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When Does An Oral Presentation Become A "Discussion"?

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 03.04.04

GAO ruled that an offeror’s oral presentation and the ensuing question and answer session did not become "discussions" that would trigger other offerors’ rights to revise their proposals, upholding a huge military health services contract award in Sierra Military Health Services (Dec. 5, 2003) — a protest in which Crowell & Moring represented the awardee. Tackling a difficult issue with a fact-bound decision, GAO held that an offeror’s presentation and the Q&A session constitute "discussions" only if agency personnel gave that offeror a chance to revise its proposal in, for example, the answers to the evaluators’ questions.

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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....