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Section 809 Panel Proposes Significant Curtailing of Pre-Award and GAO/COFC Protest Process for Commercial-Item Acquisitions

Client Alert | 1 min read | 03.18.19

Much that has been written about the bid protest reforms in the Section 809 Panel’s final report has focused on Recommendations 66-69, which expressly address (and propose changes to) the protest process at the GAO and the COFC. But the 809 Panel’s most impactful recommended changes to the protest process actually may be contained in Recommendation 35. There, in the context of a discussion of “updating” the DoD’s process for the acquisition of commercial and related items and services, the 809 Panel proposes to eliminate entirely GAO/COFC protests for such acquisitions valued at less than $15 million (and likely many above that threshold as well).

The implementation of Recommendation 35 may have unstated consequences that could ripple across both DoD and civilian agency acquisitions.

Read more here.

Insights

Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.12.25

EPA Proposes Important Revisions to its PFAS Reporting Regulations

On November 10, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released proposed regulations that, if adopted, would substantially alter the reporting obligations of companies that manufacture or import products containing per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The proposed regulations would significantly reduce reporting burdens by exempting numerous products that currently trigger reporting requirements under EPA’s PFAS reporting regulations.  The proposed regulations would also delay the current deadline for reporting....