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ARTICLE · 10 MARCH 2021

Think Twice Before Protesting An Other Transaction Authority Award

Taft, Stettinius & Hollister LLP
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In recent years, the Department of Defense has shown a keen interest in procuring certain prototype, research, and production requirements using the Other Transaction Authority at 10 U.S.C. § 2371b.

United StatesGovernment, Public Sector
Barbara Duncombe
Barbara Duncombe
Sean A. Graves
Sean A. Graves
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In recent years, the Department of Defense (DoD) has shown a keen interest in procuring certain prototype, research, and production requirements using the Other Transaction Authority (OTA) at 10 U.S.C. § 2371b. The advantage of OTAs is that they are highly flexible, meaning they can usually avoid the burden of complex government regulatory requirements included in the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and its agency-specific supplements. As the use of OTAs increases across the DoD, federal contractors and businesses exploring federal opportunities need to understand how OTAs differ from FAR-based procurements in the context of competition requirements and bid protests. A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision illustrates some of these issues.

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