Here's a low-priority way for our overstrained procurement workforce to spend time

The procurement bill the Senate reported out of committee recently includes a provision allowing bid protests on individual task orders over $5 million under multiple-award task and delivery order contracts.

Given the shortages in the acquisition workforce, this at best seems like a very low priority way for the workforce to spend its time. Protests are resource sinks, they are emotionally draining, they build adversary relationships rather than cooperation, and they are yet something else that makes the government overly cautious. If we were awash with contracting staff, there would be a case for this, but it's hard to believe that the same members who are complaining about shortages in the workforce and not having enough people to manage contracts should nominate this as a way to use up scarce contracting resources.

One piece of slightly better news is that the bill allows OFPP in its regulatory guidance to up the threshold for allowing protests to $25 million task order size.

Can the House help out in conference here?