GAO Clarifies Rules For Conflict Of Interest Waiver Protests
By Aron Beezley ( May 18, 2018, 12:00 PM EDT) -- The U.S. Government Accountability Office recently issued a decision in which it clarified the rules regarding bid protests that challenge an agency's organizational conflict of interest waiver.[1] As discussed below, the GAO's decision in ARES Technical Services Corporation provides a useful guide to GAO protesters in that it makes clear where they should (and should not) focus their "OCI waiver" challenges. The GAO's decision is also useful to agencies and intervenors in GAO protests, as it reinforces the reality that, in the OCI waiver context, agencies have a fairly low bar to clear before the GAO. Further, as discussed below, the GAO's decision in this case is noteworthy in that it indirectly highlights the comparative lack of guidance by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on OCI waiver protests....
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