Washington Council of Agencies
| Decision Date | 01 June 1983 |
| Docket Number | B-209598 |
| Parties | WASHINGTON COUNCIL OF AGENCIES |
| Court | Comptroller General of the United States |
Digest protest of a proposed sole-source award is sustained where the District of Columbia relies upon its annual appropriation act for authority to award a contract to a particular firm without competition, but the act makes a lump sum appropriation without reference to the matter and the congressional committee reports indicate only that funds were approved for a particular activity, not a particular contractor. In such circumstances the testimony of the district's representatives that they desired to make award to a particular firm is not evidence of congressional intent.
In behalf of its member agencies, the Washington Council of Agencies protests the District of Columbia's proposed noncompetitive award of a contract for third party custody services to bonabond, Inc. Because we do not agree with the district that its annual appropriation act authorizes award on a sole-source basis, we sustain the protest.
Over the past several years the district's pretrial services agency competitively awarded contracts to private organizations to provide third party custody services for individuals awaiting trial in the district. During this same period bonabond, Inc. Also provided these services to the district courts, using funds obtained from private sources and direct federal grants. Because these sources of funds are no longer available to bonabond, the pretrial services agency sought to have funds added to its budget for this purpose and designated for award to bonabond. The district contends that the D. C. Appropriation act, 1983, pub.L. No. 97-378 December 22, 1982, 96 Stat. 1925, accomplishes this purpose the protester argues to the contrary.
The Mayor's fiscal year 1983 budget originally sought $100 000 for the third party custody program, the same level of support as the prior year, and the district has issued a competitive solicitation for this amount of services in 1983. The procurement of an additional $100, 000 of these services which is the subject of this protest, has been withheld pending our decision on the matter.
The Mayor requested the additional $100, 000 for "the third party custody program ***" in a February 10, 1982 letter to the city council's committee on the judiciary. The judiciary committee's subsequent report, designated as "minutes, " has attached a budget summary stating that the request of the Mayor "approved herein" includes $100, 000 for a contract
According to the district, no further specific mention of bonabond appears in the records of the council's consideration of this budget request. The district's justification for its 1983 budget request transmitted to the congress in accordance with section 446 of the District of Columbia self government and reorganization act, pub.L. No. 93-198, 87 Stat. 774, simply identifies a $100, 000 increase over the prior year's budget of $100, 000 for third party custody services without indicating an intended recipient for those additional funds.
In subsequent hearings, the chairman of the house subcommittee on appropriations for the District of Columbia questioned the district's director of the pretrial services agency about this request for additional funds. During this discussion, the director stated that the district's needs for third party custody services had increased; he outlined bonabond's past work in this area and its sources of funds; and he advised that the district intended to award bonabond a $100, 000 contract from the funds requested for the pretrial services agency. District of columbia appropriations for 1983; hearings before the subcommittee on District of Columbia appropriations of the house committee on appropriations, 97th cong., 2d Sess. 1622-1627 (1982) (statement of bruce D. Beaudin, director, pretrial services agency). The district also testified to this same effect before the senate subcommittee on appropriations for the District of Columbia, indicating that the additional $100, 000 requested for third party custody services was earmarked for bonabond. District of columbia appropriations, fiscal year 1983; hearings on H.R. 7144 before the subcommittee on the District of Columbia of the senate committee on appropriations, 97th cong., 2d Sess. 192-193 (1982) (statement of bruce D. Beaudin, director, pretrial services agency).
The house appropriations committee recommended funding for the pretrial services agency's full budget request of $1 485, 300, including an increase of "$100, 000 for additional third-party custody services." H.R. Rep. No. 849, 97th cong., 2d Sess. At 48, 49 (1982). The counterpart report of the senate appropriations committee also recommended the full $1, 485, 300 for the pretrial services agency, without reference to third party custody services. S.Rep. No. 548,...
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