B-295529.6, Alan D. King, February 21, 2006

B-295529.6 Feb 21, 2006 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Alan D. King, the Deputy Garrison Commander of the Department of the Army's Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C., protests the Army's decision to procure base operations support services at Walter Reed using a contract awarded to IAP World Services, Inc., under request for proposals No. DADA10-03-R-0001, rather than continue to have these services performed in-house using government employees. The Army's decision was made pursuant to procedures established by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76; however, the Army and Mr. King disagree about the version of the Circular that applies here. Mr. King argues that the Army's authority to use the 1999 Circular expired, and contends that, by operation of law, the study here is governed by the 2003 Circular, which Mr. King claims has been violated. Mr. King also argues that the Army violated the Anti-Deficiency Act, as well as other statutes, while conducting this cost comparison study. We conclude that Mr. King lacks standing to pursue this protest under either version of OMB Circular A-76. As a result, we dismiss this protest because Mr. King is not an interested party to pursue it. View Decision B-295529.6, Alan D. King, February 21, 2006 Decision Matter of: Alan D. King File: B-295529.6 Date: February 21, 2006 William W. Thompson, Jr., Esq., Michael A. Branca, Esq., and Lori Ann Lange, Esq., Peckar, Abramson, Bastianelli & Kelley, for the protester. David R. Johnson, Esq., Amanda J. Dietrick, Esq., and Alexander O. Levine, Esq., Vinson & Elkins, for IAP World Services, Inc., an intervenor. Raymond M. Saunders, Esq., Department of the Army, for the agency. Ralph O. White, Esq., and Christine S. Melody, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protester challenging, on behalf of federal employees, the outcome of a cost comparison study held pursuant to Office of Management and Budget Circular A'76, is not an interested party with standing to pursue a protest at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) where the study at issue was not initiated on or after January 26, 2005, as required by the amendment to the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984, 31 U.S.C. sections 3551-56 (2000) set forth at section 326(a) of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005, Pub. L. No. 108-375, 118 Stat. 1811, 1848, which authorizes the official responsible for submitting the federal agency tender in a public-private competition conducted under the Circular to be an –interested party— for purposes of filing a bid protest at the GAO. DECISION Alan D. King, the Deputy Garrison Commander of the Department of the Army's Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C., protests the Army's decision to procure base operations support services at Walter Reed using a contract awarded to IAP World Services, Inc., under request for proposals No. DADA10-03-R-0001, rather than continue to have these services performed in-house using government employees. The Army's decision was made pursuant to procedures established by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76; however, the Army and Mr. King disagree about the version of the Circular that applies here.[1] Mr. King argues that the Army's authority to use the 1999 Circular expired, and contends that, by operation of law, the study here is governed by the 2003 Circular, which Mr. King claims has been violated. Mr. King also argues that the Army violated the Anti-Deficiency Act, as well as other statutes, while conducting this cost comparison study. We conclude that Mr. King lacks standing to pursue this protest under either version of OMB Circular A-76. As a result, we dismiss this protest because Mr. King is not an interested party to pursue it. BACKGROUND In June 2000, the Army announced its intent to conduct an A-76 cost comparison study of base operations support services at Walter Reed. This announcement was followed by a solicitation issued to potential private-sector offerors on June 4, 2003. Johnson Controls World Servs., Inc., B-295529.2, B-295529.3, June 27, 2005, 2005 CPD para. 124 at 2 (–JCWS—).[2] Since this cost comparison study began in 2000, prior to issuance of the 2003 Circular (even though the solicitation was issued approximately 1 week after the Circular was revised), the Department of Defense (DOD) sought permission from OMB to proceed under the 1999 Circular. Specifically, by letter dated October 24, 2003, DOD requested permission to proceed with 205 competitive sourcing initiatives already underway pursuant to the 1999 Circular, one of which was the Walter Reed study at issue here. Protest, attach. 2 (Letter from DOD to OMB, Oct. 24, 2003) at 1.