Training, Rehabilitation & Development Institute, Inc. (W91151-20-Q-0016)

B-418480 May 13, 2020 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Training, Rehabilitation, & Development Institute, Inc. (TRDI), of San Antonio, Texas, protests the terms of request for quotations (RFQ) No. W91151-20-Q-0016, issued by the Department of the Army for washer and dryer maintenance and repair services at Fort Hood, Texas. TRDI alleges that the contract should be awarded to the firm on a non-competitive, sole-source basis pursuant to the Javits-Wagner-O'Day (JWOD) Act. We deny the protest. View Decision Decision Matter of:  Training, Rehabilitation & Development Institute, Inc. File:  B-418480 Date:  May 13, 2020 John C. Dulske, Esq., Bonnie K. Kirkland, Esq., Ryan Sullivan, Esq., and Joanne Zimolzak, Esq., Dykema Gossett PLLC, for the protester. Susan Kim, Esq., Robert B. Neill, Esq., and Scott N. Flesch, Esq., Department of the Army; and Timi Nickerson Kenealy, Esq., U.S. AbilityOne Commission, for the agencies. Scott H. Riback, Esq., and Tania Calhoun, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest alleging that agency improperly is conducting an acquisition on a competitive basis rather than on a sole-source basis pursuant to the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act is denied where record shows that the services being solicited are not the same as the services provided under prior contracts that had been awarded on a sole-source basis pursuant to the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act. DECISION   Training, Rehabilitation, & Development Institute, Inc. (TRDI), of San Antonio, Texas, protests the terms of request for quotations (RFQ) No. W91151-20-Q-0016, issued by the Department of the Army for washer and dryer maintenance and repair services at Fort Hood, Texas.  TRDI alleges that the contract should be awarded to the firm on a non-competitive, sole-source basis pursuant to the Javits-Wagner-O’Day (JWOD) Act.  We deny the protest. BACKGROUND Under the provisions of the JWOD Act, the Committee for Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled, now operating as the U.S. AbilityOne Commission, has the exclusive authority to establish and maintain a procurement list of supplies and services provided by qualified non-profit agencies for the blind or significantly disabled under the AbilityOne program.  41 U.S.C. § 8502(a), 8503(a); 41 C.F.R. § 51-2.8.  The JWOD Act states that the procurement list is the mandatory source for federal agencies for any good or service on that list.  41 U.S.C. § 8504(a).  In short, the JWOD Act provides authority for noncompetitive acquisitions for specified supplies or services listed on the AbilityOne Commission’s procurement list to be awarded to the non-profit agency designated for award of the requirement, which in this case would be TRDI.  See Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-5(b)(2); see also FAR subpart 8.7. The facts of this case are straight-forward and not in dispute.  In February 2003, the Army entered into a contract with TRDI for the provision of washers and dryers at Fort Hood on a leased basis, with TRDI providing the leased machines.  Agency Report (AR), exh. 11, TRDI’s 2003 Contract.  That contract described the services to be provided by TRDI as follows: The Contractor shall provide machines and related services in accordance with the Contract, in troop billet laundry rooms, laundromats, gyms, child development centers, and other facilities located at Fort Hood.  The Contractor shall provide Contract services to include these functions and the tasks associated with their accomplishment:  Indirect Work such as phase-in and phase-out, work control, preparation of reports and logs, and other tasks; and Direct Work such as providing machines, removing, storing, adding, and relocating machines, performing preventive maintenance, repairing and/or replacing machines, and performing project work in accordance with Contract standards. Id. at 15.  Shortly after execution of the 2003 contract, the record shows that the AbilityOne Commission amended its procurement list to include this particular requirement.  The AbilityOne Commission published a notice in the Federal Register that provided, in its entirety, as follows:  Service Type/Location:  Installation Support Services, Fort Hood, Texas. NPA [non-profit agency]: Training, Rehabilitation, & Development Institute, Inc., [TRDI] San Antonio, Texas. Contract Activity: III Corps and Fort Hood Contracting Command, Fort Hood, Texas. 68 Fed. Reg. 35379 (June 13, 2003). The record shows that the agency and TRDI entered into three subsequent contracts for the lease of washers and dryers, along with ancillary services such as maintenance, installation, relocation, storage and uninstallation of the machines.  All three of those contracts were substantially the same as the original 2003 contract.  AR, exh. 12, the 2008 Contract; exh. 13, the 2013 Contract; exh.