CBP FOIA and Privacy support services interim contract action

The purpose of this synopsis is to notify industry that a sole source contract action is intended to be awarded to Wits Solutions Inc., Inc. under the authority of the Multiple-Award Schedule Program, 41 U.S.C. 152(3), Competitive Procedures, and 40 U.S.C. 501, Services for Executive Agencies.

Pursuant to FAR 8.405-6, Limiting Sources, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection, Office of the Commissioner (OC), proposes to award a short-term task order for CBP’s Privacy and Diversity Office (PDO) for contractor support to process Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act requests. Limiting Sources pursuant to FAR subpart 8.405-6 is necessary to avoid a lapse in service and to ensure the continuity and quality of the FOIA support services for the PDO.

The interim task order is intended to be a short-term solution until a follow-on competitive contract can be awarded in FY24. Given the nature of the information that is collected, processed, and handled under this requirement for professional services, background clearances and privacy training required of a contractor as a prerequisite to performing these services on behalf of CBP, there is no other contractor that can perform this immediate requirement to meet CBP’s needs.

CBP intends to limit the number of sources solicited pursuant to FAR Part 8.405-6 for the procurement of services to support PDO leadership with FOIA litigation cases, and FOIA and Privacy Act requests that require triaging, assigning, and working with CBP component offices to review, redact and release responsive records to the requester, and provide litigation support to the Office of Chief Counsel (OCC). The task order to be awarded shall be performed by: WITS Solutions Inc. 44790 Maynard SQ STE 340 Ashburn, VA 20147-6514 Period of Performance:

Base: January 07, 2024 - March 31, 2024 Option Period 1: April 1, 2024 – April 30, 2024 Option Period 2: May 1, 2024 – May 31, 2024 Option Period 3: June 1, 2024 – June 30, 2024 Option Period 4: July 1, 2024 – July 31, 2024 This action is necessary to continue the current work being performed by WITS Solutions, Inc. under expiring 8(a) direct contract 70B06C23C00000012.

This short-term sole source action (January 07, 2024 - March 31, 2024) will be conducted using GSA Multiple Award Schedule SIN 541611, Management and Financial Consulting, Acquisition and Grants Management Support, and Business Program and Project Management Services (WITS Solutions Inc. GSA Schedule # 47QRAA19D003H). This is necessary because of the potential unacceptable loss of the ability to complete the mission and create huge backlogs, and potential mission failure if this short-term action was competed.

The current contract is expiring January 6th, 2024, and a longer-term competitive action using GSA MAS (SIN 541611) is currently under pre-solicitation review. Awarding this short-term order to WITS Solutions will ensure that both CBP and the GSA MAS contractor community are afforded sufficient time to engage in a fair competitive procurement process for the long-term upcoming order.

WITS Solutions Inc., is the only contractor that possesses the immediate capability, a comprehensive understanding of the requirements, working relationships with PDO’s key stakeholders, and the resources required to ensure that this high-volume project is successful. WITS Solutions Inc. has CBP background-cleared skilled personnel in place to provide these services without any transition.

This task order is identical to the activities already required under the current SOW and is critical to continued mission success. Another contractor could not meet the immediate need with background-cleared personnel who have the capability and expertise to perform these services. In addition, another contractor would result in significant duplication of efforts given the nature of this requirement.

The GSA MAS contracts are established in accordance with the procedures of FAR Subpart 8.4 and are issued using full and open competition. WITS possesses the unique and specialized knowledge, experience, and technical expertise required to perform the services without disruption or degradation of performance. No other contractor can provide the same level of service and quality within the required time frame without significant risk of failure or delay.

CBP background investigations (BI) timeframe must be a consideration for onboarding any contractor position. CBP is a law enforcement agency and requires tier 4 BIs while most other agencies require tier 2 or 3; on average, to receive an interim clearance alone takes over a month. Full clearance generally takes several months.

No other contractor could provide over 20 contractors with full CBP BI clearances to begin on January 7th, 2024. Additionally, there has been higher-level focus on the CBP FOIA workload and backlog recently, and as a result, CBP is in the process of conducting an external third-party FOIA assessment.

The enhanced focus on FOIA processes has increased the complexity of the required services and resulted in the need for a more thorough and extended review of the scope to ensure all requirements are captured and accurate. This external review will take several months to complete. By awarding this short-term action to WITS Solutions, both CBP and the GSA MAS contractor community will have enough time to participate in a fair and open competition for the next long-term contract.

Via this notice, it has been determined, and is in the Government’s sole discretion not to compete this contract action. This synopsis does not constitute a solicitation, however all responsible sources that believe they can meet all of the requirements may submit a capabilities statement, which shall be considered. Interested parties shall be required to provide a capabilities statement which would demonstrate how they can potentially meet the requirements described above. For additional information or responses, please contact Shaun Saad, Contracting Officer, at shaungalen.saad@cbp.dhs.gov.