govcon

In a recent bid protest decision, Markon LLC, B-423767-.4, December 12, 2025, the Government Accountability Officer (GAO) delivered a pointed reminder about the limits of agency discretion in cost realism evaluations. In this case, which involved a solicitation for business operations, information technology engineering support, and business enterprise modernization services, the Central Intelligence Agency...

Those of us who have spent time working in—or with—the federal government over the past several decades know that government shutdowns are not entirely uncommon.  There have actually been a total of 21 government shutdowns over the past 50 years, with the last occurring in 2019 and the longest lasting 35 days. By the...

A recent GAO protest decision, Wright Brothers Aero, Inc., B-423326.2, July 7, 2025, provides contractors with a helpful reminder of the risks posed by delaying a protest, even if the contractor believes that they do not “definitively” know of a basis for protest. GAO’s Bid Protest Regulations contain strict rules regarding timeliness, and disappointed...

Congress established the Government Accountability Office in 1921 to act as a source of objective, non-partisan information on government operations, most importantly, the executive branch. This authority extends to the review of federal government contracts—whether federally appropriated funds are being properly spent and whether procurements are being conducted fairly so as to bring the...

Are you a Native-Hawaiian Owned (“NHO”) business interested in applying for the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) 8(a) Development Program (“8(a) Program”)? Ward and Berry provides this brief informative guide as to the legal framework and regulations for becoming an NHO (as defined by the SBA) and applying for the 8(a) Program.   Under 13...

On August 22, 2024, the Department of Justice (DoJ) filed a lengthy complaint againstGeorgia Tech alleging that the university had misrepresented its compliance with several important cybersecurity regulations that outline what contractors must to do to protect government information residing on, passing through, or accessible by contractor systems. Ironically, the complaint focuses on allegedly...