The report is one of two providing Congress with background on the GAO bid-protest process. It provides an overview of the time frames and procedures in a GAO bid protest, including (1) what issues can be protested with GAO; (2) who can file or be a party to a GAO protest; (3) the procedures for bringing and resolving GAO protests; (4) the time frames involved in GAO protests; (5) the automatic stay of contract award or performance triggered by a GAO protest, as well as the basis for agency overrides of automatic stays and judicial review of agency override determinations; (6) the basis and effects of GAO decisions; and (7) reconsideration and "appeal" of GAO decisions. A companion report, CRS Report R40227, GAO Bid Protests: Trends and Analysis, by Moshe Schwartz, Kate M. Manuel, and Lucy P. Martinez, analyzes recent trends in bid protests filed with GAO, particularly protests involving the Department of Defense.