Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

This Request for Information (RFI) is being released pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 10 Market Research. The information collected through the process is considered to be ma... This Request for Information (RFI) is being released pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 10 Market Research. The information collected through the process is considered to be market research as described by FAR 2.101 and in accordance with FAR 10.002. This is NOT a Request for Proposals (RFP), and nothing shall be construed herein or through the Sources Sought process to commit or obligate the Government to further action. In addition, vendors responding to this RFI shall bear all risks and expenses of any resources used to provide the requested information. The submission of capability information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary. The Department of Justice (DOJ), the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is issuing this RFI to identify qualified and responsible small business vendors (e.g., 8(a); Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business; Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Small Business; Small Disadvantaged Business; Veteran-Owned Small Business, Women-Owned Small Business and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business) having an interest in and possessing the resources and expertise to provide support for the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Denial of Federal Benefits (DFB) Program. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to these proposed services is 541519. The anticipated contract type is Time & Material. The anticipated period of performance is a base year plus four (4) option years commencing September 1, 2023. The anticipated place of performance is off-site, or at the Contractor’s facility, which shall be in or near the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area (Please see section 3 below). Some travel may be required. Meetings to discuss review and progress shall take place at both the Contractor’s facilities and BJA, located at 810 Seventh Street, NW, Washington, DC 20531. The current incumbent for this task is REI Systems under GSA Schedule GS-35F-0623N Task Order 15PBJA18F00000500 with a current total contract ceiling of $1,033,218.21 and an ultimate completion date of 8/31/2023. The United States Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance is seeking support services for the operation of two (2) statutory debarment programs known as the Denial of Federal Benefits Program and the Defense Procurement Fraud Debarment (DPFD) Clearinghouse Program functions. These support services include the maintenance of hardcopy and electronic database files and performance of helpdesk functions. Under federal law, federal and state courts sentencing individuals convicted of drug trafficking or drug possession have the option of including as part of the sentence that such individuals shall be denied from receiving certain federal benefits. Under separate federal law, individuals who are convicted of fraud or any other felony arising out of a contract with the Department of Defense (DOD) are barred from certain positions with defense contractors or involvement with a defense contract. Under 21 U.S.C. Section 862, the Attorney General delegated the administration of the DFB program to the Office of Justice Programs (OJP). Later, as directed under 10 U.S.C. 2408, the Attorney General became the Single Point of Contact for a defense contractor or subcontractor to promptly obtain information regarding whether a person that the contractor or subcontractor proposes to employ has been convicted of defense- contract related felonies and/or related criminal penalties imposed on defense contractors. The establishment of this repository, known as the DPFD program was also assigned to OJP. Today, the Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) maintains the two (2), legally distinct, clearinghouses as a single point of contact, which follow a single set of policies and procedures to receive, maintain and provide information for both types of qualifying debarment cases. Specifically, debarment under the DFB program precludes an individual convicted of trafficking in or possession of drugs from receiving all or selected federal benefits. 21 U.S.C. Section 862 (d) (1) defines “federal benefit” as “…the issuance of any grant, contract, loan, professional license, or commercial license provided by an agency of the United States or by appropriated funds of the United States.” And, 21 U.S.C. Section 862 (d) (2) states that the definition “…does not include any retirement, welfare, social security, health, disability, veterans benefits, public housing, or other similar benefit, or any other benefit for which payments or services are required for eligibility.” The DPFD program maintains a database of those with a fraud or felony conviction(s) arising out of a contract with the Department of Defense (DOD). Such conviction prohibits an individual from being involved with a defense contract or first-tier subcontract of a defense contract. Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 22.801 defines a first-tier subcontractor as a subcontractor holding a subcontract awarded directly by a Federal government prime contractor. The two (2) clearinghouse programs are commonly referred to as the “Denial of Federal Benefits” program. BJA is responsible for and is seeking support for receiving, maintaining, and responding to inquiries from Federal agencies, contractors, or subcontractors regarding debarments pursuant to the aforementioned legislatively mandated laws. Qualifying drug cases are submitted by federal and state courts. Qualifying DOD- related cases are submitted by DOJ litigating divisions. Information contained within the clearinghouse databases must also be transmitted into the System for Award Management (SAM), a General Services Administration system that consolidates eight Federal Procurement Systems, including the system known as the Excluded Parties Listing System (EPLS). Debarment actions are communicated to all government agencies through SAM. SAM may be accessed at https:///www.sam.gov. The DFB clearinghouse database records regarding exclusions pursuant to DFB must also be provided directly to the Department of Education and the Federal Communications Commission. All federal agencies are required to consult the General Services Administration’ (GSA) publication “Lists of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement or No procurement Programs,” more commonly known as the “Debarment List,” to ensure statutory compliance when awarding federal funds.