‘Loser’s Pay’ Rules Coming Despite Declining Bid Protests

Hunter Bennett spoke with Federal News Network about congressional efforts to implement “loser pays” requirements for bid protests, even as new GAO data shows protests have been declining and remain effective for vendors.

Hunter said, “The fact that the bid protest effectiveness rate is higher than 50% and has been for the last four years, is compelling evidence to me that the GAO protest process is working as it’s supposed to, and that frivolous protests aren’t a significant problem. Most government contractors don’t hold only one contract, this is their business and the agencies are their customers. The idea that you would just file a frivolous protest and risk ticking off your customer and engendering all sorts of bad will going forward, I think does not square with my experience with the contractors we work with. They take protesting very seriously and they only do it when they have a real concern and feel as though they’re not being heard.”

Hunter added that another reason why frivolous protests are less of a concern is agencies are more often offering debriefings to losing bidders.