Gov’t Contracts Policy Developments Of 2016: Year-In-Review

Jay Carey is quoted in a Law360 article providing a review of significant government contracts policy developments in 2016. Commenting on the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, Carey says, “I think the provision that puts a thumb on the scale against using LPTA [the lowest price technically acceptable model] is important, and in the long run beneficial not only to contractors but also to the DOD.”

Carey adds, “A lot of Senate provisions were driven by a concern or a perception that some protesters, and in particular incumbent protesters, were filing frivolous protests.” He continues, “I can’t say that it doesn’t happen, but I can say,— at least among the sophisticated government contractors we represent — we don’t see it happening. ... Most government contractors generally view filing a protest as akin to suing their customer. As a result, they tend to be very conservative about doing so.”