The Defense Department has proposed a new measure that aims to address delays in government procurements by limiting the ability of government contractors to challenge contract award decisions by agencies in federal courts, Federal News Radio reported Friday.
The proposed legislation would direct contractors to file bid protests with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims within 10 days of the award decision and prohibit them from using COFC as a backup if they fail to win their cases at the Government Accountability Office.
“The amount of time that could be consumed by protests would be reduced, scarce agency procurement resources would be conserved by ensuring that two separate trial-level forums do not adjudicate the same bid protest, and protesters would be assured of accountability and transparency no matter which forum they elected,†DoD officials wrote in their official proposal to Congress.
“This reform would largely eliminate an unintended ‘forum shopping’ practice that has arisen under the existing bid protest system, and would materially contribute to the expeditious yet fair resolution of bid protests,†they added.
