Government Clarifies Rules for Companies to Whine About Contracts
Published Date: 1/15/2025
Proposed Rule
Summary
The Department of Defense, GSA, and NASA want to make it clearer when companies can protest orders under certain government contracts that have multiple winners. This change affects businesses bidding on these contracts by defining their protest rights more clearly. Comments on this proposal are open until March 17, 2025, so get ready to weigh in!
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Set‑aside Decisions Not Protestable
The rule says that under 15 U.S.C. 644(r) a contracting officer’s choice to set aside—or not set aside—an order for small business concerns under a multiple‑award contract is an agency discretion and is not a basis for a protest. The amendment would add this clarification to FAR 16.505(a)(10)(iv), while preserving the ability to protest on other separate legal bases recognized in FAR 16.505(a)(10)(i).
Fewer Protests, Faster Order Awards
Agencies expect this clarification to deter contractors from filing protests over set‑aside decisions, saving contractors and the Government time and resources and helping to expedite award of orders and avoid delays in meeting mission needs. The agencies note the rule could potentially affect any of the roughly 384,100 small entities currently registered in SAM that seek Government orders under multiple‑award contracts.
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Key Dates
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