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basic facility security clearance question


contractor100

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The government agency issuing an RFP has stated they won't sponsor bidders for a clearance. They've also said the facility clearance is required for performance. They have not said a clearance needs to be in place on proposal submission. They have included a DD-254 in the bid package and are requiring contractors to submit the DD-254 with the proposal, with contractors name, address, zip code, cage code, and cognizant security office.

We do not have a facility security clearance.  Questions:

1 May I submit the DD-254 with the cognizant security office that would be assigned to my company if I had a facility clearance?

2 If I were to be awarded the work, can I be sponsored by another cleared agency even if that agency has no connection to the contract, in other words, was not a prime or a sub on the contract?

 

Thanks for any help!

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These cases don't seem on point to me, please tell me what I am missing. 

My RFP says the FC is required for performance.  Not for award, and not before proposal submission, as in the cases above.  The idea is that, if my company won, we could then secure the FC. (This is not my idea. This is my boss's idea. The question isn't whether it's a good strategy, it's whether it's possible.)

So to restate my questions, with a little more info:

1 The first block of the DD-254 says, "level of security clearance required - secret." The RFP requires me to submit the DD-254 with the proposal.  If I put my company's name and address on that form, put in the Cognizant Security Office for my address,and submit,  I am not representing that I have an FC - do you agree?

2 In the unlikely event my company is awarded this work it would be the only company on the contract. No subs, no prime.  The awarding agency (GCA) has stated they will not sponsor clearances. So can any cleared company sponsor my company, once we've established the need for a clearance by being awarded a contract that requires an FC?  I always thought the sponsoring cleared company had to been awarded the justifying  contract or a subcontract against the contract, but that does not appear to be what the NISPOM says:

 

"A contractor or prospective contractor cannot apply for its own FCL. A GCA or a currently cleared contractor may sponsor an uncleared company for an FCL. A company must meet the following eligibility requirements before it can be processed for an FCL: a. The company must need access to the classified information in connection with a legitimate U.S. Government or foreign government requirement. b. The company must be organized and existing under the laws of any of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico, and be located in the United States or its territorial areas.c. The company must have a reputation for integrity and lawful conduct in its business dealings. The company and its key managers must not be barred from participating in U.S. Government contracts. d. The company must not be under FOCI to such a degree that the granting of the FCL would be inconsistent with the national interest."

 

Chapter 2. https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodm/522022M.pdf

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16 hours ago, contractor100 said:

Questions:

1 May I submit the DD-254 with the cognizant security office that would be assigned to my company if I had a facility clearance?

2 If I were to be awarded the work, can I be sponsored by another cleared agency even if that agency has no connection to the contract, in other words, was not a prime or a sub on the contract?

1.  Sure, you can submit it that way.  But the contracting officer might reject your proposal (or determine you non-responsible) when he or she checks and learns that you don't have a facility clearance and that there is little to no likelihood of your obtaining one before performance begins.

2.  Do you have an agency already lined-up that is ready and willing to sponsor you?  Otherwise, this is very hard, almost impossible, to imagine.

Yes, a contractor can get a facility clearance after the award of a contract that requires a facility clearance, if the agency is willing to delay performance to wait for the clearance process timeline.  But it sounds like your agency is not willing to wait (or at least, it isn't willing to sponsor you).  This is a classic Catch-22 situation.

Best wishes.

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I've reads the NISPOM a few times when I've faced difficult questions, but I am not a NISPOM expert --  for some reason, I have in the back of my head that the other company cannot sponsor your company for a facility clearance unless that other company has a need -- such as if that company issues you a subcontract, and that subcontract requires a facility clearance.  I don't think they can sponsor you as a nice, neighborly gesture.  But you can try it if you want to, and if the other company is willing.  But you better hurry -- last I heard, it takes a minimum of seven months for a facility clearance, and it can take much longer.

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