Most of the Recovery funds received by the Department will be used for grants, with the exception of Student Aid Administration, which will use Recovery funds to award contracts to service the outstanding student loan portfolio. Contract competitions will be done using commercial items procedures with the actions posted in Fedbizopps as required. In fiscal year 2008, 84% of the Department’s contract dollars were competed. The Department expects to meet or exceed this rate. To the maximum extent possible, competitive procedures will be used. Regardless of the dollar value, contracts that are not competed will require a Determination and Findings (D&F) that includes the rationale for using other than competitive procedures. The D&F shall be submitted to both the Head of Contracting Activity and the Competition Advocate for review and approval. The Department’s Contract Review Board must review all Recovery contract actions exceeding $25,000 prior to solicitation and award.
Fixed-priced contracts are the preferred contract type. A justification is required for non-fixed priced contracts. Based on fiscal year 2008 data, 62% of contract dollars were awarded to fixed-price contracts. The Department expects to meet or exceed this rate. The Department’s Contract Review Board must review all Recovery contract actions exceeding $25,000 prior to solicitation and award. Regardless of dollar value, contracts that are not fixed-price require a Determination and Findings (D&F) that includes the rationale for using other than a fixed-price contract type. The D&F shall be submitted to both the HCA and the Competition Advocate for review and approval.
