Amazons Protest of DoD's JEDI Cloud Computing Contract: A Legal Analysis
Abstract
Federal procurement statutes and regulations--notably the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 (CICA) and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), the government-wide regulation that generally applies to acquisitions by DoD and other executive branch agencies--establish largely uniform policies and procedures for how federal executive agencies acquire goods and services. The purpose of these standards is "to deliver on a timely basis the best value product or service to the [government], while maintaining the publics trust and fulfilling public policy objectives," such as the promotion of transparency, fairness, and competition. For instance, agencies typically must conduct market research, such as by issuing Requests for Information (RFI) from potential sources and other interested parties, before soliciting bids and accepting proposals for procurements, and agencies generally must utilize competitive procedures to acquire goods and services. Federal law provides mechanisms for contractors to "protest" (i.e., object to) contract awards and solicitations for failing to comply with federal law. Among other things, bid protests can allege violations of law or regulation in how an agency solicits offers for a contract, cancels such a solicitation, awards a contract, or cancels a contract. The COFC and its appellate court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit), review final agency procurement actions in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and will only set aside an agencys action if it is "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with the law."
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 19, 2020
- Accession Number
- AD1169569
Entities
People
- David M. Carpenter
Organizations
- Library of Congress