Legal Decisions

GAO’s Office of the General Counsel regularly issues legal decisions and opinions regarding federal bid protests, appropriations law, and other legal matters.

• Bid Protests: A bid protest is a challenge to the terms of a solicitation or the award of a federal contract. GAO adjudicates and decides these challenges. Learn more about our bid protest work.
• Appropriations Law: We issue legal opinions and decisions to Congress and federal agencies on the use of, and accountability for, public funds, including ruling on potential violations of the Antideficiency Act. Learn more about our appropriations law work.
• Other Legal Work: We also conduct other legal work—such as reviewing how federal agencies comply with the Congressional Review Act and the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. Learn more about our other legal work.

Members of Congress can log into our Watchdog website for Congress (accessible through the congressional computer network) to learn more about sending us request letters for an appropriations law decision or other legal work.