Training, Rehabilitation & Development Institute, Inc.

B-417265 May 03, 2019 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Training, Rehabilitation & Development Institute, Inc. (TRDI) of San Antonio, Texas, protests the decision of the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers (Corps), to award a contract to Pierce Commercial Laundry Distributors LLC (Pierce) for the purchase and installation of clothes washing machines and dryers at Fort Hood, Texas. TRDI alleges that the award of the contract violated the Javits-Wagner-O'Day (JWOD) Act and its implementation under the AbilityOne program. TRDI contends that pursuant to the JWOD Act and its implementing regulations, TRDI is the mandatory source for installation of washers and dryers at Fort Hood, and that inclusion of the installation services in Pierce's contract violated the JWOD Act. We deny the protest. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of:  Training, Rehabilitation & Development Institute, Inc. File:  B-417265 Date:  May 3, 2019 John C. Dulske, Esq., and Bryan Kost, Esq., Dykema Gossett PLLC, for the protester. Garry L. Brewer, Esq., Department of the Army, and Timi Nickerson Kenealy, Esq., and Kasia Dourney, Esq., U.S. AbilityOne Commission, for the agencies. John Sorrenti, Esq., and Christina Sklarew, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest alleging that award of a contract for the purchase and installation of washing machines and dryers violated the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act is denied where the protester has not shown that it is the mandatory source for the installation of the purchased washers and dryers, and therefore has not met its burden to show that the agency violated applicable statutes and regulations. DECISION Training, Rehabilitation & Development Institute, Inc. (TRDI) of San Antonio, Texas, protests the decision of the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers (Corps), to award a contract to Pierce Commercial Laundry Distributors LLC (Pierce) for the purchase and installation of clothes washing machines and dryers at Fort Hood, Texas.  TRDI alleges that the award of the contract violated the Javits-Wagner-O’Day (JWOD) Act and its implementation under the AbilityOne program.[1]  TRDI contends that pursuant to the JWOD Act and its implementing regulations, TRDI is the mandatory source for installation of washers and dryers at Fort Hood, and that inclusion of the installation services in Pierce’s contract violated the JWOD Act. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND Summary of the JWOD Act and Implementing Regulations The JWOD Act and its implementing regulations seek to “increase employment and training opportunities for persons who are blind or have other severe disabilities through the purchase of commodities and services from qualified nonprofit agencies employing persons who are blind or have other severe disabilities.”[2]  41 C.F.R. § 51-1.1(a).  The Act established a “Committee for Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled,” which is now called the U.S. AbilityOne Commission.  The AbilityOne Commission is required to “maintain and publish . . . a procurement list [which] shall include . . . products and services determined by the Committee to be suitable for the Federal Government to procure.”  41 U.S.C. § 8503(a); see also 41 C.F.R. § 51-2.2(b).  The JWOD Act further requires that: [a]n entity of the Federal Government intending to procure a product or service on the procurement list . . . shall procure the product or service from a qualified nonprofit agency for the blind or a qualified nonprofit agency for other severely disabled . . . . 41 U.S.C. § 8504(a). The implementing regulations encourage contracting activities to assist the AbilityOne Commission to identify suitable commodities and services that can be added to the procurement list.  41 C.F.R. § 51-5.1(a).  Contracting activities provide the AbilityOne Commission with information necessary to help the Commission determine whether a commodity or service is suitable to be added to the procurement list.  Id. § 51-5.1(b).  For services, this information may include a statement of work (SOW) explaining the services to be provided.  Id.  When the AbilityOne Commission adds a new product or service to the procurement list, it must publish in the Federal Register a notice announcing the new addition.  41 C.F.R. § 51.2-3. Chronology of Relevant Events In February 2003, the Fort Hood Contracting Command awarded TRDI contract No. DABK-15-03-C-0001 for “washer/dryer services.”  Protester Brief, exh.