A proposed fee for filing bid protests with the Government Accountability Office could have the biggest impact on agencies and small businesses.

 

Large systems integrators that are competing for multimillion- or multibillion-dollar contracts would not be put off by a flat fee of roughly $240 to file a protest with GAO against an agency's award decision. But companies at the other end of the contracting spectrum will likely face a tough question: Is it worth protesting a small contract?

 

"It will have a chilling effect on the little guy who is filing a protest ‘pro se' on a potential decision to go ahead with the protest," said attorney John Chierichella, a partner at Sheppard Mullin Richter and Hampton who has worked on many bid protest case.

 

More than 50 percent of protests are filed by small companies, and more than 60 percent are filed against defense contracts, said Ralph White, managing associate general counsel for procurement law at GAO.  Read full article.