2.2.1 - Vendor Q&A.pdf

1.

RFP p. 82, section 3.3 Proposal Submission Documents

Confirmed. Please see Amendment 1 page 83 for clarification.

2.

RFP p. 82, section 3.3 Proposal Submission Documents

Yes. Please see Amendment 1 page 82 for clarification.

3.

RFP p. 83, section 3.3.2 Sub-Factor 2:

Communication Plan and p. 88 section 3.4, Sub- Factor 2: Communication Plan

Oral proposals are not part of this solicitation or its evaluation.

RFP 3.3.4.2 RFP 3.7 All of FAR 19.704 (fifteen elements) must be addressed. Please see Amendment 1 page 92 for the clarification.

(a) Small Business

(SB)

concerns:

38.5%

Small Business (SB) concerns: 38%

(c) Service- Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business

(SDVOSB)

concerns:

(5%)

Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) concerns: (3%)

(d) Small Disadvantag ed Business

(SDB)

concerns:

(18.5%)

Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) concerns: (18%)

5.

RFP 3.7 All of FAR 19.704 (fifteen elements) must be addressed. Please see Amendment 1 page 91 for clarification.

6.

RFP p. 1 STANDARD FORM 00 Please see the Cover Letter instructions in Amendment 1 page 82 for this instruction.

7.

RFP Section J Section J has no fill ins. This is a list of the attachments.

These sections emphasize the importance of efficient communications, especially via a Customer Access Portal. The optimum method of showing this capability is via a demonstration. Would you consider adding an orals component to the proposal evaluation process so that offerors may demonstrate their electronic communications systems/resources being offered?

4.

RFP 3.3.4.2 and 3.7

These sections are inconsistent. Per the discrepancies noted in red, could you please clarify the correct percentages?

The instructions do not indicate where this completed form, as well as any amendments, should be included in the submitted proposal. Could you please clarify?

This section includes places for filling in or check-marking responses, but the instructions do not indicate where these completed sections should be included in the submitted proposal. Could you please clarify?

This section states “To be deemed “acceptable,” the subcontracting plan must satisfactorily address the eleven elements of FAR 19.704.” However, https://www.acquisition.gov/far/19.704 has 15 numbered sections, some of which break into numerous subsections. Since covering these correctly is crucial to receiving an “acceptable” rating, could you please clarify what

“the eleven elements” are that are required in order to be rated acceptable?

This section limits Volume 1 – Security to 3 pages, which makes addressing the requirements comprehensively (section 3.3.1) very difficult. Could you please expand the page limit of that volume to 10 pages?

Please see Amendment 1 page 91 for these clarifications.

PWS Paragraph Reference / Other

(Sample. Para 5.1) Industry Questions Government Response

“Past Performance References (2 Page Limit).” Since up to three references can be included, could you please verify that the page limit is 2 pages per reference, with a maximum of 6 pages for the volume if including 3 references?

8.

RFP 3.3.4.2 and 3.7

Please see Amendment 1 page 85 and 91-92. The Subcontracting Plan is being evaluated, and not the Mentor-Protege Program participation. R have been removed.

9.

PWS Part 11, sections B.8.1 and B.8.9 Please see Amendment 1's PWS page 43 and 110. Reference Revision 5 or current revision.

10.

PWS 3.3.1, page 13 The agency no longer tests for tuberculosis, a screening form is completed, any positive findings are referred to the selectee's personal physicia Amendment 1's PWS page 14.

11.

PWS 11 CLOUD SERVICES CONTRACT

REQUIREMENTS

Please see Section 10 General Cybersecurity Contract Requirements. An Authority to Operate (ATO), in example, is required for Cloud based an solutions.

12.

PWS Part 9 page 65 and C.5 & C6 on pages 96 and

This is a Moderate Risk contract; therefore, should not have National Security language on the PWS. Please see Amendment 1's PWS page 100 discrepancy. These sections are now Reserved to avoid renumbering any section that followed.

13.

PWS C9, Page 97 This is a Moderate Risk contract; therefore, should not have National Security language on the PWS. Please see Amendment 1's PWS page 100 discrepancy. These sections are now Reserved to avoid renumbering any section that followed.

14.

PWS 5.1 For FY23, there were 794 collection sites. Selections are random. Therefore, one FY is not predictive for any subsequent FY.

15.

Attachment 2 Price Template This information is not readily available. However, quantities vary from past need to future need. The future needs have been quantified and are Attachment 2 Price Template.

16.

Attachment 2 Price Template No plug number can be given. This is a a FFP CLIN, and vendors need to propose the FFP for it accordingly.

17.

Attachment 2 Price Template QuantiFERON testing has been permanently stopped.

Part 9 page 65 outlines the process for T1 and T2 (HSPD-12 or Moderate Risk Public Trust) fitness determinations. This process mentions Suitabilities and SF85 and SF85P, which are associated with the lower-level suitability (T1) and moderate level public trusts (T2). C.5 & C6 on pages 96 and 97 state that the requirement is Secret. These sections seem inconsistent. The PWS outlines information and processes for both Public Trusts and Security Clearances (Secret Level). Could you please clarify if the requirement for this program is MPRT or Secret?

Since the information on this contract is CUI and not secret or top secret, what employee clearances are required for employees that do not have direct access to Government systems or facilities?

Could you please provide the number of random samples collected at “on site” Drug Free Workplace events during FY 2023, broken down the total by location, month, and gender?

Could you please provide the FY 2023 quantities for each CLIN on the previous contract?

The costs of Individual Medical Examinations vary widely across the coverage area.

Would the government consider providing a plug number for those CLINS?

Should a CLIN be added for QuantiFERON?

Could you please specify the contract requirements for non Cloud-based solutions?

These sections refer several times to the DHS Mentor‐Protégé Program.

However, at https://www.dhs.gov/mentor‐protege‐program this statement appears: “Application Changes: The DHS Mentor‐Protégé

Program (MPP) is now codified through the National Defense

Authorization Act of 2023. Effective March 1, 2023, the Office of Small and

Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) will not accept new applications until further notice.” Could you please remove references to this and indicate if you will recognize SBA‐sanctioned M‐P programs?

These sections refer to NIST SP 800-53, Revision 4 in relation to FedRAMP; however, Rev 4 is not the most current version. Could you please clarify the correct NIST SP 800-53 Revision in use?

This section states, “Tuberculosis skin test results (to be read 48 to 72 hours past administration) or blood tests as an alternate.” Could you please confirm that the agency still requires TB testing as a required component of the examination? Please specify when QuantiFERON is the preferred option.

18.

RFP Section I, page 5 and Section titled 3052.204-

72 SAFEGUARDING OF CONTROLLED

UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION (JULY 2023), item

(e) on page 28

Please see Amendment 1 page 5. The clause 52.227-16 has been removed from this commercial contract.

19.

RFP Section I, page 6, Contract Clauses FAR 52.237-7 Indemnification and Medical Liability Insurance (JAN 1997).

Please see Amendment 1 page 5. This clause has been omitted as this is a commercial contract.

20.

RFP Section I, page 6, Contract Clauses FAR 52.245-1 Government Property (SEP 2021)

See Amendment 1 page 5. This clause has been removed. If the vendor, after award, requires Government property, the contract shall be modifi

21.

RFP Page 8 Section I: Contract Clauses 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting (Oct 2022) (15 U.S.C.

637s)

Please see Amendment 1 page 8. This is not a sole source or set-aside, and is being competed.

Th er

RFP Page 11 Section I: Contract Clauses 52.222- 41, Service Contract Labor Standards (Aug 2018) (41 U.S.C. chapter 67)

Wage determinations is not applicable and will not be used on this FFP contract, as we are awarding FFP services.

23.

RFP Page 14 Section I: Contract Clauses HSAR 15-

01 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECURITY

AWARENESS TRAINING (JULY 2023)

Contractor's training is not seperately priced, and will not be a CLIN the Government is purchasing on this contract. The Government is purchasin contractor personnel who are fully trained.

24.

RFP Page 18 Section I: Contract Clauses HSAR 3052.204-71 Contractor Employee Access (JULY 2023)

The appropriate ICE training systems will become available to the vendor after award.

25.

RFP Page 28 Section I: Contract Clauses (e) Certificate of Sanitization of Government and Government-Activity-Related Files and Information states

This template is available to the public via internet.

This mentions initial and refresher training concerning the protection and disclosure of CUI.

Will the Government please provide information on where to access this training?

This states “The Contractor shall submit the certification to the COR and Contracting Officer following the template provided in NIST SP 800–88, Guidelines for Media Sanitization, Appendix G.” Please provide Appendix G.

This requires approximately three (3) hours of annual training for Contractor employees and subcontractors. Will the Government consider adding a CLIN in the pricing to cover the required training?

Please note that Contract Clauses FAR 52.227-16 Additional Data Requirements (JUN 1987), cited on page 5, allows the Contracting Officer to request data up to 3 years after contract completion. However, according to RFP section 3052.204-72 SAFEGUARDING OF CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION (JULY 2023), item (e) on page 28, data is to be returned or destroyed at contract end. Could you please clarify which is the correct requirement?

Could you please provide the fill in amounts per specialty per occurrence?

Could you please provide the types of Government Property that is expected for the Contractor to maintain during the course of this contract?

This is marked as applicable; however, this procurement is not classified as a set aside or sole source. Could you please correct this?

This is not marked as applicable. Could you please confirm the Service Contract Act will not apply to this contract and there will not be any Wage Determinations issued?

26.

RFP Page 34 Item (c ) (2) and PWS page 126 item

(2) under (i) Credit Monitoring Requirements

The requirement is 18 months. Please see Amendment 1's PWS page 128.

27.

RFP Page 70 Section L: Instructions, conditions, and notices to offerors or respondents FAR 52.216- 1 Type of Contract

Confirmed. Travel is the only Cost Reimbursable line item. All services are Firm Fixed Price (FFP).

29.

PWS Page 7, section 1.8 Security Procedures If only electronic records are created, then the storage requirements fall under the IT requirements.

30.

PWS Page 23, section 4.2.1 General Medical Independent Medical Examination

50 miles is correct. Please see Amendment 1's PWS page 23 for the correction.

31.

PWS Page 28, section 4.3 Additional Medical Testing

These medical tests now fall under CLIN 0002AG2. Please see Amendment 1's Price Template CLIN 0002AG2 for the Base and all Option Year

32.

PWS Page 51, section 6.8 Ad Hoc Reports and Attachment 2

Deliverable reports are not separately priced.

33.

PWS Page 55, section 7.1 System Basics and

The incumbent will be working to complete as many active cases as they can to alleviate the awarded vendor completing in-progress work. Trans separately priced item. This contract is for FFP services.

34.

PWS Page 55, section 7.1 System Basics and

Vendor compliance with ICE terms and conditions is not a FFP service. No CLIN will be added for this.

This requires the vendor to modify the medical system to be compliant with ICE changes within 30 calendar days. Can you accommodate the labor and development time needed for these system updates by adding a CLIN to Attachment 2 for this?

Subcontractors and Teaming Partners are whomever is performing the FFP services with the proposed prime.

This requires records to be stored in locked, fireproof metal filing cabinets or secure room.

If medical records are electronic can this requirement be removed?

This states “The examination shall be conducted within 50 miles of the employee’s home or workplace. For FFDEs where an employee requires a unique specialty provider or where the employee is in a remote location, the Contractor may be allowed to schedule appointments outside the 30-mile radius and 30-day completion time.” The 30-mile radius appears to be an error and should be 50-miles. Could you please make this correction?

This lists multiple services that are not individually listed out on the pricing schedule.

Should these be added or included under the CLIN 0002AA General Medical Independent Medical Examination with Report (pre-psych) of the excel Attachment 2?

This requires routine and non-routine ad hoc reports be provided as requested at no additional cost. Specialty reports will take time and resources to develop. Could you revise the pricing file to add a CLIN for nonstandard reports that require development resources?

This requires the contractor to pre-populate the medical system with active cases from the incumbent Contractor’s system and make it available on day 1. Can you include a pricing CLIN for Transition to cover the cost of this?

RFP Page 34 Item (c ) (2) requires “Provide credit monitoring services to individuals whose PII or SPII was under the control of the Contractor or resided in the information system at the time of the incident for a period beginning the date of the incident and extending not less than 18 months from the date the individual is notified.” However, PWS page 126 item

(2) under (i) Credit Monitoring Requirements states 19 months. Could you please make this consistent in both documents?

This states Firm Fixed Price and Cost Reimbursable. Could you please confirm Travel is the only CR line item?

28.

RFP 3.3.2 Subfactor 3

This section states “The offeror shall describe their organizational structure and include the clinic service providers, subcontractors (if applicable), teaming partners (if applicable).”

Could you please confirm that a contractor’s Vendor Network (of thousands of affiliated Providers) is not considered as a Subcontractor under this procurement?

35.

PWS Page 59 Part 8. Privacy & Records Office (PRO) Clauses

This document is publically available.

37.

PWS Page 80, section A.6 and RFP page 16 HSAR 3052.204-71 Contractor Employee Access (JULY 2023)

The RFP's clause was accurate. Please see Amendment 1's PWS page 80-85 for the revision to show the July 2023 clause.

38.

PWS Page 94 section A.11 and Attachment 2 Contractor's training is not seperately priced, and will not be a CLIN the Government is purchasing on this contract. The Government is purchasin contractor personnel who are fully trained.

39.

PWS Page 96, section C.5 This Contract is designated as Public Trust; therefore, no security clearance - a Tier2 investigation is required for each Contractor.

40.

PWS Page 101 Section 2) Enterprise Security Architecture Terms and Conditions

The CSP shall utilize and adhere to DHS/ICE Enterprise Security Architecture in accordance with applicable laws and DHS/ICE policies to the sa

COR.

41.

PWS Page 106, section 6) Confidentiality and Nondisclosure

Yes. Please see Amendment 1's PWS page 109.

43.

PWS 6.2.6 - Cyber security deliverables Yes.

44.

PWS Section 6.8 Ad Hoc reports As there are thousands of web platforms, this would be discussed and agreed upon with the vendor at the kick-off meeting.

45.

PWS section 7.3 The Government initiates the requests for data transfer and reporting, as necessary.

46.

PWS section 7.3 Bi-directional communications refer to the data transfer between Government and vendor systems, allowing for feedback and responses from the

Yes.

Are the ATO deliverables the same for all solutions, whether on-premise or cloud solutions?

What industry standard web platforms are acceptable?

What would be the source system making the request for the data transfer or reporting requests?

Can the government provide a data definition standard defined/compiled for the bi-directional and reporting communications?

42.

PWS 11, page 110, item 16 Is an MFA solution required for all personnel who will access the system?

This includes the document DHS/ALL-022 Department of Homeland Security Drug Free Workplace. Can the Government please provide this document or a link for where to find it?

36.

PWS PART 9 – SECURITY REQUIREMENTS,

Page 69 Information Technology Security Training and Oversight and Attachment 2

Since the contractor does not utilize government-furnished computers, would you omit this PIV card requirement?

PWS Page 80, section A.6 states “In accordance with HSAR 3052.204-71 - Contractor Employee Access, The following clause should be incorporated into ALL acquisition documents: Contractor Employee Access (Sep 2012).” Page 16 of the RFP has HSAR 3052.204-71 Contractor Employee Access (JULY 2023), the July 2023 edition. Could you please revise for consistency, to show HSAR 3052.204-71 Contractor Employee Access (JULY 2023) instead of (Sept 2012)?

In accordance with HSAR Class Deviation 15-01, Special Clause, Information Technology Security and Privacy Training (MAR 2015) includes training requirements. Can you please revise Attachment 2 to add a CLIN for training?

In accordance with ITAR 4.5.4.3 – Handling or Processing of Classified Information, it is stated that the maximum level of classification is (SECRET). Please clarify which security clearance type is required and will it be for both people and facility?

No content is provided for this section heading. Could you please clarify the intent - Should this be reserved, moved, or will the Government provide the requirements for this section if applicable?

This states “The U.S. Government has unlimited data rights to all deliverables and associated working papers and materials in accordance with FAR 52.227- [applicable FAR clause number].” Should this be FAR 52.227-14 (Rights in Data – General)?

All Contractor employees accessing Department IT systems or processing DHS sensitive data via an IT system will require an ICE issued/provis Verification (PIV) card. If the employees are not accessing such a system, this requirement does not apply to them at that time.