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Agency's Stafford Act Interpretation Rejected

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 11.12.07

In Executive Protective Security Service, Inc. (Oct. 22, 2007, http://www.gao.gov/decisions/bidpro/2999543.pdf), GAO sustained the protest on the basis that FEMA had improperly interpreted the “doing business primarily” eligibility requirement of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. GAO determined that the act’s plain language and legislative history required that a firm must conduct a majority of its business in the designated disaster area to be considered for a Stafford Act award.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 07.10.26

Federal Circuit Clarifies Application of Blue & Gold: Proposal Submission Deadline, Not Award, is the Operative Time for Filing

In Utech, Inc. v. United States, No. 24-1586 (Fed. Cir. June 24, 2026), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit clarified that in most cases, a pre-award protest must be filed before the proposal submission deadline to avoid the Blue & Gold waiver rule.  This decision, while nonprecedential, is in line with U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) precedent, which has long held that pre-award protests must be filed before the proposal submission deadline....