RFP_DTFT60-14-R-00005_-_Grant_Accrual_Support_final.docx

Grant Accrual Support

DTFT60-14-R-00005

Table of Contents

SECTION B: SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES

B.1 Supplies or Services The Department of Transportation (DOT), Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is seeking professional contractor support to provide grant accrual services in order to assist with the financial statement preparation and support services for the grant accrual process in accordance with the statement of work (SOW) in section C of this RFP.

This requirement is a total small business set-aside. The Government intends to award one Fixed Priced (FFP) level of effort contract.

B.2 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code and Small Business Standard The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code for this acquisition is 541219, Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services. The small business size standard is $19,000,000 (Nineteen million dollars).

B.3 Contract Definition – Fixed Price Contract This is a Fixed Price level of effort Contract as defined at Subpart 16.202 of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and in Section I, FAR Clause 52.216-1, Contract Type, herein. Services provided by the Contractor under this Contract shall be secured by the issuance of a firm fixed price level of effort contract.

B.4 CLIN Structure CLIN 001 – Assessment of Financial Data for Determining Monthly Grant Accrual CLIN 002 – Reporting to the DOT Office of the Secretary (OST) on FTA’s portion of the DOT Consolidated Financial Statements CLIN 003 – Assistance in coordinating financial audits and reviews within the Office of Financial Management *Note: Travel will not be authorized under this requirement.

B.5 Contract Period of Performance The contract period of performance is from date of award through a five year period. The FAR clause 52.217-8 “Option to Extend Services”, has been incorporated in this contract, as referenced in Section I, in the event the Government requires continued performance of any services with the limits and at the rates specified in the contract beyond the five-year period of performance.

B.6 Pricing/Labor Rates Table The labor categories in the Pricing Template (Attachment J-3) shall be used for the total life of this contract.

This contract will be awarded to the contractor based within the pre-established Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) Labor rates as stated using the CLIN structure in J-1 Pricing Template. The maximum allowable escalation rate is 2.5% which may be applied on the anniversary of the award date during the period of performance. (See section J, Attachment J-3 Pricing Template.)

End of Section B

SECTION C: DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATION/WORK STATEMENT

C.1 Background

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is one of the eleven modals of the Department of Transportation (DOT) which has a mission to “serve the United States by ensuring a fast, safe, efficient, accessible and convenient transportation system that meets our vital national interests and enhances the quality of life of the American people, today and into the future.

The FTA Office of Budget and Policy (TBP) administers all audit and internal controls, overall strategic planning and program review, performance management, policy, budget, program development, and financial and accounting control matters. This includes providing policy direction on legislation and regulations that relate to public transportation programs. TBP is also responsible for the formulation and execution of the FTA’s $9 billion annual budget and ensures that appropriated funds are obligated and expended in accordance with Executive Branch and congressional intent. TBP is also responsible for managing the development and implementation of the FTA strategic and program planning process, including the review and evaluation of programs to determine their effectiveness in meeting the Department of Transportation’s and FTA’s strategic goals and objectives.

The CFO (Chief Financial Officer) Act of 1990, as amended requires all Federal government agencies to submit financial statements on an annual and quarterly basis. The Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST) required all Operating Administrations (OA) to submit their financial statements on a monthly basis (by the 10th day of the following month). The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has also mandated that all Federal agencies submit their audited financial statements by November 15th of each year. In addition, the departmental CFO mandated the requirement for the development and maintenance of procedures to establish an accrual process for Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant awards for monthly financial statements beginning May 2003.

C.2 Scope

The purpose of this effort is to provide assistance with financial statement preparation and support services for the grant accrual process. This will assist FTA to comply with policies mandated by the CFO, and support the accelerated due dates for agency submission of unaudited financial statements and related packages imposed by DOT Office of the Secretary (OST), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and Treasury. This effort will assist in ensuring that FTA can submit all required financial statements in a timely manner.

C.3 Objectives The Contractor shall provide a series of services as needed with a variety of finance, budget, accounting, and other expertise applied to delivery of those services. The Contractor is expected to be able to organize resources to accomplish multifaceted tasks and to provide a broad range of support functions m multiple task areas.

The objectives of this award are to provide readily available support:

(1) To develop and refine the tools and information needed to support DOT/FTA finance, budget, and accounting operations.

(2) To develop and refine the tools and information needed to analyze apportionment factors and provisions of relevant authorization and appropriation legislation, as well as Comptroller General decisions related to trust, general, and receipt, contributed, pooled, and miscellaneous transportation funds.

(3) To develop relationships between investment in transit and the Nation's capacity to sustain economic productivity and growth, to clarify, as quantitatively as possible both the short and long-term influences of infrastructure investments on the economy, and to identify innovative finance mechanisms through which economic benefits of transit investment are realized.

(4) To develop new tools and continue to improve existing data systems and application tools to optimize financial management of DOT/FTA resources.

(5) To support the continuing improvement of the agency's strategic management process, and to ensure that it meets the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), including development and validation of financial management performance measures; the design and implementation of customer and stakeholder outreach activities; and the eGrants and other Federal Lines of Business initiatives in support of the DOT/FTA.

(6) To identify and analyze emerging financial management issues that may affect transportation programs and policies.

C.4 Description of Work Statement

The following description of work represented as CLINs below corresponds to the pricing template (Attachment J-3):

CLIN 0001: Assessment of Financial Data for Determining Monthly Grant Accrual:

CLIN 0002: Reporting to the DOT Office of the Secretary (OST) on FTA’s portion of the DOT Consolidated Financial Statements:

CLIN 0003: Assistance in coordinating financial audits and reviews within the Office of Financial Management:

· Liaison with OIG auditors to ensure audit requests for the annual financial statements audit are provided in a timely manner,

• Track financial statements audit findings and develop corrective action plans to resolve these findings

End Of Section C

SECTION D: PACKAGING AND MARKING

All packing, packaging and mailing of reports or submittals shall be accomplished in the most economical and efficient manner and in accordance with the best commercial practices.

All information submitted to the Contracting Officer and the Contracting Officer's Representative shall be clearly marked with the name of the organization/contractor, the contract, and/or modification number as appropriate and the identification of the submission.

End of Section D

SECTION E: INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

E.1 52.252-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)

This contract incorporates the following contract clauses by reference, with the same force and affect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Office will make their full text available. Also the full text of a clause can be accessed electronically at:

http://www.acquisition.gov

52-246-4 INSPECTION OF SERVICES FIXED PRICE (AUG 1996)

All pertinent clauses will be incorporated by reference E.2 Contracting Officer or Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR Inspection and Acceptance) The Contracting Officer or the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) at the Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, Washington, DC, will perform final inspection and acceptance of all deliverables called for by this contract. The Contracting Officer reserves the right to designate other Government agents as authorized representatives upon unilateral written notice to the Contractor, which may be accomplished in the form of a transmittal of a copy of the authorization.

E.3 Government Contract Quality Assurance The Government intends to do quality assurance to monitor the quality of the contractor’s performance. The oversight provided for in the order and by the Government’s monitoring, will help to ensure that service levels reach and maintain the required levels throughout the contract term. Further, the Government’s quality assurance monitoring will provide the COR with a proactive way to avoid unacceptable or deficient performance, and provides verifiable input for the required Past Performance Information Assessments. Thus, the contractor must ensure that deliverables meet the Government’s acceptance.

E.4 Standards of Work Contractors are required to meet these standards/measures in the performance of their work:

· Adherence to Direction – Contractor shall follow all contract requirements and the direction of the COR.

· Customer Service – Contractor shall act with professionalism and be respectful and courteous at all times.

· Multiple Review Coordination – Contractor shall cooperate fully and collaborate with other FTA oversight review contractors when concurrent reviews are underway for the same grantee, as directed by the COR.

· Deadline Adherence – Time is of the essence in the performance of all grant accrual activities. Contractor shall meet deadlines for all tasks and deliverables. As required, the necessary approvals or responses (contractor, FTA, or grantee) prior to submission of deliverable or completion of task shall be received and documented. If any party fails to respond to contractor in a timely manner, possibly affecting their adherence to deadline, the contractor shall elevate that failure to respond to the COR. The contractor shall request an adjustment of deadline for cause from the COR, in advance of deadline.

· Software Competency – Contractor shall be skilled in use of MS Office Suite, including editing and formatting functions.

· Written Deliverable Typographical Accuracy and Formatting – Written deliverables shall be: spelled correctly, grammatically correct, free of typographical errors, formatted correctly and consistently, accurate in the use of professional salutations, and provided in a software type/version that meets the needs of the receiving office.

· Precision in Written Deliverables – Written deliverables shall be: thorough, accurate, clear, concise, professional, consistent, and thorough in their use of citations of relevant requirements or materials.

· Quality Assurance / Quality Control – Contractor shall employ adequate quality assurance / quality control methods to ensure all activities and deliverables meet the performance requirements.

End of Section E

SECTION F: DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

F.1 52.252-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)

52.242-15 Stop-Work Order (AUG1989) F.2 Period of Performance All work under this contract including delivery of all required reports/items, shall be accomplished within five (5) years after the date of contract award.

F.3 Schedule of Work All assigned work shall be performed in accordance with the work schedule as negotiated for the contract’s statement of work.

End of Section F

SECTION G: CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

G.1 Contracting Officer (CO) and Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)

Contracting Officer (CO) Stephanie Cooke-Nwadibia, TAD-40 1200 New Jersey Ave. S.E.

4th Floor - East Building Washington, DC 20590 Phone: 202-366-7072 Email: Stephanie.Cooke-Nwadibia@dot.gov Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) To Be Determined (TBD) 1200 New Jersey Ave. S.E.

5th Floor - East Building Washington, DC 20590 Phone: TBD Email: TBD

Contract Specialist (CS) Yolanda Jordan, TAD-40 1200 New Jersey Ave. S.E.

4th Floor - East Building Washington, DC 20590 Phone: 202-366-1073 Email: Yolanda.Jordan.ctr@dot.gov

The Contracting Officer (CO) holds the contractual authority for this contract. The CO alone, without delegation, is authorized to take actions on behalf of the Government to amend, modify or deviate from the contract terms, conditions, and requirements. The CO may delegate certain other responsibilities to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). The CO is the only individual who can legally commit or obligate the Government or authorize any changes that affect the contract price, delivery schedule, period of performance or other terms and conditions.

In accordance with the Transportation Acquisition Regulation (TAR) 1252.242-73 (b) Dissemination of Contract Information (See Section I), the Contracting Officer cannot authorize the COR or any other representative to sign documents (i.e., contracts, contract modifications, appointments, conflict resolutions, etc.) that require the signature of the Contracting Officer.

In accordance with TAR 1252.242-73 (See Section I), Contracting Officer’s Representative TAR Clause (OCT 1994), (a) The Contracting Officer may designate Government personnel to act as the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) to perform functions under the contract such as review and/or inspection and acceptance of supplies, services, including construction, and other functions of a technical nature. The Contracting Officer will provide a written notice of such designation to the Contractor within five working days after contract award or for construction, not less than five working days prior to giving the contractor the notice to proceed. The designation letter will set forth the authorities and limitations of the COR under the contract. (b) The Contracting Officer cannot authorize the COR or any other representative to sign documents (i.e., contracts, contract modifications, etc.) that require the signature of the Contracting Officer.”

G.2 COR Assignment Upon contract award, the Contracting Officer’s Representative will be designated.

The COR has the authority to monitor the technical progress of the services that are required under the contract. This includes visits to the contractor’s place of performance, meetings, and telephone conversations with the contractor’s personnel, inspection, acceptance, or rejection of the contracted items and other duties that may be authorized by the contracting officer. The COR cannot authorize or order the cessation of contract work nor delete, change, or waive any of the technical requirements or other terms and conditions of the contract. If a change (monetary or otherwise) to the contract is desired, the contractor must submit a written request to the contracting officer for consideration. If appropriate, the change will be effected by a contract modification, after discussions and/or negotiations.

Whenever a difference of opinion between the contractor and the COR occurs, the contracting officer or contract specialist should be contacted immediately for resolution. The contractor should also contact the contracting officer or contract specialist when the COR cannot be contacted on a technical matter and for assistance on all other matters pertaining to this contract.

G.3 Billing Instructions The Contractor shall submit invoices for payment utilizing Standard Form 1034, “Public Voucher for Purchases and Services Other Than Personal,” to include supporting documentation for all costs/prices claimed in the performance of this contract. The Standard Form 1034 can be obtained from the “Federal Acquisition Regulations”, Part 53-301.1034 (see website at http://acquisition.gov). The Contractor shall submit one copy of all vouchers, including the final voucher to one of the three designated FTA Document Imaging Center noted below: (NOTE: Please “mark” the final voucher “FINAL”)

1. FTA’S PREFERRED METHOD OF INVOICE TRANSMITTAL: FTAInvoices@faa.gov Note: No more than 10 MB of data can be transmitted at one time. For invoices greater than 10MB, please split into multiple emails and notate in the subject Email 1 of 4, 2 of 4, etc.

2. FedEx:

DOT, Federal Aviation Administration Attn: Accounts Payable, AMZ-150 (FTA Account) HQ Building, Room 272 6500 S MacArthur Blvd Oklahoma City, Ok 73169

3. U.S. Mail:

Federal Aviation Administration (FTA Account) AMZ-150, HQ Room 272 P.O. Box 269041 Oklahoma City, OK 73126-69041 Submission of vouchers shall be made monthly. The voucher number, contract number, FTA TEAM Project Number and the name of the COR Contract Manager must be listed on all vouchers.

G.4 Method of Payment and Procedure Payments under this contract shall be made under the Department of Treasury’s Automated Clearing House (ACH) system. Under this system, the funds will be wired (electronically transferred or EFT) to the contractor’s financial institution pursuant to FAR 52.232-34.

Prior to the submission of Voucher No. 1, the Contractor shall insure that the information contained in the TFS Form 3881, “Payment Information Form-ACH Vendor Payment System,” will be provided upon contract award. Or alternatively, TFS Form 3881 can be obtained from the Treasury’s website at http://fms.treas.gov/pdf/3881.pdf or the Contracting Office. The cover page to the Contract award should accompany the TFS Form 3881, and be faxed to FTA at (405) 954-9776.

FTA’s designated office for electronic funds transfer information is:

Mailing Address:

Federal Transit Administration Office of Financial Management, TBP-50 1200 New Jersey Ave., 5th Floor – East Bldg. E-52-334 Washington, DC 20590 Telephone: 202-366-7083 Person to Contact: JoeElla Day G.5 Status of Payments Contractors can track the status of payments of vouchers through the Department of Treasury’s “Internet Payment Platform” system (a system developed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Management Service (FMS) to provide participating Federal agencies a method of making remittance information available to vendors through the Internet.) Contractors may register with the Department of Treasury to obtain payment status by logging on: https://www.ipp.gov/. Any changes shall be submitted in writing to the Contracting Officer. It is the Contractor’s responsibility to furnish these changes promptly to avoid payments to erroneous addresses or bank accounts. Failure to provide the requested informational changes to the Contracting Officer may result in delays in the payment of vouchers. Any such delays shall be considered the Contractor’s responsibility.

G.6 Post Award Evaluation and Contractor Performance G.6.1. Contractor Performance Evaluations Interim (after one year of performance) and final evaluations of contractor performance will be prepared for the contract on contracts awarded in accordance with FAR 42.15. The final performance evaluations will be prepared as soon as possible after completion of all required work over $150Kfor this contract.

Interim and final evaluations will be provided to the contractor as soon as practicable after completion of the evaluation. The contractor may elect to review the evaluation and submit additional information or a rebuttal statement within thirty days. Any contractor response is voluntary. Any disagreement between the parties regarding an evaluation will be referred to an individual one level above the Contracting Officer, whose decision is final.

Copies of the evaluations, contractor responses and review comments, if any, will be retained as part of the contract file, and may be used to support future award decisions.

G.6.2 ELECTRONIC ACCESS TO CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS

The U.S. Department of Transportation uses Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) to record and maintain interim and final past performance information.

Contractors that have internet capability may access evaluations through a secure web site for review and comment by completing the registration form that can be obtained at the following URL: http://www.cpars.csd.disa.mil/

The registration process requires the contractor to identify an individual that will serve as a primary contact and who will be authorized access to the evaluation for review and comment. In addition, the contractor will be required to identify a secondary contact who will be responsible for notifying the cognizant contracting official in the event the primary contact is unavailable to process the evaluation within the required 30-day time period. Once the contractor is registered and a performance evaluation has been prepared and is ready for comment, CPARS will send an email to the contractor representative notifying that individual that a performance evaluation is electronically available for review and comment.

G.7 Post Award Conference / Periodic Progress Meetings The Contractor agrees to attend any post award conference convened by the contracting activity or contract administration office in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 42.5. The Contracting Officer (CO), Contracting Officers Representative (COR), and other Government personnel, as appropriate, may meet periodically with the contractor to review the contractor's performance. At these meetings, the CO or COR shall apprise the contractor of how the government views the contractor's performance and the contractor shall apprise the Government of problems, if any, being experienced. Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the government.

End of Section G

SECTION H: SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

H.1 Executive Order 13514, Federal Leadership In Environmental, Energy and Economic Performance (October 5, 2009) The Department of Transportation (DOT) developed a Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan (SSPP) (June 2010) in accordance with directions contained in the above titled Executive Order. The plan is designed to enhance and sustain the DOT mission through cost effective acquisitions that achieve compliance, reduces resource consumption and solid and hazardous waste generation. Green procurement is the purchase of environmentally preferable products and services in accordance with the established Federal “Green” procurement preference program. The SSPP applies to all acquisitions and contracting mechanisms used by Federal agencies including service contracts, leases, purchases made with government purchase and fleet cards and purchases below the micro-purchase threshold. Therefore, all FTA contractors are highly encouraged to supply or use products and services that are energy efficient, contain recycled content, or are non-toxic or less toxic alternatives.”

H.2 Excluded Functions and Responsibilities Functions and responsibilities directly involved or associated with the management of any FTA Office are expressly excluded from this contract or order issued hereunder. The parties hereby agree that any instructions, directives, or orders issued under this contract involving such management functions and responsibilities shall be null and void. The following activities are representative of the excluded functions and responsibilities that cannot be provided by the contractor under this contract or order issued hereunder:

agencies, or otherwise acting as an agent to obligate or commit in any capacity;

H.3 Non-Personal Service As stated in the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) Letter 92-1, dated September 23, 1992, “Inherently Governmental Functions,” (See FAR Subpart 2.101 for definition of ‘inherently government function’), no personal services shall be performed under this contract. Contractor employees will not be directly supervised by the Government. All individual employee assignments, and daily work direction, shall be given by the applicable employee supervisor. If the Contractor believes any Government action or communication has been given that would create a personal services relationship between the Government and any Contractor employee, the Contractor shall promptly notify the Contracting Officer of this communication or action.

The Contractor shall not perform any inherently governmental actions under this contract. No Contractor employee shall hold him or herself out to be a Government employee, agent, or representative. Contractor employees shall not state orally or in writing, at any time that he or she is acting on behalf of the Government. In all communications with third parties in connection with this contract, Contractor employees shall identify themselves as Contractor employees and specify the name of the company for which they work.

In all communications with other Government Contractors in connection with this contract, Contractor employees shall state that they have no authority to in any way change the contract and that if the other Contractor believes this communication to be a direction to change their contract, they should notify the Contracting Officer for that contract and not carry out the direction until a clarification has been issued by the Contracting Officer.

The Contractor shall insure that all of its employees working on this contract are informed of the substance of this clause. Nothing in this clause shall limit the Government's rights in any way under any other provision of the contract, including those related to the Government's right to inspect and accept the services to be performed under this contract. The substance of this clause shall be included in all subcontracts at any tier.

H.4 Contractor Personnel Maintenance of Professional Conduct All personnel assigned by the Contractor to work under this contract must be acceptable to the Government in their personal and professional conduct. Any person in the Contractor’s organization or in any subcontractor’s organization, who is deemed by the Contracting Officer or the COR whose conduct may affect the performance of the Contractor or the image of the FTA, shall be immediately removed from the assignment on the contract. The reason for removal must be documented in writing by the Contracting Officer. Employment and staffing difficulties are not adequate justification for failing to meet established schedules and if they impair performance, the Contractor may be subject to default. Any security violations, denials or revocations of security clearances may be construed as grounds for immediate removal from premises and the contract. The Contractor and its employees, subcontractors and or consultants shall only conduct business covered by this contract during periods paid for by the Government. Contractor personnel shall abide by the normal rules and regulations applicable to Government and grantee premises on which they work, including any applicable safety and security regulations.

H.5 Section 508 Compliance All electronic and information technology deliverables required under this contract must comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Access Board Standards available for viewing at http://www.section508.gov. Unless otherwise indicated, the contractor represents by signature on this contract that all deliverables shall comply with the Access Board standards.”

H.6 U.S Department of Transportation (DOT) Contractor Personnel Security and Agency Access (November 2011) Contractor personnel will be provided with identification badges and necessary access to facilities used to provide the services set forth in this contract based on the criterion below.

The following definitions are provided:

· "Agency Access" means access to DOT facilities, sensitive information, information systems or other DOT resources.

· "Applicant" is a contractor employee for whom the contractor submits an application for a DOT identification card.

· "Contractor Employee" means prime contractor and subcontractor employees who require agency access to perform work under a DOT contract.

· "Identification Card" (or "ID card") means a government issued or accepted identification card such as a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card, a PIV-Interoperable (PlV-I) card from an authorized PIV-l issuer, or a non-PIV card issued by DOT, or a non-PIV card issued by another Federal agency and approved by DOT. PIV and PIV-l cards have physical and electronic attributes that other (non-PIV) ID cards do not have.

· "Issuing Office" means the DOT entity that issues identification cards to contractor employees.

· "Local Security Servicing Organization" means the DOT entity that provides security services to the DOT organization sponsoring the contract.

1. Risk and Sensitivity Level Designations — For contracts requiring access to DOT facilities, sensitive information, information systems or other DOT resources, the contractor employees will be required to complete background investigations, identity proofing, and government identification card application procedures to determine suitability for access. DOT will assign a risk and sensitivity level designation to the overall contract and/or to contractor employee positions by category, group or individual. The risk and sensitivity level designations will be the basis for determining the level of personnel security processing required for contractor employees.

Contractor employees may also be required to obtain security clearances (i.e., Confidential, Secret, or Top Secret). National Security work designated "special sensitive," "critical sensitive," or "non-critical sensitive" will determine the level of clearance required for contractor employees. Personnel security clearances for national security contracts in DOT will be processed according to the Department of Defense National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM).

2. Pre-screening of Contractor Employees - The contractor must pre-screen individuals designated for employment under any DOT contract by verifying minimal suitability requirements to ensure that only quality candidates are considered for contract employment, and to mitigate the burden on the Government of conducting background investigations on objectionable applicants. The contractor must exercise due diligence in pre-screening all employees prior to submission to DOT for agency access. DOT may decline to grant agency access to a contractor employee for reasons including, but not limited to:

a) Conviction of a felony, a crime of violence, or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude.

b) Falsification of information entered on forms or of other documents submitted.

c) Improper conduct including criminal, infamous, dishonest, immoral, or notoriously disgraceful conduct or other conduct adverse to the Government regardless of whether the conduct is directly related to the contract.

d) Any behavior judged to pose a potential threat to DOT facilities, sensitive information, information systems or other resources.

Citizenship and Alien Status - The contractor must monitor an alien's continued authorization for employment in the United States. The contractor must provide documentation to the Contracting Officer or the Contracting Officer's Representative during the background investigation process that validates that the E-Verify requirement has been met for each contractor employee (see http://www.uscis.gov )

3. Background Investigation and Adjudication — The contractor employee must have a favorable adjudication of background investigation before DOT will issue an ID card to the contractor employee granting access to DOT facilities, sensitive information, information systems or other DOT resources. DOT may accept favorable adjudications of background investigations from other Federal agencies when applicants have held PIV cards issued by those agencies with no break in service. DOT may also accept PIV-I (interoperable) cards issued by an authorized PIV-I issuer as evidence of identity. A favorable adjudication does not preclude DOT from initiating a new investigation when deemed necessary. At a minimum, the FBI National Criminal History Check (fingerprint check) must be favorably completed before a DOT identification card can be issued. Each contractor must use the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) e-QIP system to complete any required investigative forms. Instructions for obtaining fingerprints will be provided by the COR or CO. The DOT Office of Security, M-40, or a DOT organization delegated authority by M-40, is responsible for adjudicating the suitability of contractor employees.

4. Agency Access Denied — Upon contract award, DOT will initiate the agency access procedure for all contractor employees requiring access to DOT facilities, sensitive information, information systems and other DOT resources for contract performance. DOT may deny agency access to any individual about whom an adverse suitability determination is made.

Failure to submit the required security information or to truthfully answer all questions shall constitute grounds for denial of access. The contractor must not provide agency access to contractor employees until the COR or CO provides notice of approval, which is authorized only by the DOT Office of Security (M-40) or a DOT organization delegated authority by M-40. Where a proposed contractor's employees are denied agency access by the Government or, if for any reason proposed applications are withdrawn by the contractor during the agency access process, the additional costs and administrative burden for conducting additional background investigations caused by a lack of effective prescreening or planning on the part of the contractor may be considered as part of the contractor's overall performance evaluation.

5. Identification Card Application Process - The COR will be the DOT ID card Sponsor and point of contact for the contractor's application for a DOT ID card. The COR shall review and approve the DOT ID card application before an ID card is issued to the applicant.

6. Personal Identity Verification Card - An applicant may be issued either a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card that meets the standards of Homeland Presidential Security Directive (HSPD-12), or an applicant may be issued a non-PIV card. Generally, a non-PIV card will be issued for contracts that expire in six months or less, including option periods. The COR may request the issuing office to waive the six month eligibility requirement when it is in DOT's interest for contract performance.

The applicant must complete a DOT on-line application for a PIV card. For a non-PIV card, the applicant must complete and submit a hard copy of Form 1681 to the COR/Sponsor. Regardless of the type of card to be issued (PIV or non-PIV), the applicant must appear in-person to provide two forms of identity source documents in original form to DOT. The identity source documents must come from the list of acceptable documents included in Form 1-9, OMB No. 1115-0136, Employment Eligibility Verification. At least one document must be a valid State or Federal government-issued picture identification. For a PIV card, the applicant may be required to appear in-person a second time for enrollment and activation.

7. Identification Card Custody and Control — The contractor is responsible for the custody and control of all forms of government identification issued by DOT to contractor employees for access to DOT facilities, sensitive information, information systems and other DOT resources. The contractor must immediately notify the COR or, if the COR is unavailable, the CO when a contractor employee no longer requires agency access due to transfer, completion of a project, retirement, removal from work on the contract, or termination of employment.

The contractor is responsible for maintaining and safeguarding the DOT ID card upon issuance to the contractor employee. The contractor must ensure that contractor employees comply with DOT requirements concerning the renewal, loss, theft, or damage of an ID card. The contractor must immediately notify the COR or, if the COR is unavailable, the CO when an ID card is lost, stolen or damaged.

Failure to comply with the requirements for custody and control of DOT ID cards may result in withholding final payment or contract termination based on the potential for serious harm caused by inappropriate access to DOT facilities, sensitive information, information systems or other DOT resources.

a) Renewal: A contractor employee's DOT issued ID card is valid for a maximum of three years or until the contract expiration date (including option periods), whichever occurs first. The renewal process should begin six weeks before the PIV card expiration date. If a PIV card is not renewed before it expires, the contractor employee will be required to sign-in daily for facility access and may have limited access to information systems and other resources.

b) Lost/Stolen: Immediately upon detection, the contractor or contractor employee must report a lost or stolen DOT ID card to the COR, or if the COR is unavailable, the CO, the issuing office, or the local servicing security organization. The contractor must submit an incident report within 48 hours, through the COR or, if the COR is unavailable, the CO, the issuing office, or the local security servicing organization describing the circumstances of the loss or theft. The contractor must also report a lost or stolen PIV card through the DOT on-line registration system. If the loss or theft is reported by the contractor to the local police, a copy of the police report must be provided to the COR or CO. From the date of notification to DOT, the contractor must wait three days before getting a replacement ID card. During the 3-day wait period, the contractor employee must sign in daily for facility access.

c) Replacement: An ID card will be replaced if it is damaged, contains incorrect data, or is lost or stolen for more than 3 days, provided there is a continuing need for agency access to perform work under the contract.

8. Surrender of ID Cards — Upon notification that routine access to DOT facilities, sensitive information, information systems or other DOT resources is no longer required, the contractor must surrender the DOT issued ID card to the COR, or if the COR is unavailable, the CO, the issuing office, or the local security servicing organization in accordance with agency procedures.

9. Use of This Clause - The contractor is required to include these clauses in any subcontracts that require the subcontractor or subcontractor's employees to have access to DOT facilities, sensitive information, information systems or other resources.

H.7 Identification of Contractor Employees All contract personnel attending meetings and working in other situations where their contractor status is not obvious to third parties are required to identify themselves as such to avoid creating an impression in the minds of members of the public that they are Government officials. They must also ensure that all documents or reports produced by contractors are suitably marked as contractor products or that contractor participation is appropriately disclosed.

H.8 Proprietary Data All property rights, including publication rights, in the progress and final reports, produced by the Contractor in connection with the work provided for hereunder shall vest in the Government. The Contractor shall not publish any of the results of the study provided for hereunder without the express written permission of the Contracting Officer.

H.9 FTA Non-Disclosure Agreement (To be provided upon Contract Award) The Contractor shall submit to the COR a list of all Contractor personnel (prime and subcontractor) that will be authorized access to the FTA. Each Contractor employee on the list shall then sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement and submit it to the COR before starting work at FTA. A sample Non-Disclosure Agreement will be provided upon award. The prime Contractor shall also ensure that all staff assigned to this contract, including all subcontractors and consultants performing work on this contract, execute and adhere to the terms of the non-disclosure statement, protecting the proprietary information of the Government and other Contractors. Assignment of staff who has not executed this statement or failure to adhere to this statement shall result in action by the Contracting Officer, as deemed appropriate.

H.10 Reproduction of Reports Federal printing and binding regulations require that printing or reproduction of reports, data, or other written materials produced under contracts or grants which exceed 5,000 production units of any page, or 25,000 production units in the aggregate, must be processed through the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO). Accordingly, unless otherwise specifically approved in advance by the Contracting Officer, any project report or other written materials produced under an order on this contract that is expected to exceed these limits must be submitted to the COTR in one camera-ready original. The Government shall reproduce copies exceeding the above limits. Any use of color in the final report that would result in color printing (black plus one or more colors) must have prior approval of the Contracting Officer. All printing funded by this contract or order hereunder must be done in conformance with Joint Committee on Printing regulations as prescribed in Title 44, U.S.C., and Section 308 of Public Law 101-163, and all applicable Government Printing Office and Department of Transportation regulations.

H.11 Access to Sensitive Information Work under this contract may involve access to sensitive information which shall not be disclosed by the contractor unless authorized by the Contracting officer. To protect sensitive information, the contractor shall provide training to any contractor employee authorized access to sensitive information and, upon request of the Government, provide information as to an individual's suitability to have such authorization. Contractor employees found by the Government to be unsuitable or whose employment is deemed contrary to the public interest or inconsistent with the best interest of national security may be prevented from performing work under the particular contract when requested by the Contracting officer.

The contractor shall…