[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 72 (Monday, May 2, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S2242]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO RALPH WHITE

  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, as a member of the Senate 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 inexpensive and expeditious 
means to seek accountability within the government contracting 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 establishes statutory authority for GAO's bid protest 
function, under which thousands of bid protests are filed each year. 
Since joining GAO in 1989, Mr. White handled bid protests as a writing 
attorney/hearing officer, as an assistant general counsel leading a 
team of GAO attorneys, and since early 2010, as a managing associate 
general counsel leading GAO's bid protest forum. Since becoming a 
managing associate general counsel, Mr. White has successfully led 
GAO's procurement law division through numerous large and complicated 
bid protests and has been recognized by the government contracting 
community as a preeminent legal mind in this field. In recognition of 
this expertise and knowledge, he 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 that have touched upon nearly 
every aspect of federal procurement spending. In addition, Mr. White 
has received numerous awards during his GAO career, including GAO's 
Distinguished Service award in 2013 and the General Counsel's Award in 
March 2010 for outstanding leadership on several initiatives relating 
to GAO's bid protest process, as well as contributions to many 
significant bid protest decisions.
  Thanks to the dedication and expertise of Mr. White, our government 
contracting process provides bidders with an inexpensive and 
expeditious means to report violations of procurement law and 
regulation, to the benefit of all that value transparency, 
accountability, and functionality in government.

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