The Impact of the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 on the Contract Award Protest Process.
Abstract
The observed effects of the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 have been: a marginally increased number of protests; dramatically improved decision times due to shortened agency response deadlines and GAO dismissal of spurious protests; and stays of award and termination of contract performance. There is no evidence that the increase in protests is related to increased complaints about restrictive sole source contracting. The legislative impact has been minimal at field activity level where there is a widespread perception that protests are increasing for unjustified reasons. While personal experience may not support this complaint, it has a legal merit since the burden of proof has shifted entirely to the Government. Unintended results of the statute may include: 1) improved solicitation review to avoid situations vulnerable to protest, and 2) added scrutiny, with concomitant delay, in the source selection process to assess the defensibility of the tentative source selection decision. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA184727
Entities
People
- Michael J. Walsh
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School