Brought to you courtesy of The Whay Law Firm:

Government contracts are often protested.  The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) provides a venue for companies to protest a government agency's actions during the procurement process.  Whether you want to protest the terms of a solicitation or not being awarded a contract, the timing of submitting your protest to the GAO is very important.  If you wait too long, you will lose your right to protest.

If you are the intended awardee of a  government contract that is the subject of a GAO protest, you have the right to intervene in the protest.  This is an important right, and allows you the ability to monitor the protest, as well as respond to the arguments made by the protestor.