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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 | 07.23.26

Protester Beware: Recent GAO Decision Suggests Traditional “Reasonable Possibility” Prejudice Standard May Be Evolving

It is well established that “[c]ompetitive prejudice is an essential element of every viable protest.” Yet, for decades, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has tempered this requirement with two critical corollaries: protesters need only demonstrate a “reasonable possibility” that they were prejudiced by an agency’s actions, and GAO “will resolve doubts regarding prejudice in favor of the protester.” These principles have been consistent features of GAO’s bid protest jurisprudence for more than 30 years. See, e.g., United Int’l Eng'g, Inc., B-245448, Jan. 29, 1992, 71 CPD ¶ 177....