Much that has been written about the bid protest reforms in the Section 809 Panel’s final report has focused on Recommendations 66-69, which expressly address (and propose changes to) the protest process at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) and the Court of Federal Claims (“COFC”). But the 809 Panel’s most impactful recommended changes to the protest process actually may be contained in Recommendation 35 (“Rec. 35”). There, in the context of a discussion of…

Crowell & Moring’s “All Things Protest” podcast keeps you up to date on major trends in bid protest litigation, key developments in high-profile cases, and best practices in state and federal procurement. In this episode, host Rob Sneckenberg interviews Senior Counsel Mark Ries about the nuanced procedural and substantive considerations for protests involving classified information. Mark is a retired Army JAG with extensive experience litigating all manner of protests and claims, including those in the…

On April 2, 2018, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published Final Rule 83 FR 13817, amending its bid protest regulations to implement the Electronic Protest Docketing System, make administrative and clerical changes, and “streamline the bid protest process.” This Final Rule goes into effect on May 1, 2018.  We detail below some key changes it implements to the protest process.…

This week’s episode covers army modernization, whistleblower reprisal, sentencing in procurement fraud cases, and other updates, and is hosted by partner David Robbins and senior counsel Mark Ries. Crowell & Moring’s “Fastest 5 Minutes” is a biweekly podcast that provides a brief summary of significant government contracts legal and regulatory developments that no government contracts lawyer or executive should be without. Listen: Crowell.com | PodBean | SoundCloud | iTunes   …

On April 15, 2016, the Acting Secretary of the Army issued Army Directive 2016-16 (Changing Management Behavior: Every Dollar Counts) stating that the Army will “eliminate ‘use or lose’ funding practices,” i.e., “commanders and staffs will not automatically decrement commands or programs in future allotments when they do not spend all funds without further investigation to evaluate the reason for the under-execution and determine if it was a onetime event or funding adjustments are needed.” …

On January 14, 2016, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) issued Directive 4715.21 to organize comprehensive agency-wide action to address and mitigate the risks of climate change on U.S. military assets and operations. The Directive implements for DoD the requirement established by Executive Order 13653 (Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change) that each federal agency develop and institute policies designed to improve climate resilience. It also follows several DoD reports and…