2024-2025 Bid Protest Decisions with Far-Reaching Impacts for Government Contractors
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
The Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) response to congressional inquiry regarding GAO’s bid protest function (Section 885 response), while pushing back against some proposed changes that could disincentive meritorious...more
As we noted in a blog post in February, the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was enacted in December 2024 included a provision at Section 885 raising the protest threshold for Department of Defense (DoD), Coast...more
In SMS Data Products Group, Inc., B-423341, et al. (May 29, 2025), SMS Data Products Group protested a task order award to Abacus Technology Corporation for intranet control support services. While the protest raised several...more
On May 19, the GAO published a report discussing the use and oversight of AI in financial services. The report highlighted the benefits of AI, such as improved efficiency, reduced costs, and enhanced customer experience,...more
In FI Consulting, Inc., B-423274 (April 11, 2025), FI Consulting, Inc. (FIC) protested its elimination from a procurement for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program support services after the agency rejected its...more
The United States Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) released on April 22nd a report titled: Artificial Intelligence: Generative AI's Environmental and Human Effects (“Report”). See GAO-25-107172....more
This month’s Bid Protest Roundup highlights two Court of Federal Claim decisions, addressing past performance and injunctive relief, and one by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”), clarifying the applicability...more
The United States Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) issued a January 9th report titled: Army Corps of Engineers: Expedited Permitting Process Would Benefit from More Transparency (“Report”)....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
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 November 12, the Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (together, the "FAR Council") issued an interim rule, effective November 12, 2024, to amend the...more
In January 2023, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) issued an invitation for bids (IFB) for a dune and berm replenishment and renovation project along the New Jersey coast. The USACE received two sealed bids for the...more
One forum to raise a protest against the award of a contract is at the agency responsible for the procurement, pursuant to the procedures set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) 33.103. The procedures require that...more
The wireless industry has revolutionized the way we connect, from facilitating teleworking, distance learning, and telemedicine to allowing the American public to interact virtually in almost all other aspects of their daily...more
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC) orders an agency to reinstate a contract award, finding the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) corrective action recommendation to be without a rational basis....more
MIT Report Details New Cybersecurity Risks - “Cloud misconfigurations, more sophisticated ransomware, and vendor exploitation attacks are contributing to rising cyberattacks.” Why this is important: Worldwide spending...more
In January 2024, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) published 31 bid protest decisions, two of which resulted in decisions sustaining the protesters’ challenges. There were also two requests for costs, one of which...more
In a previous article, we analyzed what made protests successful at the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) in Fiscal Year 2023 (“FY23”). Now, we want to share some insights we gained while conducting the same analysis...more
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking strategies from Jeffrey W. Taub, M.D., to prevent future violations of human subject regulations the agency said were documented during site visits in September and October...more
A year has passed since Congress enacted the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA) and enhanced the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authority to regulate the cosmetics industry. Although MoCRA implementation...more
On November 8, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) denied an unsuccessful bidder’s protest that asserted the Veteran Administration’s (VA) evaluation of Texas Waste Company’s past performance was unreasonable and...more
On November 21, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) denied an unsuccessful bidder’s protest, arguing that the terms of a solicitation were biased and that the awardee failed to comply with a mandatory solicitation...more
On October 5, the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) issued a joint notice (Joint Notice) with the Small Business Association (SBA) and in coordination with the Department of Defense (DOD) clarifying that the...more
After releasing a report requested nearly three years ago, Sen. Elizabeth Warren said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and HHS “should clean up the industry to keep patients safe.” The industry to which the Democratic...more
Each month, Venable's Government Contracts Group publishes a summary of recent legal developments of interest to the government contractor community. ...more