RFI Questions - PA-TAC VI - updated 6-1-26.docx

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

PA-TAC VI

Request for Information (RFI) #2, May 2026

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) SUMMARY:

GENERAL INFORMATION:

PROPRIETARY INFORMATION AND DISCLAIMERS: Respondents shall identify any proprietary information in its RFI response. Information submitted in response to this RFI will be used at the discretion of the Government. Further, the information submitted will remain confidential insofar as permitted by law, including the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts. FEMA reserves the right to utilize any non-proprietary technical information in the anticipated PWS or solicitation.

Although it is not necessary to address in their response, respondents shall be aware of any potential, actual, or perceived organizational conflicts of interests. Any real or potential conflicts must be sufficiently mitigated prior to a contract award. For further guidance, refer to the Federal Acquisition Regulation, Part 9.5.

NAICS CODE: 541611

PRODUCT SERVICE CODE (PSC): R429

ANTICIPATED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: October 2026

ANTICIPATED ACQUISITION STRATEGY:

ATTACHMENT:

RFI RESPONSE SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS:

Interested contractors shall submit their RFI responses electronically to Sharon Edwards, Contracting Officer, at Sharon.Edwards3@fema.dhs.gov and Erich Ducote, Contract Specialist, at (erich.ducote@fema.dhs.gov) no later than 2:00PM Eastern Standard Time (EST), Wednesday , June 3, 2026.

““RFI #2 Response for PA-TAC VI - (Company Name)"” shall be in the subject line of your e-mail. All responses shall be unclassified, with proprietary information clearly marked. All vendors are asked to resubmit responses on the v2 Answers template.

RFI Responses shall include the following information in the order below:

6. GSA Schedule Number, Contract Number, and Period of Performance and/or DHS Strategic Sourcing Vehicle Category Name and Contract Number, if applicable

C. The responses received will assist FEMA with identifying the number and nature of the entities that consider themselves potential technical solution providers. Each respondent, by submitting a response, agrees that any cost incurred in response to this RFI, or in support of activities associated with this RFI, shall be the sole responsibility of the respondent. FEMA shall incur no obligations or liabilities whatsoever, to anyone, for any costs or expenses incurred by the respondent in responding to this RFI.

Responses that do not address all applicable questions may be considered incomplete and disregarded for purposes of market research analysis. If a question does not apply, please enter “N/A”. FEMA reserves the right to use only those responses that provide sufficient information to meaningfully assess respondent’s capability and capacity to meet anticipated requirement.

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) QUESTIONS

General:

1. Is the draft PWS clear, concise, and/or sufficient enough to develop and submit the required information in response to a Request For Proposal (RFP)? Is it sufficiently defined to develop and submit a compliant proposal and realistic cost estimate? (Y/N)

a. If no, identify the specific sections that lack sufficient clarity and describe what additional information is needed.

2. Is 30-days a sufficient amount of time for a contractor to prepare a proposal given the scenario of a full trade-off best value source selection requiring a technical and price proposal and past performance references? If 30 days is not sufficient, please provide a reasonable timeframe to prepare a proposal.

3. What is your company’s ability to perform all the requirements summarized within this notice? Provide information on current capabilities, to include available qualified, trained, and experienced staff, and how quickly you can mobilize the requisite qualified staff to support concurrent FEMA operations.

4. Does your company have the financial resources to meet the Government requirements for the Base Contract requirements and deliverables as detailed in the draft PWS? Can your company sustain out-of-pocket expenditures necessary to fulfill all the requirements of Base Contract given that the Government cannot guarantee income beyond the established minimum amount specified in the contract? Specifically address the following:

a. Can your company develop, administer, and document compliance of PA-related training (PWS 4.4.4.) for all personnel as part of the Base Contract?

b. Can your company provide all the services required under PWS 4. Other Applicable Conditions?

5. One of the Government’s principal objectives is to obtain the lowest fully burdened labor rates practicable. After reviewing the draft PWS, what additions or revisions would you recommend to enable your firm to propose the lowest fully-burdened labor rates, and what tradeoffs or risks would those features create (if any)?

6. Are the proposed Labor Categories and corresponding quantities in PWS 2.3, Labor Categories sufficient? Are there Labor Categories we should consider including/eliminating?

7. Discuss any concerns, comments or recommendations you may have with the attached draft PWS.

Small Business:

8. If you are a certified Small Business, what is your company’s ability to meet all the requirements of this contract while conforming to FAR 52.219-14(e)(1), Limitations on Subcontracting?

9. Does your firm have the capability and capacity to staff all required labor categories as outlined in Section 2.3 Labor Categories (Table 1 – Labor Categories) of the PWS to include the labor categories that are not required to be rostered at the time of award but may be requested at the order level?

a. If yes, please describe the number of staff your firm has to fill the quantities outlined in Table 1 – Labor Categories.

b. Describe how many staff your firm would need to fill through subcontracting agreements.

10. Does your firm qualify as a Small Business under North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 541611? (Y/N)

a. If yes, provide your firm’s average annual receipts for past three fiscal years and total full-time employee count?

11. Has your firm served as a prime contractor on Time-and-Materials or Cost Reimbursement contract with a ceiling over $25 million in the past 5 years? (Y/N)

a. If yes, please provide at least one example to include contract number, agency, and ceiling value, and period of performance, and brief description of work.

12. PA-TAC VI requires base contract deliverables and standing operational readiness throughout the full period of performance regardless of disaster activity. Does your firm have sufficient technical and financial resources to sustain base contract obligations and retain qualified Key Personnel during periods of prolonged disaster inactivity? (Y/N)

a. If yes, briefly describe those resources.

13. The PWS requires contractors to submit a preliminary Technical Monitor Certification (TMC) report to invoice submission, which must contain all reimbursable costs including Labor Hours (LH) and Other Direct Costs (ODCs), within 30 calendar days after end of each month, and upon review and approval, invoices must be submitted 5 business days following TMC approval. The PA-TAC may require the deployment of significant number of contractor personnel across multiple simultaneous task orders, each supporting multiple disasters with separate accounting codes and associated CLINs. PA-TAC invoices can routinely exceed 500 pages of backup documentation to include airline, lodging, car rental, and other reimbursement receipts.

a. Does your firm have an accounting system adequate to support Time-and-Materials and Labor Hour contracts? (Y/N)

b. Does your firm have the personnel, systems, and internal controls necessary to prepare TMC reports, reconcile supporting backup documentation from multiple personnel and subcontractors, and submit accurate invoices within the timeframes required by the PWS? (Y/N)

c. Does your firm have an accounting system that meets SF 1408 criteria for a Time-and-Materials and Labor Hour contract? (Y/N)

d. Does your firm have experience as a prime contractor managing orders or contracts that were audited by the Defense Contract Auditing Agency (DCAA) within the last 5 years? (Y/N)

14. Contractors may experience lag time between cost incurrence, TMC submission and approval, invoice submission, and Government reimbursement. Does your firm have adequate financial resources to maintain operations? (Y/N)

a. Describe your firm’s current financial resources that would allow you to sustain contract performance and advance payroll, travel, lodging, and other costs across multiple simultaneous task orders during periods between costs incurred and government reimbursement.

b. If your firm qualifies as a small business under NAICS 541611, describe how your firm’s financial position would support performance on a contract with a $100 million ceiling given potential reimbursement lag inherent to the contract?

15. FAR 52.219-14(e)(1) requires that small business prime contractors on a set-aside contract perform at least 50 percent of the cost of contract performance with their own employees or a similarly situated entity. Can your company comply with this requirement for a contract of this scope? (Y/N)

a. If yes, describe in specific terms how your firm would comply with FAR 52.219-14.