17 fewer new appeals in fiscal year (FY) 2024 than it docketed in FY 2023. The Board docketed more cases than it resolved in FY 2024....more
President Joe Biden signed into law last week the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (NDAA). ...more
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) unleashed a report about crypto assets in 401(k) plans, but it didn’t reveal much....more