Tag Archives: Alan Chvotkin

My September 12, 2019 column, raised questions about a protest at the GAO of the VA’s planned use of the Government Publishing Office (formerly the Government Printing Office) to acquire anti-suicide gun locks and printing instructions. That case addressed the applicability of the VA’s specific statute to give priority to …

The GAO bid protest process is designed to rapidly get all of the issues regarding the protest of an agency procurement on the table and then look at how the law and the facts relate to those issues – from the agency’s and the protestor’s perspective. It is rare that …

Every once in a while, a GAO bid protest decision is issued that catches my attention for reasons having nothing to do with the underlying legal issue being decided. 

Federal agencies have long been troubled with what to do when there is an expectation that multiple proposals will be submitted in response to a solicitation but only one offer is actually received.

Companies often learn an expensive lesson when submitting a proposal to a federal agency: don’t miss the date and time for proposal delivery to the person and location specified in the solicitation.  There are also strict timelines for other common procurement situations, including filing of protests at the Government Accountability Office and for claims under the Contract Disputes Act.

Evaluating a contractor’s past performance is an essential element of all significant government solicitations. Such evaluations are also used by government officials to make determinations of incentives earned during contract administration. With past performance being such an essential element of federal contracting, isn’t it in the government’s best interest to …

Since the enactment of the Competition in Contracting Act in 1984, price has been an essential element of every contract awarded by the Federal Government under the Federal Acquisition Regulation, along with technical capability and (more recently) past performance. In addition, before making an award, every contracting officer must determine …

For services contracts, the government understandably wants to know who will be performing the work they require. They frequently ask for staffing plans to assess the contractors’ understanding of the work to be performed. And they often ask bidders and contract holders to detail the individuals who will work on …

In his debut column, Alan Chvotkin, executive vice president and counsel of the Professional Services Council, analyzes two recent cases involving the government contracting selection process. In each case contractors protested what they considered were flawed methods in the government’s source selection and filed a protest. Chvotkin reviews the implications …