A catch-22 is an impossible, no-win situation where you are caught between two conflicting requirements, and complying with one makes it impossible to comply with the other. When a bid protest turns on whether an agency’s instructions were clear or whether a contractor was put in a catch-22, the solicitation is often the best place to look for the answer. However, a recent GAO decision illustrates that not every difficult or unfavorable outcome constitutes a catch-22, and that sometimes the answer to a contractor’s problems is right in front of them.
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GAO Sustain: Failure to Acknowledge Solicitation Amendment was a Material Defect
Preparing and submitting a bid for a federal procurement requires strict compliance with the solicitation’s instructions. When a bidder fails to comply with these instructions (such as failing to acknowledge an amendment to the solicitation), the bidder may be surprised by the agency’s seemingly harsh decision to eliminate the bidder from award. But if the agency ignores the error and proceeds to award the contract to the bidder, the agency’s decision risks protest of the award from other bidders.
In Morrish-Wallace Constr. d/b/a Ryba Marine Constr. Co., B-423796.2 (Feb. 5, 2026), GAO examined whether an awardee’s failure to acknowledge an amendment to the RFQ constituted a minor informality that could be waived.
Continue readingPlaying by the Rules: GAO Reminds Agency to Follow Criteria in Evaluating Past Performance
In federal contracting, often times the agencies are given a good amount of leeway in their evaluations and award decisions, so long as the agency followed the solicitation terms. In a recent GAO decision, an agency was reminded by the GAO that it must follow exactly what it wrote in its solicitation when making its award decision. Specifically, past performance criteria must be followed by the agency in evaluation past performance examples.
Continue readingGAO Sustain: Offeror’s Failure to Follow Solicitation’s Document Preparation Instructions was Unstated Evaluation Criteria
A recent GAO decision considered whether an agency could reject an offeror’s proposal based on the offeror’s failure to follow document preparation instructions that were not explicitly stated in the solicitation.
In Hometown Veterans Medical, LLC B-422751 (Oct. 11, 2024), the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) issued a request for proposals (“RFP”) from service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses for home oxygen services for patients at the VA’s Birmingham Veterans Medical Center. The RFP stated that offerors would be evaluated on experience and price.
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