QAs 6-23-26v2FAO.docx

1. Will this contract be covered by FAR 52.222-41, Service Contract Labor Standards? It was not marked in the Applicable Terms and Conditions. However, the initial solicitation included a Wage Determination attachment that was deleted.

FAR 52.222‑41 does not apply, because it was not incorporated into the contract, and the CO intentionally left it unchecked. The later removal of the wage determination reinforces the determination that SCLS is not applicable.

2. (ATC Addendum 52.212-2) The government indicates that "Technical and Past Performance, when combined, are equal to price," but intends to award the contract as Lowest Price Technically Acceptable, does this indicate that a higher total cost can win if the technical and past performance are superior?

Although the addendum references that “technical and past performance, when combined, are equal to price,” this language does not authorize a trade‑off. Under LPTA, the Government cannot select a higher‑priced offer based on superior technical features or stronger past performance. This clarification aligns with the evaluation statement in the solicitation indicating that award will be made on an LPTA basis.

3. (PWS 5.0) Does the government intend the contractor's place of performance be "remotely" in El Paso, Texas or can all work be performed remotely anywhere within the United States? All work can be performed remotely.

4. (PWS 3.5 and 7.0) If the contractor's place of performance is remote, does the government require "Meeting Participation" in person with travel cost built into the total cost, or will all "Meeting and Coordination" be via webinar? Meeting participation will be via webinar; no travel is considered for this contract.

5. (PWS 3.5 and 7.0) During webinars, will the government require the contractor to provide interpretation services in addition to normal translation services? No interpretation services are included in this contract.

6. (PWS 5.0) Please define "normal U.S. business hours" to include time zone? No time zone specified. Normal business hours are generally 8:00 – 5:00 Monday – Friday.

7. (PWS 6.0) Does the government prefer any one accreditations or certifications as a Spanish to English translator more than others? Reference is made to Department of State, who conducts their own certification process, for the purpose of technical evaluation is the equivalate to the American Translators Association certification?

Department of State certification preferred.

8. (PWS 3.1 and 7.0) The government indicates that "all incoming correspondence from the Mexican section shall be translated within one business day of receipt unless otherwise directed and priority documents need to be translated within 1 business day. How does the Government prioritize assignments when multiple urgent translation requests are received at the same time? Will other direction be provided for large presentations like the 150 slides? Contracting Officer’s Representative will provide guidance on prioritizing assignments and recognizes that it is not feasible to translate multiple, lengthy priority assignments in one day. Contractor will be given a reasonable amount of time to perform translations. Most translations requiring one-day turnaround are 1-3 pages in length.

9. (PWS 6.0) Does the government intend to have no more than two (2) contractors working on this contract at one time or no more than two (2) contractors working on a single translation (when defining "work")? The contractor must assure that the work will be performed by no more than 2 individual translators assigned to this contract. Because of limited licenses for translation memory and machine translation, required background check, training on USIBWC systems, and access to USIBWC drives, the contractor shall assign no more than 2 individuals to this contract. The USIBWC only has one translation contract at a time. It is not appropriate to assign 2 translators to one translation and then a 3rd translator to a subsequent translation, and then a different translator to the translation after that.

SET Number 2

1. Please advise why you rebidding on Notice ID FY26r1061065 (Translation Services).

Previous contract was cancelled.

2. Have you used the same incumbent for prior work and work under Notice ID FY26r1061065 (Translation Services)?

N/A

3. Would you please issue a complete list of submission documents for a proposal to be considered responsive? Please specify which documents are to be combined and which ones are to be submitted separately. If to be combined, please specify which documents are to be combined and in which volumes. Currently, requirements are listed in the online posting in SAM.gov, PWS, and two QAs.

A quote/proposal.- Quote must demonstrate the technical approach by providing a narrative addressing all the items in the scope. The narrative shall at a minimum include your plan of action, equipment, key team members, and schedule. It shall also identify Past Performance demonstrating successful past performance of at least 3 three (3) references for similar projects. The information shall include name of person, company, phone number, email address, and brief description of the project and submission of technical documents the contractor has translated from Spanish to English (including both the original Spanish as well as the English translation). Your pricing on Clin Structure is also required.

4. It is not clear, as per 6.0 Contractor Qualifications in Updated -Performance Work Statement Translation and Related Linguistic Support ServicesFAOrev, that this information is to be provided with submission or upon award only. Please advise what is to be submitted with submission.

See previous question

5. Will the Commission change both the Qty and the Unit in CLIN Structure FY26r1062052 Human Translation Service to Qty 52, and Unit to Week since the Commission provided expected volumes on a per weekly basis in 3.0 Performance Requirements in Updated -Performance Work Statement Translation and Related Linguistic Support ServicesFAOrev?

No.

6. Are we to submit references for our company or for translators? We act as a reference for our translators. Are we to provide a list of at least 3 three (3) references for similar projects (The information shall include name of person, company, phone number, email address, and brief description of the project) for our company then since we act as a reference to our translators? We will check the client references of the individual translators who would be assigned to the contract in order to determine if they meet the required qualifications.

7. If we are required to submit a list of translators, are we required to list their full names or can we use an initial for the last name? You must submit sufficient information about them to be able to assess their qualifications and check their references.

8. Are we permitted to submit more than 2 translators and allow the Commission to choose two translators the Commission would like to work with? The Commission prefers prior Spanish to English translation work for Department of State. In our particular case, we cannot provide any non-confidential samples of work for our translators with prior Department of State experience. However, we can provide translation samples with the subject matter similar to what may be required to be translated for International Boundary and Water Commission for 2 translators who do not have Department of State Experience. We will advise the name of translator for each translation sample. Yes, you may submit qualifications of multiple translators and allow the Commission to select two.

9. The PWS identifies the planned contract as Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP). However, Q&A #3 from the document named “QAs+6-18-26” states that “vendors should invoice for actual hours worked not to exceed an average of 30 hours per week.” These two approaches appear to be in conflict, as a FFP contract’s price is based on the delivery of a service, not the hours expended. Could the Government please clarify if the intended contract type is Firm-Fixed-Price, as stated in the PWS, or if it is a Labor-Hour or Time-and-Materials contract? If the intent is FFP, please confirm that invoicing will be based on the fixed price for the required services and not on the actual hours worked.

The USIBWC Acquisitions Division should respond to this question. In the past, the contractor has submitted invoices based on actual hours worked not to exceed 30 hours per week and that is the preference of the requesting office.