WHEN RECOMMENDATIONS BECOME REQUIREMENTS: HOW THE GAO'S 'NON-BINDING' BID PROTEST DECISIONS CREATE UNOFFICIAL PROCUREMENT RULES CONTRACTING OFFICERS ARE EXPECTED TO FOLLOW.

TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction 525 II. Bid Protests: Background and Processes 528 A. An Overview of Bid Protests 529 B. The History of Bid Protests 530 1. Bid Protests [...]
The Government Accountability Office's (GAO) bid protest decisions often create standards that are followed to nearly the same degree as statutes, Executive Orders (EOs), and regulations and are often given similar deference. GAO decisions, however, are much harder for contracting officers (COs) to find, read, and understand than statutes, regulations, and EOs. This confusion fundamentally undermines the intent of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to create a single source for all acquisition regulations that is written in simple, easy to understand language and creates an untenable situation for COs who are unaware of these additional rules. Codification of the standards created by GAO decisions would allow public participation and comment during the rule-making process and provide clearer, more consistent guidance on topics where the FAR has left room for interpretation that is currently being filled by standards created in GAO's bid protest decisions.