GAO guidelines Booz Allen has no battle in $860M VA award
The Authorities Accountability Workplace’s resolution on Tuesday to disclaim a pair of protests has cleared the way in which for Booz Allen Hamilton to proceed its function supporting the Veterans Affairs’ digital well being document modernization undertaking.
In September 2022, Booz Allen received the $860 million job order that extends its work for one more 5 years as program supervisor for the VA’s large program to implement Cerner’s digital well being document. The corporate first received that function in 2017 via a $750 million job order awarded in 2017.
The VA competed each orders via its Transformation Twenty-One Know-how Subsequent Technology automobile often known as T4NG.
Shortly after the recompete award, Cognosante and Professional Sphere Tek filed protests difficult the analysis and claiming that Booz Allen had an organizational conflict-of-interest. These two firms have been the opposite bidders for the recompete, Federal Procurement Information System information point out.
That is the second VA job order up to now 12 months the place protestors made OCI allegations in opposition to Booz Allen.
GAO’s denial of the Cognosante and Professional Sphere protest isn’t public but.
However we’ve realized that they argued it was improper for Booz Allen to carry this system administration workplace contract. Cognosante and Professional Sphere claimed Booz Allen could be in place to steer work to a different VA job order held by its subsidiary Liberty IT Options, additionally via the T4NG automobile.
Booz Allen accomplished the acquisition of Liberty IT in June 2021. Liberty IT received that $735 million job order in September 2021, then additionally confronted OCI allegations as a result of Booz Allen held this system administration contract.
Liberty’s job order with the VA includes utility improvement providers assist identified DevSecOps that features improvement of merchandise, operations assist and safety compliance.
Halfaker and Associates was the protestor elevating the OCI considerations in opposition to Liberty IT. Science Purposes Worldwide Corp. acquired Halfaker in July 2021.
In an unsuccessful protest, Halfaker argued that Liberty IT had an “impaired objectivity” OCI and raised questions over the power to work objectively. Halfaker claimed the efficiency would doubtlessly affect the opposite work executed by Booz Allen.
However in its January 2022 ruling in opposition to Halfaker, GAO discovered no OCI points as a result of the 2 job orders are operated by separate components of the VA.
The VA’s workplace of IT manages the work being carried out by Liberty IT, whereas Booz Allen’s providers are to the workplace of EHR modernization.
Liberty IT’s work includes legacy methods and Booz Allen is targeted on modernization, GAO stated.
Of their protest, Cognosante and Professional Sphere mainly resurrected the OCI considerations in opposition to Booz Allen.
On condition that GAO has denied the protest, it’s protected to imagine the watchdog company once more agreed with the VA that no OCI points existed.
We are going to revisit this in additional element when GAO releases a redacted model of its ruling, which might take a number of weeks.
Additionally value noting: that is the end line for protests involving this job order.
Cognosante and Halfaker can not take their complaints to the U.S. Courtroom of Federal Claims, which doesn’t not have jurisdiction over job order competitions. Solely GAO hears job order protests.
