Bid Protests

Half an inch determined the outcome of a $260 million Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) procurement in Joerns Healthcare, LLC v. United States, a bid protest in which the US Court of Federal Claims (COFC) enforced strict compliance with solicitation specifications. The court rejected the contractor’s reliance on industry standards, holding that unambiguous solicitation terms control evaluation outcomes when agencies verify compliance through stated measurement methods. For contractors competing in FAR Part 12 commercial item acquisitions and FAR Part 15 procurements, the decision reinforces that even minimal deviations from express requirements can render a proposal unacceptable.

Continue Reading Half an Inch from a Quarter-Billion: COFC Tells Contractors to Read the Spec, Not the Industry

A 2026 federal executive order reshapes federal procurement policy by directing agencies to use fixed-price contracts as the default under FAR Part 16, while requiring written justification and higher-level approval for cost-reimbursement, time-and-material, and labor-hour contracts. The order also establishes agency approval thresholds, carve-outs for R&D and contingency work, and a phased implementation schedule through OMB guidance and FAR Council rulemaking. For government contractors, the change affects how agencies structure acquisitions, allocate risk, and modify existing and future contracts, with significant implications for federal procurement strategy and compliance in 2026.

Continue Reading Cost-Plus Out. Fixed-Price In.

A contracting officer issues a solicitation amendment on a Friday afternoon, reverses course by Friday evening and demands a revised quotation by noon on Saturday, then changes the requirements again on both Sunday and Monday with a response window of as little as one hour. The agency’s own suggested solution? Ordering a refrigerator manufactured in Turkey, not available for purchase in the United States. If this sounds like a procurement that went off the rails, the GAO agrees.

Continue Reading When “Reasonable” Means More Than a Weekend: GAO Sustains Protest Over Compressed Response Times

As we move into spring—a season for tightening processes, clearing the backlog, and getting every detail right—a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) bid protest decision delivers a timely reminder: in government contracting, a single compliance miss can be outcome determinative.

Last month, in Morrish-Wallace Construction, Inc. d/b/a Ryba Marine Construction Co., the GAO sustained a protest where the agency awarded a contract to a bidder that failed to acknowledge a material solicitation amendment. The decision is an instructive case study in why amendment acknowledgment is not just a box to check—it also is a binding legal act.

Continue Reading Spring Cleaning Your Proposals: GAO’s Latest Reminder That Compliance Is Critical

Congress has once again reshaped the protest landscape—this time with a narrow but consequential change targeted squarely at Department of Defense (DoD) procurements. The Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), signed into law by the president on December 18, 2025, includes a new provision designed to discourage meritless protests at the Government Accountability Office (GAO), particularly where an incumbent contractor continues performing work during the protest. Although the language is focused and does not overhaul the protest system more broadly, it introduces a real financial risk calculus that unsuccessful incumbent offerors will now need to consider before pulling the protest trigger.

Continue Reading Cracking the Kitchen Sink: FY2026 NDAA Brings Bid Protest Reforms for Defense Contractors That Lodge Meritless Protests

Government procurement is essential to modern governance. But when firms rig bids, allocate markets, or otherwise collude, taxpayers pay more, honest competitors are shut out, and trust erodes. In recent months, US agencies have continued to emphasize the importance of fair competition in government procurement, scrutinizing regulations that may favor incumbents or unfairly limit competition and expanding whistleblower options.

Continue Reading Rigging the Game? Antitrust Risks in the Public Contracting Arena

On July 31, 2025, the Court of Federal Claims (COFC) issued its decision in The DaVinci Company v. United States. The case is noteworthy for contractors grappling with geographical supply chain concerns because it elucidates the extent to which two cornerstone country-of-origin procurement statutes—the Buy American Act (BAA) and the Trade Agreements Act (TAA)—can be misunderstood and misapplied by the government.

Continue Reading Making Hay of the Interplay Between the TAA and BAA—COFC Sustains Protest Against the VA’s Improper Sourcing of a Critical Pharmaceutical

After years of anticipation, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council has announced the arrival of its proposed rule to enhance the safeguarding of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in federal contracts (the Proposed Rule). Published in the Federal Register on January 15, 2025 (90 FR 4278), the Proposed Rule (stemming from FAR Case 2017-016) has been a long time coming and is intended to establish a government-wide standard for managing sensitive information, ensuring CUI uniformity and consistency across all agencies and federal contracts.

Continue Reading They Did It. They Really Did It! The Arrival of the FAR CUI Proposed Rule

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 (SAM) registration at the time of its initial proposal submission. The GAO sustained the protest because the protester’s registration was in fact active at the time it submitted its final proposal revision (FPR) even though it was inactive at the time of initial proposal submission. The facts of the case are straightforward:

Continue Reading What Happens When Uncle Sam Doesn’t Understand SAM? The Case of the Lucky Protester . . .

Welcome, dear readers, to the height of protest season! Around the end of the federal fiscal year, the number of contract awards being made increases greatly. Which means so do the number of protests challenging those award decisions. If you are currently asserting or defending a protest (or think you will be before October is over), you are certainly not alone. Unfortunately, if you are somewhat confused about the details, mechanics, timing and procedures relating to protests—well, you also are not alone. This is undoubtedly one of the most complex and confusing areas of government contracting. But fear not! We’re here to help clear up the confusion and get you on the right track, to ensure you obtain those awards improperly awarded to a competitor and maintain those awards that you fairly won. To that end, below is a summary list of the 10 most common bid protestor mistakes, with links to more detailed information about each mistake and how to avoid it!

Continue Reading Avoiding Common Bid Protest Mistakes: A Seasonal Guide to Our Top 10 Protest Don’ts!