OALM Acquisition Support Services

TIER 1 Priority - Contractor support. Urgent request. This is a request to issue an order to continue ongoing contractor support services that have been in place for numerous years. This order provides critical acquisition services to support NIH acquisition Federal employees. These contractor support positions have worked side-by-side with Federal staff prior to any reductions in force and are not taking the place of Federal staff who have separated. These positions remain necessary so that NIH can process timely invoice review and payment. Without these services, the NIH acquisition workforce is unable to meet Federal-wide requirements for timely invoice payment as required by the Prompt Payment Act, 31 USC Sec 3901 et seq.. Late review and payment of vendor invoices cause the NIH to accrue interest penalties, which is an unacceptable outcome for efficient use of taxpayer dollars. The NIH also would be at unacceptable risk for fraud, waste and abuse, if inadequate resources are allocated for ensuring that invoices accurately bill for supplies or services not received. Finally, as NIH accrues late invoices, vendors begin to refuse new requests for supplies or services, which puts NIH labs at particular risk of disruption to time-sensitive experiments which rely on specialized reagents and materials that may only be available from limited sources, as those sources refuse to provide further items until prior payments are rendered. Acquisition support services are also needed to be able to meet legal requirements for establishing, maintaining and disposing of contract files - including timely close out of contract files and responsibility addressing and liquidating the NIH's liabilities once a contract has ended its period of active performance, and ensuring moneys owed to the NIH are appropriately returned. Without support in these activities, closeout activities and file documentation cannot be adequately maintained, as Federal employee resources focus their efforts on inherently governmental tasks that only Federal employees can conduct, such as competing and awarding new contracts and managing oversight of contractor performance. Annual cost is estimated at R&D Support $2,295,014.10 + OLAO surge Support $2,116,992.00. Request is to set up a base year of performance with 2 one-year options.