Recognizing Mr. Ralph White for His Service to the United States Congress and the Government Accountability Office (Gao)

Floor Speech

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Mr. SMITH of Washington. Madam Speaker, as the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, I would like to recognize an outstanding public servant, Mr. Ralph White, who has dedicated his career to providing bidders for government contracts with an expeditious means to seek accountability, and to maintaining a high rate of effectiveness in the bid protest process. Mr. White will retire on May 29, 2022, after a distinguished, 39-year career in public service, including serving 33 years at the Government Accountability Office (GAO), where he is currently a Managing Associate General Counsel for the Procurement Law division.

As a Senate staffer during the beginning of his career, Mr. White was instrumental in the drafting of the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984, which established the authority for GAO's bid protest function, under which hundreds of bid protests are filed each year. Mr. White joined GAO in 1989 as a writing attorney/hearing officer in the Procurement Law division and was promoted in 2010 to lead a team of attorneys as an Assistant General Counsel. Since becoming a Managing Associate General Counsel, responsible for GAO's bid protest decision- making authority, Mr. White has successfully led GAO's Procurement Law division to resolve numerous large and complicated bid protests with a consistently high effectiveness rate and has been recognized by the government contracting community as a preeminent legal expert and trusted mentor. Mr. White is regularly sought out to speak and provide insights into the bid protest process throughout the government, academia, and industry. Throughout his tenure, Mr. White has managed the resolution of protests related to nearly every aspect of federal procurement spending. His exceptional professionalism, integrity, and dedication have been recognized by numerous awards throughout his GAO career, including GAO's Distinguished Service award in 2013 and the General Counsel's Award in March 2010 for outstanding leadership.

Under Mr. White's leadership, the GAO bid protest process has increased public confidence in the transparency, accountability, and functionality of the U.S. federal acquisition system. We thank him for his commitment and service to the Nation.

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