GAO Bid Protests: Trends, Analysis, and Options for Congress

Moshe Schwartz
Specialist in Defense Acquisition

Kate M. Manuel
Legislative Attorney

Bid protests on federal government contracts filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have recently received increased congressional scrutiny due to protests of high-profile awards and reports that the number of protests is increasing. The delay of contract award or performance triggered by a GAO protest, coupled with the increasing number of GAO protests, has also prompted concerns about the potential impact of protests upon government agency operations, especially in the Department of Defense.

GAO is one of three forums with authority to hear general bid protests against the government. The GAO’s bid-protest process includes some unique features—most notably, the automatic stay of contract award or performance during a GAO protest—that make GAO a desirable forum for many disappointed bidders and offerors.

In recent years, the number of protests filed with GAO has steadily increased. Excluding protests from expanded jurisdiction, the number of bid protests increased steadily from approximately 1,150 in FY2001 to over 2,100 in FY2010, an increase of nearly 85%. Most of these protests were dismissed, withdrawn by the protester, or settled prior to GAO issuing an opinion. Since FY2001, on average, GAO issued an opinion on 22% of bid protests; on average, GAO opinions sustained the protest 21% of the time.

From FY2001 to FY2010, on average 5% of all bid protests filed were sustained. While the number of protests sustained increased, the percent of protests sustained dropped slightly. In FY2001, GAO sustained 66 protests (6% of all protests). In FY2010, GAO sustained 83 protests (4% of all protests) despite an 85% increase in the number of bid protests filed over the same period. According to GAO officials, among the most common grounds for sustaining protests are the contracting agencies not maintaining adequate documentation, errors in how agency officials conduct discussions with offerors, flaws in cost evaluations, contracting agencies not adhering to established evaluation criteria, and organizational conflict of interest.

Protesters can obtain relief from a protest when GAO sustains a protest or when agencies voluntary act to correct the allegation charged in the protest. The percentage of protesters obtaining relief from an agency is called the effectiveness rate. The effectiveness rate may be a good way to measure the number of protests that have actual or potential merit. From FY2001 to FY2010, the effectiveness rate of GAO protests increased from 33% to 42%, respectively. The increase in the effectiveness rate could indicate that not only is the number of protests increasing but the number of protests that have merit is increasing.

The number of bid protests filed against the Department of Defense (DOD) consistently increased, from approximately 600 in FY2001 to over 1,225 in FY2010, an increase of more than 100%. During the same period, on average, 60% of all bid protests involved DOD contracts even though DOD accounted for an average of 68% of all federal spending. From FY2001 to FY2010, the number of protests sustained against DOD has remained the same whereas the percentage of protests sustained against DOD has dropped from almost 7% in FY2001 to less than 4% in FY2010. According to data provided by GAO, protests against DOD were generally sustained at a lower rate than the rest of government (4.5% vs. 5.9%, respectively). This report contains options for Congress related to minimizing the number of protests filed with GAO and the delay of award/execution often associated with protests being sustained.


Date of Report: August 5, 2011
Number of Pages: 24
Order Number: R40227
Price: $29.95

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