R -- Sign Language Interpreter Services and Cart Services

The Social Security Administration (SSA) plans to issue a competitive 8(a) solicitation for the acquisition of Sign Language and/or other recognized modes of interpreting and CART services for deaf, hard of hearing, and/or deaf-blind employees and/or SSA applicants. The services will be performed at SSA Headquarters in Baltimore, MD including the Washington, DC area and Nationwide in any of the six (6) payment servicing centers or ten (10) Regional Offices. All interpreters must be certified by a recognized certifying organization such as the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) or the National Association of the Deaf (NAD). The contractor and contractor’s employees shall abide by all state and local laws, in regard to certification and licensure of all interpreters. A qualified interpreter shall have a minimum of three (3) years paid professional experience within the last five (5) years. The proposed contract is for a base period of 12 months with four 12-month options. This requirement is being conducted under FAR part 12, Commercial Items. This requirement is being set aside 100% for 8(a) business concerns. In order to be eligible for contract award, the offeror must be an eligible participant in the 8(a) program by the closing date specified in the solicitation. The applicable The North American Industry Classification Code (NAICS) code and size standard are 541930 and $6 million. The solicitation (SSA-RFP-05-1027) will be available on the Fed Biz Ops (FBO) web page at www.eps.gov on or about March 21, 2005. All parties interested in submitting an offer should download the solicitation from the FBO web site. No telephone requests will be honored.