Jurisdiction issue clears way for $145M Booz Allen task order win
By
Nick Wakeman
The Government Accountability Office has dismissed a protest by Wyle over a $145 million Booz Allen Hamilton Navy task order win because GAO doesn't have the jurisdiction to hear it.
The Government Accountability Office continues to clean up the protests that were filed during the two months it didn’t have jurisdiction to hear cases involving most civilian task order awards.
GAO has been dismissing those cases and the latest involves a $145 million Navy task order won by Booz Allen Hamilton that was protested by Wyle. The task order was issued under the GSA OASIS contract, a civilian contract. GAO has determined that it doesn’t have jurisdiction because it is a civilian contract even though the ultimate buyer is a defense customer.
This is at least the fourth protest GAO has dismissed because of the lack of jurisdiction.
The dismissals are coming after Congress voted to reinstate GAO’s jurisdiction, which expired on Sept. 30. The legislation, known as HR 5995, has been sent to the White House for the president’s signature. It is listed as pending at WhiteHouse.gov.
Until it is signed and becomes law, GAO cannot hear any protests filed after Sept. 30. Once signed, GAO will again accept protests, but its authority is not retroactive.
Which means that no matter the merit of its protest, Wyle will not get a hearing by GAO. And there is no appeals process beyond GAO.
My understanding is that there are still a couple more protests pending dismissal that involve a defense customer using a civilian task order contract.