Description
RECOVERY ACT-THIS NOTICE IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS OR REQUEST FOR INFORMATION. THIS OPPORTUNITY IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO CONTRACTORS UNDER GSA SCHEDULE 520 SIN 520 5. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS OR REQUEST FOR INFORMATION. The purpose of this contract is to acquire loan examination services for the Office Of Inspector General (OIG) under recovery act initiatives. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the executive branch of the U.S. government that was created in 1953 to aid, counsel, assist, and protect the interests of small businesses to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our Nation. SBA provides financial assistance to small businesses in the form of government-guaranteed loans using the 7(a) and 504 loan programs. Under section 7(a) of the Small Business Act (Act), SBA guarantees loans originated and closed by approved lenders. Under SBA’s general procedures (GP) program, SBA reviews and approves loan packages submitted by lenders. In addition, SBA has provided Preferred Lender Program (PLP) status to 693 lenders, allowing them to approve SBA guaranteed loans without an SBA review. The 504 Loan Program is an economic development program offering a financing package in long-term fixed assets. The loans are originated by Certified Development Companies (CDCs), which generally are non-profit corporations certified and regulated by SBA to package, process, close, and service 504 loans. SBA has designated 24 CDCs as Preferred Certified Lenders (PCL) with delegated authority for loan approval decisions. SBA, however, reviews and approves borrower eligibility. Loans processed under PCL authority are subject to the same loan terms and conditions as other 504 loans. The SBA Office of Inspector General (OIG) was established by the Inspector General Act of 1978 as an independent and objective unit to conduct and supervise audits and investigations relating to the programs and operations of SBA. The OIG recommends policies to promote economy, efficiency and effectiveness and to prevent and detect waste, fraud and abuse in SBA’s programs and operations. The Auditing Division of the SBA OIG conducts financial and performance audits of internal agency functions and program participants to promote the economical, efficient, and effective operations of SBA programs. On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Recovery Act). The Recovery Act provides for reduced loan fees and higher guaranties to stimulate lending in SBA’s 7(a) and 504 loan programs, new SBA credit programs, secondary market incentives, and enhancements to current SBA programs to help unlock credit markets and begin economic recovery for the nation’s small business sector. The America’s Recovery Capital (ARC) loan program is a new SBA credit program provided under Section 506 of the Recovery Act that provides deferred-payment loans of up to $35,000 to viable small businesses in need of money to make payments on existing, qualifying loans for up to six months. These loans are 100 percent guaranteed by SBA with repayment beginning up to 12 months after the loan is fully disbursed. In order to provide unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability, the Recovery Act and related Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance require increased financial reporting on, and oversight of, programs, grants, and projects funded under the Act to deter and detect fraud, waste and abuse; and ensure that program goals are met. Past experience, such as SBA’s response to the 9-11 terrorist attacks and the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes, has shown that this pressure can significantly increase the vulnerability of SBA’s programs to fraud and unnecessary losses. Therefore, the OIG oversight efforts will focus heavily on detecting and deterring fraud, waste, and abuse in Recovery Act programs and assessing whether appropriate internal controls are implemented to meet the increase in program demand while ensuring SBA loans are originated and closed in a commercially prudent manner. The contractor will be required to analyze lender and SBA compliance with loan origination and closing requirements found in the applicable sections of 13 CFR section 120, SOP 50 10 (5), and SBA policy notices, in addition to those associated with prudent lending practices followed by the commercial lending industry.