This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation number is NOKXK4RI001 and is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular, FAC 2005-68, effective June 26, 2013. The Government intends to include the FAR, DFARS, and DFAS clauses and provisions listed in this solicitation, to include any addenda, either by reference or in full text in the resulting award and are not all inclusive. The FAR and DFARS clauses may be accessed in full text at http://farsite.hill.af.mil/. This requirement is Unrestricted. The associated NAICS code is 519130, Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals, and the small business size standard is 500 employees. Contract line items, quantities, and units of measure Base Year - October 1, 2013 through September 30, 2014 CLIN 0001 - Quantity 1 - Unit of Issue is Each On-line Legislative Congressional Reporting, Research, Tracking, and Analysis Services 1st Option Year - October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015 CLIN 0002 - Quantity 1 - Unit of Issue is Each On-line Legislative Congressional Reporting, Research, Tracking, and Analysis Services 2nd Option Year - October 1, 2015 through September 30, 2016 CLIN 0003 - Quantity 1 - Unit of Issue is Each On-line Legislative Congressional Reporting, Research, Tracking, and Analysis Services 3rd Option Year - October 1, 2016 through September 30, 2017 CLIN 0004 - Quantity 1 - Unit of Issue is Each On-line Legislative Congressional Reporting, Research, Tracking, and Analysis Services 4th Option Year - October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018 CLIN 0005 - Quantity 1 - Unit of Issue is Each On-line Legislative Congressional Reporting, Research, Tracking, and Analysis Services Description Description of Need On-line Legislative Congressional Reporting, Research, Tracking and Analysis Services July 16, 2013 The contractor shall provide on-line legislative Congressional reporting, research, tracking, and analysis services for three users. System access shall be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including weekends and holidays. The contractor shall provide onsite training, as needed and advanced training. The contractor will also provide training via telephone, video teleconferencing, or other electronic media during business hours. System access must be available through a web browser executable in a Windows NT PC-based operating environment. Telephone technical support must be available Monday - Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. eastern standard time (EST). Legislative services must include the ability to download the full text of information available in PDF as well as text file format. Services shall include, at a minimum, the following: (1) Full text of all Committee and Conference Reports from the current legislative session with links to the PDF version and searchable charts, including "camera-ready" charts for all budget and appropriation bills. Full text version must be searchable by Congress number, word or phrase, bill numbers, personal word and bill list, Committees, Chamber, publication date, report numbers and date items added. (2) Full text of all versions of bills in the current legislative session with ability to search by word or phrase, bill numbers, chamber, bill version date, date bill introduced, stage in legislative process, and date items added. Also provide the ability to identify sections containing specific key words or phrases for quick identification. (3) Full text of all floor amendments for current legislative session plus the ability to highlight key words in the full text of amendments and show excerpts of amendment text containing keywords in e-mail alerts. (4) Ability to quickly display bills that are being tracked in either a short view format (bill number, sponsor, last major action and next scheduled action) or a longer view format which includes complete history (sponsor, official title, introduction date, cosponsors, last major action, next scheduled action, latest news/analysis, scheduled floor action, link to bills, reports and amendments plus complete legislative chronology to specifically include citations to members' statements on bills in the Congressional Record, ability to view a bill's progress from a chart of major milestones on legislative history). (5) Ability to review bills by scanning from a predetermined watch/alert list which provides updates on news articles, floor votes, new text versions and amendments and other key pieces of information related to the bill. (6) Full text of all bills before Congress, and additional information to include highlights, prospects for passage, major bill actions, news analysis and schedule information and the option to create a bill chronology. (7) Provide reports to include all aspects of all completed and upcoming House floor activity on legislation in the current legislative session, which includes: (a) list of amendments expected to be offered that day on House floor, (b) summary of key legislation which includes background information on issue prior to floor debate, (c) summary of changes agreed to on House floor and (d) changes made in conference summarized and published prior to release of conference report. (8) Includes a daily detailed summary of scheduled and potential Senate action while in session, to include information on legislation to be considered, anticipated floor amendments. (9) Full Text of Executive Orders. (10) Same-day access to floor votes with descriptions of each vote. (11) Complete verbatim transcripts of DoD-related congressional hearings (full committee and subcommittee) including all HAC/SAC/HASC/SASC - Defense hearings, to include individual testimony/statements (from previous 18 months) - all of which to be posted no more than one-three days succeeding the event. Additionally, the Government may request that the Contractor provide transcripts of other identified hearings of interest. (12) Customized reports on key current and past legislative actions. (13) Ability to conduct text searches by key word, subject, bill number; and ability to link to other data sources and related news documents for analysis to be provided in single result. (14) Ability to track and cross-reference bills that have been incorporated into other pieces of legislation. (15) Daily floor coverage of full proceedings for the House and Senate. (16) Key requirements to provide verbatim transcripts of full press conferences and other news media coverage focusing on Congress, the White House, Pentagon and State Departments, including interviews with key government officials on various media outlets. (17) Customized Email alerts provided on latest legislative actions and newly posted news stories, transcripts and schedules. (18) Ability to create and receive single custom e-mail alert in integrated web interface which searches across multiple information sources based on any or all site content, including bill numbers, committee reports, hearing schedules and transcripts, news stories, members names, floor amendments, committee markups and votes. (19) Ability to access full text of key government and congressional documents, to include Congressional Research Service, Government Accountability Office and Congressional Budget Office reports, OMB memorandums, letters between the Congress and Executive Branch agencies, executive orders, and other government and congressional documents with the ability to request them by e-mail. (20) A schedule listing current and future committee hearings, including coverage of other events, such as the White House, federal departments and agencies, leading policy groups that are updated throughout the day. These event listings must include descriptions of attendees, times, witnesses and locations and updates available via e-mail, desktop and mobile device (such as a blackberry). NOTE: The Description of Need includes key requirements that are critical criteria for the agency to receive the required level of information and access in order to accomplish its mission on information pertaining to legislative issues. End of Description of Need Performance Periods The period of performance will be October 1, 2013 through September 30, 2014. The resulting award will include four one-year option periods that may be exercised at the discretion of the Government. Place of Performance (Requiring Activity) The requirement to be provided is for the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), 4800 Mark Center Drive, Suite 08J25-01, Arlington, VA 22350-3000. Inspection and Acceptance Terms F.O.B. destination with inspection at destination, inspection by Government, acceptance at destination, and acceptance by Government. The provision of 52.212-1, Instruction to Offers - Commercial Items (Feb 2012), applies to this acquisition. Evaluation Procedures The quoter shall submit a firm fixed price quote in accordance with the description of need. In conjunction with meeting the description of need, the factor used to evaluate quotes will be price. Price will be evaluated using price analysis techniques. Options will be evaluated at time of award. The Government will evaluate quotes for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement to establish an overall value. Evaluation of options will not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s). A unit price is to be submitted on each CLIN for each year of the requirement as provided under the contract line items, quantities, and units of measure portion of this document. A single award will be made to the responsible vendor whose quote conforms to the combined/synopsis solicitation and is most advantageous to the Government. Additional clauses, terms and conditions that apply to this acquisition Quoters are encouraged to complete their representations and certifications online at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/. Otherwise, quoters are to include a completed copy of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items (Dec 2012), with their quote. The clause at 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items (Feb 2012), applies to this acquisition. The clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial Items (Nov 2012) (Deviation), applies to this acquisition. 52.204-10, Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards (Jun 2013) 52.209-2, Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations-Representations (May 2011) 52.209-6, Protecting the Government's Interest When Subcontracting With Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment (Dec 2010) 52.209-10, Prohibition on Contracting With Inverted Domestic Corporations (May 2012) 52.213-2 Invoices (Apr 1984) 52.219-4 Notice of Price Evaluation Preference for HUBZone Small Business Concerns (Jan 2011) 52.219-28, Post-Award Small Business Program Representation (Apr 2009) 52.222-3, Convict Labor (Jun 2003) 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (Feb 1999) 52.222.26, Equal Opportunity (Mar 2007) 52.222.35, Equal Opportunity for Veterans (Sep 2010) 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers With Disabilities (Oct 2010) 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Veterans (Sep 2010) 52.222.50, Combating Trafficking in Persons (Feb 2009) 52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (Aug 2011) 52.225-25, Prohibition on Contracting With Entities Engaging in Certain Activities or Transactions Relating to Iran-Representation and Certification (Dec 2012) 52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases (Jun 2008) 52.232-18, Availability of Funds (Apr 1984) 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-Central Contractor Registration (Oct 2003) 52.232-39, Unenforceability of Unauthorized Obligations (Jun 2013) 52.232-99 Providing Accelerated Payment to Small Business Subcontractors (Deviation) (Aug 2012) 52.233-3, Protest After Award (Aug 1996) 52.233-4, Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim (Oct 2004) 52.237-3, Continuity of Services (Jan 1991) 52.242-15, Stop-Work Order (Aug 1989) 52.247-34, F.O.B. Destination (Nov 1991) 52.253-1, Computer Generated Forms (Jan 1991) 252.203-7000, Requirements Relating to Compensation of Former DoD Officials (Sep 2011) 252.203-7002, Requirement to Inform Employees of Whistleblower Rights (Jan 2009) 252.203-7005, Representation Relating to Compensation of Former DoD Officials (Nov 2011) 252.204-0001, Line Item Specific: Single Funding (Sep 2009) 252.204-7003, Control Of Government Personnel Work Product (Apr 1992) 252.204-7004, Alternate A, System for Award Management (May 2013) 252.204-7006, Billing Instructions (Oct 2005) 252.212-7001, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders Applicable to Defense Acquisitions of Commercial Items (Deviation) (Dec 2010) 252.225-7002, Qualifying Country Sources as Subcontractors (Jun 2012) 252.225-7048, Export-Controlled Items (June 2013) 252.232-7003, Electronic Submission of Payment Requests and Receiving Reports (Jun 2012) 252,232-7010, Levies On Contract Payments (Dec 2006) 252.237-7010, Prohibition on Interrogation of Detainees by Contractor Personnel (Nov 2010) 252.243-7001, Pricing of Contract Modifications (Dec 1991) 252.247-7023, Transportation of Supplies by Sea (May 2002) 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services (Nov 1999) The Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract. These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor. The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within 14 days before expiration of the order/contract. (End of clause) 52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (Mar 2000) (a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within 14 days; provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 15 days before the contract expires. The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension. (b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause. (c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed five years. (End of clause) 52.252-1 Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998) This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es): http://farsite.hill.af.mil/ (End of provision) 52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998) This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es): http://farsite.hill.af.mil/ (End of clause) 52.252-5 Authorized Deviations in Provisions (Apr 1984) (a) The use in this solicitation of any Federal Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR Chapter 1) provision with an authorized deviation is indicated by the addition of"(DEVIATION)" after the date of the provision. (b) The use in this solicitation of any Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR Chapter 2) provision with an authorized deviation is indicated by the addition of "(DEVIATION)" after the name of the regulation. (End of provision) 52.252-6 Authorized Deviations in Clauses (Apr 1984) (a) The use in this solicitation or contract of any Federal Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR Chapter 1) clause with an authorized deviation is indicated by the addition of "(DEVIATION)" after the date of the clause. (b) The use in this solicitation or contract of any Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR Chapter 2) clause with an authorized deviation is indicated by the addition of "(DEVIATION)" after the name of the regulation. (End of clause) 252.232-7006 Wide Area Workflow Payment Instructions (May 2013) (a) Definitions. As used in this clause-- Department of Defense Activity Address Code (DoDAAC) is a six position code that uniquely identifies a unit, activity, or organization. Document type means the type of payment request or receiving report available for creation in Wide Area WorkFlow (WAWF). Local processing office (LPO) is the office responsible for payment certification when payment certification is done external to the entitlement system. (b) Electronic invoicing. The WAWF system is the method to electronically process vendor payment requests and receiving reports, as authorized by DFARS 252.232-7003, Electronic Submission of Payment Requests and Receiving Reports. (c) WAWF access. To access WAWF, the Contractor shall-- (1) Have a designated electronic business point of contact in the System for Award Management at https://www.acquisition.gov; and (2) Be registered to use WAWF at https://wawf.eb.mil/ following the step-by-step procedures for self-registration available at this Web site. (d) WAWF training. The Contractor should follow the training instructions of the WAWF Web-Based Training Course and use the Practice Training Site before submitting payment requests through WAWF. Both can be accessed by selecting the "Web Based Training" link on the WAWF home page at https://wawf.eb.mil/. (e) WAWF methods of document submission. Document submissions may be via Web entry, Electronic Data Interchange, or File Transfer Protocol. (f) WAWF payment instructions. The Contractor must use the following information when submitting payment requests and receiving reports in WAWF for this contract/order: (1) Document type. The Contractor shall use the following document type(s). ____ (Contracting Officer: Insert applicable document type(s). Note: If a "Combo" document type is identified but not supportable by the Contractor's business systems, an "Invoice" (stand-alone) and "Receiving Report" (stand-alone) document type may be used instead.) (2) Inspection/acceptance location. The Contractor shall select the following inspection/acceptance location(s) in WAWF, as specified by the contracting officer. ____ (Contracting Officer: Insert inspection and acceptance locations or "Not applicable".) (3) Document routing. The Contractor shall use the information in the Routing Data Table below only to fill in applicable fields in WAWF when creating payment requests and receiving reports in the system. Routing Data Table* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field Name in WAWF Data to be entered in WAWF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pay Official DoDAAC ____ Issue By DoDAAC ____ Admin DoDAAC ____ Inspect By DoDAAC ____ Ship To Code ____ Ship From Code ____ Mark For Code ____ Service Approver (DoDAAC) ____ Service Acceptor (DoDAAC) ____ Accept at Other DoDAAC ____ LPO DoDAAC ____ DCAA Auditor DoDAAC ____ Other DoDAAC(s) ____ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (*Contracting Officer: Insert applicable DoDAAC information or "See schedule" if multiple ship to/acceptance locations apply, or "Not applicable.") (4) Payment request and supporting documentation. The Contractor shall ensure a payment request includes appropriate contract line item and subline item descriptions of the work performed or supplies delivered, unit price/cost per unit, fee (if applicable), and all relevant back-up documentation, as defined in DFARS Appendix F, (e.g. timesheets) in support of each payment request. (5) WAWF email notifications. The Contractor shall enter the email address identified below in the "Send Additional Email Notifications" field of WAWF once a document is submitted in the system. ____ (Contracting Officer: Insert applicable email addresses or "Not applicable.") (g) WAWF point of contact. (1) The Contractor may obtain clarification regarding invoicing in WAWF from the following contracting activity's WAWF point of contact. ____ (Contracting Officer: Insert applicable information or "Not applicable.") (2) For technical WAWF help, contact the WAWF helpdesk at 866-618-5988. (End of clause) DAS 52.39-9000 Representation of Compliance with the Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards (May 2003) (b) Submission of the representation referenced in paragraph (b) and (c) is a prerequisite imposed by 36 CFR 1194 for making or entering into this contract. (c) By submitting an offer or quote, the offeror represents that the products and services offered in response to this solicitation comply with the Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) Accessibility Standards at 36 CFR 1194, unless stated otherwise within the quotation or proposal. (d) By submitting an offer or quote, the offeror further represents that any EIT products and services offered in response to this solicitation that are less than fully compliant are offered pursuant to extensive market research, which ensures that they are the most compliant products and services available to satisfy this solicitation's requirements. (End of provision) DAS 52.39-9001 Accessibility of Electronic and Information Technology (May 2003) (a) Each Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) product or service furnished under this contract shall comply with the Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards (36 CFR 1194), as specified in the contract and in the contractor's proposal. If the Contracting Officer determines any furnished product or service is not in compliance with the contract, the Contracting Officer will promptly inform the Contractor in writing. The Contractor shall, without charge to the Government, repair or replace the non-compliant products or services within the period of time specified by the Government in writing. If such repair or replacement is not completed within the time specified, the Government may take the following action: (b) In accordance with FAR 12.403 or FAR 49.4 cancel the contract, delivery or task order, purchase, or line item without termination liabilities. (c) The Government reserves the right to accept any EIT product or service that is exempted from complying with 36 CFR 1194 in accordance with FAR 39.204. (End of clause) DFAS 52.204-9000 "REPLACEMENT OF PAPER DOCUMENT DISTRIBUTION WITH ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT ACCESS (EDA)" (June 2012) Copies of DFAS contracts and modifications are available on the Electronic Document Access (EDA) website at http://eda.ogden.disa.mil. The website provides access information as well as EDA Help Desk Support. (End of clause) DFAS 52.223-9000 "ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE PRODUCTS" (June 2012) The Environmentally Preferable Products clause is included in this contract to articulate the Government's policies on Green Contracting. FAR 23.403 sets forth the Federal Government's policy to acquire items composed of the highest percentage of recycled-content practical, in a cost effective manner while still obtaining other contracting goals. Recycled-content products are identified in the Environmental Protection Agency's Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPGs). The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be producing a similar list which designates Bio-based products. EPA guideline items (and USDA designated bio-based products, when designated) are seen as the minimum that should be considered when evaluating environmentally preferable materials. Other environmentally preferable materials and products not listed, but commonly used in industry outside of the Government, should also be considered. Executive Order 13423 (January 24, 2007) required federal agencies to use sustainable environmental practices, including acquisition of bio-based, environmentally preferable, energy-efficient, water-efficient, and recycled-content products. Moreover, it required that paper of at least 30 percent post-consumer fiber content must be acquired or used in Agency acquisitions of goods and services. Executive Order 13514 (October 5, 2009), required federal agencies to analyze internal processes and revise reporting requirements in order to achieve such results as improvement of water use and efficiency, promoting pollution prevention and elimination of waste. But more particularly as related to procurement, an emphasis was placed on efforts to advance sustainable acquisitions to ensure that 95 percent of new contract actions including task and delivery orders, for products and services with the exception of acquisition of weapon systems, are energy-efficient (Energy Star or Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) designated), water-efficient, bio-based, environmentally preferable (e.g., Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) certified), non-ozone depleting, contain recycled content, or are non-toxic or less-toxic alternatives, where such products and services meet agency performance requirements. § 1. Mandatory Use of Paper and Other Products with Recycled Content. (a) All paper utilized in the performance of this contract must be of at least 30 percent post-consumer fiber content. (b) The contractor, by responding to this solicitation, affirmatively acknowledges that it will, to the maximum extent practicable, use sustainable environmental practices including acquisition of bio-based, environmentally preferable, energy-efficient, water-efficient, and recycled-content products in the performance of this contract that meet the recycled-content recommendations for EPA designated items, which are found at http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/procure/products.htm. In addition, by responding to this solicitation the contractor is certifying the deliverables required under this contract shall meet the recycled-content recommendations for EPA designated items. § 2 Notice of Green Alternatives in Offerors' Product/Service. (a) When offering a product or service that contains "Green" components as that term is defined at http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/procure/products.htm, the contractor shall make the Contracting Officer aware of such facts in the submission of their quote or proposal. (b) The contractor, when appropriate, shall comply with FAR Clause 52.223-9 Estimate of Percentage of Recovered Material Content for EPA Designated Products. § 2 Affirmative Duty of Contractors to Adhere to Green Contracting Policy. (a) Whenever practicable, the Contractor has an affirmative duty to examine its packaging to eliminate or reduce waste by volume, toxicity and/or weight and to utilize or substitute recyclable material for non-recyclable material in packaging. (b) Whenever practicable, the Contractor has an affirmative duty to find other materials utilized in the delivery of services under this contract and examine whether it can reduce waste by volume, toxicity and/or weight and to utilize or substitute recyclable materials for non-recyclable materials of items consumed in the furnishing of their services. (End of clause) SAM (System for Award Management): Ensure that you provide your cage code and company name when responding. Note that in order to do business with the Government; companies must have an assigned cage code that can be obtained when you do your registration. The web site is https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/. Quoter Information: The following information is to be included with your quote. Cage Code Company Name Point of Contact Telephone Number Email Address DUNS Number TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number) Business Size/Classification (Applicable NAICS is 519130) Date Quotes are due August 7, 2013 at 2:00 P.M. EST. Point of Contact (POC): Teresa Knotts Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) Contract Services Directorate 3990 East Broad Street Building 21 2B218 Columbus, OH 43213-1152 Telephone: (614) 701-2767 Facsimile: (614) 701-2918 Email:
[email protected] Facsimile and e-mail quotes are acceptable and preferred. You are encouraged to ensure that quotes are received by the POC. Furnish quotes to the POC on or before the closing time listed in this combined synopsis/solicitation. All responsible sources may submit a quote which shall be considered.