SOLICITATION NOTICE
B -- Expert Knowledge and Historical Research to Assist in Planning and Conducting the Historical Accounting of Individual Indian Money Accounts.
- Notice Date
- 10/25/2002
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- Minerals Management Service, GovWorks, 381 Elden Street, MS 2500, Herndon, VA 20170-4817
- ZIP Code
- 20170-4817
- Solicitation Number
- 70371
- Archive Date
- 12/30/2002
- Point of Contact
- Wallace O. Adcox, Contracting Officer, (703) 787-1354
- E-Mail Address
-
Email your questions to Contracting Officer E-mail Address
(Wallace.Adcox@MMS.GOV)
- Description
- GovWorks is issuing this request for proposals on behalf of the Office of Historical Trust Accounting, U.S. Department of the Interior. This notice is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in the Federal Acquisition Regulations, Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; OFFERS ARE BEING REQUESTED AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ISSUED. Contract period is for a base period of one year with two option years. The Government reserves the right to make more than one award from this solicitation. The Government also reserves the right to unilaterally extend the period of contract performance in accordance with FAR 52.217-9, "Option to Extend the Term of the Contract--Services". STATEMENT OF WORK: Objective: Support, research, analysis, and documentation of the history of the organizations and management of the IIM trust fund provided to the Office of Historical Trust Accounting and Departmental leadership in planning and implementing the historical accounting. BACKGROUND: The Department of the Interior (Interior) has the fiduciary responsibility on behalf of the U.S. Government to manage both Tribal trust funds and Individual Indian Monies (IIM) trust funds. These two trust funds and accounts are managed by Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST). The Office of Historical Trust Accounting (OHTA) was established to plan for and direct the historical accounting of IIM accounts. On July 2, 2002, OHTA submitted the Report to Congress on the Historical Accounting of Individual Indian Money Accounts (Report to Congress) available on OHTA's website at http://www.doi.gov/ohta/revreport.pdf. On June 27, 2002, OHTA's responsibilities were enlarged to include accounting for Tribal trust funds. OHTA is developing a plan for how it will conduct the historical accounting of tribal trust funds. Other documents prepared by OHTA include the September 10, 2001, Blueprint for Developing the Comprehensive Historical Accounting Plan for the Individual Indian Money Accounts, a framework for preparing the Report to Congress, the November 7, 2001, Report Identifying Preliminary Work for the Historical Accounting. (Both documents are available on the OHTA website at http://www.doi.gov/ohta/documents.html) The OST, established by the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994 (PL. 103-412), was created to improve the accountability and management of Indian funds held in trust by the Federal Government. Currently, OST maintains approximately 1,400 accounts for 315 Tribal entities with cash and investments of approximately $3.0 billion, and more than 285,000 IIM accounts with cash and investments of approximately $360 million. Annually, approximately $800 million passes through the Tribal trust fund, and approximately $300 million passes through the IIM trust fund. This income is generated from the sale or rental of Indian-owned land and uses of natural resources such as timber, farming, grazing, and royalties from various minerals and oil and gas exploration and production, and from land use for rights-of-way and easements. Funds also are derived from interest earned on invested funds, as well as awards or settlements of Tribal or individual Indian claims. The BIA, along with Interior's Minerals Management Service and the Bureau of Land Management, manage the land records, and revenue collection and processing. Cobell v. Norton Although U.S. policy through the 1870s was to locate Indians on reservations, the government began to break up reservations starting in the 1880s. Thousands of individual Indians were given tracts of land during the allotment era. The government held these tracts in trust, and later established an Individual Indian Monies system to collect and disburse to the Indians any revenues generated by mining, oil and gas extraction, timber operations, grazing or similar activities on their land. In June 1996, a class action lawsuit was filed against the Department by five Indian plaintiffs on behalf of Individual Indian Money (IIM) account holders which asked for, in part, the historical accounting of IIM accounts. On December 21, 1999, the U.S. District Court ruled that the Department was in breach of four specific duties. On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed the ruling of the District Court; however, it stated that the actual legal breach was the failure to provide an accounting. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling provides some guidance on the obligation of the Department to perform an accounting of the IIM accounts. Specifically, the Court of Appeals held that the relationship between the United States and the IIM account holders is a trust relationship that creates fiduciary obligations. See Cobell v. Norton, 240 F.3d 1081, 1099-1100 (D.C. Cir. 2001). In addition, the Court of Appeals held that, while the government's obligations are rooted in and outlined by relevant statutes and treaties, they are largely defined in traditional equitable terms. "Where Congress uses terms that have accumulated settled meaning under either equity or the common law, a court must infer, unless the statute otherwise dictates, that Congress means to incorporate the established meaning of these terms." Courts "must infer that Congress intended to impose on trustees traditional fiduciary duties unless Congress has unequivocally expressed an intent to the contrary." Id. Much as the Supreme Court has regularly turned to the Restatement and other authorities to construe trust responsibilities, it is appropriate for the District Court to consult similar sources. Because of this, the Court of Appeals held that the United States owes a duty to account to the IIM beneficiaries. The Court of Appeals also held that the "1994 Act reaffirms the government's preexisting fiduciary duty to perform a complete historical accounting of trust fund assets," and found that the fair and accurate accounting referenced in Section 102 of the 1994 Act requires "reconciling the accounts, taking into account past deposits, withdrawals, and accruals," as well as reporting of "all items of property, income, and expenses. . . ." Id. at 1102-03. The Court of Appeals further stated that an "adequate" accounting is one that is "sufficient to serve the purposes for which a trust accounting is typically conducted." Id. at 1103. Therefore, the accounting "must contain sufficient information for the beneficiary readily to ascertain whether the trust has been faithfully carried out." Id. The Court of Appeals, however, acknowledged that there were substantial questions yet to be determined about the scope of the accounting owed by the United States. The Court of Appeals expressly stated that the decisions regarding the nature and scope of the United States' accounting were to be resolved by the Federal Government. Thus, while noting that the Department's actions would be judged by strict standards based upon the duty to deal fairly with the IIM beneficiaries, the Court of Appeals noted with approval that the District Court had "explicitly left open the choice of how the accounting would be conducted, whether certain accounting methods, such as statistical sampling or something else, would be appropriate. Such decisions are properly left in the hands of administrative agencies." Id. at 1104. It is within this context that the Department will design its approach and conduct the historical accounting using appropriate methods to fulfill its trust responsibility. Historical Accounting Project As part of Interior's overall trust reform efforts, Interior is undertaking an evaluation of the reliability of past IIM and Tribal account activity. In her Secretarial Order and memorandum of July 10, 2001, Secretary Gale Norton established the OHTA and charged the OHTA with planning and carrying out this historical accounting. Given the length of time involved, the distinct histories of various groups of trust assets, the various business practices that generated trust income, the sheer volume of records and known or suspected problems in the records, and other historical factors, the historical accounting is expected to be a monumental, complicated task. The Report to Congress on IIM historical accounting identified an effort that would take at least 10 years and cost approximately $2.4 billion. No plan has been developed for the Tribal accountings and the expected time and cost for this work has not been estimated yet. OHTA has identified key documents that will be required for the historical accounting in its Accounting Standards Manual. The documents vary according to the type of trust income or other account transaction. The income sources and other account activity that need to be documented include interest distributions, disbursements, funds transfers, judgments, oil and gas leases, other mineral leases, business and recreational leases, surfaces leases, timber sales, probates of estates, per capita payments, land sales, entitlement income, and miscellaneous land uses. Nature of the Contract This contract is intended to provide the Department, OHTA and its contractors with independent historical knowledge, research expertise, and advice concerning the history of allotment of Indian lands, the history of economic activity on allotted lands, Tribal histories as they relate to allotted lands and IIM funds, the history of the IIM trust fund, the evolution of the BIA in managing IIM accounts, and knowledge of the various sources of records relating to the aforementioned histories. The information developed under this contract will be a critical part of the historical accountings and will help in developing cost effective records searches informed by a knowledge of the history of geographic areas and/or groups of accounts. Duration: This contract initially for $250,000 is envisioned to continue for the duration of the historical accounting project described above. Location: It is anticipated that the contractor will be available for periodic meetings at its offices, at the OHTA offices or at the Department of the Interior in Washington, DC, or at sites around the United States. Meeting frequency is expected to average about once a month. Tasks and Deliverables OHTA has identified the long-term role of historical experts in its Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) work plan under Tasks 1.5.1 through 1.5.1. The contractor(s) will be responsible for the following tasks and deliverables: 1. Reservation Histories The contractor(s) will research the history of allotments and resource development on approximately 200 reservations or other BIA jurisdictions and prepare brief tribal/reservation history reports (reservation histories) on each. The reservation histories will have two purposes: * To inform the process of collecting documentation for the historical accounting. * To provide a framework for reporting to the beneficiaries and BIA staff. The reservation histories will contain the following items: ? Changes in the name of the reservation through history and current address ? Changes in agency or area office or regional office that affected the reservation ? Location of records in the National Archives ? Major treaties/legislation (including the allotment act pursuant to that reservation) ? Process of allotment (a short historical narrative) ? Resource development (a short historical narrative) ? Judgment funds and other IIM revenue if applicable ? Maps and illustrations ? Brief bibliography ? Such other information as may be requested by OHTA Deliverable: Reservation history reports, schedule for, the scope and detail of which will be determined by OHTA 2. Document Identification and Collection The contractor(s) will conduct document identification and collection in the Office of Trust Records (Albuquerque); the regional facilities of the National Archives and Records Administration, including the Federal Records Center located at Lee's Summit, Missouri; BIA offices and any other records repositories. Other contractors will be involved in this process, too, and the precise role of the history contractor(s) remains to be determined. Both the reservation histories and the Accounting Standards Manual will be used in making the document collection as consistent and complete as possible. Deliverable: Inventories of documents and accessions as maintained at records facilities, as requested by OHTA 3. Assistance in Accounting After documents are identified, collected, imaged and coded, the accountants on the historical accounting team will perform the actual accounting for each IIM account. The history contractor(s) will provide assistance as needed during this process. For example, historical knowledge may provide guidance for dealing appropriately with gaps in the document record. Deliverable: To be defined. 4. Outreach An important aspect of OHTA's mission is to report to the IIM beneficiaries in such a way that the beneficiaries can determine for themselves whether the historical accounting has been faithfully performed. The unique history of each reservation, particularly with regard to how the reservation was allotted and how the resources were developed, will form a vital part of that reporting. OHTA may require revision and/or submission of the reservation histories for publication on OHTA's website in conjunction with summary findings from the historical accounting. OHTA may also require the history contractor(s) to participate in public presentations, providing historical context in accountings. Deliverable: Website ready reports in a PDF or other format as specified by OHTA. 5. Other Work as Needed OHTA will require historical research and reporting on other issues. Examples of issues that have arisen and require historical expertise are as follows: * History of Judgment Awards. Many tribes have received judgment wards for claims against the United States, and some of these judgment awards have been distributed on a per capita basis to IIM accounts. OHTA needs a comprehensive understanding of where and when these occurred. * History of Records Destruction. OHTA has obtained a history of records disposition, and it is already informed of anecdotal cases of records description under approved federal records retention schedules. However, OHTA needs a systematic investigate of all instances of records destruction. OHTA may require that history contractor(s) to develop an approach to such an inquiry and to be prepared to research and report on certain aspects of BIA records disposal if not the entire history of it. * Assistance with Historical Accounting for Tribes. As noted above, OHTA is charged with planning and carrying out historical accountings for tribes as well as IIM beneficiaries. The history contractor(s) may be involved in the planning phases of this effort and/or tasks analogous to those described above for the historical accounting of IIM accounts. Deliverables: Reports on topics and of such scope as directed by OHTA. HOW TO PROPOSE: Offers must submit brief written proposals NOT EXCEEDING Fifteen (15) pages in length. The proposal shall detail the methodology by which the offer will meet our needs and demonstrate the relevant experience of the company and its key personnel. Resumes must accompany the proposal but do not count against the 15 page limit. The proposal must include a Management Plan detailing how the offeror will manage the project with a clear table of organization. AS PART OF THE PROPOSAL, THE OFFEROR SHALL PROVIDE THE NAMES, ADDRESSES, AND TELEPHONE NUMBERS OF THREE (3) BUSINESSES OR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES FOR WHOM THE OFFEROR HAS PERFORMED WORK SIMILAR TO THIS REQUIREMENT. The offeror must demonstrate in their proposal: 1) The ability to provide the OHTA with independent historical knowledge, research expertise and advice relating to the history of tribal lands and lands allotted to individual Indians; 2) Expertise and experience in locating and identifying antiquated and current Indian individual and tribal financial, land ownership, land use and judgment records; 3) Knowledge and experience in working with certified public accountants and other experts on research projects involving Indian trust accounting; 4) Knowledge and experience conducting historical research in support of litigation involving Indian tribes and individuals. OFFERS MUST ALSO SUBMIT A BUSINESS PROPOSAL PRICED ON A TIME-AND-MATERIAL BASIS. The proposal should be priced by task showing the position; loaded hourly rate; number of hours; and an estimate of other direct costs such as travel. EVALUATION CRITERIA: 1) Level and quality of experience providing independent historical knowledge, research expertise and advice relating to the history of tribal lands and lands allotted to individual Indians; 2) Level and quality of expertise and experience in locating and identifying antiquated and current Indian individual and tribal financial, land ownership, land use and judgment records; 3) Level and quality of knowledge and experience in working with certified public accountants and other experts on research projects involving Indian trust accounting; 4) Level and quality of knowledge and experience conducting historical research in support of litigation involving Indian tribes and individuals; and 5) price. This is a best value procurement that favors technical competence over price. Experience and past performance demonstrating the offeror's ability to perform the work are the most important evaluation factors with price of secondary importance. Among offers considered technically equal, price will be the deciding factor. The following provisions/clauses are incorporated by reference: FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items (Oct 2000); FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items (Jan 1999); FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items (May 2001); FAR 52,212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items (May 2001); and FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or executive Orders-Commercial Items (May 2001). Copies of these provisions and clauses are available via the World-Wide Web at http://www.arnet.gov/far/. Offerors may download and use the FAR 52.212-3 section from the website or request a copy from the Contracting Officer. You may fax a written request for these documents to the Contracting Officer at 703/787-1387 or send an e-mail request to "Wallace.Adcox@MMS.GOV". OFFERS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 4:00 P.M. (LOCAL TIME) ON November 125, 2002, AT MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE, GovWorks, MS 2500, 381 ELDEN ST., HERNDON, VA 20170. Offers must include the following: (a) the 3 references described above, (b) the completed Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items FAR provision 52.212-3, and (c) time-and-materials priced offer for the base period and two option years. You should submit one original and five (5) copies of your proposal. We would also appreciate a digital copy submitted via e-mail by the due date. All correspondence must reference RFP 85259. PLEASE FAX OR E-MAIL ANY QUESTIONS. TELEPHONE INQUIRIES ARE STRONGLY DISCOURAGED.
- Record
- SN00194125-W 20021027/021025213443 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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