GAO Reaffirms Support for Existing Bid Protest Process

• A House Subcommittee held a hearing on bid protest reform to discuss potential changes to the protest process, including the possibility of a “loser-pays” model that would require unsuccessful protesters to pay costs and lost profits. • Section 885 of the FY 2025 NDAA required the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to submit a proposal for such a “loser-pays” model and “benchmarks” of average costs to DOD and GAO of protests and lost profit rates of contract awardees while contract performance is stayed during bid protests. • GAO submitted the proposal as required by Section 885, but reaffirmed its support for the current bid protest system and cautioned that fee-shifting models might deter legitimate protests, especially by small businesses, and undermine fairness and competitio