"Rule of Two" For Small Business Set-Asides Extended to Award of Task and Delivery Orders
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 10.21.08
In Delex Systems, Inc. (Oct. 8, 2008, http://www.gao.gov/decisions/bidpro/400403.pdf), GAO expanded the reach of FAR 19.502-2(b), which requires an agency to limit competition to small businesses when it concludes it has a reasonable expectation of receiving offers from at least two responsible small businesses and award can be made at a fair and reasonable price. GAO held that the so-called "Rule of Two" applies to task and delivery order competitions among multiple-award contract holders, opening up a new class of award decisions to the small business set-aside requirements and potential bid protests.
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Client Alert | 2 min read | 12.19.25
GAO Cautions Agencies—Over-Redact at Your Own Peril
Bid protest practitioners in recent years have witnessed agencies’ increasing efforts to limit the production of documents and information in response to Government Accountability Office (GAO) bid protests—often will little pushback from GAO. This practice has underscored the notable difference in the scope of bid protest records before GAO versus the Court of Federal Claims. However, in Tiger Natural Gas, Inc., B-423744, Dec. 10, 2025, 2025 CPD ¶ __, GAO made clear that there are limits to the scope of redactions, and GAO will sustain a protest where there is insufficient evidence that the agency’s actions were reasonable.
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