1. QA RFP Response.pdf

Attachment 9

Question Number

Attachment Number Section Number

Page Number

Paragraph

Questions and Comments

1 It appears the due date is 9/16 for phase I, but questions aren’t due until after that date on the 23rd of September. Is this a mistake?

Answer RFP, page 43 has been revised.

2 Is there already an incumbent contractor in place?

Answer Yes, Brillient Corporation is the incumbent contractor.

3 If so, is the existing contractor still in good standing as an 8(a) contactor or has their term run its course?

Answer The incumbent contractor is no longer an 8(a) contractor.

4 Can you share the name of the incumbent contractor?

Answer Brillient Corporation is the incumbent contractor.

5 RFP, Section 3 Page 42 Page 42 of the RFP Says, “ If the offeror is a joint venture (JV), the JV is required to have the SECRET facility clearance.” We are an un-populated JV under SBA approved Mentor Protégé Agreement. As per SBA, an un-populated doesn’t hire any employees. The JV members hire employees who currently have active Secret level facility clearance

Question: Will the government consider removing the above sentence from the RFP?

Answer No

6 RFP Page 47, Factor 4

RFP states, "Contracts or orders with values at or above $7 million per year for the proposing prime contractor and $30 million and above per year for proposed major subcontractor."

Is the threshold you stated of $30M for subcontractor experience correct, and is that the amount that must be subcontracted or the total award amount?

Answer RFP Section E, Number 3, Phase II Proposal Instructions, Section III, Corporate Experience, Page 47 has been revised.

7 RFP, Section 52.212-

In Section 52.212-2 of the RFP, under the heading "Phase 1" (at the bottom of page 56) the RFP indicates vendors should have “submitted at the time of the Phase 1 proposal submission documentation from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) that demonstrates the prime offeror has an active SECRET facility clearance .” DCSA no longer issues the DSS FL 381-R (Facility Clearance Letter), what documentation does CIS require for offerors to validate their Active Facility Clearance? For example, does CIS have a specific verification method it would like to use, such as:

1) A statement of fact inserted into the proposal with the CAGE code for official verification in NISS

2) A written attestation of clearance on company letterhead, signed by the FSO

3) A printout of the View Notification screen from the NISS system (Note: this document is FOUO and would require adequate protection as such)

4) Another method?

Answer The following sections of the RFP have been revised:

Section E, Addendum to 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors - Commercial Items, #3, Proposal Instructions, Phase I, page 42.

Section E, Addendum to 52.212-2 Evaluation - Commercial Items, Phase I, Factor 1, Facility Clearance, pages 57 and 58.

U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) Records Operations Support Services (ROSS)

70SBUR20R00000005

Industry Questions and Comments Regarding ROSS Re-compete

NOTE: If there is a conflict between any answer provided and the solicitation and its attachments, the solicitation and its attachments take precedence.

Solicitation, Instructions to Offerors

Paragraph 3, For Phase I, the Solicitation requires Joint Venture (JV) offerors to have the SECRET facility clearance. Would the government consider a JV whose members all have SECRET or TOP SECRET facility clearances as meeting the SECRET Facility requirement? In other words, if a JV has two members, and BOTH members have SECRET or TOP SECRET facility clearance, would the JV be determined to have successfully demonstrated the requirement to be considered Technically Acceptable for Phase I and considered for further inclusion in Phase II?

Answer No

Page 42 #3 We are responding to solicitation number 70SBUR20R00000005. Phase 1 requires proof of facility clearance. Proof of facility clearance is afforded via National Industrial Security System (NISS). The NISS printout is FOUO. As such we would like to submit our proof of facility clearance view notification from NISS electronically. In compliance with the National Industrial Security Program (NISP) we will send the initial email with both our facility information and verification password protected. Password will follow under separate cover. Please confirm this is acceptable to you.

Thanks in advance for your assistance with our submission

Answer

The following sections of the RFP have been revised:

Section E, Addendum to 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors - Commercial Items, #3, Proposal Instructions, Phase I, page 42.

Section E, Addendum to 52.212-2 Evaluation - Commercial Items, Phase I, Factor 1, Facility Clearance, pages 57 and 58.

10 Will DHS amend the solicitation with a new NAICS that is more appropriate for the principal scope of the work to be performed, such as NAICS 541611

Answer No

11 Page 58 Will DHS amend the solicitation with a "secret" demonstration option, rather than requiring the clearance already be obtained at the time of submission of the Phase I proposal as presently required?

Answer No, the requirements remain as stated in the RFP.

We question whether there are qualified 8(a) companies with gross revenues under $8 million per year, who hold active SECRET facility clearances, and that can perform a contract valued in excess of $20 million per year.

Does DHS have market research which shows there are such companies? If so, we request that you provide such research to us. If not, will DHS amend the solicitation with a new NAICS code (as suggested) that is more appropriate for the scope of work?

Answer

USCIS has held an industry day, issued an RFI and a draft PWS, all which have demonstrated there are 8(a) companies capable of performing this requirement.

The NAICS code for this requirement is as stated in the RFP.

The solicitation requires that an offeror hold a SECRET facility clearance to submit a proposal. It does not appear that the solicitation identifies which types of records and information involved with the contract, if any, require this level of clearance.

Can you identify where in the solicitation such information is provided? If it is not provided, will DHS amend the solicitation to include this important information or delete an unjustified clearance requirement?

Answer Section 3, of the PWS, Scope, discusses select contractor employees having access to A-File and Receipt files classified at the secret level. Classified and secret material is also discussed in PWS Sections 4.6.1.1 and 4.8.1.

One of the three relevancy requirements states: Contracts or orders with values at or above $7 million per year for the proposing prime contractor and $30 million and above per year for proposed major subcontractor. These total contract values represent the amount that the prime offeror or proposed major subcontractor will perform or has performed for their portion of work on the corporate experience example submitted." We would appreciate it if this question is responded to as soon as possible as the response will dictate whether our team qualifies to respond to this opportunity.

Questions: 1) We respectfully request clarification on this requirement as it would seem to be in contradiction with the NAICS codes requirements for the 561110 NAICS code and size standard selected for this opportunity. The $7M/year requirement restricts or limits small businesses from qualifying for this opportunity by our interpretation. 2) Please also clarify whether the $7M/year applies to the total for all Prime corporate experience examples selected or is this $7M/year to be applied to each contract selected as an example.

Answer RFP Section E, Number 3, Phase II Proposal Instructions, Section III, Corporate Experience, Page 47 has been revised.