VA ignores GAO protest ruling

Agency risks court fight for refusal to reopen two contracts on which veteran-owned businesses won their bid protest.

The Veterans Affairs Department and a group of veteran-owned businesses maybe headed to court now that VA has refused to follow recommendations in a bid protest decision.

The Government Accountability Office wanted VA to reopen the competition on two contracts because they were not set aside for service-disabled, veteran-owned businesses as the protestors claimed was required by a 2006 law, the Washington Business Journal is reporting.

VA is ignoring the recommendation and has informed GAO. The move opens the way for the protesters to take their case to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims., the Journal’s Jill Aitoro reports.