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GAO Proposed Rule Heralds New Electronic Filing System for Bid Protests

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 04.18.16

On April 15, 2016, GAO published a proposed rule, with comments due May 16, to implement a web-based electronic docketing system that, when the rule is finalized, will be the only conduit for filing a protest letter and other filings, with the exception of classified ones. In addition, among other changes, the proposed rule indicates that GAO will impose a filing fee, anticipated to be $350, for at least six years to offset the cost of the development and maintenance of the system and will require the parties to prepare a redacted public version of all documents filed in connection with a protest.

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Client Alert | 4 min read | 10.30.26

Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right: GAO Sustains Protest Where Agency Tried to Fix PIA Violation with a Second PIA Violation

Recent sustain decisions by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in Fluor Federal Solutions, LLC and Reliance Test & Technology send a clear message: when an agency tries to fix a Procurement Integrity Act (PIA) violation by committing a second one, the cure can be just as fatal as the disease. The cases involved the U.S. Air Force’s $1.8 billion procurement for O&M services at Elgin Air Force Base. During discussions, the Air Force inadvertently released a pricing overview slide with all offerors’ bottom-line evaluated costs to Reliance Test & Technology, which immediately notified the agency of the error. In response, the Air Force decided to level the playing field by providing the same information to all the other offerors in the procurement, stating, “[o]fferors may consider this disclosure in their [final proposal revision].”...