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ARTICLE · 02 DECEMBER 2021

Everything Changes, Except That Which Stays The Same: GAO's Bid Protest Annual Report To Congress

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It is that time of year again when the U.S. Government Accountability Office ("GAO") submits its bid protest statistics to Congress as mandated under the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984...

United StatesGovernment, Public Sector
Anne Perry
Anne Perry
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It is that time of year again when the U.S. Government Accountability Office ("GAO") submits its bid protest statistics to Congress as mandated under the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984, 31 U.S.C. §3554(e)(2).  On November 16, 2021, the GAO released its Bid Protest Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2020.  It has been a year of ups and downs, but, importantly, the chances of winning have stayed the same.

Down is the number of cases that were filed.  In fact, it is a five year low, down from the 2,149 cases in 2020 to 1,897 in 2021, a 12 percent decrease.  Of these 1,897 cases, there were 1,816 protests, 38 reconsideration requests, and 43 cost claims.  The "effectiveness rate" for these cases, which represents instances where the protester obtains relief, at least to some extent, is also down from 51 percent in 2020, to 48 percent in 2021.  GAO also closed fewer cases in 2021, closing 2,017 cases versus the 2020 number of 2,137.  Of the cases

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