Better debriefings could demystify bid protests, panel told

A trio of experts told a subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee Tuesday that expanded debriefings on federal contract awards might reduce the number of bid protests.

More detailed debriefings, which explain to bidders the rationale behind contract awards, are being used by the Department of Defense and other agencies might consider them as well,  witnesses told the Government Operations subcommittee hearing Tuesday morning.

This seemed to be a point of agreement among Ken Patton, an associate general counsel at the Government Accountability Office (GAO); Christopher Yukins, a professor at George Washington University law school as well as Zach Prince, a partner at the Haynes and Boone law firm.

Prince testified less than 2 percent of all awards are protested.

Subcommittee Chair Pete Session (R-Texas) kicked off the hearing by saying the federal government awarded $755-billion worth of contracts in fiscal 2024.

Bid protests “have become ingrained in the solicitation and the award process,” Sessions said. “Companies factor in protests as soon as awards are announced,” he added. Federal selection officials can become overly concerned with coming up with the best “paper records.”

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-Washington, D.C.) cautioned the committee not to make reforms that over-correct the process. She said the data indicates a small number of contracts are protested and many are brought by small business concerns.

“GAO routinely resolves over 1,000 bid protests annually within the 100 calendar day period,” Patton said in his written testimony. “Protesters achieve some form of relief in approximately 50 percent of cases filed with our Office,” which can include a protest being sustained or a contract award being withdrawn, Patton added. “GAO’s bid protest statistics reflect that over the past 10 years protest filings have overall declined by approximately 32 percent.”

Yukins testified that a protest filed with GAO can cost about $100,00 to pursue, while data indicates that one filed with the Court of Federal Claims can run around $200,000.